Sep
7
I’ve been hemming and hawing for a while over putting Dylan in a big kid bed. On the one hand, why on earth would I ever take a feral 2-year-old out of what is basically a socially acceptable cage? On the other hand, he’s been waking up so often lately—all twisted and turned around in his crib and just sort of randomly blatting for no apparent reason—I started thinking a larger bed might actually result in more sleep for everyone.
We talked about giving him a full-sized bed like what Riley has, but I found an inexpensive toddler frame on Amazon and decided that since we could continue using the crib mattress, that would be our cheapest option for now.
It arrived last Saturday and once JB had it assembled, I couldn’t believe how cute and wee it was. Like a doll bed, almost, with the cozy little built-in rails and everything. It wasn’t until Dylan actually climbed on it that it finally occurred to me that what I’d purchased was the exact same thing as a crib—same fucking dimensions to a T, since it, you know, held the crib MATTRESS—except now he could get out of the damn thing.
Well, I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s actually gone really well. He did fall out a couple times until I shoved it against a wall and stuck a soft chair against the other side, and I still go in every once in a while to re-cover him and give him a little comforting butt-pat when he wakes up at night, but overall he’s doing just fine.
And by that I mean it doesn’t seem to occur to him that he can just climb out whenever he wants. Riley was the exact same way, he’d just wait in the middle of the bed each morning for us to come in and pick him up. WIN.
We re-arranged his room a bit, added a bookshelf and a whiteboard for homeschool stuff, and he’s officially got himself a big kid room now. All traces of nursery are gone, except for the changing table.
(Sorry that second image is weird, it’s auto-stitched from a few cellphone images and it left a missing block in the upper left. I know it looks like I photoshopped out some shameful thing on the wall, like maybe a Nagel print or something, but I swear I didn’t.)
It was kind of a sad process to take the crib apart and pack it away, knowing we’re never going to use it again. Not really sad because I want more babies, mind you, just . . . oh, you know. Bittersweet.
So I have a question for you—we have always planned to give our crib to JB’s brother and his wife, since they plan to start a family soon and they’ve expressed interest in it. It’s a lovely crib, but it’s a drop-side, and as you may know pretty much every drop-side crib on the planet has been recalled because babies can apparently get crammed in a gap created by the side if the hardware fails and it detaches from the crib. Or something like that.
Should I let them know about the recalls and let them decide? Or would you play it uber-safe and burn the crib with fire and salt the earth afterwards, because jesus, you never know?
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My daughter is like, 2 weeks younger than Dylan (b. 2/25). Her crib converts and she’s been in the “toddler” bed since probably 14-15 months. She did have a few nights of sleeping on the floor. For a long while I would roll up a large towel (or a foam pool noodle if you have one) and stick it inside the fitted sheet against the outside. It created a soft bumper to keep her in but not prevent her from getting out. Just an idea.
In the mornings she just sits in bed for awhile, then goes and sits behind her bedroom door. When she’s finally tired of waiting she knocks (or uses the occasional judo chop, I think, based on the decibel of the *bang*). I was really afraid of putting her in a toddler bed, but it’s worked out great.
We are giving our crib to my sister. It is a drop-side and hasn’t been recalled (must be the only one on Earth that hasn’t), but I’m just telling her to put a screw (drill in not quite flush) beneath the top rail on each side, just as an extra security measure. It won’t be able to fall past the screw, should it ever be possessed by Satan or whatever.
Tell them and let them decide. There seems to be two things causing the problems: crappy cheap-o cribs with plastic hardware that breaks, and parents screwing up by putting the hardware on upside-down or otherwise wrong. If it’s a good-quality one, and it’s put together right, it should be plenty safe. Ours has a drop-side, but it’s good-quality metal hardware and I triple-checked to be sure it’s on right.
Our kiddo stayed in his toddler bed when we converted the drop crib to it (am totally keeping ours – it isn’t on any list), and in the beginning stayed in his bed when we got him a twin. Then suddenly it occurred to him he could get out of it, and he was running in to see us in the middle of the night. We closed his door and after 2 nights that stopped. He will still sometimes get out of his bed and come howl at the door if he has a nightmare or something, but his instinct is to still stay in that bed until one of us comes to get him in the morning – in spite of the tempting toy box in the corner!
“like maybe a Nagel print”
you make me laugh woman!
The thought of a Nagel print hanging over a two year old’s bed makes me feel slightly hysterically awesome. I know what my nephew is getting for Christmas now.
I just gave away DD’s drop side crib that was part of a recall (still weepy about it, but know there are no more babies for me). I have to agree with the poster who commented on other things causing far more infant deaths than drop side cribs have. Not that one should ever take a chance… When I knew someone was going to take the crib, I contacted the manufacturer and they sent a repair kit which converts the crib to a stationery side crib. I would guess that most manufacturers are offering this type of option now. I love the new bed your son got, BTW.