This probably won't help, but we moved our kids directly to a twin bed when they were toddlers. We put the rails up (which they used until they were around 4) to keep them from falling out. When they are little it is best to put rails on both sides so they can't get wedged between the wall and the bed.

Mommabear

I use the standard twin sized rail on my toddlers bed. It's made to fit between a box spring and mattress and the toddler bed only has a mattress so at first I thought I wasted my money. What I did was to secure it to the bed itself using nylon cable ties, found at a hardware store. They're the pull-tab kinda thingies that once you have tight, you can't loosen. Hard to explain with words, sorry. But they keep the rail on nice and tight.

I only did one side because I didn't want him falling between the wall where the wall is at a weird angle. The other side is free so that he can get in and out easy. He falls out occasionaly, and is such a sound sleeper, he hardly notices.

Could you find things to shove down along the wall since the bed won't fit directly up against it? Like some old blankets or pillows? I would be getting creative to figure out how to keep him in bed. If he continues to fall out, he may get that he won't sleep in his bed.

We also did what Mommabear suggested. There was no toddler bed in this house. DS went from the crib to the twin bed. It saved us the money we would have spent on the toddler bed. We just put a stool at the bottom of the bed to help him get in and out and it wasn't long before he realized the foot board worked as a little ladder. His bed is up against the wall and he has a rail on the other side. DS was about your son's age when we put him in this bed and he's been in it a year and loves it and he hasn't fallen out of it yet.

~Leslie~

Thanks all.

We were going to do the toddler thing too. I had posted before about toddler beds and decided to skip it. But then, as we shopped my dh kept wanting to buy proper bed furniture (not just the mattress and boxspring) and he's a carpenter, so he liked all the wood ones. I wanted an Ikea type bed - low to the ground, probably with one mattress (no boxspring). We couldn't decide. When we saw this bed... we just fell in love. Anywya, maybe it was stupid and hasty, but I'm stuck with it now. (Hindsight is great eh?)

So, I've stuffed the one side for now and there's no way he can get out, and I've got a giant couch like chair (that we usually read stories in) agains the other side. Either I'll customize the regular rails as suggested above, or get my hubby to rig something up.

Hopefully, ds isn't too traumatized by it!
Ugh.
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Mhousework:
Just a comment because I can't picture how you've actually got the rails tied to the bed.

I'm not sure I would tie the rails to the bed too sturdily. They are actually made to help resist the child falling out of bed, but if a child rolls hard enough, they should give. Otherwise, a child could get caught between the bed and the rail and get strangled. Better to fall out of bed, than get caught in the rails.

I always just put throwpillows on the floor just in case she rolled and fell.

Signed,
Karen, AKA: A paranoid mom who saw way too many episodes of Rescue 911 before becoming a mommy :-)

Good point Karen,

Duh, I didn't realize that the rails are supposed to give, guess I'll redo the ties and loosen it up. Or leave it off since my son is getting better at staying on the bed.

I remember that Rescue 911 show. It used to scare me as a little girl. Caught some reruns recently and noticed how fake everything was. Now, I don't want to hear any REAL medic stories! I'm paranoid too as a mom, especially in the car it seems, where my imagination goes wild.

Gonna redo the bed. Thanks for the heads-up.