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ci_newman · 4 Aug 2017 at 08:56

Mark1989 said:
So just wondered on what age people moved there kid from a cot to there first bed, I ask as our son is 2 in February however in his cot atm he stands up leans on side and has recently started to try climb out, he can get one leg partly over. He is a very very confident climber

Me and the Mrs just aren't sure so just seeking others thoughts.

Both of our boys had a cot-bed, so we could just remove the side when they were ready for a "big boy" bed. Age is irrelevant to a degree, it's how they behave in bed that matters. My youngest is 2.5years old and we've only just removed the side from his cot but he wasn't trying to climb out (our cot bed is very deep, it's up to his shoulders).

My niece is 1.5years and DID climb out of bed (and hurt herself) so my sister has removed the side of her cot, but she isn't a very settled sleeper and she is up constantly throughout the night.

Mark1989 · 4 Aug 2017 at 09:03

That's my worry he eventually gets all over and falls it's quite a high cot-bed I can lower it but he will be able to get out easily then.

He sleeps well ish odd bad night however average wake up time for him is 5am still.

Steedie · 4 Aug 2017 at 09:34

He had a proper bed from 2 years, basically took the opportunity of moving in to our first house to introduce it to him. He took to it straight away and loved it, one side was up against the wall so only had the worry of him falling out of one side so initially we got a small bed guard for that side while he got used to it. But we took that off and he's been fine. I'd say if both sides are away from walls then it might be a bit risky, unless you have two bed guards, it will still get them used to the bed and can remove one at a time.

It's brilliant now he's potty training he'll get up in the night if he needs to go, get out of bed and go on the potty then can just get back in to bed and go to sleep.

Mark1989 · 4 Aug 2017 at 09:47

He would only have one side not facing a wall but I had seen some toddler beds have abit of a guard on each side, as I say he is a confident climber, he can get up and down stairs on his own too, it's because I'm not sure that I just can't decide :/

Steedie · 4 Aug 2017 at 10:19

Yeah if he's climbing, I'd feel a lot better if he was in a proper bed then. Kids beds are pretty low and you can always put his cot mattress to the side of the bed to begin with on the slim chance he does fall out.

This is the bed guard we used, it only goes half the length of the bed so they can get out normally as well, it just covers the end they'll be sleeping at.

Liquid_Entity · 4 Aug 2017 at 15:58

Mark1989 said:
So just wondered on what age people moved there kid from a cot to there first bed, I ask as our son is 2 in February however in his cot atm he stands up leans on side and has recently started to try climb out, he can get one leg partly over. He is a very very confident climber

Me and the Mrs just aren't sure so just seeking others thoughts.

Our boy is almost 2 and we bought all the bedding, quilt, duvet etc but we still watch him every night move around the cot in every corner, legs through the cot, climbing on it etc. No way is he ready for a bed. We'll review in a few more months.

rodenal · 5 Aug 2017 at 09:00

Do we think 2 is about the right age for a balance bike? Daughter is 2 in September and that's what we are thinking about getting her

Don't really expect it'll get massive use during autumn/winter but come spring time I expect she will have the "balance" bit sorted and be comfortable on it for the better weather

Also seen the bed stuff above - she isn't a prolific climber, but absolutely could get out of the cot bed if she wanted so we will likely take the sides off soon and add a short bumper. She also rolls about here there and everywhere during the night but I think not having the full side is something she will get used to pretty quickly

Droolinggimp · 5 Aug 2017 at 12:30

Our lad was in his own bed at 1 yeah and 5 months, had a few 'thuds' in the night but not for long long time. Only problem is if hes being mischievous in his room he will move his bed or turn it on its side. I should really fix it to the wall.

Devrij · 12 Aug 2017 at 17:02

Recommendations for car seats anyone? Daughter is now 16 months and too big for her current one (which will be up for grabs if anyone is expecting soon). The debate is, pay extra for a seat that is rear facing for longer (safety) or just get a forward facing seat.

Tunney · 12 Aug 2017 at 19:27

My boy is 20 months old and we have a base that allows the kid to face forwards or back.

Any journey where he faces backwards turns into a nightmare. He just doesn't like it and loses the plot after 20 minutes. Face him forward and he's as good as gold for hours on end.

Rear-facing is supposed to be safer though.

Devrij · 12 Aug 2017 at 19:42

Tunney said:
My boy is 20 months old and we have a base that allows the kid to face forwards or back.

Any journey where he faces backwards turns into a nightmare. He just doesn't like it and loses the plot after 20 minutes. Face him forward and he's as good as gold for hours on end.

Rear-facing is supposed to be safer though.

Yeah I imagine mine will be the same, although she's only ever known rear facing so no idea how she'll react to forward facing.

Considering the graco milestone (£120 on amazon) which works out at roughly a tenner per year of use. Anyone here got one that could comment?

garnett · 13 Aug 2017 at 08:48

Devrij said:
Yeah I imagine mine will be the same, although she's only ever known rear facing so no idea how she'll react to forward facing.

Considering the graco milestone (£120 on amazon) which works out at roughly a tenner per year of use. Anyone here got one that could comment?

Can't comment on that seat, but my experience has been that I tried thinking like you are, but then ended up getting different seats as external factors played a part, so that the economy consideration went out the window.

Some seats are very mean in terms of padding, and I think they get uncomfortable on long journeys as a result.

We thought we'd do rear-facing for as long as possible but the boys hated it.

