So much so, that I've decided since he won't take naps anyway, we might has well move him out of the crib (that he has never climbed out of. Yep, he's scared of heights) and into a "big boy" bed. The other motivation for this is that I am a lazy mom and don't always get him out of his bed right when he wakes up in the morning... and thus he still has to wear a diaper to bed. Bad mom. So this might help with that.
Anyhow, thus begins the great debate at our house (ok so mostly in my head except when Jeremy is around and then he pretends to listen to me debate it out with occasional "mm hmmm" comments). Do we get a twin bed? Or an IKEA "children's bed" (which is slightly longer than a normal toddler bed)?
The issue really is space. You see, the kids' bedroom is, um, more like the size of a big walk in closet. A mere seven (!!) feet wide. So a twin bed happens to be about six and half feet long... so it would, in fact, fit in the room. But it means we would not ever be able to fit three children in that room (and we will have THREE children in less than six months!!). Of course, we are also still debating whether or not we stay in this apartment... but that deserves another post altogether. Sigh. I love my w/d hookups and three minute walk to the law school.
So in my late night debating, I finally decided to make a scale model of the kids' room and play with my options. Here's the visual of the two options:
OPTION 1: an IKEA Children's bed. Note that if we switched the crib to the other side of the room, there would still be space for a pack-n-play for the baby.
OPTION 2: A twin bed (either a standard twin, or an extra long--which we saw at Sam's Club)
So, THOUGHTS?? What would you do? I am at a TOTAL LOSS.
12 comments:
I would go with the twin, just because I'm all for not having to buy more furniture later. The only reason we had a 'toddler' bed for my boys is because our crib turns into one, but as soon as we could we moved into a regular twin (got for free) and now are in twin bunk beds which can later be separated into two beds if needed. I don't think I would have ever bought a toddler bed just for that reason, it's another thing we'd have to switch out and another transition to do which can sometimes be tough for kids. Plus they loved being in 'big beds'. In the first design it doesn't look like it's saving much space, like the little bit between the bed an crib but that probably won't be used for much. Just depends on what you want to do. But you could always do design #2 but with the smaller bed which might give more space... just an idea. I hate figuring that stuff out, good luck!
How big is that nook for the dresser? Would it be possible to get a small crib to put there? I like the 1st design better, more space for when the new baby comes.
We got an IKEA toddler bed. It's shorter, thus easier for Kessa to get in and out of on her own. And while she CAN get into normal height beds (I found her sleeping in my bed with us the other morning and I had no recollection of her getting there) it takes her longer and I want to give her more independence.
We figure we're going to have kids young enough for long enough that it's going to get its use. It's not like we're going to get rid of it when she upgrades to a twin bed. Instead, she'll upgrade to a twin and Abby will upgrade to a toddler bed and Baby 3 (whenever (s)he comes along) will upgrade to Abby's crib.
Plus, with your limited space, the toddler bed just makes more sense. You're going to end up filling half the room with a twin with a bed that is only half full of toddler. It's just a bunch of empty space waiting for him to grow into. Why not give him something his size and let him grow up later when you have more room to let him grow? His toddler bed will still have love at that point with your other kids.
I'm all about making transitions easier. Though you wouldn't believe it by how many different beds Kessa has bounced between in her life. But that was only because of moving twice in the last few months. And having to bounce around at Grandma's house due to various people living there at different times.
That said, if you do decide to do a twin, you can get past most of my objections simply by putting the mattress right on the floor. Really easy for him to get in and out. But… it still takes up all that space… and then you couldn't even use under the bed for storage.
I've seen an IKEA bunk bed that looks smaller than most standard models for bunk beds, and there's a tent type thing you could get to put on top so Raymond wouldn't roll out. If I remember right, the model at the store only had a mattress on the floor, so you might be able to squeeze Ginny's crib in under the top bunk. I've been playing around with this, too. I didn't know IKEA's toddler beds were longer than standard.
Here's my two cents: I'd go with the toddler bed because of the extra room, and I agree with the above comment that you'll probably have kids young enough to use it for a while. We got ours off of craig's list from a lady who's child was 5 and just moving to a twin bed, and still fit in the toddler bed. Then if you ever needed to you could have one in a crib, one in a pac and play, one in the toddler bed, and one in a twin...those are my thoughts.
On a side note, are you sure your landlord will let you stay with 5 people? Many of the apartments we've lived in have had a 2 person per bedroom limit. It might be something worth checking into before you make your decision. Good luck!
I like your diagrams. I think option 1 is best for the space with the crib and bed switched. We bought a toddler bed to use with the crib mattress for our first child. All three of my kids started sleeping in the toddler bed before 2 years old. I like it because it is closer to the ground and small and cozy for them. My husbands opinion is to go with the cheapest. I have a thought about the accordian closet. Could you remove the doors and put a gate up if needed to keep kids out? Then it would be easier to access the closet with so many beds in the room.
We never had toddler beds, even with 7 children and often 3 in a room. We did have bunk beds, but not until the oldest was about 7. But what I do think mostly? Get a new apartment with more space - I still maintain there is a huge health element in having some personal space! Good luck!
debbie mom
We have an IKEA bed. Micah has yet to embrace the idea...but it is there for him when he needs it. I actually fit comfortably on it. I am roughly the height of a 11 year old, so Raymond could fit comfortably in it for many years to come if needs be! Good drawings, I am super impressed! You are so cool :)
ok .. I am all for the twin bed. Do you really think you're going to put 3 children in one bedroom?? I don't think so when they are all so small. I agree with Debbie about getting a new apartment too. I do like the same things you like about this one (close to the park and the law school .. and a good price) but with you being home all the time with that little family more space is a necessity in my mind. The crib bed we did with Paige didn't work out .. I don't know how much bigger the IKEA bed is, but you'll be needing lots of twin beds before you are finished!!
mom
It is a tuff one...I will call you...
These scaled models are amazing. What program did you use to draw them?
I just want to know what happened to the days when babies slept in a crate?
Regarding furniture... Sara and I would disagree on this one. Things are so complicated these days... and everyone has this ideal image of a baby room that isn't practical. First off I wouldn't buy a full crib again. I love the mini crib someone gave us... it takes up so little floor space. I also wouldn't buy Maggie the full bed she has now... its wonderful but it takes up too much floor space and our options are limited now. Personally I would get the cheapest and smallest option available... like a cot. I think cribs are such an impractical use of space, unless you live in mansion where space is abundant. I think most furniture design is too large and the designs play off an image of picket fence and white crib that we all romanticize about... even Ikea furniture with its great design is often impractical. What you really need is stacked mini-mini cribs!!! Good luck finding that:)
Yep, I sure would disagree with Stanford. I agree that we shouldn't have bought Maggie a full size bed but a twin size or bunk beds would have been my next option. I also don't like the mini crib but it's worked out for 11 months thus far so I can't complain too much. I say go with a twin (and get a bigger place - I think it will do wonders for you - at least that's how I feel about us right now so am projecting that onto you since you live in a much smaller space than we do). Good luck with whatever you decide!!!
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