*****My beautiful daughter pulled herself out of her crib yesterday scaring the daylights out of me. Luckily, she was not hurt. I caught her in the act as she was doing it, but did not get there until she hit the carpet. SHE IS VERY VERY ATTACHED TO HER BUMPERS. She has used them as her pillow and cozy corner since she got her crib. My husband and I removed them this morning and she napped o.k. during the day, but tonight was a completely different story. She was absolutely beside herself and inconsolable until we put them back on. She went right to sleep once we did this. CAN ANYONE SUGGEST SOMETHING TO USE IN THEIR PLACE to give her that cozy feeling and a place to rest her head? I have read several responses and many suggest a flat pillow. Is there anything else that you can suggest that adheres to the sides of the crib but is unable to give leverage if stood on? Regarding the flat pillow, is there a particular one you suggest or will anyone do?
Please help.
Signed: a very grateful mommy..
Thank you so much for all the quick responses as this was a matter that needed immediate attention! The suggestion of the IKEA toddler pillow was a lifesaver. I ran out to get it yesterday and my daughter slept absolutely beautifully!! I sewed the ends of the pillowcase closed so that I don't have to worry. The suggestion of the toddler bed sounds good in the future but I don't think she's quite ready yet.
Please have a happy holiday and keep everyone safe.!!!
Thank you so much for the wonderful responses. My daughter's comfort is so important to me, especially since she is a wonderful sleeper! But, HER SAFETY COMES FIRST! I will look into all of these suggestions, especially the flat pillow. One question regarding the a toddler bed--what if she gets out ? She is so young and we do have other items in her room, like a dresser, television and desk.
Please let me know.
Thank you!!!
Have you thought about buying a crib tent to keep her inside? That way, you can keep the bumper, too. You also could consider just snuggling a blanket against the corner that she snuggles against, so she can use that as her cozy corner.
If she is able to get out of the crib with the bumper, it is a short amount of time until she will be able to use a pillow as a booster, or climb out with nothing to help her. I would consider the transition to the toddler bed soon. We took the front off my son's crib as soon as he started trying to climb out. His room was super baby-proofed, and we put a gate at the door. It took a couple of nights for him to get used to it, but it gave me a piece of mind knowing he was safe.
Well mama. I had every intention to keep my daughter in her crib until after three. I was in NO hurry to get her out of the crib. One afternoon she used the bumpers as a ladder and escaped. I took them out and two days later she escaped again. And again. And again.
If she is really attached to the bumpers I'd try keeping them in there and getting a crib tent. That may work to keep her put. (Sadly, my daughter also learned how to escape from two of those and I had to move in the big girl bed. )
Good luck mama!
ETA: They make wall anchors to attach bookshelves, desks, etc to the wall. It keeps them from tipping over. And you can get hooks for the drawers if you are worried about smashed fingers. You'll have to baby proof her room, especially since she will be spending time alone in there. She probably WILL get up at some point. It does take a bit of sleep training once you move from a crib.
We put our kids on a mattress on the floor, between 16 and 20 months.
We never had to worry about falls or accidents, and they learned how to sleep in a "real" bed early on. Why not try that, before something bad happens?
Ikea sells a nice flat toddler pillow. My daughter has that in her bed now. It's got just enough "coosh" without putting a whole pillow in there.
Sad, but it may be time to consider a toddler bed. My son never climbed out of his crib and we never used the bumpers so no personal experience.
I would suggest a crib tent-like this one-
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
My daughter climbed out at 18 months and we put it on and called it her "princess tent". You can also keep the bumper in that she loves so much. We love the tent-it gave me such peace of mind to know she was safe and couldn't climb out and get hurt. Good luck.
Time for a toddler bed, or mattress on the floor.
Bumpers are a safety hazard: Kids climb on them. They also can be a suffocation hazard. We're told not to have ANY soft stuff, pillows, even blankets with small kids; why on earth have soft bumpers in there?
If she's old enough to have a pillow, even a flat one (and wouldn't a flat pillow be a suffocation hazard if it got over her nose and mouth? Yes, it would) then she is old enough to leave the crib.
It only takes ONE time climbing out to get hurt or worse. A friend's child was 18 months and broke her arm the very first time she climbed out. And imagine your child falling head first from the height of a raised crib rail -- picture it. That would be a possibly fatal fall.
Instead of trying to keep her in the crib for your convenience, get rid of the crib and transition her to a bed or the floor. Don't cling to the crib. And crib tents are no solution! They only frustrate kids, who will try to find a way out, and that's a strangulation hazard (note the post from the person whose doctor is out to ban them because a child died this way). Crib tents are for the parents, not the children.
