Hi mamas.
My lovely and sometimes sleep-defiant son - who will be 29 months old in a week has successfully catapulted himself out of his crib (once during "naptime" and last night as I was trying to get him to go to sleep). He threw himself over both times in a fit of rage bc he really didn't want to go to sleep yet and hurt/scared himself slightly - nothing serious - yet...
I really don't think he's mature enough for the toddler bed we will eventually move him to (his crib transitions from crib to toddler to regular bed)...and the only reason he flew the coop was because he was pissed off and didn't want to nap/go to bed...this is not a regular occurance.
I'll take the precaution, obviously, to make the area around his crib soft enough for a future crash landing - but really - i need your advice...do we just do the move - and if so - how on earth (he is NOT one for following directions when he doesn't want to) do we keep him from getting out of the new bed 80 times a night?
I will have to put a safety gate on his door area so he can't wander - and can try to get him excited for the new big boy bed and tell him he has to stay in his bed until morning time (we even have the "bunny clock" from One Step Ahead that might help the situation. We got that to try to keep him quiet in the mornings because he wakes up before 6am a lot and starts yelling for us.)
anyway - help - developmentally ready to make the switch if he's not a good directions follower? I don't think he'd stay in the big boy bed...
Hi mamas! Just wanted to say thanks to all of you for giving me the confidence to forge ahead and make the switch. It went GREAT! We got him very excited about it and told him how proud we are of him - and he loved his "new" big boy bed! (it's not really new, since we have the kind of crib that transitions into a toddler bed and then a regular bed). We are using the toddler rail for now and he seems to really like it. He got in bed easily, stayed in bed all night and slept in a bit later than normal - waking up with a "Mommy! I'm awake!" And when i go in to him, he has just been sitting up in his bed with a big smile. Lots of praise all around. Thanks as always, mamas. :-)
Make the switch to a regular bed and put a gate up. He will learn to either
stay in bed or to play until you get him. He just might be ready for some
independence.
Can't help you. My son was climbing out of his crib at 1 yr old (literally, 12 months old). His mattress went on the floor for a few months, then we put him in a twin bed with side rails. We never had a real problem with him getting out of bed. In fact, he did much better going to sleep at night once he was in a "real" bed... :)
Neither of my kids were still in cribs at that point. We transitioned my son to a toddler bed when he was 18 months old because my daughter needed the crib & they both were in twin size beds by the time she was exactly the age of your son.
It sounds like it's time for you to start really enforcing some rules, whether the 29 month old likes it or not. If he won't listen to you now when you tell him to do something I hope you're prepared for the wild ride you're in for when he gets older. Explain to him the concept of the toddler bed & let him know what behavior you expect from him & then enforce it! It shouldn't take more than a week or so for him to get the message.
I would move him to a toddler bed before he hurts himself. The transition will have to be made at some point. My daughter was out of her crib at 14 months because she only wanted to sleep on the floor. We just put a twin mattress on the floor, then when she got used to that and didn't roll off, we raised her up to a regular bed.
How the heck did you get him to 29 months without jumping out of the crib? Lord my little monkeys were doing that around a year. :(
Sorry I am of no help to you, just amazed.
All 3 of my kids were escape artists before they were 2. Yes, moving to the big boy/girl bed can be taxing and tiring but I didn't want them to hurt themselves...so as soon as they had mastered getting out of the crib we ditched it all together.
~The only advice I have for getting him to stay in his bed is constant attention and putting him back for at least the first week, maybe longer, depending on how strong-willed your lil' guy is :)
My son was in his crib even at 3 years old. He LOVED his crib. Sure, he went through a phase where he'd climb out. I explained that is dangerous and he can get hurt. One day, he FELL out and got scared, didn't get hurt, but it scared him enough that he NEVER did that again.
Then one day, HE told us, he wanted to be in a regular bed. So we did. And he was fine. He was ready. He told us.
Or, you can put a mattress on the FLOOR, and he can sleep in that, that way. Then he can't fall out of said bed.
He will be fine - SWITCH HIM TO A BED! It is way too dangerous to leave him in a crib that he is flinging himself out of. Bedtimes may be a challenge for a while (super easy for both of mine, so don't just assume it will be difficult) but his safety should come first!
He will get out of his bed - because he can and it is a new, exciting experience, but he will also learn that the bed is where he is supposed to sleep. He may even sleep on the floor for a while. :)
I suggest you find a way to really enforce your rules at home. He shouldn't get to run the house. :( That will also make the transition easier on you.
What 2 yr old is a good direction follower? Its time for the toddler bed. Like you said put up a baby gate and hope for the best. We had a rough first month getting our 2 yr old to stay in her big girl bed, but eventually she learned thats where she sleeps. I find her at her door occasionally sleeping on floor, but at least she is safe.
My thinking is that when my 2.5 year old daughter started really protesting sleep and being in the crib again after a good sleep phase I knew it was time to change. I put her right in the middle of the night on a mattress on the floor, and she did GREAT. She goes for the "big girl" talk so that helped. I added a little cuddle ritual in her bed and still made sure she fell asleep without me there. Just moved her to a daybed with a rail with little to no problem. Don't underestimate him--he may be signaling he is ready by these jumps!
Hi. I don't know how you keep your son in bed once you transition him -- that'll have to be something you worry about once you get there. For now, I think you should transition your son to a big bed. We never used a toddler bed with my daughter and my daughter went to a regular full size bed at 18 months. We have bed rails on both sides. When she is tired she sleeps, she takes 2 hr naps during the day (she's almost 3 now) and sleeps through the night. Either way, i think it's crucial that you transition him before he hurts himself falling out of the crib. Best of luck.
