15 Month Old Fell Out of Crib !

If you have dropped the mattress of the crib as low as it goes, then, I see no reason not to begin the transition to the bed. In our family, we've had a variety of sleeping issues; climbers, thrashers, claustrophobics and night terrors.
the other posts offer good suggestions regarding room saftey so I won't repaet that. One child was so athletic and thrashed so much at night, we placed her on her crib mattress directly on the floor. it worked so we well, we never purchased a toddler bed. When she was ready (about age 5) we went strait to a big girl bed (a low one mind you).

FYI: oldest girl - toddler bed - 15 months (prep for new baby)
God daughter - mattress on floor - 12 months
Middle son - toddler bed 18 months (tiny but a climber)
Nephew - toddler bed 12 months (claustrophobic)
Youngest girl - toddler bunk bed (lower bunk) 15 months (went by herself for a nap one day - I think tired of being separated from siblings - caused middle son to move to top bunk at age 4.5 - scary but all worked out great)

Safety first- time for a toddler bed. Good luck!

A crib tent should do the trick!

Get a crib tent. They might seem pricey at around $60 at Babies R us, but they are worth it. Won't ever happen again.

H.,

My son was showing signs of trying to climb out of his crib so we took the holder for the lowering of the mattress completely out and have his matress sitting on the floor inside his crib. I don't know if your crib will allow this but it has worked wonders. I hope this helps some.

M.

When my daughter was about 18 months, she fell out of her crib - Once. She never tried to climb out again after the first fall.

This is a hard one but i went through that with my son and had to put him in a toddler bed with a arm piece on the side. I tried to keep him in the crib but after the third time he fell he hurt his face pretty good and then i was to scared for it to happen again.....I got the toddler bed in and the crib out and he has been in a bed ever since....Good luck i know its hard to go through and not know what to do, but kids always seem to let us know when things need a change...even if they hurt themselves showing us....

If you already have the matress as low as it will go in the crib, then I would consider moving her. My daughter was the same way and I moved her to a toddler bed at 15 months. It took a few nights for her to get used to it, but overall an easy transition. Plus she was happier because at naptime she would come out with a smile after she woke up!

There are levels on the mattress frame. Drop then down as far as they go (like on refrigerator shelf settings). When the crib gate is up you'll see quite a difference. That holds them off for a while.My daughter was OUT at 10 1/2 months. Scary! She was a tall baby and did every scary thing you can think of at a too early age. I still miss those days.

Hi H.,

My daughter started climbing out of the crib at 18 months. I knew she was too young for a toddler bed so we installed a crib tent. It sounds bad at first and she cried for three nights (only 10 minutes), but it was the best thing we did. After a while she would tell us,"Mommy, zip me in my bed". I guess she felt secure and cozy. We were able to keep her in her crib until she was 3 and her sister was due in a month and a half. Anyway, it isn't tough to install and it costs about $75-80. Best of luck to you and I hope your little one stays in her crib. Have a good day!

Hi! Definitely purchase a crib tent!! There have been a couple recent posts on this subject -- here's what I wrote in the past. Good luck!! :)

I think you are absolutely correct -- 16 months old is much too young to transition to a bed.

I started using a crib tent on my son's crib when he was 20 months old in Dec. and he threw himself over the rail. (The mattress was at the lowest setting and the rails were up.) We went out and bought the tent the very next morning. I LOVE it!!! Worth every single penny, as I'm sure it has saved him from an injury.

My son is extremely active and a climber. I know that if I was to try to transition him to a bed, there is no way he would stay in it. The tent will allow me to keep him in the crib until he's much closer to 3 (the age that Pediatricians recommend for crib transition) and I will have a much easier time teaching him to stay in a bed. My son needs his healthy sleep -- not nightly bedtime battles.

Here's a web link to the crib tent we purchased in December.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00014PLAY/ref=cm_cmu_pg...

It is wonderful to sleep soundly, knowing my son is 100% safe again. Please feel free to send me a message if you want any more information about the tent or our experience with it!

PS/EDIT: I saw some other posters' comments and thought I would let you know that there no way a child could tear down or get out of the crib tent we purchased. They must have had some other model.

My kids were 2 years old when we transitioned. I kept the old crib mattress next to the big bed. I would check to see if you can lower the mattress to the lowest setting. Most cribs are adjustable in height. When ever you decide to move her to a big bed, the next stage is wandering from bed. Good luck.

I was so worried about that happening to my son that I put a mattress beside the bed on the floor. My first son never did get out of bed despite all my precautions. I had pillows and blankets all over the floor (in addition to the small mattress I think it was a pad for outside furniture) and I waited for a very long time to put him in a regular bed. Confident that nothing would happen with my next child (see it didn't happen with the first one) I left the floor completely bare and on his first birthday (missing his party I guess) my second son managed to get out of his bed with a big thud and the same bloodcurdling scream as you heard. So out came the lawn furniture once again. You could try something like that, she definitely wants out, but might enjoy landing softer. Do you have a gate on her door so she doesn't wander? It's so scarey but you'll live through it. I did. Now I am worrying about my son falling into the ocean. He is a sailor. And the other one could hurt himself at work. The worry, it never ends.Good luck!

I haven't read the other responses, but my gut reaction would be to either transition to a toddler bed or to buy a crib tent. My son made it out of the crib once at 20 months, but that was because we (stupidly) left his Thomas pillow and he used it as a step stool. Once we took that out, he hasn't made it out since.

