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That is a toddler bed rail. Friday night we're converting the crib to a toddler bed. It's going to be epic.
Maya is now 3 years 8 months old. She's a big girl. We've held off on transitioning to a bed under the if it ain't broke don't fix it philosophy. She loves her crib and she's a great sleeper: she goes in quitely (worst case scenario is a minute or two of fussing), sleeps through the night (11-12 hours), and plays quietly in her crib when she wakes up (we'll hear her chattering, but she'll just flip through books, etc).
(Don't send hate mail. We know we're lucky.)
But the time has come. She's coyly started to lift her leg up when she's standing in the crib, in a hey-maybe-I'll-just-climb-right-out teasing way. With her, um, lack of coordination any attemps at climbing would land in a very hard fall. She's just hinting at the idea of scaling the crib, but we're going to nip it in the bud.
Also, and I hate to admit this, but the crib is starting to feel a little like lazy parenting on my part. It's blessedly easy to have her contained, but she should move into a bed now. We should Maya-proof her room, and she should learn how to climb out of bed and make us crazy, and she should get to get up in the morning and pull all of her books out of her bookcase and make a big mess. That's what kids do. It's only fair.
We're waiting until Friday night because Dave & Maya are both off from school for the next week . . . and if we're going to be losing sleep, then we're all going to lose sleep together, dammit.
We've got a lot of logistical issues to think through: where to stash the fan that runs in her room at night (away from little fingers) and how to hide the cords to the air purifier. I need to get door locks for her clost (french doors) so that her fingers don't get pinched. We've got to put down some mats or pillows because I've got a feeling that sooner or later she's going to plummet to the floor.
The most puzzling question is the door status: she's always slept with the door to her room closed. It's dark and noise blocking. I feel like we should keep that consistent (because closed door = bedtime) but I know I'm going to want to be able to peek in on her, and to make sure that she's safe. I'm thinking about getting a video monitor (we still use a regular baby monitor-with all of our fans and air purifiers I would never hear her without it) but I'm not sure if that's smart parenting or helicopter parenting. (If I take the plunge and get one I bet we'll see some adorable footage, though.)
I can't wait to see what happens on Friday :)
Good luck! We did this over the summer with our son who turned 3 in November. We tried it first with the crib but it was too high off the floor, it didn't lower and he couldn't climb in. So we started looking for toddler beds. Got some great reviews of the Step 2 Firetruck bed and found one on Craigslist! It took a few days but now he loves his bed, can easily get in and out of it and his room is mostly toddler proof. We do keep his door closed still and it doesn't bother him. He's still partially contained that way too.
ReplyDeleteWe went through the same thing last month. We ended up getting a video monitor, and I think it was totally worth it. Good luck! :)
ReplyDeleteI will be excited to see what happens. One of our twin girls is still in a crib! She has developmental delays. Sounds very similar to your situation. She is still in a crib for saftey reasons, I think more on my part though. Good Luck!!
ReplyDeleteI say get the video monitor. We ended up getting one after we had our 2nd kid (and our regular monitor broke). It's great bc you can just peek in without having to open the door, which is huge if you hear a loud thud and assume they fell out of bed, only to see that they just kicked the dresser loudly. It'll make you feel more secure, I don't think it's helicopter parenting. :o) good luck!!
ReplyDeleteGet a video one. There is nothing wrong with being safe as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteFor the all the fans, you could put them on a mounted shelf?
ReplyDeleteHave fun! Take her shopping for new sheets and a duvet and let her pick them out. :)
If you are worried about her falling out, you might want to try a standard size bed rail intended for a twin bed. We used one when we transitioned our son to a toddler bes after we realized he'd fall out with just the toddler bed rail. It worked great because it runs the length of the toddler bed with just a few inches to spare! I hope Maya loves her new "big girl" bed!
ReplyDeleteBtw, I've been reading your blog for a while now and have found it so comforting to see some one deal with a similar situation to my own with such humor and grace. Maya is as lucky to have you as you are to have her!
-Kelly
For various reasons around sleeping issues, we moved H from the crib to a bed very, very early. We were pleasantly surprised that she sleeps in the bed EXACTLY the way she did in the crib... there has been minimal wandering. Hope you get the same results.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a wild and crazy Friday evening you are going to have! We started Max out with a fire engine toddler bed, and last year got a "real" bed but left out the boxspring so it will be close to the floor. We have a guardrail up, still, because I'm a pansy that way. She is going to LOOOOVE her Big Girl Bed! Target has cute bedding, FYI, but you probably knew that!
ReplyDeleteEh, go for the video monitor if it reassures you. Think of how many hours of viewing pleasure you will get watching her sleep!