Tell me what you know about toddler beds

[katymf]

DS is 18mo. I've noticed that sometimes when he is sleeping and i go into his room to pick up toys or just to check on him, he looks like he is too big for his crib. his arms going through the side rails, when he rolls over he immediately hits the side of the crib. he is a big boy to begin with, very long. he just looks uncomfortable. every night he wakes up after an hour or so of being put into his crib and cries and i really believe it's because he doesn't have enough room in his crib to sleep comfortably.
he ends up in bed with us every night which is fine, but we ourselves have a full size bed and i am 29 weeks pregnant so it gets a little crammed.
my question (or questions) to you all is:
1. how old was your LO when you transitioned into toddler bed?
2. when you get a toddler bed do you still use the crib mattress or switch to a twin?
3. from photos i've seen online, it looks like a toddler bed with both side rails looks just like a crib. is it really any roomier?
4. from my story, do you think he would need something bigger then a toddler bed? twin size perhaps with just one side rail? the bed would be up against a wall so he wouldn't roll off the other side.
thanks for the help!

[Babybird4]

A toddler bed uses a crib size mattress so if it is a space issue it might not help. We transitioned DD1 at 22 mo to a full size bed. It is wide enough we never needed a rail and one side was against the wall. I think, personally, toddler beds are a waste of money unless you have a convertible crib already. I would just skip the toddler bed and go to a twin with a side rail.

April, mommy to Haylea (8/18/09), Hannah (5/22/11) and baby Hogan due 12/12/12! *sent from my iPhone*

[EmilytheStrange]

yes, toddler beds are just the same size as cribs. If he's too big, I'd get him a twin and get one of those removeable rails until he's ready to be rail-less.

We moved DD at 17/18 months to a toddler bed, but we have a convertible crib, so it's just taking off one side and putting a half rail on. She will move into her twin bed in January and will be about 27 months. We got an under-mattress rail from Target.

[cdeweese]

I second skipping a toddler bed in favor of a twin with a rail (also a head/foot board). My daughter switched at about 21 months and it wasn't a huge deal. She got up and we have to put her back ALOT but I started with nap that day so she knew what to expect come bedtime. And a toddler bed is the size of a crib w/o the high rails. We're switching from our convertible crib/toddler bed to a twin with a rail after Christmas.

[luvsviola]

We moved to a toddler bed with DD at 18 months. It was awful!!!! She wouldn't stay in it, and it was the end of naps because they were the never ending battle. Bedtime was a power struggle that DD won almost every night to keep her in the bed. I vowed never again.

DS moved to a toddler bed at 2.5. It went much smoother. He was old enough to understand he darn well better not get out of bed, and he rarely got out of it.

DD2 we are keeping in the crib til she climbs out. She's 20 months right now, and while I have an adorable toddler bed set up in her room (DD1 sleeps in it occasionally when we have company), DD2 isn't going to sleep in it for a good long while.

[EmilytheStrange]

should mention, since Luvsviola did, that naps were horrible for us as well. I actually started holding her for entire naps - which were 2-4 hours long. Then at about 22ish months, she started napping alone in her toddler bed. but it was several frustrating months.

our bedtimes were never a big deal though.

[SaraElise]

If it's a space issue I would just go straight to a twin and skip the toddler bed, it's the same size without crib rails.

As far as when to do it, I'd probably wait until it was an issue. For me that meant 17, 18 and 13 months for my kids to climb out/hate their cribs. All 3 transitioned fine with maybe 1-2 hard days. Even naps were not a problem.

[mibarra]

A toddler bed is a crib with no sides. Id go straight to twin in your case. You can buy a bedrail to add on or push up against the wall.

[essential1892]

We skipped the toddler bed and went right to a twin bed. I am so glad we did because it made it easy for me to cuddle with my DS in his new bed when we were transitioning him. Plus, I was pregnant with my DD so a lot of the time when I was reading to him before his nap I would totally pass out in his bed and he would fall asleep next to me... I miss those days!

[abunchoflemons]

My oldest was a heavy sleeper and could roll off and stay on floor but my youngest girl is light and rolls off and cries tons... toddler beds really aren't too much if at all bigger to me than a crib. Crib and toddler bed mattress is same. I would try from sounds of it a twin with rail and see how that goes, we did with oldest 15-2 yrs of age and wasn't bad. I have seen a few toddler beds with no rails so you could look for that and get rail for it. I am due in Feb and a full bed and my 19 month gets in with us some so I know how tight it is getting for you there although she is doing toddler bed now for a few months but 50% of time and other in crib cuz big stink/ dare devil but too small to get out of crib I think.

Here;s a link to craiglist post of no rail toddler http://ames.craigslist.org/bab/3433897527.html