Transitioning means you will have some work to do for a while, and will have to deal with her getting up out of bed just because she can. Be ready with your plan for how you'll return her to bed (no conversation, no fussing at her, do it over and over even if it annoys you,etc.). But you will have to make this transition sometime - go ahead and do it now, before she falls, or gets caught in a tent, or ends up with a pillow over her face. It is very typical for kids to leave the crib around age two. And if she cries or fusses that she misses her crib, well, not to be harsh but she'll get over it, truly.
I have no suggestion for a replacement, but I wanted to share that my daughter is 3 years, 1 month and still in her crib WITH her bumpers :) Luckily she's never tried to climb out (EVER), but you could try untying the bumpers or tying them loose enough that if/when she tries to climb up on the them, they'll collapse under her weight.
And both of my kids have slept with a regular bed pillow since just before their 2nd birthday. I just found the flattest in our closet, but they both prefer a little thicker pillow.
Breathable bumpers and at 2 she can have a small travel pillow or pillow pet instead. My DD has long slept with a travel pillow and pillow pets and they are pretty flat.
I would take the TV out of the room entirely. You an also get braces to fix a desk or other furniture to the wall if you are concerned.
Childproof her room completely and put her mattress on the floor or move her to a toddler or twin bed. She won't need bumpers or anything else to get out of the crib now that she knows how to do it, they're smart and remember. One of my grandsons did this at 17 months and was in a toddler bed that night, per his doctor's recommendation.
For her safety, please stay away from the crib tents, if a child can move them they can become entangled in them and strangle or suffocate. Our pediatrician is campaigning to have them banned, a patient of hers died in this way.
we use a breatheable bumper. It's not cozy like a regular one but she won't be able to stand on it. It might give her the bumper feel without the escape route.
Actually, (in response to another poster who said 2 year old are too big for toddler beds) if you read the age range on toddler beds, they are for 1-5 year olds and the average weight limit is 50 pounds (the size of my 8 year old). That being said, there's nothing wrong with keeping her in a crib a bit longer if you want to and she sleeps great in it. Most experts recommend keeping them in cribs until they are closer to 3. Here's an article on babycenter.com about it:
http://www.babycenter.com/404_how-and-when-should-i-move-...
I would go for the crib tent. It would be the safest solution and I've had friends use them with great success. It's also possible she won't even try to climb out again after falling once, but you definitely don;t want to take that risk. I would keep the bumper since she seems to so attached to it and use the tent. Good luck!
Since a toddler bed is for toddlers and your child is not one any longer I suggest you get her a big kid bed and move her to it. Toddler beds are for kids ages 12 months up to 24 months. After that they are too heavy and too big for their baby bed mattress no matter what it is laying on.
She is big enough for a big kid bed now.
I lined the crib with her "buddies" which made a natural bumper for her.
We moved our son to a toddler bed at 13 months and my daughter at 16 months. I truly believe that once they climb out of a crib it is too dangerous to keep them in a crib. 2 years is absolutely not too young for a toddler bed!! We had very smooth transitions! :)
Depending on how your daughter got out, there are things you can do instead of removing the bumpers. You could put her in a sleep-sack so that she cannot swing her leg over the rail of the crib (this is how we stopped my little climber), but if your daughter is the head-first type, it won't help. There are also crib tents designed for this sort of thing.
I would NOT put her in a Toddler bed unless you think she is ready for it, meaning you can tell her to lie down and go to sleep and she will do so. She WILL get out of the toddler bed if she isn't ready to stay in yet. Good luck!
P.S. Toddler beds are for toddlers - I would think ages 1-4. The person who said they aren't for kids this age has information that is severely out of date.
LJ,
Years ago, I thought I would be in the same place...I've taken a different path. She is comfortable with her crib, but at the same time, she is exploring out of it.
Not wanting to saw the legs off it to make it closer to the floor, I'm sure you can pick a route that will work for you:
you can turn it into the toddler bed.
you can leave it as is and do the flat pillow (turn the bumper itself into a 'pillow' by binding it securely with ribbon or sewing it together)
you can give her an adult bed (save the box spring & frame, just use the mattress)
of the 3, I would likely pick the latter. I wouldn't make a huge deal of it - simply move it into her room, make it up as a bed, and then use it - as a play place, as a nap place, make forts with it.
If you talk about it, simply tell her it is hers, and point out your bed, that you have a bed, (maybe have a similar comforter?) and that she has one.
If she is looking for the comfort of her four little walls, you may wish to go a different route entirely. A nest bed. I can't remember what they're called, but they are out there, and contrary to popular belief, they are not bad for the child's back. They create a haven of comfort, you don't have to worry about the infantile problem of suffocation, and she gets a cozy place to sleep.
Good luck,
M.
