Climbing Out of Crib but Too Young for Toddler bed-Please Help!!

I agree that she isn't ready yet for a toddler bed, you really don't want a whole new set of sleep issues to come up when you're already having them. My son is 21 months and will be in a crib until he goes to kindergarten! A friend of mine puts her son in a sleep sack to sleep in (he's a big boy--almost 30 pounds and 22 months old) and loves it because he can't lift his leg to try and climb over. That could maybe be a cheaper alternative to the crib tent, and if it doesn't work I would try out a crib tent. They make them in sizes up to 2T. That's what I plan on doing if my son ever tries to climb over (crossing my fingers, he hasn't tried to yet!)

I moved all 3 of my children out of their cribs between 17 months and 24 months and all 3 IMPROVED their sleep habits after getting out of the crib. I don't know if they felt trapped in the crib or just needed more space, but once they had their toddler beds they slept through the night without problem and did not cry at bed time.

Yes for the first few nights she'll get out of bed because the freedom is new, but once she gets used to it bedtime probably will become a lot easier.

Good luck,
K.

A friend had the same issue...she put the crib mattress on the floor, took the springs out of the bottom of the crib, then turned the crib upside down over the mattress. Good Luck!

My oldest was on a twin bed by 16/17 months and did fine. We just made a new bedtime routine that started with mommy snuggling him to sleep, then eventually snuggling and sitting on the floor by him, and eventually just sitting in the rocking chair in his room. You can put a mattress right on the floor after baby-proofing her room and just let her get up. A toddler bed is usually a waste of money and a pointless transition anyway. If you don't want to close the door, install a swing gate or get a pressure gate she can't climb over.

I'm with you. There is no way I would put mt 19-month-old in a bed right now! I don't know if a tent would work for you or not, but I think the idea of a sleep sack might work for you. I really love http://www.babyinabag.com/ because they sell very thin summer bags (kind of like sheets) and also thick, quilted winter bags. These might help keep your little girl from lifting her leg so high. If you are handy, you might also see if you can lower the mattress further by drilling lower holes or something like that to keep the sides of the crib as high as possible. Good luck!

Do not put her in a big bed yet. You need to TRAIN her to obey. If she is not capable of handling a big bed why put her in it. We dropped our crib matteress to the floor so the rail was as high as it could go. as well as gave firm directions to NOT CLIMB. Start now to do "blanket time" where she plays on a blanket until you give her permission to get up. Start small and work up to 20 mins. When she can have the selfcontrol to stay on until YOU decide when to get up then she is ready for a big bed.
Then the rule is "like blanket time" you can't get out of bed until mom or dad come and get you.
I write more about this on my blog. Look under TRANSITIONS in the categories.
My blog is www.shapinglittlesouls.blogspot.com

she's able to climb out of her crib. she cries and tries to get out of her crib when you put her to bed. so i don't understand why you would keep her in a bed that's 3 feet off the ground, knowing this. i am not sure what you mean by "developmentally ready" to sleep in a toddler bed. you will have to teach her to stay in bed eventually. would you rather her do these things in a high crib, OR in a lower toddler bed. that's the only question. she is perfectly ready to sleep in a toddler bed. the question is just whether you are ready to put your foot down and teach her to stay in it. seems to me like this is simply a discipline issue. i could be wrong.

Try a cozy crib tent. It would prevent her from getting out of the crib and keep her safe.

I've mentioned this before on this site. But sleep sacks are wonders in keeping the younger adventurous tots from climbing out of the crib. My son @ 32 months just started to attempt to climb out of the crib. We had him in a sleep sack until 28 mths, and that was only b/c he figured out how to unzip it. We then turned it around and he was fine, but since we plan on potty training soon, we decided to go ahead and forgo the sleep sack= now trying to climb out :) Good luck

We moved my son into a toddler bed when he was 15 months, and he is a short little man - maybe only as tall as a 1 year-old and probably only weighed 21 or 22 pounds.

He was biting the railing of the crib, and not climbing out yet. We tried all the rails you can put on there, but nothing worked - he just found some other place to chew on.

We got the toddler bed for free - and it was one that sat on the floor, so you can just use a regular mattress until she gets a little older. As far as leaving her in her room, you can just use a baby gate at the door - double them up if you need to so she wont climb out.

My son would get out of bed when we first had the toddler bed in there, but we would check on him and he usually fell asleep on the floor. We also have the room baby proofed - so there was nothing dangerous for him to get into while we were sleeping, and we also took all toys out so he couldnt stay up playing all night. Eventually he got the idea, and stopped getting out of the bed.

I wish you luck with this - and I am sure whatever you choose it will work out for you.

