Toddlers and Baby Pillows
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by: frankwarehouse
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Word Count: 615
My first child was happy as a clam sleeping in the crib until she was 2 ½ years old. The only reason we moved her to a normal bed was because her baby brother arrived. We did not even think about baby pillows and blankets. She wore a sleep sack and was snug and happy. She could not swing her legs over the rail, while wearing the sleep sack. She was so happy in the crib, I dont think she would have even if she was not wearing one. When we moved her to her bed, there was no drama. She took a couple naps there, then we moved her to the bed for nighttime, as well. We made the bed like we would for an adult. She had two pillows and a big comforter. Because she was almost 3, we did not have to mess with those little baby pillows or toddler pillows.
My son decided not to follow the crib path his sister did. Early on, he learned to unzip his sleep sack. Swinging his leg up on the rail became a regular exercise. For months and months, that is as far as he would go. Until one night, when he climbed out of the crib entirely and walked to greet me at the door. We immediately took the crib mattress out of the crib and set it up on the floor.
We had a lot more challenges introducing him to a bed than we did when we did the same with his older sister. It was a rough transition, because he was so young. He wasnt even 2 years old yet. So he would not hurt himself, we had to take a lot of things out of his room. We also put a gate on the door, which was the best advice we received. He was so stubborn that for the first couple days, he would fall asleep sitting in the middle of the wood floor of his room. After a very LONG week, he was back in his routine.
When we finally got him comfortable in his new bed routine, the advice from well meaning people starting coming in. "Oh, he is not old enough to be sleeping in a big bed." "He could get into trouble, since he does not know better. "He is too young for a big blanket and pillow." Say What? He can not use a pillow? How is he going to be comfortable? What about a baby pillow? So I hopped online to check out the age recommendations. Children under 2 years of age should NOT use a pillow or big blanket. Most of what I read says you can introduce those things around age 2 or when the child moves to a big bed.
Since my son was not yet 2, I decided to follow the advice and start with one of those baby pillows. It was so small, like an airline pillow, and I hardly saw the point. It did not look like our pillows, so I think my son thought it was something else. My son did not seem to need pillows or bedding; it was just my need to make it look like a normal bed that kept bugging me. We waited about a month, until my son was totally comfortable in his bed. Then we put pillows and a comfy blanket on his bed. He loved sitting up with the pillows and snuggling like he did in our bed. He was happy to not have that little tiny baby pillow for his head too.
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