My 18 Month Old Hates His Crib

I had a problem with my son climbing out of his crib around that age. So, my husband and I got a toddler bed and baby gated the door to his room. The first couple of nights was rough until he got the hang of it, but he loves the freedom of getting in and out of bed on his own. Some times he wakes up before us and enjoys the freedom of playing with all the toys in his room.

Nope, not too young at all. He will have new found freadom when he can get in and out of the bed easily. You may want to place a baby gate at his door or in the hallway to limit where he explores when you are asleep. Good luck and enjoy.

G.

He's old enough to be out of the crib. Just protect him from falling out of bed or from falling down stairs.

I put my 9 month old son in a big bed with pillows around him to protect him from rolling out. We all slept much better because he was happy to go to sleep. He did not like his crib either.

Hi N.,

My oldest son who is now 4 would climb out of his crib in the middle of the night at 18 months. He would wander the house. The last straw was waking up one morning and finding him asleep on the couch holding a bottle of hot sauce. We tried baby gates to keep him in his room but he would climb over them too. So at 18 months we moved him to a twin size bed w/ a trundle underneath. We left the trundle out initially. He used it as a step stool and I was pregnant at the time so I would lay on it to read stories. The first few nights were a little rough. I bought the book "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems"
by Richard Ferber, MD recommended by my pediatrician. It suggested setting a set bedtime routine, say good night and leave the room. If he cried out wait 5 minutes,go in comfort him trying to say as few words as possible and leave the room. The next time waiting 10 min. and so on. My son would stand and beat on the door. This went on for about two hours the first night an hour the next and then he was peacefully sleeping in his big boy bed all night and has been ever since.
My son was and still is tall for his age. I think he felt to confined in the crib. Also, sleeping with him is like sleeping in a washing machine. He is all over the place. Yet another reason the crib could be a problem. Good luck, I hope everyone is sleeping good soon.

Do you have a pack-n-play? I tried that for a while. It worked for us. After about a month I was able to put him back in his big boy crib. We were never sure what caused this, but we were desperate. I think an 18 month old is a little too young for the toddler bed, but that is just my opinion. Hope this helps.
Johna

Hi N.,
My son was about that age when I put him into his toddler bed. He wasn't necessarily upset by being in the crib, but he kept crawling out, so we decided that he must be ready to sleep in a "regular" bed. It sure is worth a try anyway. You can always put one of those side rail guards up on the one side - that's what we did. That way his mattress will be at about the same height to the top as his mattress was in the crib and maybe that will satisfy him.
Good Luck!
C.

I have a son who is almost 17 months and he's been in his toddler bed since a month after his 1st birthday. He started climbing out which was a sign to convert the crib to the toddler bed. I think that it would probably help to go ahead and give him a "big boy bed". It will take some effort to keep him in the toddler bed. But my son goes in there with no problem at night. I did get a rail to make sure he doesn't role out. But your son is not to young to move to the next step! Good luck!

We had the exact same problem. I realized when he was almost a year old that he hated being caged in. I converted his bed right after he turned one and he loved it. I won't say he slept in it every night because sometimes I would walk in and he would be on the floor in his sleeping bag. It didn't really matter to me where he slept in his room as long as he was sleeping. I had a baby gate in his door so he wouldn't wonder and fall down the basement steps. He figured out how to open it but he would only come to our room and sometimes we would just let him snuggle in with us or I would give him a drink of water and he would go right back to bed. Sometimes in the morning before I got up he would just get out of bed and play quietly with his toys.

Comforting your child in the middle of the night does not mean that your child is ruling the house. It is a mother nurturing their child. I tried to let my son cry it out in his room one night and he ended up vomiting in the bed after about 5 minutes. My husband and I decided that we would try one more time about a week later and the same thing happened.

Good Luck

B. M.

We switched both our girls over to toddler beds when they were 16 months old. They both did wonderfully, in fact my youngest not only slept all night long but wouldn't get out of the bed until we came in to get her in the morning. She wasn't afraid, she just seemed to really like the bed. I would DEFINATELY try a bed.... good luck!

I had all 3 of my boys in a toddler bed by that age or just about. It's not really judged by age it's judged by safety once they really start climbing or making a fess and disliking their bed it's time. Most children want to get into a toddler bed before age 2. Make sure you get some new bedding or used but new to him bight colors if it's appealing I have found my boys would leave their rooms as much. Once they get into a toddler bed it helps to make it interesting let him help.

