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| Once upon a time she was tiny... |
It seems really quick this need for a bed for Tabitha. She is still my baby, I am not sure her sleeping in a bed will seem right, but it has to be done.
She has mastered getting her leg over the bars of the cot, a side effect of being lanky. So a bed it is, that or regular trips to A and E.
I realise this will mean mass purchases.. a stairgate for the bedroom door, new bedding, a bed guard and I'm sure I will think of more necessary items.
The dilemma is do we go for a junior bed so she doesn't seem lost amongst the bedding or a standard single so it lasts for years. I am currently running through the pros and cons.
I like the idea of a one bed purchase, no storing a toddler bed and paying out on another one in 3 years time. I am also thinking at times it'll be us adults fighting over who goes in her bed once she has snuck into ours, so a standard seems to be winning.
But then I go and see all these cute little toddler beds and think 'Aaaah..'
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| Suitable for a Princess? |
Any words of wisdom 'been there and done it' Mums?
Mine are lanky but never tried to climb out. It's once they can climb out you need to move them.
ReplyDeleteMine are still in toddler beds! I got the extendible ones from Ikea and they are still going strong. In fact, it's not fully out yet even for Monkey who is 6 today. They are low down enough so that they don't feel too high up. The one they have is similar to this
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S69847510
but an older version so the headboard is a different shape.
I would say get a normal bed, We had a cotbed and it was really uncomfortable for Thomas to sleep on. We didn't really use it as a bed for long as he didn't sleep at all well in it, so we ended up getting a single anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have seen these things called Dream Tubes on Amazon which are like bed bumpers so little one doesn't fall out. They look like a good idea, so if you do go for a big bed early I would check them out.
Yes I have looked at Ikea, think I need to go and see them in the 'flesh'
ReplyDeleteThanks. x
I guess my advice is:
ReplyDelete1. Get toddler sides. You can remove them within a week if she doesn't need them or after a few weeks if she does.
2. Definitely on the stair gates (we put ours on the stairs and not on her door)
3. Follow the Jo Frost method early on of returning her to bed. It took the little one a while to realise she could "escape" but once she did the Jo Frost Supernanny method was very effective. (although I did sometimes hold the door shut!). If you are too soft early on you will get more pain later.
4. We got a bed where we could lie in bed with her and read or lie with her to settle her. Some of the toddler beds are a bit weak for that.
5. It forced us to make sure her room was safe. Initially I locked (velcro) the drawers but she never took everything out of them.
That's it to start.
My biggest positive on the big beds is using them for adults ie: us or guests occasionally which would be really useful.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, I've got the drawer locks on their way as we speak.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping she will be good at the staying in bed as we have bedtime nailed at the moment she is happy to lay down awake and drift off.
Scary changing things though, hope we don't go back to square one!
Both of mine were in beds before 18 months so I feel your pain! We got V a full size bed with storage underneath. It was quite high off the floor so he had a bed guard for the first year or so and he's still in that bed now. With F, we got her this bed:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S99827959
She has a smaller room so we needed something not too chunky. It's great as we currently have it on the smallest setting and there's no need for an additional guard.
I wouldn't bother going down the toddler bed route (although, I agree, they are very sweet!) as I think it's just a waste of time and money.
A gate on the bedroom door is an essential even though we don't have them anywhere else in the house, not even on the stairs, but I don't want to be disturbed by a sleep-walking toddler at 3am. It's bad enough that I get disturbed by a sleep-walking 5 year old at 4am....
PS - My two have both slept much better in their beds than they ever did in their cots. Maybe they dig the extra room??
C has been in a bed for a while now and he sleeps so much better. The best advice I can give you is get a bed guard! She will fall out and although she'll probably stay asleep on the floor, you'll be up and down all night! C's cot was a cot bed so we just converted it, but if you don't have that I'd just got for a normal bed and get a guard, she'll be in it long enough!
ReplyDeleteThey look so tiny in the big beds, but they love it! OH! and don't waste money on cot bed quilts if you do get a small bed, pointless!!
X
wow. this is truly royalty, the design of the bed is quite impressing. without the additional ideaof having canopy on their beds. they still look good as ever.
ReplyDeleteWell better choose what is best for your baby. If you do not have enough experience, you always have your friends around you that can give you some brilliant advice.
ReplyDeleteToddler
ReplyDeletebeds are not that easy to purchase, and to find a free shipping company would
be a lot of help. Select items that are of high quality not just because it
is cheap.