As soon as my kids start to walk is when they get a big kid bed and then I use the crib mattress on the floor next to their bed in case they fall out. I didn't purchase anything to hold them in their bed like a tent...it is just money gone and only used for a short time. It does take work to do the bed thing but I have 3 kids and all of them did just fine at about a week out of the crib.

I don't think your daughter's too young for a toddler bed. I just got my little one into one and he's a month younger than your little girl. He did great! I've even heard Mother's transitioning to the toddler bed as young as 12 months! She will be fine!

Transition to bed depends on lot of factor notjust the age. I had to move my daughter to big bed when she was 14 month. She was screaming and howling with all might in her crib and would sleep like a charm in our bed in the afternoon, when we were not sleeping on ours.

I tried that in the night in her room a big bed and she slept thru the night. Now she is little over 3. No issues whatsoever.

Maybe try it out in her afternoon nap, how it works out.

V.

All the best.

I put my kids in the sleep sacs and I think that helps them from not getting their leg over the side of the crib. I agree 15 mo is young to be out of the crib. I have kept all my kids in their cribs til at least 3.

Good luck

the same thing happened to my daughter at about the same age. she was so scared by that fall that she never attempted it again. we kept her in the crib til she was three. if you think you can talk to her and she'll understand that it hurt and it was dangerous to try to get out by herself try it i bet if you heard that awful blood curdling scream she was scared enough not to try it again. if you are worried id get a a crib tent she's too young to stay in a toddler bed. no one will sleep til shes ready. good luck thats hard.

I'm not sure, but my mom has always said that you'll know when it's time for a toddler bed when your child first climbs out of the crib.... You definitely don't want her falling out again!

Our son did the same thing at the same age (also tall for his age). We talked to a number of our friends with older kids and also our doctor. Everyone pretty much agreed that it was time for a toddler bed. So that's what we did. He was fine! We put a gate on his bedroom door so that essentially the entire room became the crib. After a month or so, it was smooth sailing. Friends that had tried those crib tents said that they were very expensive and only worked for a short time before the kids could get out of those too. So we didn't bother. You can always put a mattress on the floor. We bought a toddler bed from Ikea that has been great.

We moved my son out of his crib when he was a little older than your daughter. He too was tall for his age and would jump in the corner of the crib, holding on to the side and end rails. His center of gravity would clear the top bar and I immediately thought, "he's going to fall out of his crib one of these days." Does your daughter jump? That may have been enough to propel her forward and over the side. (I'm assuming the crib bottom is in it's lowest position, yes?)

If you make the move to a toddler bed, child proof the room and put up a gate at night. That way she's still confined to her room and can't get into anything.

If you go this route, also make sure that furniture is attached securely to the walls with straps or bolted in so it won't tip over. Remove all cords (we have a lamp on top of his dresser that isn't an issue as the cord goes behind and plugs in behind the dresser) and make sure to secure window treatments so they aren't a strangulation/climbing hazard.

At the time we did all this, we also came to the conclusion that we needed to take the rocker/glider out as I caught him standing on it one day reaching over to his bookcase. Sigh. The bookcase is now bolted into the wall so even if the little monkey attempted to climb it, it wouldn't tip or fall forward and he wouldn't be crushed by books. I've even switched the order of books with the paper ones on top with basket of light weight toys so a heavy book wouldn't come crashing down on him.

Use outlet covers as well.

I think 15 months is a bit young to be in a toddler bed, but for me, I'd rather have the peace of mind knowing she wouldn't get hurt without spending extra money on a tent.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck!!

If she got our of her crib then it's time to switch to a toddler bed. In my opinion those are the rules. My brother kicked the slats out of his crib before he could even walk....mom had to put him in a toddler bed and that was that.

Good luck with that!

I am sure many other moms sent you the same advice... buy a crib tent. That way she can't fall out again and I know people who have used them and they said it worked wonderfully. I am sure Babies R'Us has them! Hope this helps!

I hate when that happens! My daughter was 15 months when she jumped and my son was 16 months. Yes, I did transition them to a junior bed. It's not an ideal situation but, especially, since my son was Houdini and I couldn't chance trying to keep him in a crib that, ultimately he would be able to escape from-he became pretty adept at climbing out of the crib, in a short time. You are right to be fearful! She was probably shocked when she fell out- but not too shocked that she won't try it again!

You can try a tent and see if that keeps her secure, however, you will probably be transitioning her in a few months anyway. Just remember that if she is at the point where she has become a good climber, just start preparing the room and securing furniture, in the event that she climbs up a bookcase or dresser.

Sorry, I have not read your other responses, but wanted to let you know that our son did the exact same thing at that age. I was so nervous each night afterwards, as I continued to put him in the crib. He is now 19 months old, and it has not happened again. It is scary. Whatever decision you make will be the right one for you though :)

Buy the crib tent online at walmart. We used it and it works great.

They have a Crib Tent they are about $75 this will keep her from being able to get out. We have one, becasue we have a cat and while we took it off for the moment when my son gets a little older we are going to put it back in.

They are a little cheaper..http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SK...; about $60

Hey it is perfectly fine to move your daughter out of her crib into a toddler bed in fact I have a 16 month old son whom is sleeping in a twin bed with a guard rail. She's definitely ready for a change. Good Luck!