I converted my oldest son into the toddler bed when he was 18 months old and it worked out ok. We would read, I'd put him in his bed, cover him up, and kiss him goodnight. As soon as I was out the room, he was getting up. He would get up multiple times, but I just kept putting him back into his bed. The first week it lasted for about an hour, but after that he kept getting up fewer times and it didn't last as long. This probably went on for about 2 weeks, but after the two weeks he was in his bed and would go right to sleep. You have to show him who is in charge and what you expect from him. He understands and knows what is going on...they just push their limits as far as they can. If you are going to convert his crib, let him go to the store with you and pick out a "new" bedding set. Tell him he is getting in the big boy bed so he needs big boy sheets. This may help. My son now is 3 1/2 and he is in an even bigger bed and loves it! Hopefully you can make the right choices for you and your family. Good luck!!!!

Try it!! Or do what we did with my son who's 20 months. I had hernia surgery a few weeks back and I'm not supposed to lift over 10lbs-yeah right, with a toddler in the house, SURE!!! But what we did was take the drop rail off the crib and put one of those mesh bed rails on like you'd use on a full size bed. The one I have can be lowered too so my son can crawl in and out of his bed. It is the length of the crib also. He hasn't tried to climb out of his crib before this nor does he try to now, we only did it so I wasn't having to lift him. But he does well with it and it will get used on his big boy bed (twin size) that we are going to buy for him in a month or so.

Good luck!
S.
www.shariegraf.scent-team.com

The fact that he falls back asleep immediately after snuggling on your shoulder, tells you that he wants to be near his mama! Have you considered cosleeping? Some parents are reluctant to do this and it doesn't work for everyone, but if you hubby will agree I think it's the best thing you can do for your little one. Kids want to be around their parents during the day and the nighttime is no exception--they want to feel the security of mom and dad.

Warmly,
C.
WAHmama to Zoe, Lola, and Milo

My older daughter did the same thing at about 10 months old. At first we let her cry, but then she jumped out of her crib (she started walking at 8 months old). She didn't hurt herself, but we were afraid she'd do it again so we converted hers the next day. We both worked full time then also, so we ended up moving the toddler bed next to our bed and she stayed there for about 6 months. We all got our sleep, we didn't worry about her getting up and wandering around the house, and she finally did move back into her room - about a year later.

Poor mama! He may well be ready for the toddler bed. Make a big deal about the "big boy" bed. Also, at that age, he may worry that you go away when he goes to sleep. Reassure him that you and daddy are just in the other room keeping him safe all through the night.

Good luck!

I don't think 18 months is too soon to change to a big boy bed. I'd put a guard rail on to make sure he doesn't fall out and a baby gate on the door to make sure he doesn't wander. Before you switch, you may want to just try getting him to go to bed because you put him to bed. Check out these: http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-ferber-method-demystified...

http://www.webmd.com/content/chat_transcripts/1/108694.htm

Good luck!

When my son was 14 mos old, he refused to sleep in a crib. At 16 mos, we put him in a single bed and he loved it. I dont think your son is too young for a toddler bed. It's more age appropiate. I think by refusing to sleep in a crib, it is his way of saying, "Mommy, I'm growing up. I'm a big boy." I'd suggest giving a toddler bed a try.

N.,
My daughter is 14 months older than my son. At 12 months we bought her a trundle bed - "big girl" bedding and moved her crib into the new baby's room. The trundle was great to pull out so she could get into and out of bed easily....and it saved me some sleep if she was ill during the night, since I could sleep beside her if needed. The only caution is if your son might get up at night and leave his room - we put a gate-type device to protect our kids from the stairs when they were young. Hope this helps!

I'm sorry you're going through this. Hang in there. I took my oldest son out of the crib at 14 months because my second son was due to be born soon, and I wanted the crib for the new baby. (They are 18 months apart). We didn't have a toddler bed, so I put him in a twin bed with a railing. He did fine safety wise, but he never napped again after that (it was too easy to get out), and it was a struggle getting him to sleep at night. He wanted us to sing to him, stay in the room, etc. In hind sight (ten years and several more children later), I wish I'd just bought a second crib. Your son is not too young for a toddler bed, but he may not stay in it. Because of the tantrums, you may want to consider the toddler bed and a baby gate across his bedroom door. That way, even if he gets out of bed, he has to stay in his room. (Just be sure his room is truly baby proof.)
Good luck!

I think this is a great time to convert to a toddler bed. He will probably love the fact that he gets to have a big boy bed! Just make it exciting for him and build it up so that it's a big event for him. I think the most important part of bedtime is making sure there is a routine. If you always read a book, maybe sing a little song or whatever then they know it's time for bed and lay right down to sleep. Most toddler beds are very low to the ground and also have a little bar to keep them from falling out so I think it would be perfectly safe. Good Luck.

