Me again.  DH and I are just about ready to transition DD out of her crib and into a "big girl bed". For those of you who have made that transition, where did you buy your bed, and what type of bed did you buy?

As a bit of background, I need to use the crib and mattress for my son, so those will both be moving out of DD's room. I also already own a twin mattress. So, my thinking is that I will just get her a twin bed so that I don't have to buy another mattress.

I've looked at various websites (Target, Land of Nod, Pottery Barn, Kohl's, and just started looking at Toys R Us but they have about a thousand), and I went in person to Baby Furniture Warehouse. I'm not really finding what I envision, which is a low-to-the-ground bedframe with a white headboard, and a white bureau.

Just wondering what you've all done and if you've been happy with your decisions.

We had a full size futon mattress lying around. Since DS (27 months) still moves around a lot in his sleep, DH was insistent that whatever we put is such that even if he rolls off, it would not cause an injury so we just put the full size futon into one corner on the floor and he sleeps in there (I used my pregnancy snoggle as a bumper on one side and that seems to be enough to keep him from rolling off).

I do not see why you need a headboard or frame if you don't want one. or maybe check IKEA.

We will wait until he is older then revist the frame issue. We plan to skip the toddler bed for DD too... although we have no idea how she will be with the crib and moving to a bed (DS hated the crib so it was easy to move to the futon mattress).

no need to buy a todder bed.  I'd look at furniture places to find a twin bed headboard and frame.  How about Jordan's Furniture, Sears, Mattress Barn, Mattress Discounters, and anywhere else that sells beds? You don't a "child bed" just a twin bed from anywhere.  You could find a bed that has a trundle bed underneath it if you want to end up with some extra space for guests to sleep (like a friend of your son's who is sleeping over, eventually, or a cousin if you have family at holiday time).

For rolling off issue:  There are side rails that have "arms" that slide between the mattress and support, with a side panel that flips up and down.  Easy to use and the kid can't get stuck in bed like in a crib--if they're really awake they can get around it to get out, but they can't roll off.

To keep it from getting too high, just get a mattress and a support board rather than the box spring thing.

We got ours at IKEA.

We just got DS a new bed frame and went to Pottery Barn Kids. The Catalina collection is reaonsably priced, have several different colors-white included. Its a good sturdy frame. Previously when we first moved him from the crib 2 years ago we got a frame from Ikea...and in typical ikea fashion after 2 years it was ready to be recycled. For the price, the PB bed was better quality than anything we saw at Jordans. It also has two levels so you can put it lower/higher to the ground. Though we have it on the lowest setting, with a low profile box spring, and it's still pretty high. though they say you don't need a box spring with it.

I do have to say I don't like the dresser that goes with the bed, looks fine, but doesn't feel as good of quality. But then I've only see those dressers that have been manhandled in the store.

With the ikea bed we did get the side rail to keep DS from rolling out, but now he doesn't have that and has been fine.

I intend to keep DD in her crib forever, so I have no firsthand research.  But, when the day does come, I plan to either get a trundle bed (as CT mentioned) or some sort of frame with storage drawers.  I can't stand the wasted under-bed space, but our own under-bed storage boxes are a pain, too.

Actually, if you have room to leave the trundle out, she could sleep there and be low to the ground in case she rolls out.

Mine started with a mattress on the floor. And even now at 3 1/2 we're still only up to a mattress and boxspring. I figure we'll get the beds next year when I don't have to worry about them rolling out. I'm not really interested in buying 4 bedrails!

So have no fear about waiting until you find what you want. just get her some cute bedding and put her on the floor!

You could look at Jordans as I have a friend who bought a bed exactly like you are describing. 

I haven't transitioned DD to a bed at home yet - talking it up as part of our move in a few weeks - but when she's at my parents, she sleeps on a twin bed that has a trundle...my mom pulls the trundle out 2/3 of the way, so if she were to fall, she'd fall onto the other mattress, but that hasn't happened yet.  If you do get a trundle, I highly suggest the kind that can pop up to be a regular height bed...works much better for guests who aren't kids! 

Purple cow....any chance you could post a link to those bedrails you are talking about?  I am in the market for bedrails for DD, but haven't found anything worth buying yet.  Or can anyone else recommend bedrails that they used and liked?

And like KAM, we just bought DD's big girl bed from Pottery Barn.  We bought from the Kendall collection and are happy with it so far.  We ended up buying a full size bed so we can read books together, and I only got the mattress with no box spring so that it isn't as high off the ground.

We have DD on a mattress and box spring in the corner of her room. One tip - don't buy a traditional comforter yet. My DD likes sleeping with just a sheet and fleece blanket. The puffy comforters and heavy quilts seemed to overwhelm her. I plan to leave her bed like this for at least a year or two before putting it up high on a bed rail. 

Bed rails...It was a long time ago and I don't have them around any more but I am 99% sure I got them at Babies R Us.  It was a metal tube frame with a rectangular mesh panel, the arms flipped out and latched 90 degrees.  You tuck the arms between the mattress and support, then you can flip the side up and down.  Looks like a second cousin of a folding lawn chair.

I used something like this for my son. http://www.amazon.com/Regalo-Hide-Away-Double-Sided/dp/B000HK6BCE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355319497&sr=8-1&keywords=bed+rails

Memes - my friend just got these and likes them:

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=538868

They have a few different length/configuration options.  She previously had something that was kind of like rolls/bumpers that went under the sheets, but her son (3) went right over them and onto the floor.

Memes - we got this and like it:

http://www.target.com/p/munchkin-toddler-bed-rail/-/A-13296336#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=bed%20rail

It folds away easily when you don't need it (for example, we have it on our guest bed because when DD was sick recently she and DH were sleeping there). Looks very similar to the one Medford posted.

Thanks for the bed advice. I might just do the mattress/boxspring on the floor for now, since that has worked so well for some of you.

Rama - that's one thing that has me wondering how this will go: my DD also hates just about any sort of blanket on her.

As far as blankets go, mine seem to love having a conforter/duvet instead of sheets and blankets. We "had to have' Curious George sheets - which you can get only at Pottery Barn (way to pricey for me) and it only comes with a duvet cover - not a comforter. But I like it quite a bit. It's easy to make the bed and the kids don't seem to get all tangled up.

So it's worth trying a comforter with no sheet and see how she does.

Good luck - the nice thing about the mattress/boxspring on the floor is you can just work up to the big girl bed.

That seems like a great suggestion, Lily!  A comforter is much harder to get tangled in, so maybe that's why they like them.  To this day, I prefer heavier blankets that you can wrap up in and DH prefers comforters or down blankets.

Poppy - IF we have another, I'll probably get a matress and boxspring for DD when it's time to put the new baby in the crib.  Gosh it's going to be a long time before we use that toddler bed conversion kit!

We have a toddler bed that has wooden bed rails built in. My DD (3) is such a restless sleeper she still managed to turn herself around and fall off. It's low to the floor but I have pillows around it because the floor is wood. She hasn't fallen out in a while so she has gotten used to it.

And then we had a problem with her getting up and coming into our room every night once she had all that freedom. But that's a whole other topic!

Oh and I bought her a princess comforter for a twin bed and it's so roomy that she mostly keeps it on (she always kicked her blanket off in the crib). She doesn't use a sheet.

Good luck!