Both my kids climbed out early and we switched them to a toddler bed. My son was 16 months and didnt sleep through the night yet so we put a gate at the door. He would cry at the gate and we had to tell him to go back to his bed and this lasted for a few weeks. Around age 2 he could climb the gate so I just had to rely on the baby monitor and get up when he got up and put him back into bed. He is 2.5 now and just started sleeping through the night about a month ago when we changed his diet (no red or yellow dyes) and he goes to bed and stays there just fine. My daughter was 14 months when we switched her and she did fine from the start she loved her new bed and slept in it. Also we skipped toddler bed and moved right to twin beds. I wasnt wasting money on toddler beds.

I had to put my daughter in a toddler bed at 15 or 16 months because she would honestly get very upset whenever I put her in. It came on suddenly, she went from peaceful sleeper to having a crying fit when I put her into her crib. So- I decided it was time to go with a big girl bed and it worked, starting with a mattress on the floor. When she could stay on it without rolling off for 2 weeks or so, we bought her the actual bed frame. When the crib went, the stress at bedtime went away also. You may not be ready for this, I wasn't, but it looks like you don't really have a choice, seems like your daughter will hurt herself if you keep her in her crib- or ruin a crib tent. Good luck...

You can put a gate up in her doorway and child safe her room if it is not already like that. We switched my son at 23 months because he decided one day no more crib. We had a few rough nights, but with the toddler bed, just keep putting her back and they eventually will stay. We did not like closing the door either, but we do use it as a "threat" now we do book time, and then put his Homedics noise machine on. We play rockabye baby and play one of the little discs on the cieling and he goes right down.
Good luck

You might be surprised but she may do better in a toddler bed than in a crib. Both my kids were in a toddler beds before 18 months and did WONDERFULLY (better than in their cribs)

If she can climb out of the crib, then she is developmentally ready for a bed. Do you want her to fall out of the crib and get hurt?

Both of my kids were out of the crib by the time they were 1 1/2 years old.

Night time became EASIER once they were in a bed. Why? Because when something was wrong, they would get up and get me or daddy. Then we found out what was wrong & we walked them back to bed.

Yes, for the for the first couple of weeks you may have issues with her just getting out of the bed before she falls asleep, but she will adjust. Try reading to her before she falls asleep.

We didn't use a toddler bed. We just put a twin mattress on the floor for awhile, then moved to a twin bed with a rail.

I switched my daughter to a toddler bed at 12 months. At first she did cry when it was time for bed, she also didn't sleep consistently through the night. I just started a new bed time routine. Go to big girl bed, lay down, drink a bottle, mommy reads a story sitting in a chair next to her, she finishes bottle, mommy keeps reading, baby goes to sleep. At first we did the whole baby gate thing, but as we adjusted we didn't need it anymore (my daughters door doesn't shut all the way, so I just leave it cracked all night).
She's been sleeping fine for about 7 months and her sleeping habits improved after we made the transition. I would just try it. The first week might be rough, but who knows, maybe she'll adjust quickly to it. If she doesn't then go for the crib tent. Good Luck!

I tried to switch my 16 month old to a toddler bed when he discovered he could climb out of his crib....he didn't sleep AT ALL! I think he still needed that crib feeling to sleep well. SO I put the crib BACK together and ordered the crib tent....best $$ I spent! I felt so much better knowing that when I put him in his bed, he would stay put - no matter the time of day.

Good Luck!
T.

I use a crib tent and it works wonders. Mine has held up really well through two kids. I've even washed it several times. I understand what you are saying about her not ready for a toddler bed yet.

Good luck!!!

We had to switch to a bed at 12 months.. Even after lowering the mattress as low as possible "spidergirl" could still hoist herself over.
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I have not heard of anyone that had too much success with the crib cover, so I would be hesitant to pay full price. see if you can purchase a used crib cover off of craigslist..

I agree to either place her crib mattress on the floor or take the side rail off of the crib and lower the mattress as low as possible.

This will mean you will need a gate or 2 stacked on top of each other so she cannot get out of her room..

I am sending you strength..

instead of closing the door use a baby gate. go ahead and change her bed. make sure their is nothing in her room to hurt herself on and put the gate up she will get out of bed but eventually will pass out. i didnt do this and my daughter climbed out at 8 months and slept in my bed... she still does too ugh

My daughter was about 15 months old when she promptly showed us she could climb out on her own, in the dark, without so much as a sound with the mattress at the lowest it could go. We promptly converted her crib to a toddler bed w/ a bedrail because I would rather deal with the bedtime issues than her being hurt because I left her in a crib. My daughter is a climber through & through.