Too young to go into first bed?

[WizzFizz]

I have an 8 month old DD, and another baby on the way, due 3 weeks after DD's first birthday. As this will probably be our last child, it has got me thinking whether or not to go out and buy ANOTHER cot, or to put DD into a junior bed at 11 months and put the new baby in her cot.

I have no sleep issues with DD, though I would probably go and buy one of those barriers to stop her from rolling out..

Is 11 months too young to turf her out of her cot? Has anyone else been in a similar sitauation?

[TLCC]

We have DD who is almost 21 mths with bub 2 due soon and decided to buy her a new cot that converts into a toddler bed. She is happy in her cot and we are happy to keep her there as long as possible so that is the plan for us.

I have a friend whose second bub arrived when bub 1 was 15 mths and they put him in a bed at about the 12 mth mark. Works for them, but they had a few rough weeks with him getting out of bed and walking through the house at night to find them.

If you want to just buy a toddler bed do it now rather than closer to bub arriving and make sure you have something to stop them falling out. Is your bub walking? because that will also determine how much of a chance there is of them falling out?

Hope that helps somewhat.

[sopolicha]

Personally I think it is way to young.

Is she walking? How is she going to get out the bed, plop on the floor and crawl out? I would wait until she had been walking for a while.

Could you put the new baby in a bassinette or portacot?

[Tarnya]

My DS was 12 months walking and could not stay in a cot any longer. It was getting dangerous, we invested in a trundle bed. It sits not even 10cm off the ground and was low enough for him to climb in and not hurt himself if he fell (or in his case jumped) out. You can still attatch the safety barrier onto the trundle just like a bed but if they are active and wander they won't hurt themselves. It was great and he's 2 1/2 and still using it. I'm just about to give it to my 13 mnth old neice.

[FourAngelKisses]

Jacob went into a bed at 10mths.

Brooke went into a bed at 12mths.

Matthew went into a bed at 8mths.

Even if they can't walk, they learn to slide out of bed feet first and then crawl to wherever they want to go. Put the cot mattress on the floor for the first few weeks and just kick it under the bed during the day, or buy a safety rail.

[BiLL|z0r]

I don't think it's too young but will depend of how bub 1 takes to it. We bought a a toddler bed for Wy and he hates it. He knows his porta cot is where he sleeps and no where else.
If you're going to change do it at least a month for bub 2 is due so you can get the new bed teething issues sorted by the time bub 2 comes along.

[FourAngelKisses]

Can someone please explain the reasoning of a toddler bed to me?? I honestly can't see the point in spending $4-500 on a bed the same size as a cot, then needing to spend another $3-400 or whatever in another two years on a single bed. It just seems rather inpractical to me.

[Ky]

Can someone please explain the reasoning of a toddler bed to me?? I honestly can't see the point in spending $4-500 on a bed the same size as a cot, then needing to spend another $3-400 or whatever in another two years on a single bed. It just seems rather inpractical to me.

I'm with you on this one totally!

My kids went into regular single beds, admittedly at 15 and 16 months, but they never had a problem! They had bedrails on them and a box to help them climb up and down (both of mine are avid climbers) and they took less than 4 days to get used to the idea of staying in bed at nap and sleep times! I just took a good look at when they were getting tired and adjusted thier naps until they were in line with this time rather than the old routine where they were imprisoned in the cot and like magic, they would play for a few minutes then crawl back into bed to sleep!

I don't think 12 months is too early, but I would put the baby into a borrowed basinette so that the cot is no longer your dd's bed when bubs goes into it ... this will stop a certain amount of insecurity about being replaced etc.

Make the new bed fun and make a huge fuss of your little one when she lies still in there like a "big girl" ... she may be only little, but she understands praise and knows that it is what she desires more of!

[BiLL|z0r]

I find toddler beds have their place since they are much closer to the ground. It gives some parents peice of mind with kids thats are wiggle worms in their sleep and risk falling out. Also they aren't that expensive. Ours was $180 (solid pine) and came with half length bed rails.

[natasha]

Have you thought about getting an inflatable bed?? There is a really great winnie the pooh one on ebay at the mo. It is really cool, close to the ground, sturdy with winnie the pooh caracters all around it! You should defo have a look. Its the ideal thing for you i think, also saves you spending loads on a toddler bed. Its brand new in box and comes with a pump and i think its $37 at the mo with 3 days left!!
Here is the link

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6067306471&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1