Transitioning from infant to toddler help from experienced mommas

[esj]

Im loving toddler life, but im SO stressed with all the new stuff i have to buy and i want to make the most out of the items I purchase and really don’t want to buy the wrong thing. My daughter is 15 months old.

The things I need to buy: crib+mattress, new highchair.

Crib: I’m having the most trouble with the crib. A regular size crib might be too big, so I’m considering purchasing a mini crib that’ll convert into a twin bed when she’s older. I just don’t want her to not have enough space with the mini crib. There’s so many options and I’m on a budget right now. Also what brand mattress is good/comfy? Are coils better than foam? I can’t afford a newton. I was looking at the dream on me.

For the highchair: She has a little booster seat and we keep her at the table with us but she’s outgrown it. I was just going to get a $40 chair from Walmart, but then I saw a cute little table and chair set for the same price and it lasts up to age 5. She sits and eats pretty good on her own. But then I’d have to feed her away from the table, which might be inconvenient. Should I just get the chair?

You know, they tell you that you need all these things and you really barely get any use out of them. Why did I waste money on an infant car seat when I could’ve purchased a convertible car seat from the jump? Or the mama roo, $400 for her to fit in it for 6-7 months. Or the bassinet!! What a gigantic waste of money. I could’ve got a mini crib from the beginning. The pack-n-play, she used it once.

 

[creamsoda]

@esj Mini crib at 15 months might be a waste as she’s likely to outgrow it rather quickly. They tend to be just larger than bassinet sized. If you can’t fit a full-size crib in wherever you plan to put it, and she won’t sleep in the pack n play (which is usually bigger than a mini crib but smaller than a full size) then you may want to consider just switching up to a toddler bed as soon as she outgrows whatever she is in now.

If you get a full size crib or toddler bed, there are plenty of cheap, perfectly fine mattresses at target and Walmart. Sealy I think is usually carried in stores for like $40-75. Littles usually sleep better (and safer) on firmer mattresses so coils are good for that. My two year old had a rough time transitioning from his hard, coiled crib mattress to a softer, foam twin

Table and chair is great for them to do like crafts and activities but way harder to feed them at until they’re older. They generally need parental interference for a few more years so I would get something that works at the big table. There are travel booster seats that aren’t very expensive and just strap to any (most) regular dining chairs so you could use it out and about in the future too. They’re not as supportive though so it would depend on how wild she is at meal time. They are strapped in and at the right height to use the table, but there’s no stiff sides like on high chairs to keep them from flailing if they have a toddler meltdown

 

[esj]

@creamsoda Thank you so much for this!! So maybe I’ll just get the convertible regular size crib and we’ll make it work. Then when she’s ready we can use it for her toddler bed. Also I’m going to take your advice and forget the chair set for feeding her. Are you talking about the ones that strap onto the table? With no legs. Am I making sense? lol

 

[creamsoda]

@esj There is that kind of booster but I completely forgot about those. While I’m sure they are safe they just give me bad vibes. The kind I’m talking about sits on the seat of a dining chair and has straps that go around the back and bottom of the chair to secure it like this one. I saw a hard plastic OXO one as well that might work too. We like the softer one for snack storage though

 

[esj]

@creamsoda They give me bad vibes too! Lol thank you for linking that!! It’s actually soo cute and so affordable

 

[lloydk]

@esj I keep mine in regular crib as long as possible she’s 2 and still lots of room and a foam mattress, mine is supposed to convert to a toddler bed but I didn’t buy the additional parts to make it happen and the crib I bought they want 300$ for the additional parts now lol so I’ll wait for Facebook marketplace to score either a transition bed or a single bed

 

[esj]

@lloydk 100% go into fb market place! $300 for the extra parts are they crazy you could get a whole new really nice bed for that price!!

 

[lloydk]

@esj They want more for the railing and frame then I paid for the crib itself 5 years ago lol

 

[funktionz]

@esj I’d forego the high chair at this age unless you get one of the trip trapp style ones (which are pricey) because they can be used for all ages. I’d go with a booster seat. Another comment mentioned a travel high chair, we used a Chico pocket snack to travel and it worked great. You could definitely use that at home! You’ll probably find out your toddler will be over the high chair/ booster seat soon anyway and insist on an adult chair.

As far as a crib I’d get something that can be converted down the line or something off Facebook marketplace. My skipped the toddler bed with my first and he went straight to a twin since we had an extra one. We did convert the crib for our second one.

Also to consider if you’re planning on having more kids maybe a high chair and crib would make more sense since you could use it again.

 

[esj]

@funktionz Great advice, thank you! Yes I’m so iffy about the highchair. And I honestly don’t know about any more kids. I could always resell the crib too. The toddler beds are so cute. I’m tempted to put her in one now but idk if she’s big enough.

 

[funktionz]

@esj We had our youngest in a crib mattress on the floor at 13 months old. She did really well with it. Now she’s in a twin bed. You could always throw the crib mattress on the floor to give it a try and help you decide.

 

[pieman]

@esj If you don’t have a crib now , where is baby sleeping ? Is it not sustainable ?
Deciding on Mini crib vs full size crib depends on how big/tall baby is right now and the space in your home and your budget.

Ingenuity Baby Base 2-in-1™ Seat, Booster Seat is the booster we transitioned to after high chair. I wish I would have got that from the start and skipped buying the high chair.

— try to resell as much as you can ! thats what we did , to recoup some of the money we spent on baby stuff.

 

[esj]

@pieman We co-sleep now. She went straight from the bassinet to my bed. I just night weaned her so there’s no reason for her to be in bed with me anymore. I’m definitely going to look into that booster seat, I saw it at target today. She has a booster seat now though and she’s outgrowing it.

 

[pieman]

@esj Evenflo 4-In-1 High Chair - Prisim, Evenflo 4-In-1 High Chair
Or
Skip Hop Sit-to-Step High Chair

Are two “affordable” grow with me options.

 

[sabresong]

@esj Nothing wrong with a regular crib and I’m sure you could get a high chair for cheap or free on marketplace if you don’t mind used. I’ve never even considered a mini crib. My 2yo has been just sitting in a chair at the table since around when he turned 2. Infant car seat was a must, imo.

 

[everythingpink]

@esj I understand your frustration. The things that we really buy from the getgo, we never really know if our LO is going to use them lol so from the very start, I looked at things that I knew I could use long term or I bought some things that I knew I could easily sell afterwards when my daughter outgrew it or didn't like it. So far that strategy has worked well for me

For the crib, I would suggest getting a convertible crib too that your LO can use until they're of toddler age. I got this Soho crib + Newton mattress and so far my daughter's still using it. Had it for her since she was about 6mos I think and she's 3 now got it here: https://www.newtonbaby.com/products/soho-crib

As for the pack n play that you have, just keep it and bring it out again after a few months - it'll be like something new for your kiddo and your LO might like it then