Transitioning Out of a Crib

Hi T.,
My son is 17 months old, and he has been in a toddler bed since he was 14 months old. He was trying to eat his crib, and broke two of the slats, so we changed his bed too. We don't use a guard rail of any kind. He has learned what his bed is, and he knows thats where he sleeps. However, he does get out of bed occasionally and when he does, I put him right back in it, it may take a few times at night, but he usually gets the idea. I don't close his door all the way, but I leave it cracked so if he does wake up at night he knows mommy is just across the hall. As far as sleeping other places, like grandmas, he uses a play pen over there, but I never have probelms with him when we get home. I think it all depened on the child, and how willing you are to try different things. Best of luck!

L.

Yes, those toddler beds are very low to the ground and you could at first just put pillows or a blanket on the floor next to the bed to break his fall if he rolls out.

My advice is to lower the rail until you get the guard rail. I have even known people who put a kids chair, or step stool on the outside of the crib which allows your climber safe entry and exit, without the fear of rolling off of the bed in the middle of the night. It is a great way to start teaching him when he is allowed to get up, and when to stay in bed. My daughter almost broke her foot trying to get out of her crib, so for sure I would not let him have the chance to try again without some sort of safety measures in place. Good luck! ~A.~

My 17 month old jumped out of his crib for the first time last Sunday. My husband and I heard the "thud". We ordered a cozy crib tent. It hasn't come in yet but I hope it does the trick. I don't think he would do well in a toddler bed or anything other than a crib just yet. Good luck!

My son will be 2 the middle of June, and for the last month he has been hopping right out of his crib every time we put him in for naps and bedtime. We have to put him back in his crib at least 10 times a night. He is an expert climber

We have a regular bed in his room, and I have tried to get him to sleep in it, but never can get him to stay in it. At least the crib makes him work a little harder to get out.

I don't have one, but I have heard of these canopy/tent things you can put over the crib to prevent them from escaping. I know a couple of other moms who had one for their little one, and I think they seem to work.

Howdy! On your first question - if you're really worried about him falling out of bed with out having those rails up - put the mattress on the floor until you get the rails. On your second question - you can close the door if he cannot yet open it, or you can put a baby gate at the door to keep him in. Hope that helps! Good Luck!

Your situation sounds exactly like mine when we transitioned our daughter. We had bought the convertable crib thinking it was the best bet for growing years. Then when it came down to it, it just looked so far off the floor even at the lowest setting. We looked at the rails etc. etc. but here's what we ended up doing.

We took the side rail off (she was thrilled and even asked for the end rails off too). She had a ball climbing in and out of it and realizing she now had "freedom".

When bedtime rolled around, we put two pillows on the floor next to the bed. For about a month she would crawl out of bed, get under her bed and use the pillows on the floor to sleep on. There was a dust ruffle on her bed so the only thing we could figure was that she felt safe being surrounded by that dust ruffle. We'd let her fall asleep then move her into her bed. She only fell out of bed 2-3 times total. And we left the pillows down there for probably 6 weeks. She quickly learned about the edge of the bed and now has no problems.

Now, on to the second part of your question......how to get them to stay in their beds? I laugh hysterically here.....because at our house that's a joke. The answer is....you don't! We've tried everything from staying in there till she falls asleep to waiting for her just outside her door to threats to treats and nothing seems to work except for sheer exhaustion. Some nights she's ready for bed, other nights she gets up 10+ times before she settles down.

Once she's in bed tho she doesn't get up and roam like I've heard other parents say. So yours might or might not.

It's a big step for your son(and you). And he's probably going to love it. Good luck!

D.

T., I wish I was still in Grapevine as I am an almost 31 year old stay at home mom to Ryan who turns two on Wednesday! About three months ago he jumped out of his crib and was screaming! I wasn't home, I was at my bowling league and my husband called to tell me about it. I figured one of two things would happen. He would either decide that now he knows how to get out so he'll do it all the time, or he scared the heck out of himself and will not try it again. It's been three months and he has not gotten out of his crib again. I hope this ends up being the case for you. I wouldn't change the bed unless he tries it again. For the first few days after he did it, I kept our video monitor on for naps and when he would first go to bed to make sure he wasn't trying to get out. I also just listened closely (I know not everyone has a video monitor). Good luck!

