My 18 month old daughter climbed out of her crib last night.
She didn’t even cry or talk.
We have no idea how long she was up and out of her crib. Just that around 4:50 am, she said something (not sure what), and when the husband went to check on her, there she was. Standing by the door, holding her stuffed seal…waiting.
How did she climb out? No idea. I know she can put her leg up over the railing. I’m guessing she pulled herself over and dropped down.
So now what do we do? Do we move her to a regular bed? Do we leave her in the crib and take the front railing off? Won’t she fall in her sleep?
How did you handle it when your toddler climbed out of his/her crib?
Sponsored by: https://wifeknows.com/best-bassinet/
Congratulations. That’s a milestone. I guess it’s time for the toddler baby, don’t you thnk?
Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/
How funny because we’re going through the exact thing. Just the other day, I walked into Baby Bug’s room to find her trying to climb out of her crib. It almost gave me a heart attack! She seems too young to be in a toddler bed. I have no idea what to do.
Mike: I think we will be moving her to a bed after all. I don’t see much else we can do.
Kailani: She’s been trying for a long time and finally did it! Watch out, next time, Baby Bug will have gotten out! 🙂
We toddler proofed the room, put a baby gate on the door and bought a twin/full sized mattress (you’re going to buy one eventually any way, the way I look at it)to put on the floor without the box springs.
Also you can add a eggcrate type mattress foam to your toddlers bed for more cushion.
Then when our daughters (we’ve done this twice now) rolled out of bed, it was only from about 8-11 inches… not such a big fall.
We took the railing off my son’s crib and he fell out several times. We recently got him a full size mattress for the floor. You can try putting the crib mattress on the floor but watch out – your little one is going to love the freedom of being able to wander. Good luck!
My oldest was barely a year old when he did this. They did not have toddler beds yet, so we bought him a twin bed but that was too big. He spent a lot of time sleeping with me (hubby was working nights). Whoever invented those beds is a genius because my kids were both monkeys. They climbed all over the place and had no fear. I knew they would get hurt so the crib had to go. It’s a perfect solution. When they came out with toddler beds, we ran to get one and he was very content. Just the right size. His younger brother used it, too. In fact, I had to put it next to my bed when the youngest was in the bassinet — couldn’t have him next to Mommy without letting the big one be there, too. 🙂
Thanks for the great advice everyone! We ended up buying her a toddler bed and so far she likes it. But, she now heads straight for our room when she wakes up! lol
Congratulations on getting the toddler bed. My son made that switch the day of his second birthday. Just took me too his crib and started rattling the side and babbling at me. Took me just a minute to realize he wanted the side off. Now, not even six months later he did similarly with my husband, except he clearly wanted a big bed like his sister. Good thing we hadn’t bought a toddler bed!
But that’s just my son. He gets these ideas out of the blue and just goes with it. It’s pretty fascinating to watch.
My son has never slept in his crib. From the day he was born. Then when he was big enough, we took the bars off the crib and now he has a bed…which he still doesnt sleep in.
Stephanie: Yes, it is indeed fascinating to watch what the come up with! He sounds like fun! 😀
Jenny: I can relate. She barely slept in the crib and is going down the same path with the toddler bed. But, how can I refuse such a sweet and cuddly teddy bear? 😉