OMG, what am I going to do about this?

northernvabride

Last night DD#2, who is exactly 21 months old decided to climb out of her crib.  I was in the room and she was mad that I put her down, so she promptly went to the side and pulled herself up and over.  I picked her up and told her no climbing and then read more books and then put her down again.  She did it again.  I usually put DD#2 to bed and so I got DH, who had just put DD#1 to bed, and he put her to sleep without a fuss (both girls are more likely to go to sleep easily with DH than me, I guess I am too fun) and no climbing out.  With DD#1, we moved her to a toddler bed at 25 or 26 months.  It was because she was potty training, not because she was trying to climb out.  DD#2 is not ready to be in a toddler bed with the ability to get out.  She is not ready to be able to roam the house, etc.  What am I going to do?  Also, DD#3 arrives in 7 weeks, and we really wanted DD#2 to be in a crib still, since I'll be on my own in the mornings and will need to know DD#2 is safe and contained while I'm dealing with baby.  DD#1, at 3.5 is fine roaming around on her own.  Any advice? 

amh_navyblue

With DD#1, we moved her into a toddler bed around 2...with DD#2 we did it around 18 months due to the somewhat comical situation of moving and not having all the bolts to put the crib back together, but enough to convert the crib into a toddler bed.  It was definitely nerve-wrecking since we we went from a one floor condo to a 2 story SFH and I was worried, DD#2 would get out and fall down the stairs.  The way we avoided that was putting a baby gate in front of her door.  We have since switched the lock on her door so that all we have to do is lock the door from the outside.

All this is to say that can you super babyproof her room, move her to a toddler bed and create some sort of barrier to her getting out of her room?  That way she'll still be contained.  If she is climbing out of her crib, you have lost the benefit of containing her in the crib anyway.

VARedhead

When DD started climbing out of the crib, we assumed she was ready for a bed, which was definitely not the case. It was a disaster, with her coming to our room 4-5 times a night for three weeks.

We ended up putting her back in her crib with a crib tent, and it's worked out great.

Good luck!

vtkgirl77

I would wait a bit and see how things go. DD#2 climbed out of her crib about 6 months ago. Her big girl bed is adjacent to her crib so it's easy for her to climb out of the crib and onto the bed. However, she rarely does it.

We thought that maybe she was ready to transition to the big girl bed when she did her first climb out. She has successfully slept in the big girl bed a few times; however, she still prefers the crib and wants to be in the crib most nights. There have been a few times where she requests to sleep in the big girl bed and we let her. When we come into her room in the morning, she has moved her blanket, pillow and lovey into the crib and climbed into the crib. So, apparently she feels more comfortable there.

I am in no rush to move her either. For the few naps that she's tried in the big girl bed, she didn't sleep whereas in the crib, she usually takes a 3+ hour nap on the weekends. 

If I were in your shoes, I would baby proof her room and put a knob cover on the door. If she climbs out in the night, I would just let her sleep on the floor. She may eventually decide that climbing out isn't all that it's cracked up to be. The crib cover is another good idea. IMO, it's going to be easier for you if she stays in the crib but I guess it depends on whether your DD will relent or keep pushing the boundaries. But I would definitely give it a bit more time to see what happens.

ETA: About the climbing out, I know you have to assess her risk of getting hurt. With our DD, she was climbing out of the crib (which is very low) and onto a bed. Also, she has very thick carpeting with a thick padding underneath so I thought her risk of getting hurt was low. If you think your DD could get hurt, you may have to go with another option.

victoria1212

I don't have good news to share. Our little climber was a nightmare with going to bed once she figured out she could climb out. We tried things to keep her in the crib but I was so worried about her hurting herself that we got a new bed. After 8 long months of her sleeping on the floor, she recently accepted that her new bed was here to stay.

LindseyJW

i'm glad you posted this. audrey has been trying to climb out of her crib lately. exhibit #1 below. our house is really small so i can hear her from anywhere and she's great on the stairs. i'm mostly worried about her hurting herself on the way down to the floor. perhaps the crib tent is in our near future!

Jitterbug2668

Dear DS,

Dont read this.

PS:  you love your crib, you love your crib, you love your crib. 

 I'd see if it persists before switching anything up. 

northernvabride

VTKendra, I think she may get hurt if she climbed all the way out.  IT is about 3 to 3 1/2 feet to the floor and there is a glider and table nearby (will have to move those of course).  She got herself horizontal on top of the crib railing but I didn't let her get past that, Pretty sure she would have fallen like a stone to the floor at a bad angle. 

I like the crib tent idea.  I know she may just have done it once (twice really) and may not do it again, so I'll wait to see what happens in the next few days.  That being said, I don't want to get into a bind where it is the middle of the night and she is trying to climb out time after time and we have no options.  She is very adventurous right now and is also revolting at bedtime so it may just be that she didn't want to go to bed, not that she minds her crib.  It is so frustrating both girls are getting tricky for me at bedtime, since it is easier to get 2 kids to bed when you can divide and conquer.  Wonder if she is just acting out because she senses my huge belly means change is coming.  

kafunder

Would she tolerate a sleep sack? I think that's the only thing separating us from Piper attempting to climb out of the crib. If not, I'd try a crib tent.

WinesNotWhines

kafunder:

Would she tolerate a sleep sack? I think that's the only thing separating us from Piper attempting to climb out of the crib. If not, I'd try a crib tent.

I was also going to suggest a sleep sack. It would be really hard for a kid to climb out a crib while wearing one.

Sofka

I think she definitely realizes that soon she won't be the baby anymore and is acting out.

A word of caution on the crib tents, in case of an emergency, such as a fire, it may impede your ability to get the child out of the crib fast enough. This is the one negative comment that sticks out to me about the tents. But I don't have one.

We moved DD at 21mo old so I don't think your DD is too young. Give it a few more days/couple of weeks and see if she does it again.  And if she does, moving her to a toddler bed and giving her time to adjust to the bed before DD3 takes over the crib may be your best option.

Good luck!

LMH1209

I suggest going with a crib tent plus a SleepSack if she's not ready for a bed.  I know that most kids who climb out do it without injury, but DS broke his arm climbing out of his crib right just a few weeks before DD was born.  I think he just launched himself out head first.  We now have a crib tent and plan to switch him to a bed soon. 

Artslvr

Why not move her to a bed now?