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Q. My son had to move to a toddler bed right when he was turning 2 because he was jumping out of the crib. It was rough though. Lots of screaming and crying and sleeping on the floor and running to our bedroom, etc. My daughter turned 2 a couple months ago and is still doing well in her crib. Would it be bad if we waited till she was 3 or so to avoid or postpone the drama? Have you ever done that?
Answer
Here's an alternate solution that worked well for us. Our daughter has never slept in a crib. We started our daughter off in a bassinet, and then upgraded her to a travel-lite pack n' play until she got too big for it; about 9 months. At that point we moved her to a full size mattress-- how? By using a BED TENT.
You can buy them on Amazon or other major websites many different styles. Our daughter had the "Secret Princess Castle" made to fit a full sized bed for about $40, but they sold for as little as $20 for twins. The main requirement, if you want to use it as a crib is to get one with zippers, or else sew them on after you buy them (we bought three zippers at Johanne's fabric and did this by hand in about and hour, even though our sewing skills are minimal). Velcro won't cut it if your child is anything like ours.
Our daughter threw a fit the first night (though no more than when we put her in her pack n' play, but by the end of the week was comfortable sleeping in the tent. We didn't use a bed frame until she was older (just set the mattress on the floor), so we could choose to unzip it after she fell asleep so she could choose when she got up after her naps. When we felt it was time, we put the mattress on a box spring, then a frame. For a while, we left only one side zipped at night (the side closest to her head, so she wouldn't roll out).
By the time she was old enough to figure out how to open the zippers, she was totally comfortable with both the tent, the idea of a big bed, and being able to not roll off the bed onto the floor. The transition was gradual, and the idea was completely safe (no bars to slip or slide between and no possibility of her falling). A couple of friends asked me about the following, so I'll add this 1) it was very well vented with large sections of mosquito-netting type material for the top and sides, 2) the tent was able to accomodate a plastic sheet for accidents (we used a very thin shower curtain), and regular sized bed sheets 3) It was overall very cost effective for us as we were able to use it for a complete transition, as the mattress is adult sized, so there was no need to buy multiple pieces of furniture, bedsheets, etc.
Here's an alternate solution that worked well for us. Our daughter has never slept in a crib. We started our daughter off in a bassinet, and then upgraded her to a travel-lite pack n' play until she got too big for it; about 9 months. At that point we moved her to a full size mattress-- how? By using a BED TENT.
You can buy them on Amazon or other major websites many different styles. Our daughter had the "Secret Princess Castle" made to fit a full sized bed for about $40, but they sold for as little as $20 for twins. The main requirement, if you want to use it as a crib is to get one with zippers, or else sew them on after you buy them (we bought three zippers at Johanne's fabric and did this by hand in about and hour, even though our sewing skills are minimal). Velcro won't cut it if your child is anything like ours.
Our daughter threw a fit the first night (though no more than when we put her in her pack n' play, but by the end of the week was comfortable sleeping in the tent. We didn't use a bed frame until she was older (just set the mattress on the floor), so we could choose to unzip it after she fell asleep so she could choose when she got up after her naps. When we felt it was time, we put the mattress on a box spring, then a frame. For a while, we left only one side zipped at night (the side closest to her head, so she wouldn't roll out).
By the time she was old enough to figure out how to open the zippers, she was totally comfortable with both the tent, the idea of a big bed, and being able to not roll off the bed onto the floor. The transition was gradual, and the idea was completely safe (no bars to slip or slide between and no possibility of her falling). A couple of friends asked me about the following, so I'll add this 1) it was very well vented with large sections of mosquito-netting type material for the top and sides, 2) the tent was able to accomodate a plastic sheet for accidents (we used a very thin shower curtain), and regular sized bed sheets 3) It was overall very cost effective for us as we were able to use it for a complete transition, as the mattress is adult sized, so there was no need to buy multiple pieces of furniture, bedsheets, etc.
Does anyone have (or have had) a really neat family vacation that they care to share?
Jax's Momm
Something toddler (3) friendly, please.
Thanks :)
We have a Great Wolf Lodge fairly close to us! It's one of the places I've been looking into!
Answer
We live in NE KY and we traveled 3 hours to Cincy OH to go to Great Wolfe Lodge....but they have them in different places. It is an indoor waterpark and they have an entire area dedicated to toddlers and some things for preschoolers - depending on how brave your son is : ). Anyways my girls had a blast - when they got tired we could go to the room and rest. Our room had a fridge and microwave so we bought most of our food at the grocery store and only ate out for supper. The rooms are expensive, but they include the waterpark so you have to weigh that in. They have a storytime too every evening for the kiddos. We shared a large room with my parents and my brother and his wife so it was economical and we had plenty of helping hands.
And our hotel room was nice and very clean - we stayed in a suite with a seperate bedroom, a seperate couch/TV area and then 2 beds in the main room. But I have never stayed in a 5 star hotel so I wouldn't know any better : )
Oh come on K! They did want you to spend $ on some kind of game you can play throughout the hotel, but my girls were to young for that. The only hotel activity we got into was the story time and it was great.
We go camping a lot too - but we have a nice camper....no tents for us. Of course that is tons of fun for the girls and very relaxing for me.
The girls were 1.5 and 2.5 when we went and I am sure we will go again this winter.
We live in NE KY and we traveled 3 hours to Cincy OH to go to Great Wolfe Lodge....but they have them in different places. It is an indoor waterpark and they have an entire area dedicated to toddlers and some things for preschoolers - depending on how brave your son is : ). Anyways my girls had a blast - when they got tired we could go to the room and rest. Our room had a fridge and microwave so we bought most of our food at the grocery store and only ate out for supper. The rooms are expensive, but they include the waterpark so you have to weigh that in. They have a storytime too every evening for the kiddos. We shared a large room with my parents and my brother and his wife so it was economical and we had plenty of helping hands.
And our hotel room was nice and very clean - we stayed in a suite with a seperate bedroom, a seperate couch/TV area and then 2 beds in the main room. But I have never stayed in a 5 star hotel so I wouldn't know any better : )
Oh come on K! They did want you to spend $ on some kind of game you can play throughout the hotel, but my girls were to young for that. The only hotel activity we got into was the story time and it was great.
We go camping a lot too - but we have a nice camper....no tents for us. Of course that is tons of fun for the girls and very relaxing for me.
The girls were 1.5 and 2.5 when we went and I am sure we will go again this winter.
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