One thing that made a massive difference was getting seats high enough that they could see out of the windows.

mjt · 13 Aug 2017 at 11:47

Devrij said:
Recommendations for car seats anyone? Daughter is now 16 months and too big for her current one (which will be up for grabs if anyone is expecting soon). The debate is, pay extra for a seat that is rear facing for longer (safety) or just get a forward facing seat.

I can highly recommend the Concord Reverso Plus.
Not cheap, but rear-facing are recommended until the age of 4 in most of Europe.
This is one rather large so depending on your car, the front passenger might not have much legroom!

Also check out BeSafe, who make excellent rear-facing seats.

Devrij · 13 Aug 2017 at 17:17

Went in today and had a look at the Graco Milestone at our local Halfords. Seemed good and Riley liked it so we got it (price matched from Amazon so saved us the hassle of delivery too). birth to 12 years so hoping it's the last seat we ever buy.

Stretch · 13 Aug 2017 at 19:26

Devrij said:
Recommendations for car seats anyone? Daughter is now 16 months and too big for her current one (which will be up for grabs if anyone is expecting soon). The debate is, pay extra for a seat that is rear facing for longer (safety) or just get a forward facing seat.

We went for the Britax Dualfix. It was expensive (£300), but it spins round after installation so you can have it forwards or backwards more/less recline etc. It can also face to the side so getting the child in/out is much easier.

Suitable from birth up to around 4 years old. If you have two it's worth it.

Tbh, a seat doesn't last much more than 5-6 years. They just get too covered in food/poop/puke/drool etc, even washing in a acid bath wouldn't get it clean.

Relentless81 · 13 Aug 2017 at 19:39

Stretch said:
We went for the Britax Dualfix. It was expensive (£300), but it spins round after installation so you can have it forwards or backwards more/less recline etc. It can also face to the side so getting the child in/out is much easier.

Suitable from birth up to around 4 years old. If you have two it's worth it.

Tbh, a seat doesn't last much more than 5-6 years. They just get too covered in food/poop/puke/drool etc, even washing in a acid bath wouldn't get it clean.

We have two of these, one in each car, expensive but well worth it

While I'm in here, my son is 15 months, follows his Mum around like he's stuck to her but I'm starting to think he hates me, he ignores me and has started hitting me with this weird aggressive look on his face, he also started hitting himself with the same look. I read thats a normal development thing but it freaks me out a bit. Anyone else experience this?

Stretch · 13 Aug 2017 at 20:39

Relentless81 said:
While I'm in here, my son is 15 months, follows his Mum around like he's stuck to her but I'm starting to think he hates me, he ignores me and has started hitting me with this weird aggressive look on his face, he also started hitting himself with the same look. I read thats a normal development thing but it freaks me out a bit. Anyone else experience this?

Yes. Both mine are/were like this to some degree, but my second (now 16 months old) is far worse. He gets hysterical if mum leaves the room. Every other word is mummy, even if she's sitting right next to him. If she leaves him, he sometimes calms down after a couple of minutes. But the slightest mention of her name, or sound of her voice and he's off again.

We have a "stair" gate on our living room door to contain the children to that part of the house. He can just hang there indefinitely shouting mummy, mummy.

Drives me crazy.

My wife often says "here, can you take him". It fills me with dread, which I doubt helps much.

My eldest is 3.5, and he still kicks off if mummy doesn't put him to bed. We alternate days, so this is every other day.

Relentless81 · 13 Aug 2017 at 21:00

Thanks, sounds very familiar! He's ok if it's just me and him but as soon as his mum makes an appearance he completely changes. It's all phases I suppose, just got to ride them out.

Devrij · 13 Aug 2017 at 22:36

Relentless81 said:
Thanks, sounds very familiar! He's ok if it's just me and him but as soon as his mum makes an appearance he completely changes. It's all phases I suppose, just got to ride them out.

My daughter is always glued to her mum. If she leaves we have a great time, but I definitely play second fiddle when she's around. That's started to fade slightly as I do more of the fun stuff with her on weekends when I have the time to play with her properly. She's 16 months now so hoping she'll mellow out a bit more as time goes on. I do bath time and bed time every night to try to get time with her during the week so I think that helps. Bath stickers (the foam ones) have helped a lot to make bath time fun for her which makes me fun daddy more.

Arsonist · 13 Aug 2017 at 23:53

So, not really sure this will be a concise message as I'm drowning my worries with gin at the moment. But...

Long distance girlfriend of 3 years rang me this morning to let me know she is 4 weeks pregnant. We've always used contraception as a matter of course. I'm absolutely not ready for a child but she's says she is absolutely keeping it.

I'm 28 and she is 25. We live 150 miles apart and see each other every 1/2 weeks, and have never even lived together. But i've always known I'll spend the rest of my life with her, and we'd planned for her to eventually move to where I live, buy a house, get married and then do the kid thing in a few years. But this has taken the wind out my sails.

I'm in a permanent job in the north west and have a masters degree but only earn 20k (it's a low paid sector as we do it for the love of the job and its over subscribed). I have about 20k savings but I was really hoping to use this to get a house eventually.

I've told her honest how I feel, I currently don't earn enough, we live far apart, I'm emotionally not ready etc. But she's had medical problems previously which means her getting pregnant is unlikely. So she's absolutely set on keeping it.

I'm 100% going to stick by her, I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her, but I feel like I've just lost the life I hoped to live. I almost feel like I'm in mourning and it's horrible as this is supposed to be an amazing thing. God damn im terrified and don't know what to think or do or say or feel. I don't expect any helpful comments or consolations or anything, but I just needed to write this down. Sorry if you've endured reading this up to now.