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Parenting

Junior bed or single bed for 2 and a bit year old?

25 replies

abigboydidit · 17/01/2013 12:13

Apologies as I know this is a deathly dull thread! DS is currently 20 months old and DC2 is due any day now. We're in the process of moving him into his new room before baby arrives and just keeping him in his cot in there for now. Baby will obviously be sleeping in the Moses basket in the bedroom with DH and I for the first few weeks and then (if he/she's as huge as DS was) we were going to bring the cot into our room for the baby until he/she is ready to move to his/her own room and get a single bed for DS. However, friends have said the jump will be too big and I need to get a junior bed as a stepping stone. His cot does convert to a cot bed but TBH we are pretty skint so the thought of shelling out for another cot & mattress for DC2 and then a single bed for DS further down the line isn't something I'm too keen on but obviously I will do it if best for DS.

So - after all that, what I was interested to hear was how other people managed the transition! Thanks in advance.

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LifeofPo · 17/01/2013 12:15

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WowOoo · 17/01/2013 12:15

I wouldn't waste money on a junior bed.
My sons coped fine when they went into a big bed.
You could get them to choose some nice new bedding and help arrange their toys so they get excited.
I put ds in a single quite early as he was climbing out of his bed. So on the floor I put lots of cushions and found him on them some mornings....a bit of a wriggler!

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LifeofPo · 17/01/2013 12:16

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piratecat · 17/01/2013 12:17

I really wouldn't worry until you see how big dc2 is. How long did your first dc sleep in a moses basket?

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piratecat · 17/01/2013 12:18

would agree with getting a single bed tho, and a bed guard of course.

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abigboydidit · 17/01/2013 12:22

Thanks everyone - that's reassuring! DS was only in the Moses basket for 6 weeks as he hated being swaddled and would fling his arms about in his sleep, battering them off the sides & waking himself up. Hadn't even heard of a bed guard (check the 1st time parent) so will Google them now.

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BlueChampagne · 17/01/2013 12:38

Single. You can start off with a mattress on the floor if you don't want to bother with a bed guard (they're quite expensive unless you get lucky on Freecycle), or just put down a crash mat! Both mine went straight from cot to single bed without any problems (or bed guard).

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piratecat · 17/01/2013 12:48

yes i got a second hand bed guard, as dd's bed was quite high being a divan with drawers (blessing those drawers!)

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ZuleikaD · 17/01/2013 13:26

Definitely a single. Ideally with storage drawers underneath! We're getting one of these for DD in a few months, complete with mattress for sleepovers further down the line.

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Chubfuddler · 17/01/2013 13:28

Straight into a single at 2 for DS. It was a wooden bed frame rather than a divan so not much higher than a cot on lowest level, and I didn't bother with a bed guard. He rolled out once or twice but wasn't hurt or frightened by it.

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IrnBruTheNoo · 17/01/2013 13:30

single bed makes more sense in the long-term. It means you don't have to go from cot to junior bed to single bed. Just from cot to bed. Easier transition and more cost effective buying a single bed.

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CointreauVersial · 17/01/2013 13:32

Ditto. Sod the junior bed. DS slept happily in a bed at 20 months when DD1 moved into his cot.

An easy alternative to a bed guard is to roll up a towel and prop up the side of the mattress on the open side of the bed (so he'd have to roll "uphill" to fall out).

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IrnBruTheNoo · 17/01/2013 14:01

"An easy alternative to a bed guard is to roll up a towel and prop up the side of the mattress on the open side of the bed (so he'd have to roll "uphill" to fall out)."

CointreauVersial Thanks for that tip, have never came across that idea before! Grin

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CointreauVersial · 17/01/2013 23:32

HTH Smile

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stella1w · 17/01/2013 23:34

Straight into single at that age and no problems.

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pippibluestocking · 17/01/2013 23:35

Both my DD went straight from a cot to a single bed with no problem. Had a bed guard for a while after the move but no problems. Personally wouldn't waste my money on a junior bed that you'll have to ge rid of at a later date

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ZuleikaD · 18/01/2013 05:44

Stuff like 'junior beds' really annoys me - invented by marketing departments to service a 'need' that isn't actually there.

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surroundedbyblondes · 18/01/2013 06:04

We had a junior bed for DD1 which DD2 took over. However DD2 is an appalling sleeper and either DH or I end up in with her quite often. For our own comfort we recently bought a single! Grin

Bed guard we got was at Ikea and wasn't expensive.

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GangstaGranny · 18/01/2013 07:44

dd went straight into divan single bed with no bed guard at 22 months. duvet on floor 2 cushion any falls. think she only ever fell out once or twice

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Missingthemincepies · 18/01/2013 21:06

Definitely a single bed, but I'd do it ASAP or dc1 may get very jealous of dc2 taking their bed. Also, our single took 6-8 weeks to arrive.

When DS first moved into a bed we used a rolled up towel under the sheet to act as a bumper, which worked well, but had to keep re-rolling, so bought these which have been great.

Try to find a single that is fairly low too, like this one.

Good luck

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abigboydidit · 18/01/2013 22:06

Thanks everyone. Single it is!

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ArthurandGeorge · 18/01/2013 22:10

Single bed. That's what we did for dd. for ds we converted the cot into a junior bed but only because we didn't need the cot and becaus his room is tiny. Even so put him in a single bed within a year so I definitely wouldn't buy a junior ed specifically.

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DieWilde13 · 18/01/2013 22:12

Another bed guard alternative is a pool noodle stuck under the sheet guess when we had that idea!

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sleepingsatellite · 18/01/2013 22:18

Single bed. I dreaded the change from cot to bed as DS1 was still in his sleeping bag at 2.5yrs and loved his cot. He was totally fine, never asked for his sleeping bag or his cot. We put all his different toys that had been in his cot by his pillow, and let him choose his duvet etc. The cot we hid in DS2's room and shut the door so he never saw it, until DS2 went in it,and by then it was just a cot!

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kd73 · 18/01/2013 22:18

We bought a toddler bed and the reality is that it was a waste of money !!!
You live and learn though

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