Switching one to a bed but not the other?

My twins are different in every way, shape and form! They are nearly 2 1/2. One is 5lbs heavier and a few inches taller than his brother and is outgrowing his crib. Unfortunately European cribs are smaller than North American ones and he's going to have to move to a bed soon-ish. He's not complaining, but he just doesn't seem to have enough space in there these days. One problem is the fact that we are moving from the UK to Canada,probably in the late summer or early autumn. We were hoping to be in Canada already and planned to switch them to beds when we got there. However, our house is taking longer than planned to sell. We don't have much choice but to buy the bigger twin a bed. The smaller twin is fine in his crib. He's never tried to climb out and still has lots of room. I feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of keeping him in his crib while putting the other in a big boy bed. Plus he might be jealous/upset when he sees the new freedom his twin has. Complicating matters is the fact that they share a room with their 4-year-old brother, also in a bed. I hate the idea spending so much money on 2 toddler beds knowing we're just going to have to give them away in a few months time. We wouldn't bother moving them overseas because it will take months for them to arrive and we'd just have to buy new ones in the meantime.
Sorry this is so long. It's a dilemma I'm having trouble with. Would anyone else or has anyone else put one twin in a bed and kept the other in their crib?

 

I would just put both crib mattresses on the floor instead of buying beds.

 

I agree w/ mattress on floor. One of mine still WANTS his crib and the other one is on the mattress on floor. Works fine!

 

Thanks for the replies. I don't know why we didn't consider that ourselves. I mentioned it to my husband and he thinks it's a good idea. I might start with one and if the other shows an interest, do the same for him. Now we just have to figure out the gate situation. We can't put a gate on their bedroom door because the 4-year-old needs to be able to get to the bathroom in the night. I guess we'll have to find one suitable for the top of the stairs. Thanks again.

 

Putting the mattresses on the floor is a great idea! What a great way to transition if you want to skip the toddler bed. I am going to keep that in mind for the future.

 

We've done the mattress thing for all of our kids and its worked great with them all. Can you put a gate in the doorway with a foot pedal that your 4yr old can use but not the babes?

 

The 4 year old can actually open the gate we've got. It used to be on their door, but we took it down once he was night trained. The problem is he can't close it, and we worry about the little boys and the top of the stairs. I found a gate without a trip bar, so we'll buy that one and put it at the top of the stairs.

 

My girls are 3.5 and we switched one to a toddler bed before the other one. We just didn't think she was ready. I was worried it might create jealousy but it wasn't a problem at all. I expect this is something that would depend on the personality of the kids, so your mileage may vary! FYI, they do have their jealous, competitive episodes, but it is not something that's too big of an issue for us.