22 month age gap - where should they sleep?

amother

Brunette

Wed, Jun 15 2016, 3:02 am

I'm expecting my 3rd baby when my second will be 22 months old.

The 22mo is still sleeping in his crib. He has fairly recently started to sleep through the night and is not making any attempt to climb out of the crib so I'm reluctant to move him out of the crib at the moment. He isn't big enough for a toddler bed as his sister has one and he jumps on it and has fallen off it once, it's dangerous for him. An alternative might be a mattress on the floor.

I have not currently got any kind of bed for the new baby (unless I put her straight in the crib which is what I did with the 22mo) but am looking at the Chicco next2you. My concern with getting that is that it's quite expensive for just a few months use and I am worried that if I move the baby out after 6 months, she will have problems with the transition. With our first child, we had her in a Moses basket at first and moved her out at 10 weeks as the advice was that she would adapt more easily at that age.

I'm also reluctant to pay out for the Chicco crib and then my son needing to move out of his crib after a couple of weeks anyway.

What did other people do?

Iymnok

Wed, Jun 15 2016, 3:25 am

My baby was sleeping in the stroller or my bed until we got a toddler bed for her two year old brother. She is now in the pack-'n-play of n the bassinet insert. Smaller and could be placed closer to your bed.

Try to borrow a newborn crib or bassinet for the first couple months. By then your son should be ready for a bed.
I'd suggest getting a small bunk bed instead of buying another toddler bed.
You could add a guardrail to the toddler bed.
Okay, I just realized that my suggestions are all space-saving. Disregard if you have a spacious house.

amother

Brunette

Wed, Jun 15 2016, 6:48 am

Thanks for you reply! We're in a 2 bed apartment so definitely looking for ideas to save space!

4yo is in a toddler bed. We chose that over a full size bed for the size issue. Her bed also has low barriers on 3 sides and a guard rail on the other side.

20 month old is currently in our room but will probably move to share with DD before the new baby arrives. We also use this room as a playroom/ family room so most of our time is spent in there as our lounge/ diner is very small.

DH gets really wild on the toddler bed, it's hard to keep him off it and it's dangerous.

We've been thinking about bunk beds but DD will only be 4 and a half at that point so think she is too young to go on the top (I think the recommended age is 6.) I am also concerned that DS wil constantly be trying to climb the ladder.

Borrowing a small crib would be a good solution but there's no one I can borrow from. I've searched second hand shops but strangely they're all selling the used cribs for the same price as new, so it'd actually work out more expensive as I'd need a new mattress as well.

I love the idea of the "next2you" crib and it would make night feedings easier as I would not have to leave my bed but I'm concerned that the baby will get used to sleeping beside me and will find it difficult to get used to the regular crib after 6 months or so. Has anyone got any experience with that?

amother

Mistyrose

Wed, Jun 15 2016, 7:24 am

I would borrow a small bassinet for the first 4-6 months, then transition the 2 year old into the toddler bed and 4 year old into a big bed. If you say where you are maybe someone has one they can lend out. I know in my community in Jerusalem many people have spare bassinets. Even some of the ones that come with strollers are overnight certified. I used to put the bassinet in my bed so I didn't have to get up at night. I also co-slept though, if you're comfortable with that (there are plenty of resources about safe co-sleeping) then that can be an option.

amother

Brunette

Thu, Jun 16 2016, 5:30 am

imaima, do you mean another full size crib like the one my toddler is in? I have thought of that and it would also be cheaper than the small bassinet I have been looking at so it is an option. It would just be annoying if he starts trying to climb out of it or won't settle in it after a couple of weeks and has to be moved out of it anyway.

amother above, I m not able to borrow a bassinet from anyone, otherwise I agree that would be the best option.

Does anyone have any advice on how easy it would be to move a baby from a small bassinet to a large crib at 6 months?

We are hoping to move to larger house/ apartment if we find something suitable when things have settled down after the baby is born, so hopefully we will b able to move both the older children into full sized beds at this point.

Iymnok

Thu, Jun 16 2016, 6:08 am

A full size crib is the same size as a toddler bed. I never entertained the thought of getting one due to the size. We have a pack-'n-play. It's much smaller.
I was not referring to a regular bunk bed, those are high. The top bed shoulder height and the lower one either much lower or perpendicular to it.

I never had issues moving a baby to a new bed. Once they are two-ish they may not sleep well for a few nights.
Pack away the crib for a couple weeks to not confuse your toddler.

amother

Pewter

Mon, Jun 20 2016, 8:27 pm

I hope you have your anwer but in case you haven't this is my experience. I have moved out my 6 months, 8 months, and 11 months old, and never had any ajustment problems. I have a bassinet, portable crib and full size crib. I keep them in them as long as I could. for the 11 month old it was most important to take her security object and music along the the older ones were excited to switch. Switching to different rooms was more of an issue and the older one would be so excited I had to put them to sleep together or she wouldn't go to sleep