[Bzymom]

Hello all;

We've just accepted a referral for a little girl who turned two in February. She is actually a little older than what we had originally planned on but we are still very excited.

I currently have a crib set up in her room but am wondering if anyone can give me some insight as to whether or not she might already be in a regular bed in the orphanage. When do kid's transition from cribs to beds, in Russian orphanages?

Also, any guesses as to whether or not she's probably potty trained by now...?

Thanks so much

[elmo86]

HI,
Don't know for sure, but from my what I've read and been told about the orphanges in Russia, here is my reply...
Most kids are in cribs until they can climb out at about 2 and a half. Most kids are potty trained at 2 yrs old too.
I'd suggest you ask your question on the Russian forum page.
Good luck,
Wendy
I am adopting a 5-7 yr old as was told I should use a toddler bed for the first 6 months to a year.

[kimber413]

Hi. Just adding my two cents. Yes on the crib, probably until 2.5 or 3. But the kids aren't really potty trained at 2. They are taught to sit on a toilet, but it's done at rigidly scheduled times and they sit until they go. So, they aren't really learning to listen to their bodies.

[annekesmom2]

Hi, When we visited Tatiana (3 years) in January we saw that all of the children in her group were in toddler beds.

Melanie

[manon]

I didn't get to see the room where my little girl (turned 2 yrs old while I was there on trip #2) and her group of 10 kids slept, so I don't know what kind of bed/crib she was in, but certainly when we got to the hotel in Moscow & there was a crib already set up in the room, she walked right over to it & claimed it.

Personally, I think if you have the crib already set up, try that for a while. You'll sleep better anyway at first knowing she's not roaming the house! If she seems inclined to climb out, then you'll know to go ahead & switch to a toddler bed or a regular bed. If she's like most kids in orphanages, she may be somewhat small for her age so she may not be climbing out yet -- I've read somewhere that generally they're able to climb out when they reach a height of 35 or 36 inches.

About the potty training -- you may want to buy a little potty there for her to use if she's more comfortable with that. But like some other posters said, she's probably just used to being put on it on a schedule, and not used to trying to figure out when she needs to go. You may want to keep up the potty training she already has by putting her on there when she first wakes up, and right after meals, and right before bed. But the Russian concept of potty training is different from ours, and she probably won't know when she needs to go. But she might! My little girl sometimes would say "caa-caa" when she needed to go (but not always). "caa-caa" is Russian for poop, and "pee-sit" is Russian for pee, but my little girl apparently never really learned a separate word for pee & called it all caa-caa. If you want to ask her if she needs to go, you can say "Tee hoh-chish cah-caht?" or "Tee hoh-chish fff-toe-ahl-YET?" (toe-ahl-YET = toilet)

Congratulations & best wishes!

[Kendal]

we adopted twin girls at 20mo and we actually got beds for them. They were already sleeping in toddler beds at the orphange so we just got twin beds for them. We did however get side rails for the beds so they did not fall out. It worked great for us, plus saved the cost of buy a crib and then 6mo to a year later buying beds. But if you already have a crib she might do just fine with that too. As for the potty training, they said the girls were, but the other posters are right, they are trained to sit on the toilet, not to tell you when they need to go. But I can say when it did come time to potty train it was very easy for us. good luck to you and i hope you get her home soon.

kendal

[Bzymom]

Thanks to everyone for the helpful information! I really appreciate it.

Actually we just got the call today that we to travel to Russia on July 4th for our 1st trip... Yippee.

Cheers!

[laurie9]

i have the 4 year crib ,they sleep in it until they need the toddler bed then the rails let down to a toddler bed ,so you can use the crib until they are around 4 , and i am adopting a 22 months old and they said he is potty trained (we will see) i will take pull up to be on the safe side,,,good luck ( i waiting own a court date also )

[Kelly12345]

We adopted our daughter at 27 months, she was in a toddler bed in the orphanage (Ukraine) When we got home we put her in a crib, and she did great. She was very small, was wearing 6-9 month clothes and only weighed 19lbs. She stayed in the crib until her 3rd B-Day just fine. As far as potty training, we were told she was potty trained. We figured it was just because she was placed on the pot at scheduled times, so we decided to put diapers on her. To our surprise she really was potty trained! The diapers did save us on the plane, as she had major stomach problems due to the change of foods.
Hope this helps!
Kelly
Mommy to 2 UA angels and 1 homegrown angel

[pkthomas]

We recently adopted a 1 1/2 year old and 2 year old. The 1 1/2 was in a crib, the 2 year old was in a toddler bed. Wait until you go on your first trip and ask the workers what your child is in. (I begged so much that they actually let me see their beds) As for toilet training, they will tell you they are trained, but they are not. They are conditioned. Bring diapers. I waited three months and then trained both of the children. They still had the idea of toilet training, so it went quickly with both of them.