This seems like a really momentous occassion, not just because of the practicalities involved in choosing the right bed, but because she'll now have the freedom of independence! She'll be able to roam about as and when she chooses and life as we know it is over!! This is where baby proofing really comes into it's own and even in her 'child's' bedroom I have realised that there are numerous 'bits and bobs' that are going to have to be moved to higher levels.
But change is a good thing and there is no stopping this change, even if we wanted too, as shortly her feet will be banging on the bottom of the cot!
So where do you start with a toddler bed? After some research it seemed to me that we had two options. Firstly we could buy a childs bed, these in many ways seemed 'better' as they are lower, safer and designed to help children adapt to a 'big bed' ... or we could just buy a normal bed and use a bed rail. This option seemed more cost effective as there doesn't seem to be a lot of point in buying a childs bed that will be outgrown in a few years ... so many decisions and so difficult to know what is right.
When I spoke to all my friends ( poor Bella is the last one still in a cot! ) they all had one word for me 'Ikea' and so off I went.
The choice at Ikea is great and the prices are good, but be warned, bed prices are for the structure of the bed only and don't include the slats, mattress or covers etc ... A couple of my friends had gone for bunk options, the ikea bunks are great as they can be started off on the lower levels or as a single bed with the upper levels added later. We weren't sure about bunks and had decided to go for the adult single bed option, but when I actually went to Ikea and saw the children's extendable beds I changed my mind.
I had seen these on the internet and discarded them as too much trouble and also wasn't sure whether I'd have to buy numerous mattresses, but actually you just buy one mattress with extendable peices. As children's beds they were low and had small rails to help your toddler stay in. The extendable beds have 3 options ... cot size, 165cm and 200cm. As normal beds go to 200cms this seemed like a good deal, this bed has the same lenght as a normal bed ( although slightly smaller width wise ) and has the added advantage of being lower and having a built in bedrail. In the end we decided that this bed would be fine for at least 3 -5 years and hopefully after for a second child. So the 160€ which included bed, slats and a thick mattress ( there was a cheaper thinner option ) seemed pretty good value...
All my friends have been pretty happy with their Ikea beds and all their toddlers have adjusted really well. We'll be putting ours up next week and fingers crossed our little todder likes hers just as much as her friends!
Check out Ikea in Spain at http://www.ikea.com/
Don't forget indybel also stock a range of bedrails for toddler beds at
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