29 months old I feel is too big for a crib, he can really get hurt. He is a big boy now. I had my two in toddlers bed by the age of two. I put a gate at the door so they would not wonder out. and removed anything from the room they can get hurt with. Made sure the dressers were bolted to the wall and made sure the curtain shades were short that it was hard for me to reach them because they can unfortunaly strangle from them. Its not just the bed that you have to worry about. Its all the other things in the room that have to be secure. I am sorry, but I have to straight when it comes to children.
Sounds like you either need a crib tent/net or to move him to a toddler bed and put a safety cover on the door knob.
My daughter is now 28 months old (Born dec 08). on April 17th, for the first time ever we put her in a twin bed (with rails) I thought it was goign to be miserable so we kept the crib (that has a crib tent on it) on stand by. to my surprise she has not had any problem. We did add a little to her routine. Typically after her bath, we have a music cd with calming music while I put her toys and clothes away, she will pick out her pjs and usually just run around the upstairs. then we read books for 10 ish mins and lay her down. the new routine is we ask if she had a good day and then say some prayers while she is laying in bed...god bless mommy daddy grandama etc.. kiss her good night and leave. as a precautionary we also put the door knobby childproof thing on which keeps her IN her room...she has not challenged to get out of bed as of yet...
Oh we also bought her a NEW toy to bring to bed in her big kid bed....she can ONLY sleep with that toy if she sleeps in the big kid bed. we also made a BIG DEAL about the new bed and how she was all grown up. I rewarded her each morning from the 17th- easter saying the Easter bunny was soo proud(usually was a plastic egg with a couple pieces of candy)...maybe you could do it through Mothers day
If you want to keep him IN the crib your only other option is a cribtent...they are spendy (about $60ish I think..cant remember) and that will only by you another few months. I say make the move..he is showing you a milestone...go for it.
I have a 15 month old daughter who has just learned to climb this week she climbed out of her crib first and has not stopped climbing i called my pediatrician and he told me that she may not be ready for a "big girl bed" but that may be the only option that i have. there are baby gates out there that do work you just have to find one that works fror your child. so a big boy bed and a good sturdy baby gate may be the way to do and of course you will have to be concistant with putting him back in his bed when he gets out but it may be a much safer way to go rather than worry that he could get very hurt leaping out of his crib. i hope my suggestion helps you a little bit or at least gives you something to think about. good luck
My daughter did it at 12 months and we got a crib tent b/c there was NO way we were going to move her into a bed that early.
Check for them on line - try not to buy them used b/c they had an issue w/ the clips and had them recalled.. so although they are expensive you'll want to ensure that the clips are the new ones.
That being said, 2.5 years (29 months??!! - he's a toddler not a baby! :) ) isn't that early for a toddler bed so if you don't want the expense of a tent that you'll only be using for a year I'd just transition him now.
Wow, i am amazed you got him this far before climbing out. My ds did that around 15 months and we took the side off to make the crib a toddler bed. I didn't think he would stay in it either but he did awesome! he was very excited to be in a big boy bed and only recently at 30 months has he started to get out of bed without our say.
You're gonna have to transition him at some point and I personally think the longer you wait the tougher it will be. He might surprise you and be more ready than you thought :)
If you want to delay the transition to a bed, you could go the crib tent route:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=l...#
He is to old for a crib. Once they can climb out of it its time to go to a toddler bed so they dont get hurt. All he needs to do is fall a certain way and he can break his neck. I moved my daughter out of her crib when she was 1 1/2 before she could figure out how to get out of the crib. She did good. You dont know how he will be until you do it.
my son is 28 months and still in a crib (He LOVES his crib and when we did try to take the side off, he woke up at 3 a.m. on the floor screaming that he wanted his "wall" back on). I would suggest maybe reminding him every time that you're laying him down of how bad it hurt when he tried to climb out, and tell him not to do it again. I don't think he's ready for a big boy bed either--a crib tent might also help
Toddler beds are for toddlers which are from 12 months old up to 24 months old. When you change your little one go straight to a twin or bigger bed. Save the money on the toddler bed. It will be too small and he's mentally too old to adjust easily to it now.
If his room is baby proof there is nothing that prohibits him from getting up and playing anytime during the night. Make sure there is a safety gate he can't manipulate and have the baby monitor on. He can get up anytime and play and will eventually let you know when he wants company.
My daughter was doing this and she just turned 2 about two weeks ago. We didn't intend to transition her so early, but like you, was afraid she was going to dive bomb out of there and really hurt herself. She has done beautifully with the transition and can be as stubborn as they come! Every once and awhile she will get out of her bed around 5am and want to come into our room, but otherwise if I hear her moving around in the night and can catch her before she gets out of bed, then she usually goes back to sleep. We put a gate up at the foot of our staircase, because I thought she would be our wanderer. I think she may have been easier because she has seen her older brother's toddler bed and knew his routine. He is almost 3 and a half now and we got him transitioned at about 32 months. I think you might be surprised that your son may transition a lot easier than you think. It might be a rough couple days, but it will be safer for him. Good luck!
A.
It sounds like he may be ready and you aren't. I switched my 2.5 year old son to a twin bed when I was pregnant. He's 5 now and we still sometimes have a battle not staying in bed at bedtime. When we switched him he was very excited to be in the new bed but the first 2 weeks if he gave us a hard time he went back in the crib for the night (I was pregnant and pretty short on patience by the end of the day). My daughter is 28 months and seems content in the crib still.
I'd also say toddler beds are a waste. We went straight to a twin bed with a rail. You could also do a mattress (crib or twin) on the floor especially if you need time to get a bed set up. I did see one bed that could take a crib or twin mattress in Toys R Us but it was a bit expensive.
