[tbrown0428]

HI EVERYONE! I know we are kind of jumping the gun here but since we want to set up our nursery soon (so ready to decorate!!) we were wondering if we should purchase a crib or just opt for a toddler bed? It makes it hard not knowing what age our little girl will be, and since our families want to throw us a shower we are unsure what to request for our gifts. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

[rastachris]

I suggest a convertible crib which can be changed into a toddler bed and then an adult-sized bed. Covers all bases!

[chinagirl2006]

We got a crib that converts into a toddler bed.

Olivia is 12 months old & I'm so happy we got a crib because she would be too tiny for a toddler bed. I know she would fall out of bed if she didn't have the railings - she's a wild sleeper.

So I would suggest getting 1 that converts.

[lovemybulldog]

I asked this same question many months ago and was given the advice to get a "lifetime" crib that converts to a toddler/day bed and then to a head board/foot board for a full size bed. That is what we are doing (crib is on order). Since we may end up using bunk beds for kids, we'll convert the head board/foot board from the crib to a guest bed (if kiddo #2 is in our future). Just don't forget to also buy the conversion rails at the same time as ordering the crib in case it becomes discontinued and not available years later when you need them.

Unless your child is in foster care, chances are she/he will be in a crib for quite a while in the SWI and not used to the freedoms of a bed, and establishing boundaries of when it is OK/not OK to get out of bed and wander. I would simply lose sleep at night worrying about whether he's roaming the house.

Also, many people have warned me about not using bumpers in a crib, though, because they don't often use these in China, the cribs are higher, and bumpers make perfect steps to hoist themselves out of the crib after a year or so...Good advice. I bought a bumper for $75 and was able to return it and use that money to upgrade my carseat choice.

Since our little guy will be about 18 months when we come home, I figure we still have a little time before we need to worry about a big boy bed.

[smbcpc]

We also got a crib that converts into a toddler bed. The only drawback in this arrangement is that it is hard for me to pick Shayna up from this crib since I have back problems and I have to bend over to get her while with a regular crib you can lower one side for easy access.

[copper653]

Originally Posted by smbcpc

We also got a crib that converts into a toddler bed. The only drawback in this arrangement is that it is hard for me to pick Shayna up from this crib since I have back problems and I have to bend over to get her while with a regular crib you can lower one side for easy access.

That's odd, ours converts too, but you can put one side down. We don't use it because it is loud, but it is there.

[prechrswife]

My vote is for the convertible crib, too. Our daughter is 18 months old, and hers is still set as a crib right now, and probably will be for the forseeable future. She has only come out of the crib once, and I think that taught her her lesson.

[Lissa]

We did the convertable crib too. Lydia was in the crib for 8 months until we converted at 20 months old. Lydia slept WAY better in a toddler bed. She is a less is more kid and hates any kind of restraint...so the convertable crib to bed thing worked for us. We didn't get one that was expensive. (Well in the grand sceme of expenses that is.) We got a nice crib from Wal-mart.

[jasonsmom]

The convertible crib that I bought is now on Craigslist having been used only once; I really wish I'd kept the box for it. My advice would be to borrow a crib if at all possible before buying one in case she won't sleep in it. When our convertible crib was set up as a toddler bed, the mattress was much too high for my comfort. I put it back to a crib and she climbed out of it. I think its dangerous having a child in the crib after they climb out so we are getting rid of it and are trying the new toddler bed we bought which has a mattress only a couple of inches off the ground. The stairs are gated and the doors of rooms which would be dangerous to be in alone (bathroom, computer room) have hook and eye locks high up.

Paula

[eager2adopt]

Its not exactly on topic, but when you have an infant that is able to climb out of the crib, but not ready for a toddler bed, we found the "crib tent" to be a great solution. We have a "climber" that we just cannot trust alone in a room at night or at naptime (he gets into EVERYTHING), so the toddler bed was not an option. Walmart (online) has a crib tent that arches over the crib, it is white mesh and is easy to install. It zips open and it is actually cute. It has worked flawlessly and has put our mind to rest!

[chinagirl2006]

Originally Posted by copper653

That's odd, ours converts too, but you can put one side down. We don't use it because it is loud, but it is there.

The side goes down on our convertible bed also...so that is strange. We don't use it because I'm afraid of waking her up too!

[smbcpc]

I don't know why the side of our convertible crib doesn't go down. We assembled the crib at home so we know that we don't have this option. I probably would have used it otherwise. Hmmm...

[sak9645]

Kids vary so much.

I adopted my daughter when she was 18.5 months old. She absolutely LOVED cribs, and was tiny enough that she slept comfortably in hers until she was well over age three. By that point, she was daytime toilet trained, though she slept in a pullup till she was almost 4. Starting around age three, she would simply climb out of the crib in the early morning, use the toilet, and if she wasn't ready to get up, change her pullup and climb back into the crib! She would have been happy to sleep in her crib longer, but I bought a toddler bed then, and she made the change without a fuss.

My daughter was a "wild" sleeper. I used to say that she slept like the hands of a clock -- a different position every minute. With the toddler bed, she used to fall out constantly. I had bought a very low one, so she had only about a foot to fall onto very good carpeting -- and she never woke up when she did so. I'd find her sound asleep on the carpet! I used to pick her up, at first, to put her back to bed, but that just woke her up and made her cranky. I found it better just to let her sleep. When she awoke in the night, she'd put herself back into the toddler bed -- at least until she fell out again.

When she was almost six, and still using the toddler bed, we moved to larger quarters. At that time, I bought her a "real" bedroom set, complete with twin bed and dresser with mirror. She really liked her toddler bed, but she was so happy about getting that mirror that she made the change easily! By this point, she was no longer a wild sleeper, and I didn't bother with bed rails. They wouldn't have worked, in any case.

A convertible crib wouldn't have worked for us, because most of them, when converted to a toddler bed, are much higher from the floor than the bed I purchased. With Becca falling out of bed routinely, despite all safeguards, I wanted her as near to the floor as possible.

On the other hand, another child in our travel group, who was about 1 year old when adopted, started climbing out of her crib at 17 months of age. Her Mom had a convertible crib, and turned it into a toddler bed at that point. However, she had to put a mattress on the floor next to it to cushion falls once it was converted to a toddler bed, since it was pretty far off the ground. The girl used to climb out to go to her Mom's bed in the middle of the night, so getting back into the high toddler bed wasn't an issue.

If you can do so, you might be best off to borrow a crib until you are sure what your child will need. Or you can pick out a crib and a toddler bed that are in stock at a store, meet your child in China, then arrange with a relative or friend to have him/her buy the correct item and install it in your house before you return.

From what I can tell, some orphanages keep kids in cribs as long as possible, to prevent roaming. Others automatically move kids to toddler beds at a certain age. As an example, it appears that kids at my daughter's SWI were moved to a different floor of the orphanage, equipped with toddler beds, once they turned a certain age -- possibly two.

Do not automatically believe anything on your referral documents about sleep habits. Referral documents are often wrong. Also, they may have been prepared several months before you received your referral, and a child's sleep situation may have changed by the time you receive him/her.

Sharon