Starting to outgrow cot, how to move on

[BotMan]

DS is just about 3, significant GDD but no diagnosis. He's non verbal but almost walking and starting to get more adept with his overall ability to physically explore.

He has had a tactile aversion and to date hasn't been dangerous with his exploration so is still in cotbed sized cot with musical mobile. He benefits hugely from, and is much better, with routine so anywhere we stay (which is only grandparents) also seems him use a smaller cot and same musical mobile. He is getting bigger and starting to stand in the cot so I fear our ability to stay away from home with relative ease will soon be compromised as although I could leave him in the current set up at home he's really outgrown a travel cot etc.

What have others done when they start to outgrow the cot, particularly when going away, he is so used to the exact same bed routine and set up that even when ill e struggles to sleep anywhere else but his cot.

Do I just try taking the side off with a view to start sleeping in a bed and accept this could be our route to sleep going haywire for however long?

Sorry this is getting long but, on another note, At what point do you start considering trying to toilet train? DS is probably working at 12-18 month level at most but we don't really seem to be working on anything any more and just kind of living and growing with him. He has just stated at SN nursery where he has all his therapy so I don't feel we have as much access to therapists to discuss these things with.

Sadly we don't really have a RL network of parents of kids with SN so I don't feel I know what to do next.

I have also ds with GDD and when he was about three (and very tall) I bought the biggest cot I could find and the biggest travel cot. I think the travel cot was called BabyDan, check the dimensions on travel cots, they vary a lot.

I just felt ds was not ready then for anything else with no danger awarness.

Now he is almost 5 and sleeps on lower bunk bed with guard, he is used to sleeping bag and so far behaves well - but shares room with big brother, not sure what he would do if he was on his own.

We moved my DD (gdd, severe/profound ld's) into a single bed with two bed guards down the side - she was quite young, about 16 months I think. Now age 4 she sleeps in a single bed with no rails.

For you the key sounds like the consistency that he relies on to sleep so FWIW I would take the sides of your cot bed and plough on with that. Re the mobile, you could try one of those 'star makers' that project stars on the ceiling and play music, or could you put the mobile elsewhere in the room so he can still have the same music?

I dreaded moving my ds (GDD and complex medical needs) into a bed when he was three and a half, but it went surprisingly well!
We bought an ikea extendable toddler bed; it was nice and low and just a bit bigger than the cot.
We put a safety gate across the bedroom door, and continued to use his musical light show. We didn't take the cot down straight away and let him choose where he slept:- bed every night, and have not looked back!
He was ready for toilet training at 4 and a half, but you are best taking your lead from your ds when he is ready, as what is right for one may not be right for another.
Hope it goes well!

He might like the security (or pressure, if he's a child who likes pressing his head against things) of the bars, so can you just take one side off and maybe replace with a bed rail? DS2 (ASD) is 3.9 and (thankfully) small for his age - he's still in his Ikea cotbed with all sides up and still, amazingly, in an 18-36 m grobag! I know we have to get him out of it eventually but he's used to it and hell, there are a few inches left at the bottom... We plan to take the side off his cotbed once he's out of the grobag and more used to normal covers (or something that's in between) and keep him in this for a while yet - he really likes pressing his head into the corners of the cot so it'd be tricky to take all the bars away at once.

(he's never attempted to climb out, btw, which is odd because he's a climber elsewhere in the house!)

Brilliant suggestions thank you. He loves putting his feet on the bars which has been another problem when we've gone away with normal travel cot!

He is also in a grobag still, was horrified when I saw they only go up to 36minths but he is small for his age so we can park that one for a while.