Mothering Forum banner

22 mo bedtime battles and climbing out of crib...

806 views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  rozziemama 
#1 ·
I've spent the entire day so far at work obsessively searching google for the answer ... i've searched some posts here too but I thought I'd post anyway since maybe some parents out there have a similar challenge, or some advice (i hope, i hope).

Just last week I was quoted saying what a great sleeper my 22 mo DS has become, he loves his crib, his animals, he sleeps from abt 8:30 til 7, life is starting to feel pretty healthy and great... And then BAM.

Two nights ago he woke up screaming and wouldn't go back to bed until we brought him in our room.
Last night, he became so upset at one point after we'd left the room that he somehow climbed out of his crib. And walked down the hall... he would NOT go to sleep in his crib.
He was saying there was a squeaky noise (he tends to be pretty verbal, and his crib does squeak, but it always has - it did two nights ago too!?)
Anyway, point is throughout the night he would wake up hysterical screaming(not night terrors, very much awake) and then at 4:30 tried again to climb out of his bed... and I heard a huge BOOM, he fell.
He was ok but this is not good. he ended up sleeping in our bed of course. So, he won that fight...
It's one thing to face the challenge of the bedtime battle, but the climbing out the crib? Its so scary and dangerous!
If this were last week, I never would have considered him ready for a "big boy bed" or toddler bed or whatever.
But now I feel like it's unsafe to keep him in the crib.
Does anyone have an under two year old who sleeps in a toddler bed?
Any other advice, in general?
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
It won't help with the waking up hysterical, but a crib tent should ensure that he doesn't climb out of the crib. I do know people who have transitioned to a toddler/twin bed or mattress on the floor before 24 months and I think it's been ok (aside from frequent visits to parents' room in the beginning).

DS is 25 months and has been in his own room for about a month. He used to think it was fun to climb out of the crib onto our bed, which was right next to the crib...thus, not a long way to go. Now that he's in his own room, we have a "stowaway" futon that we lay out each night next to the crib so that there's some cushion there...JUST IN CASE. Well, good thing it was there because 2 nights ago DS decided to climb out of his crib. We'll be converting to a toddler bed in the next couple months probably.
 
#3 ·
You could put his crib mattress on the floor until you get a twin/toddler bed. My DS has never slept in a crib, he went from sleeping with us to sleeping in a twin size bed at 19 months old.

I would not feel safe having him in a crib if he can climb out. You can get a twin bed and put a bed rail on the side and have it against the wall, and you can teach him how to climb out safely if he needs to climb out. We actually don't use a bedrail, though. We have the bed against the wall on one side and a pillow on the other side to keep him from falling out. He knows how to climb out safely, though typically he just calls for us when he wakes up.
 
#4 ·
My DD would never sleep in her crib. Around 15 months(?) we set up her toddler bed and started encouraging her to sleep in it (we co-sleep). She will be 2 next month and does well in the toddler bed, which has been and currently is in our room. She spends about half the night there and then comes into the bed with me sometime in the middle of the night. I keep a babygate across the bedroom doorway so she can't wander the house. Our bedroom is mostly babyproof. When we first started she would roll out of the bed sometimes (I used to reposition her frequently) but its pretty close to the floor and she never hurt herself, just woke up. I would feel a toddler bed or mattress on the floor would be far safer than a toddler who can climb out of his crib.
 
#5 ·
my kids were on a twin mattress on the floor at ~15/16mos (i forget). i've never had any trouble. i know some kids love the crib, and one of my boys was relatively OK with it (he's a really mellow guy), but they were definitely psyched to have a comfortable bed that they could get in and out of. at almost 20mos they are still on the twins on the floor, with pillows to cushion their fall if they roll off. i will just buy a platform for the mattresses when i think they're ready for the added height....

but seriously, i couldn't believe how easy the transition was. the one who was really not into the crib as much was and is so much happier in a nice, regular bed! do it!
 
#6 ·
We moved ds to a twin sized bed (with bedrails) at 18 months - it went reallllly well.

If he's climbing out it's time to ditch the crib - it's just not safe.

Not sure what to suggest with the upset nights. We just pull ds into our bed if he's having rough nights.
 
#7 ·
This is why we co-sleep. It seems pretty unnatural for us to confine a child to a space and not meet their needs for more than half the time in the day. I can't even imagine how horrible it must be for the child to wake up scared and want comfort and not have it there.

