A Detemined Climber

Get a baby gate with vertical bars only. It is much harder to scale them ... my 3 year old and almost 2 year old are both climbers, in fact, my daughter had to be taken out of her crib and put into a toddler bed around 15 months old because her big brother would climb in the crib and make monster growling noises at her and scare her into trying to climb out, but she would get her knees (how, I don't know) stuck in the slats and scream. One option we tried with my kids to keep them in their room is putting door knob covers on the inside of the door and leave a few toys for them in there, as well as a pillow and a blanket so if they get sleepy then can just lay back down.

I too have a climber! My little man got out a few weeks ago ( turned 18mnths on the 8th of this month) So far....he has not tried again, unfortunatly because I think the fall was so long/hard. Someone suggested to me about getting one of those nets that goes over the crib for cats to stay out. It worked for them and their little climber....maybe both the "tent" and a gate, would buy you some sleeping time as she attempts her escaping adventures :O) Otherwise....chamomile tea in her sippy cup at night to keep her sleeping :O)

C. ~
My son was 13 months old when I put him in a toddler bed (he absolutely HATED being in a crib!). You need to think safety first....it's not safe for her to be climbing out of bed - what if her clothes get caught on something? what if she gets into something when you don't hear her? etc.
One of the girls I work with said that when her child was a super climber, instead of putting one gate in the doorway, she put two - one on top of the other. That kept the child safe in his room without the door being closed.
good luck!
D.

Hi C.,
My 21 month old was about that age when we transitioned her to her big bed for the same reason. She climbs on EVERYTHING and has since she started walking. For some reason though, the baby gate has not been attempted. When we put it up in her doorway, since she is able to open doors, it was a lifesaver. We no longer have the fight of putting her back in bed a thousand times at bedtime or if she wakes up in the night, she is safe and often goes back to sleep on her own.
I would encourage you to try putting it up at bedtime and watching to see if she attempts to climb it. If she does, I know quite a few people who stacked two gates on top of each other to make it taller and not climbable.
hope you get some peaceful sleep soon!

What about one of those soft & retractable gates? I would think it would be pretty much impossible to climb a soft mesh gate - nowhere to put your feet to scale it!

http://www.target.com/Playfence-Retractable-Gate/dp/B000F...

C.; yes, it would be safer for her to not climb out of bed, have a monitor and keep toys up and out of reach , she wont be able to play with them however doing that , she might find other things to climb and or play with, extend her bedtime, cut out nap times and maybe she will sleep all night for you, and since she is a climber, i would definitely make no climbing spaces for her like her crib make it so she cant climb it, or like you said, put her in a toddler bed, she will get out no matter where you put her, i had my young one climb up to the top of the fridge and knocked over my really cool bubble gum machine of glass, oh well, my mom also had a climber, my brother, he climbed door jams, how we dont know, but she would find him hanging from the middle of a door, ahahahah either way we survived, and you will too, it will pass , just keep a keen eye on her, and keep her safe, have fun and enjoy life, D. s

have you tried a crib tent?

My son broke his arm at 18 months by climbing out of his crib. That taught him...LOL...he didn't do it again for 6 months. Okay, Im not suggesting that you break your childs arm! I couldn't go the crib tent route...I just felt like I would be zipping him into a cage like we do the dogs while we are gone. It just didn't feel right to me. As far as a toddler bed, it won't solve the problem. The only thing you can do is put up a baby gate, or two if necessary. Make sure everything in her room is safe to play with in case she does climb out (which she will). We now keep the crib rail down on our son's bed so he won't fall out, but won't get hurt if he climbs out either. I think the novelty will wear off after a couple times of playing in her room for a couple nights. It won't be so fun if it's not 'naughty'.

~L.

I used a crib tent for my climber. You can get one at babies r us. It was a rough go for a few nights but once he realized the tent was there to stay he got over it and started going to sleep quickly when put in bed.

Try a crib tent. They velcro onto the top of the crib and make a lid. Much harder to get out of.

Get a crib tent. I got one when my daughter was 14 months, I bought it used off of craigslist for $20. It will keep her in the crib. I would get one ASAP, if she falls while trying to climb out she can break bones and seriously hurt herself. My daughter is completely content in her crib with her tent and she is almost 2. It did not take any adjustments for her to get used to it. Good Luck!

I don't think it would be too soon for a toddler bed at all! You could just put her crib mattress on the floor if your crib doesn't convert. We transitioned my son at around 15 months and he loved to play in his bed before falling asleep. He did know how to open doors so to keep him safe at night we put a child lock/cover on the inside of his door so he couldn't open it. We used a baby monitor in case he needed us. I just transitioned my 22 mo daughter a month ago. She loves to play in her room before/after she wakes up. She has not tried to escape her room yet. Her room is on the second floor so we make sure to keep the baby gate closed when she is in her room!

I would make sure all the bumper pads and anything else is out of the crib and that she could use to climb on. Make sure the crib is to its lowest level and this might help. Have you seen her climb out of the crib is she using something to help her out. My son use to use his dresser that was near by. Also if you get a gate made for stairs that the slates go straight up she will not be able to get over it. Just make sure the is nothing in her room that she could use as a step stool (toys she can climb on). I did put my son in a toddler bed at 18 months for different reason he would not go to sleep in his bed and he woke every night screaming and ended up sleeping with us. so we taught him to come over to our room and get in bed. It worked great. He would fall right back to sleep we had a gate at the top of the stairs so there was nothing to worry about.

We had a similar issue with our twin boys -- we got crib tents.

Honestly, I think you just need to figure out if you want to take the crib tent path or the toddler bed path. Do what you think will work for her. If put her in a toddler bed, you can always put a lock on the outside of her door so she can't get out at night and roam the house alone.

Crib tents have been wonderful for us. Our boys are just very active, and into everything. I wouldn't feel safe at night without them.

C.,

In my Lamaze class there was a couple who installed a screen door on the baby's room to keep their cats away from the baby. This might be an idea you can use with your daughter. I would put her into a toddler bed so she doesn't hurt herself climbing out and use a screen door that only has a handle on one side. This way she can't get out of her room and will be safe even when awake in the middle of the night.

I would also install chains up high on all of your outer doors and chain them shut every night, just in case your daughter gets out of her room and tries to leave the house.

Good luck!

-C..