N.,
My husband and I transitioned all three of our children out of the crib around age one. We were expecting our second child 5 months after my daughters 1st birthday and had just moved and thought it would be easier if she did not become used to the crib in the new house. She did great. We moved again when our son was one and did not want to keep the crib as we thought we were done having children. He also transitioned fine. The youngest we took out of the crib for space purposes because the two girls were sharing a room. They all had moments where they got up and came to us in the night or didn't want to go to sleep but overall they typically adjusted fine. There is a great book by Elizabeth Pantley called the No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers. I bought this actually to gain knowledge because I work as an Early Interventionist for Infants and Toddlers. It gives great strategies and principlies for better sleep for children and adults. Best of luck. V.

He is not too young, I have two children, my oldest is 4 years old, and when she could climb out of her crib at 13 months old, my husband and I converted ours into the toddler bed. Try it, if that doesn't work, take him to pick out a toddler bed, or a big boy bed and put the safety rails on. With children, it is all trial and error. You need to try everything possible to find what works for your child. Good luck!

The same thing happened to my son when he was younger ( 14 months) than 18 months. I was pregnant with our second child who was due very soon so we went ahead and switched him to a double bed with pop-up rails on each side. He did fine and he never knew the rails were up because he was asleep when we raised them.

My daughter was in a toddler bed b4 she was 1,and my son started sleeping in a toddler bed right around his 1st b-day.

Nope, not too young. Although I enjoyed my oldest in her crib as long as possible, my youngest was in a toddler bed by one. It happens. Good Luck!

When my son was born, my daughter was 18 mos old. We wanted her to be able to differentiate baby/big girl, so we converted her crib into the toddler bed set-up. She did GREAT! She was so excited to sleep in the "big girl bed" that she didn't give us ANY grief. Granted, she has fallen out a couple of times (even with the bed rails at her head and feet) but since the mattress is only about a foot off the ground, she just went right back to sleep! :) Now the baby is 15 months old and climbs in and out of his sister's bed on his own. We'll probably give him a few more months, but I'm sure we'll be making his transition sooner rather than later. Good luck!

You are not letting your child rule the house if you go in to comfort him when he is upset. I totally understand your need for sleep. Even though I work at home, I still need my daughter to sleep so I can function the next day. Granted, you are the parents, but you have not forsaken that responsibility. On the contrary, you are doing what you can to help your son. I would try the toddler bed/single bed. He might really like it. Or if you are afraid of him trying to climb out in the middle of the night and hurt himself, you could always put his mattress on the floor. This way if he gets off the bed half asleep it will be a much shorter drop. I hope all goes well!

Both of my children now ages 14 and 4 were out of their crib by the age of 12 months. I bought the small toddler bed for my daughter and the nascar bed for my son. They did very well although they are not caged in, so they can get up and go to your room. It sounds like to me that your 18 month old is waking up because he doesn't like to sleep in the crib, so I would definitely change the bed to a toddler bed. S

Other things you can do if you aren't already are:
Surround his bed will wall hangings he likes or stuffed toys for comfort and establish a nightly routine of brushing teeth/gums, sitting on potty, saying goodnight to family members or pets, then reading a book and singing a song. These are all just options and you can establish your own routine with him. Then he knows what to expect each night and will feel secure and comfortable with bedtime.

So does my 22 month old daughter! About 2 weeks ago when she refused to go in her crib I asked her if she wanted to sleep in her "big girl" bed (a twin bed) and of course she said yes! Well that was a disaster. She knows how to climb out of the bed by herself (feet first) and would open the door to come out. I tried laying down with her to get her to sleep and then sneak out, but the hardwood floors creaked and woke her. I tried rocking her to sleep and then laying her down, but she would wake up immediately and cry for me. I finally lowered the crib mattress as far as it would go and did what I absolutely hate to do...let her cry for 15 minutes until she fell asleep by herself in her crib. That was Sunday night. Last night (Monday) I read to her in her room for 15 minutes and kept telling her that after 3 books it was time for her to go night night. She did not like it, but I put her in her crib and let her cry...she only cried for 3 minutes until she fell asleep. As tough as it is to hear her cry, it's even more tough for me to fight with her for 2 hours to get her to sleep. Give it a try...just remember that it's okay for them to cry. It took me a long time to realize this. Good luck. D. H

I think its time for a toddler bed. My 2 year old started sleeping in his toddler bed at 12 months (as soon as he could climb up and down safely).

B. N
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