You need to get the rails asap because he will fall out. IT will be easier than you think. My daughter was kind of scared of the toddler bed at first which was odd since it was the same bed but it only took her a few nights to get used to it. We have a video monitor in her room so we can see what she is up to but she rarely if ever gets out of bed on her own. Make sure the room is really baby proofed just in case.

our little guy is about the same age and recently escaped once. he scared himself and hasn't tried to get out since (about 3 weeks now). i know our time is limited, but the crib is so much easier so we're keeping him in it until he gets out consistently. good luck!

T.,
My daughter is 4 now (will be next month) and I used a convertible crib for her. She was not quite 2 when I changed it but I had to make a way for her to get in and out on her own so that she would be able to go to the restroom.
I did not have any type of guardrail at all on the bed, I just lowered all the way down (they do go lower after you take the crib rail off, not sure if you know that) and then I would double fold one of my extra king size comforters and lay it on the floor in case she fell. There were 2 morning where I went in and she had evidently fallen off, but then just decided to grab her pillow and blanket and keep them on the floor with her.
It is really just a matter of time for them to realize how far they can roll without falling, he will only fall a few times. I don't mean that to sound harsh. She is now in a queen size bed and she has yet to fall out of it.
As far as keeping them in the bed, that is not an issue I had to deal with, when haylee sleeps, she sleeps hard, and fast.

Once we finally took the crib apart, I put a baby lock on the inside of the door, for the first few months, to at least keep her confined to her room. This way she is not up roaming in the middle of the night while I am sleeping :)

At Grandmas, we make a pallet on the floor right next to our bed where the play pen used to go. She is usually pretty tired and bed time routine is out the window because grandma is playing games.

Good luck, it is a hard transition, but my 5 year old now says, it is 8:01, I am late for bed, and heads right on her own!!

P.

When my daughter was two we moved her into a bed. Not a toddler bed, but a full size bed. She did really well in it. We put one end up against the wall, got a bed rail for the other side, and the headboard and footboard take care of the top and bottom. We went strait to a bed because we did not want to waste the money for a toddler bed when it would be used for such a small amount of time. We had the convertible crib, but never used it as anything other than a crib.

As for keeping your child in bed, I think every kid is different. My daughter stayed in her bed and waited for me to come and get her. It took forever to get her to just get out when she woke up in the mornings. My friends son, however, would wage a battle every night by getting up just about as soon as he was put down.

Good Luck!!

Friends that I've had have either just put them straight into a twin bed, or used a toddler bed. So I'd be interested to hear about these convertible cribs too. (We have one.) Incidentally, I'll be 31 this year and I'm a first time mom to Ryan who'll be 2 in June! I hope my Ryan stays in his crib a little longer- I'm not ready to think about all this yet!!!

We moved Titus to a toddler bed at 15 months (due to a back pain I had at the time). He did really well with it, considering he was pretty young. We just pushed it up against the wall on one side, and tucked a stuffed animal in next to him on the other side. He rolled out the first night... but hasn't done it since... or at least doesn't cry about it, just climbs back up into the bed.

We worked for a couple of weeks to get him to get himself to sleep in there. It was a lot of up and down. He would do really well for a while, then relapse into wanting us to rock him to sleep. We just started putting a safety gate over his doorway, so that he can't get out. He cried a bit the first two nights... then resorted to just throwing toys over the gate for a while. Sometimes we do hear him up playing in there, but he usually just gets back into his bed and goes to sleep!

When we go to bed, I take the gate off and close his door. He usually cries when he wakes up (especially since he can't open his door), so I just go get him. It's really not so bad, just a process!

Good Luck!

-A.

For most kids it a pretty qwick transition, in the realm of things, after we/they get over the novelty of it. You have to talk with them about staying in bed. You need to listen and when you hear them out bed sternly tell then to return to the bed.

Make sure that everything is very safe i the room. I put a door knob baby proof thing so they could not leave the room with out my knowlege. For now you can put the mattress on the floor until your rail comes in.

I have been dreading this time myself. My daughter just turned 2 and I have no idea how I'm going to keep her in her bed once we take the crib down. My crib transitions into a bed as well with the rails. I'm still afraid she will fall out because she's a wild sleeper. I thought of putting pillows around the edge of it at night.

We use a standard twin size bed and pushed the side of it against one wall and purchased a child guardrail for the other side. We got ours at walmart for under 20 bucks.... folds up so its easy to take to grandmas!