Perrin woke up at 5:00 this morning in a really cranky mood. He was banging around in his crib and wailing. So I did what any other sane and loving mother would do at that ungodly hour--I ignored him. 5:00 is waaaaay too early. My plan was for him to go back to sleep and wake up in a cheerful, snuggly mood.
Suddenly, I heard a loud BOOM. And then he was REALLY screaming. I rushed into his room and found him on the floor in front of his crib, crying his eyes out. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later--it had actually surprised me that my little daredevil hadn't attempted to climb out of his crib until now--but now that it's happened, I'm not sure what to do. I don't think he's ready for a toddler bed. (I can just imagine how much fun that'll be to get him to take a nap when I can't secure him in his cell. I mean, uh, crib.) But we also can't have him climbing out of his crib and falling on the floor.
So what's a mom to do? Do I bite the bullet and convert his crib to a toddler bed even though he's only 19 months old and more likely to play with his toys all night than sleep if given the choice? Do I hope it was a fluke or that he learned his lesson and won't try it again? Do I invest in dozens of pillows to pad the floor around his crib so he'll at least have somewhere soft to land?
Thankfully, all he has to show for his morning acrobatics is a little red bump on his forehead. But I'm still feeling torn. If you have (or have had) a toddler, when did you move them to a toddler bed? Did you have this problem? I could use some experienced-mommy wisdom.
I'll assume you've already lowered the mattress as far as it will go? Emily never tested the confines of her crib much, so I can't help on how to keep him in. We moved her to a twin sized bed about a month after her 2nd birthday though. It's definitely an adjustment. We finally resorted to putting a tall baby gate in her doorway some nights just to keep her in there, and often she'll quietly fall asleep on the floor right next to the gate. I'm happy to say that she's finally gotten back to taking good, easily initiated, afternoon naps, but bedtime is still a much more lengthy endeavor than it was before the transition. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHey Jayna, My mom sent me your blog link. Andrew only fell out of his crib once and he never did again. But, he was also not an adventurous little boy. I kept him in his crib until 3! Then, I moved him to a twin bed with a mesh rail on the side. My girls I've moved to a toddler bed at 2. It's very much a transition and requires lots of time to re-establish routines. If you want to keep him confined as long as possible (which is ideal, IMO) yet safe, you might want to check out mesh crib coverings. It's like a big tented mosquito net that goes over the top. HTH! Sarah
ReplyDeleteElizabeth--Yep, the mattress is as low as it can go. Perrin just happens to be a really ambitious climber. Glad things are getting better for Emily's naps!
ReplyDeleteSarah--Thanks for the advice! I've never heard of the mesh crib coverings. I'll look into that.