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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!genrad!panda!teddy!rdp
From: rdp@teddy.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: Re: Crib to Big Bed advice needed
Message-ID: <1753@teddy.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 3-Dec-85 16:02:52 EST
Article-I.D.: teddy.1753
Posted: Tue Dec  3 16:02:52 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Dec-85 13:58:33 EST
References: <1571@decwrl.UUCP>
Reply-To: rdp@teddy.UUCP (Richard D. Pierce)
Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass.
Lines: 38
Summary: 

In article <1571@decwrl.UUCP> kaiser@belker.DEC (Pete Kaiser, 225-5441, HLO2-1/N10) writes:
>Mimi never slept in a crib; she went from our bed to a tiny bed built right next
>to ours at 18 months, and then at 30 months to her own Big Bed in her own room.
>And it is Big; it's an adult-size bed, because that's what we had.  None of this
>was ever a problem.
>

At 14 months, Nathaniel was quit mobile. At this point, we needed the crib
for Ashley (2 months). My wife happened to see a Bradlees (local big 
department store chain) ad for the neatest thing in sleeping yet. It was
a twin mattress sized fitted sheet with a tent attached. The tent is supported
by two flexible poles that attach to little pockets in the corners of the
sheet and then simply arch over the bed, with the tent attached by small
tie strings. There are two gauze "windows" and the tent can be partially
closed by a zipper. 

When he first saw it, Nathaniel thought it was the best thing since breast
milk. He ran right over, crawled right in (we have the mattress sitting on
a very low platform on the floor) and claimed it as his own. He has been
so easy to put to bed since then. We gave him his own adult-sized pillow and
blanket, and, at the current age of 19 months, keeps it nice and (relatively)
neat.

I think he very much views this as "his" bed now, and did pretty much from the
beginning. He loves to have visitors come and spend some time in his tent,
and whenever anyone new comes to the house and sees his room, he shows his
bed off like it's some castle.

A few points. First, the sheet very easily comes of a normal mattress. One
night we found him all wrapped up in it screaming, half asleep. A couple of
elastic bands passing around the ends permantly solved that problem. Second,
the zipper might be a problem with hair getting caught. We temporarily 
sewed ours in place, problem gone.

There is one deep philosophical problem with it, though. How come they
didn't have these things when I was a kid?

Dick Pierce