Toddler bed or new cot!?

[lillygxx]

Would you move your toddler out of their cot & into a toddler bed in order to reuse the nursery furniture for 2nd baby, or just buy an extra cheap cot to use until they actually need to be switched which could be in a few months?

my almost 2 year old sleeps 12/13 hours every night and currently has no issues with climbing out of her cot or anything, but I’m needing to reuse the nursery furniture for my youngest & am decorating my oldest a ‘toddler’ room at the minute. Do I just go to a toddler bed and risk messing up her sleep routine which has no issues and her getting in and out of bed all night potentially, or shall I just buy a cheap cot for the time being until I actually need to switch her to a bed? It just feels like it could be a waste to only use for potentially a few months but if I buy an inexpensive one it could be worth it given that it could disrupt her whole routine?

That is around the age I moved both of mine out of their cots, so I’d move her. But I know some people prefer to wait much longer.

A beach towel rolled up lengthways and put under the sheet along the side of the bed stopped them falling out.

I always assumed I'd use DS1's cot bed for DS2, but in the end we didn't feel we needed to move him out of the cot till he was 3 (working on the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' principle) so we used a different cot for DS2. People are always trying to get rid of cots, we've never actually bought one (been through a cot bed, a normal cot, a next to me, and a travel cot), just bought new mattresses.

I also think toddler beds are a bit of a waste of money if you are buying one specially - we used one for DS1 because it was a cot bed that converted into a toddler bed, but if it hadn't been, a normal single bed with a guard rail on would have been just fine, and much comfier as a parent if you ever have to get in.

I wouldn’t move an under 2 into bed unless it was needed for safety because they were climbing out. It’s an unnecessary hassle you just don’t need especially if there’s a newborn to also deal with!

If baby isn’t here yet then I’d put them into a moses/next to me and put off making any decision about the big cot for 6 months. By then your eldest may have escaped and then I’d just go with a standard single for longevity and skip the toddler bed altogether.
If baby has arrived and is almost 6 months old (sorry couldn’t quite work it out from your post!) so needs the cot now then I’d get a cheap cot bed from ikea or similar for the eldest that can be used with the sides on until either age 3 or they climb out, whichever comes first, then the sides taken off and used as a toddler bed until around age 5.

My son started climbing out of his cot 3 weeks before his second birthday so we’ve gone with a toddler bed for safety, and cause he couldn’t climb back in so was the only option! 😩 few incidents of coming out, but we were consistent in putting him back to bed and saying it’s bedtime, and after 2/3 days, he was okay 🙂

Also, I agree with PP about toddler beds being a waste of money. I put mine straight into normal single beds.

I just went through this. DS was 23 months when his brother was born. But remember obviously the baby won't be in the cot till they're around 6 months anyway. We put DS in his new room with a single bed, we had a couple of hard nights but it hasn't disrupted his routine at all. Baby has the cot now. I would use this time to make your oldest a "special new room for a big sister, big sister bed, big sister decor etc" this is what we did and my son is IN LOVE with his room. Made the transition easier.

My little one went into a single floor bed with guards at 10 months old. He loves his space because he's a traveller in his sleep 😂