We just shifted our 3-year-old out of a crib into a toddler bed, and on the first night she fell out. She says it didn't hurt (and I heard no crying so didn't intervene), but in the morning she had a slightly fat lip, bruised on the inside, and possibly the flap of skin connecting her inside top lip to the gums is newly stuck between her two front teeth. (Embarrassing to admit, but the more I inspect, the more I wonder whether the skin was always growing a bit in between the teeth and is not actually newly lodged in there today. Yes, we do brush daily, it's just that I haven't paid attention to that flap of skin.) The only thing she complains of or cries about today is my attempts to inspect or gently nudge/tooth-brush/floss that flap of skin out from between the teeth -- otherwise she's happy and unhurt.
2 questions:
1. Should we be concerned about the minor injury and/or the lip-skin thing? We live overseas in a place with no access to a local dentist or pediatrician, just a GP. From what I've consulted so far this doesn't really seem like a big deal.
2. I assume falling out of a (low) toddler bed is just part of the process -- that she'll shift her sleep patterns in a few days and stop moving around enough in the night to fall out. Any suggestions as to how to help her train herself not to fall out, or is it just something she's gotta do on her own?
Thanks!
Thank you all very much for the advice -- your answers basically confirmed what I suspected, that both things are not a big deal and will work themselves out with time. We went on a trip for Christmas promptly only 1 more night after I wrote, where she slept in a crib again... Now we are back home for 2 nights and she hasn't fallen out, but just in case we put 2 ginormous pillows on the floor underneath the space between the bars. (This toddler bed does have the partial bars, but they didn't keep her from flailing herself out that first night, I guess.) What did not seem broken we didn't look to fix (yet), so the lip healed up quickly without further attention, and we'll see her pediatric dentist about the skin flap the next time we are home in the US, since it doesn't seem urgent. Thank you again! Happy new year!
Two ideas for keeping her from falling out of bed. 1) pool noodle under the sheet works great!, 2) sleeping bag. My 3-yr old LOVES his superman sleeping bag with his name on it. Not only keeps him in his bed, but keeps the covers on too. Pottery Barn often has them on sale.
When I moved my son from the crib to his toddler bed - every night he constantly fell out of the bed, starting crying - I had to go in there. After like four nights of this I told my husband that is it, I have had it put the crib back up - he looked at me like I was crazy but he also knew I meant business. So it is not recommended but he got a bed rail guard and attached it to the toddler bed with plastic ties - ahhh problem fixed. The rail stayed there indefintely. The little rails that comes with toddler beds are ridcioulous, I am not sure what even the purpose is.
on the falling out:
1. place pillows around the bed. sounds silly but works.
if you don't then
2. buy the rails that hold children in bed. made of soft netting! and collapse during the day!
they move so much! and they do keep falling!
Hi-when I was little, I'm sorry but I can't remember how old I was, I had a flap of skin that hung between my 2 front teeth. It was very sensitive to the touch & if she hit it falling out of bed, it's probably more tender. My parents took me to the dentist & they cut it out/off so that my teeth might close together on their own. Ahh...Pleasant childhood memories;) Maybe your daughter has that too?
As far as the bed, I think it's definitely part of the process, but I'd suggest pushing the bed length-wise against a wall & tuck her in w/pillows & or stuffed animals on the open side. Maybe even put pillows on the floor to break her fall?
Good luck!
Hi
Yes falling out of toddler bed is normal as they are used to being able to roll around and not fall out , she will learn her limits to how much rolling around she can do , in the meantime if you are concerned you could use a bed guard or put something soft on the floor next to her bed (spare mattress if you have one).
As for the skin between teeth , I would try and see someone about that , it may not be causing any noticeable problems right now , but if it doesn't free itself , as her mouth/teeth grow it could cause problems/pain then , so best to get it sorted while she is younger.
Hope this helps
K.
i don't know about the lip thing, but i would probably let it go on its own for a little while and see if it resolves itself.
as for falling out of bed- it will happen a few times! your daughter will learn how to stay in one place when she sleeps, but she will only learn that by falling off the bed. sometimes she may cry, and sometimes she may not. If my son fell out of his toddler bed, we would always wake up if he cried, and then just calmly pick him up and help him back to bed, give him a few strokes on his head, and let him go back to sleep on his own. It never bothered him!
Falling out is typical, and at least it was from a toddler bed height and not the height of a regular bed! One thought: Be sure that the fall didn't scare her more than she's letting on--is she resisting going back to the bed, is she clingier or needier at bedtime than before the fall, does she end up coming into your room or calling you back, etc.? If those kinds of things start happening, the fall may have frightened her more than she's articulating in words. If not--great.
Does her toddler bed have any side rails? Both the ones we used, at our own home and her grandmother's, had built-in rails that ran just from the head of the bed down a short distance--not enough to keep a kid entirely in place if she wiggled down, but enough that if she rolled into them in the night, they'd remind her to roll back toward the center. If your child's bed doesn't have those, you might look for one that does. If you get side rails to add to the current bed, be sure they are a very good fit, or she could end up catching an arm between bed and rail.
Falling out of bed is soooooo normal. And if she's unhurt aside from a minor fat lip .. then don't sweat it. You can buy bed guard rails that slide under the mattess if you're super concerned, but she'll learn her limits quick enough.
As for the lip/tooth thing. right now I'd leave it be since it doesn't seem to bother her. Then ask the doc about it at her next visit. She's getting close to being able to see a dentist regularly too. And once that happens, if it's an issue (which I doubt) they'll let you know.
We tried switching my son to the toddler bed over the weekend so we removed the rail from his crib. I put the changing table pad on the floor incase he fell. I think he did fall out around 2 AM because he was crying and when I went into his room he was just standing there crying.
As for the lip injury, if its not bothering her and she's eating, drinking and talking fine, I would just dismiss it.
If your daughter's never been to a dentist, I strongly recommend finding one that will see her. Its recommended that children start seeing the dentist regularly at 1 yr old.