I would just bring the child in the bed.
 
#8 ·
I agree with the above posters regarding bringing DS into your bed when he is frightened or having trouble sleeping at night. If a child wants to get out of bed they ought to be able to...and a crib is really for the convenience of parents peace of mind more than for the child's wellbeing (at least mentally). My kid has slept in a double bed with bedrails since he was about 7 months old. He sleeps alone from about 8pm (on a good night) until midnight or 1am when I join him. He has also slept in his toddler bed a handful of times in this last month. He does alright with it. He especially likes the fact that its lower to the ground so he can get in and out himself. Since he is 14 months old I would imagine that a 22 month old would be just fine.
 
#9 ·
We transitioned DD (now 23 mths) to a floor bed (mattress on floor) at 14 mths because we needed the crib for the new baby. It's fine.

I like that she can get up and do her own thing if she wants/needs to and she can come in to our room and wake us if she needs to go to the bathroom during the night.

I'd put her in a regular twin bed now but we don't have a frame.
 
#10 ·
My son was in a toddler bed at 18 months, and my daughter was in a twin mattress on a box spring on the floor at abotu 14 months, because she climbed INTO her crib whiel the rail was up (I was in her room folding laundry and I watched her) and I decided then and there that it wasn't safe for her to be in a crib anymore. We have been part time cosleepers our whole kids' lives, so the wandering in and finding our bed and snuggling up wasn't an issue for us. They both did it off and on until they were 4 and 6, and again, it wasn't an issue for us, we actually welcomed the snuggles.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the input, all.

Last night, he slept in his pack n play (his choice) since he would NOT go into his crib. He suddenly hates it. After 22 months of really, truly loving it. You got me there, LO. I'm totally perplexed. He did cry in the night, but when we went to him to comfort him he was able to calm down and stay in his room. I think the night waking/crying/screaming is actually a result of a change in his daycare situation - two of his little friends just left for big boy pre school (they are 3) - and I think his world has been shaken up a bit. Or, rather, a lot...

He also asked us, before bed, if he could "climb out" of his crib. So yeah, the crib has become unsafe no doubt about that. It seems like he can't figure out how to climb out of the pack n play... Which i guess is a good thing, and for whatever reason he feels more comfortable there right now (though I would argue the crib is much more comfortable?!). He got a little bit excited when I asked him this morning if he'd like to get a new Big Boy Bed... So, we might make an ikea trip this weekend.
I think it's time for his world to grow a bit and for him to feel less confined in his bed. With a baby gate at the door (and some real attention to childproofing his room - it's actually not as safe as I'd like since he mostly plays in a separate play area) and a bed he can climb in and out of alone, I think he will enjoy bedtime a bit more.
This did come out of the blue - as a result I think of the stress at daycare I described above - so that's my only hesitation -- that it may be a passing phase... but regardless, the ability to climb out of/hurl himself out of the crib means that I'll never sleep again until I know 100% that he won't break his leg or worse in the middle of the night?!

THANKS AGAIN, mamas. I love this site.

- Danielle
 
#12 ·
hi everyone. i just logged into the site after a long time being away and just wanted to update in case anyone with a similar challenge reads this thread and wonders how things turned out:

we ended up buying a toddler bed. DS turned two on Nov 3, and basically from the weekend before his birthday (Halloween, his birthday party, lots of house guests), has been sleeping "like a baby" (hehe) in the new bed. It's that Ikea Gulliver crib. I love it, he loves it too.

The culprit, it turns out, causing the sleep struggles was his too long daycare nap. We finally got the daycare to agree (on pediatrician's recommendation, actually) to wake DS up at 3:30 (so, 1.5 - 2 hr MAX nap) every day rather than letting him sleep until 4-4:30 like they'd been doing. The Pedi said that he was getting too much sleep, hence the bedtime battles, and the restless wakeful sleep all night. Now he is happily very sleepy when he goes into his toddler bed, doesn't climb out, and sleeps much better. He still has an odd tendency to wake up calling out once in the night or early morning. I don't really know what that's about. Maybe he is moving through a sleep cycle, or having intense dreams. There is a lot of development going on.

But in general, he is doing well (knock on wood) and our family is much happier as a result.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top