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Our son is about to turn three and for his birthday we wanted to upgrade him from a crib with toddler rail to an adult sized (twin) bed. He’s outgrowing his crib and we were lucky his came with a toddler rail so its definitely time for the upgrade. 

Besides cost, our biggest concern was him falling off a much larger and higher bed.

I figured I’d try a simple little DIY solution to help ease our boy’s transition to a big boy bed using a few cheap pool noodles to create a toddler bed rail bumper.

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Upgrading to a big Kid Bed

Upgrading our child to a big kid bed was such an exciting milestone.

We purchased his bed frame from IKEA, with drawers underneath, a Casper mattress, and a pillow. On our list, we also had a mattress protector, bedding, and a bed rail.

That morning, we took him with us to do all the shopping so we could have everything set up for him by nap time. He was so excited and got to pick out his new bedding set- he was between spiderman and minions. It was a lot of fun but the bill adds up quickly!

And turns out the bed rail we picked up didn’t work out. So I had to come up with a quick and affordable bed bumper solution to prevent my toddler from falling out of bed.

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trial and error Bed Rail Bumper

We’ve had a few issues with our son falling off the crib in the past. Despite having a crib rail, he moved around so much while sleeping and would fall out through the opening.

Now that he’ll be sleeping in a larger bed, which is much higher and completely open, we’ve been a little concerned. 

When we did all the shopping for his new bed, we got a removable toddler rail but it didn’t fit right with the bed frame. For that night we decided to use an old pool noodle I had used in his toddler crib to prevent him from falling off, hoping it would help.

Back when I had first tried this, I placed a pool noodle under his sheets on the edge of the bed and some pillows on the floor. When he’d fall, he’d land on the pillows or the foam playmat but the pool noodle bumper held him off. So we repeated the same thing for a few days but this morning I woke up to the sound of him falling off while asleep.

It was heartbreaking.

Returning the bed isn’t an option and getting a rail isn’t what we want at the moment.

There are some pillow-type bed bumpers on the market online running for about $25-$40 each. But, since we just spent way over $600 on all the bed stuff, I was looking for the cheapest and easiest temporary solution.

Resorting back to the original pool noodle idea, I decided to buff it up this time with three noodles stacked into a triangle. 

the diy bed Rail/bumper solution

I grabbed three pool noodles. Then I taped them together into a triangle and inserted them under the mattress protector and fitted sheet.

My original pool noodle idea was great, but one was not enough to keep him from rolling off. By stacking them I could form a taller barrier.

other bedding solutions

A pool noodle bed bumper/rail may not be the right choice for every family. There are other commercialized options in the market as well. Such as:

• removable rails 
• cushioned bumper 
• inflatable toddler bed, particularly for travel situations
• soft flooring, such as a foam playmat, in case they fall
• a weighted blanket to keep them from moving as much

Visit our Parenting Solutions section for More of Our Best Tips

Check out our Toddler Bedroom Ideas

Pool Noodle Bed Bumper Rail Update- 1 Year Later

I now have a four year old and he’s been loving his big boy bed for over a year. Our solution for keeping him from falling off the bed with the pool noodle bed bumper worked like a charm! 

After about a month or two, I decided to do a test and removed the noodle. My son got used to the edge being where it was and never came close to falling off the bed. 

I have since repurposed the noodles for some fun toddler activities.

Update #2 – Putting the Trick To Use Again

Now it’s my daughter’s turn for an upgrade. We just removed the crib rail and left one side completely open. We didn’t want to spend an extra $60 on her crib’s guard rail so I put the pool noodle hack to good use again. I actually trimmed it a bit so it’s not the full length of the crib.

She’s so excited about this new transition that when she first laid down she told me to leave- silly girl. My little girl has been doing fantastic and has not fallen off once! 

How did your child’s transition go?
Let us know in the Comment section below.

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Paula

My name is Paula and I’m a mom of two scrumptious cuties. Thanks Mommy Blog became a project for me to help guide other new moms and current moms through any of my own personal experiences and struggles. My hobbies include singing, doing jigsaw puzzles, baking, designing and trying to stay creative.