Climbing out of the crib! Help!

kah01009 · December 2012

DD turned 2 in September. She is normally a great sleeper (11+ hours at night and 2-3 hour nap in the day) and always loved her crib. Well, 2:45am this morning, we heard this "Mom!!! Mommy!!! Mommmyyy, Surprise! Climbing!" She was out of her crib by the time DH ran into her room! Of course she screamed and cried every time he tried to put her back in, and then would just climb out again! Then today at naptime, she tried to climb out, fell back in, and got her leg stuck between the rails!!! I couldn't get her out for a few minutes and her little leg is bruised. At this point, it's a safety issue, but I really don't think she's ready for a toddler bed! There's no way she'll stay in there!!! And all the crib tents are recalled! What to do?! I was thinking of trying to find a thin crib mattress that's a couple of inches lower?! Thoughts?

KateLouise · December 2012

I'd go with the toddler bed. The risk of her having a serious fall wouldn't be worth it to me.

Are you concerned about her settling to sleep in a toddler bed? Wondering around the house? something else?

Perhaps gating her room would allow you to put her in a bed but stop her from coming out of her room?

momofmanyinthemitten · December 2012

We went through this the Friday before Thanksgiving. She was the same type of sleeper. We converted her crib to the toddler bed. It took us an entire month to get her back to her night sleeping pattern, the first week being horrible, the other three with her waking at least once at night. I still have to sit in her room with her until she falls asleep for naps. You will want to switch to the toddler bed before baby comes, as it has been very time consuming for us.

anvloveskme · December 2012

DD just climbed out for the first time two nights ago! We were planning on transitioning her bf # 2 gets here so may try it after the holiday.

lilhockeygurlMOM · December 2012

She is ready for a toddler bed, its completely obvious. She has shown you enough proof. I understand you personally might not be ready for her to have a toddler bed or your too worried but your child is completely ready. So get her a toddler bed.

shaw · December 2012

You would be the best judge of readiness. You could take the mattress holder out of the crib and put the mattress on the floor inside of the crib. If the back of the crib is higher you could turn it around. When my guy started climbing out at 18 months, I told him sternly he wasn't allowed. He needed to wait for mommy. I surrounded his crib with pillows. He lasted a few more months. Once he wouldn't lay down to sleep at all, I decided it was time for a switch. Forget the toddler bed and go straight to a twin or full. The transition is rough. You might need to pass out in bed with her at times

mrsseguin · December 2012

I'd get her a toddler bed. She'll adjust and it would be safer than keeping her in a crib that she's climbing out of.

Bugs02 · December 2012

Sleep sack worked for us

gimmietimmies · December 2012

Toddler bed. She sounds ready even if you aren't. Like Fred said, you'll be having to find your trick to keeping her in bed, it took around two weeks for us as well for all our transitions. What worked for us was removing other climbing temptations, and sitting outside the door. When lo would get out of bed, one of us went back in, said nothing and tucked back into bed. It was a game at first, but it got old fast when they realized we weren't giving up.

We transitioned at 2ds, 15 m dd1, 18mdd2, 18mdd3, and haven't yet dd4 (she's not bothered, she's not the climber her sisters are).

Marvel1013 · December 2012

Ahh!! I'm going though the something : my son is 2 years and he's just started to climb out and we've had sleepless nights. He's been sleeping in a playpen though he was banging his head on te crib all the time so it's not high. The only thing is, people say they are ready if they can climb out but are they really? I understand falling out of te crib is definitely a huge concern, but like my son he is not very high up from the ground and is fine every time lol. My little guy is veeeeery crazy, like really crazy haha. He's very high strung and even if he's tired he won't sleep so him staying in a toddler bed wouldn't be the best idea at the moment, ecspecially since he's still abit to wild to want to listen he DOES listen.. But he's a mile a minute so it's super hard with him.. I'm also confused at what to do and what would e best. I have tried him in his toddler bed a few times and it wasn't a success, which I'm sure it wouldn't be the first times.. Ah! Lol

Marvel1013 · December 2012

Alot of spelling errors and auto corrects in that lol, sorry

Shayna0182 · December 2012

We had an issue for a little while, but we have a split floor plan, so we just installed lever locks on all the doors and gated off the hallway. He still has some freedom but he can't really wander the house. For the record, des loved his crib too, and after about a month of adjustment now sleeps great in the toddler bed, and when he wakes up before us, he plays quietly in his room.

Good luck!

jackflaming · December 2012

You can use a toddler crib that is properly covered and is not much higher than the ground. You should use a proper and comfortable mattress to make sure proper sleep of your baby. You can additionally use a mattress pad. It will not only add extra comfort, but also protect the mattress.

acaudill75 · December 2012

DD1 went into a toddler bed with no problems. Not even one. She wasn't climbing out of her crib, but her little sister was coming in a week or so, and we needed the crib. We got a toddler bed from Ikea, and we got the matching furniture. Totally useless furniture after she gets to be about 4 or 5, but it was so fun for her to look at, I guess she was too excited to care about the change. We made a big deal about her sleeping in her big girl bed, and did her same nightly routine, except it was in a different room. She went straight to sleep, and hasn't even tried to leave her room yet. She transitioned about a week before her second birthday, and she will be three in March. If your kid is climbing out of her crib, I think she is trying to tell you she is too big to be in one.

MamaFantastic · December 2012

yup, convert to the toddler bed! no doubt about it.

MommaKrae · December 2012

I know I'm a little late replying and I'm not sure what you ended up doing but just in case here is what we did...we tried the toddler bed and she clearly wasn't ready. We tried for a month and we ALL were miserable. We tried locks on the doors but I just feel like that is so cruel. So, we took the frame off of the crib, put the crib rail back up and put her mattress on the floor. She is now sleeping in her crib but can't climb out because the mattress is too low. Hope that helps! We are going to try again when she is closer to 3 and our baby is due to see if she is ready then. We thought her transition would be easy considering she sleeps on a mattress at the nanny share but we were slapped in the face...she was clearly not ready. Hope that helps if you still are looking for a solution.

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