Hellobee Boards

We switched DS to a toddler bed at 20 months since he was climbing out. He also takes a long time to fall asleep (30-45 minutes) but always just talked to himself in bed. He started getting out and at first I lay on the floor next to him but he wouldn't fall asleep and stay asleep that way. So we had to do it the hard way of holding the door shut (our condo doors only lock from the inside). I thought it was going to be horrible but the first night he only tried the door for 3 minutes and went back to his bed mad. He tried two more nights and never shook the handle for longer than a couple of seconds. We then leave the door unlocked for the rest of the night. We've had some early morning surprises where he's climbed the stairs up to our room (we sleep on a different level than him) but generally he stays in bed until he's up for the day.

we went through a rough transition where i was literally having to run out of the room and shut the door before LO could jump out of bed catch up with me. he didn't play around so much as stand and wail at the door. it was heartbreaking. the door didn't lock, but it's a round doorknob that he couldn't really open on his own. if he had been able to open it, i would have gotten one of those locks for it.

anyway, to answer your question, we didn't do much kid-proofing, but if there is anything that makes you nervous i say go for making it safe--however some of it i imagine you will figure out through trial and error (easier said than done, i know). she may show absolutely no interest in climbing, or the monitor, etc.

to curb the "race to the door" situation, i stayed in the room with him one night after bedtime and every time he got out of bed, i picked him up and put him back in bed. no eye contact or talking.

if it's more that she plays around for a while, i'm inclined to advise letting her be and see how it goes. the novelty of it may wear off after a few nights.

We lock E in. My main concern was that she was getting out of her bed and wandering around the house. Specifically, she would go into her brother's room and has tried to climb into bed with him. In fact, i found her in his bed the other day while he was in there. Now, he's 7 months old so i'm not as concerned as I was when he was a newborn and we transitioned her, but it's still really unsettling to give her such free reign. So i lock her in and know it is, by far, the safest option. Otherwise I probably would have a hard time sleeping! But i was really nervous about moving her because E has always been a great sleeper.

We secured things to the wall (dresser, bookshelf) and she has most of her toys. The really loud/obnoxious ones stay in the living room in their buckets. Otherwise she rolls into them at night and they go off and freak us all out. Plus, less distractions. But she has books and puzzles and a little minnie mouse dress up bow toy that she likes. So she has quiet toys. Mostly puzzles. And her room is mostly babyproofed...but I have a lamp in there....there are cords behind the bookshelf. She could probably climb into the closet and do some damage. But she has never ever ever attempted it nor expressed interest, so I let it be. She really does just wake up, use her toilet chair if she has to (which we keep in there for emergencies) and turn her light on and play with some puzzles until her clock goes off and I come get her. Once in a blue moon, she cries and she has to poop and wants to use the big toilet, so i get her early and we do that. She doesn't even sleep in her bed (which is on the floor), but drags everything off it, onto the floor, and makes a sort of nest and sleeps there. We do have a video monitor so we can spy on her if we need to. I do like this set up a lot because while it involves a lot of trust, she's learning to put herself down when she's ready (we put her down at 7;30...sometimes she passes out right away and sometimes she flops around until 9:00, getting up to pee or whatever) and then she gets up and independently chills out for a bit. Anyways, I used to feel bad about locking her in...but with T around (and me being so exhausted that I sleep like a sack of rocks sometimes), it's just the safest.