Transitioning from Crib to bed....please Help

I had an escape artist too... but knew she wouldn't stay in her big girl bed yet.. so I used a crib tent. It worked perfectly!

Another possible cure would maybe be switch her to her crib mattress only on the floor, continue to lay with her till she falls asleep. Once she is used to sleeping on the mattress on the floor, then start training her to stay in it.

This takes a little time, it took a few weeks for my son. I would read him his books and sing him his songs, then say time for bed and move to a different part of the room. Everytime he got out of bed I put him back in. The first time I would say, "No, You have to stay in bed sweetie. I love you and go to sleep." and put him back in bed. Second time just say "stay in bed". Each time after that, I would say nothing, no yelling, no comforting, just back in the bed.

The first night he got up around 40 times, second night around 15-20, by the end of the week he only tried once or twice. I had to keep an eye on it after that, for about a month or so, because occasionally he would still crawl out and try to sneak to the door or to find me, but he was pretty much cured/trained to stay in bed after a week.

My son was also around 18 months old when I made the transition. But by switching him to a mattress on the floor and leaving him in it for about a year, when the time came for a "big boy bed" the switch was super easy. He was already used to sleeping in a "bed" without rails, so he had learned not to roll off, and he was super excited to have a large bed.

This worked for me and maybe would help you. It just took consistency and patience. Best of luck!

S.

My advice to you is get a crib tent. My daughter is almost 3 and is still sleeping fabulously in her crib b/c of the crib tent. You just zip them in and they can't get out, they can't get their legs caught in the sides....I was anti the tent until she got her leg caught between the slats, but then I put it on and I don't see her getting out of the crib anytime soon. 18 months sounds a little young to be dealing with a big girl bed, and she still needs her nap. Plus it's exhausting on you to have to lay there with her until she falls asleep. Seriously, look into it. You'll be so glad you did!

I would put her crib back up and put a crib tent on it. Since she slept well for you in the crib she probably likes the security of the crib. My son was the same way. We saw a sleep specialist for him and she suggested not putting him in a big boy bed until he was at least 26-28 months old.

You could put a gate at her bedroom door. Maybe keep the door open but the gate locked.

Target.com sells (or used to sell) crib tents. At her age, it seems like the best solution. She is still so little, and the sense of security that comes from being enclosed is important.

My girls started crawling out of their cribs at 12 mos and there was NO WAY we were going to beds! We bought the crib tents and are still using them 1.5 years later. We have a lot of children in our neighborhood and every parent states that once they go into big beds it's pure hell - hence our having no desire re: getting rid of them and the girls actually like it... if we forget to zip it they call us back in to do it! I also know people who have had to put their cribs back up b/c their child was just too young to be in a bed and were not adapting to it. If you have to do that get the tent for your peace of mind. Tots n Mind is the product - we've had some issues w/ quality... but they're the only game in town and they are VERY good re: warranty. Good luck!

She is probably still too young for a toddler bed. You should try the crib net. I just transitioned my daughter to her toddler bed (just her crib with the mattress all the way down and two rails) I kept her bumper on and used velcro so that she can "open" the bumper between the two rails. She has only gotten out of bed 2 times since and putting her back, giving her a kiss, and playing her music box gets her right back to sleep. Good luck.