My 20 month old son became a crib jumper yesterday so for safty reasons we moved him to a toddler bed early. We have a regular bedtime routine and followed it closely last night, but here we are at almost 5 am and I have only been able to sleep for about 2 hours. My son played till about 1 am and everytime he would get out of bed I would put him back in. He then woke up at 1:30, 2, 2:30 and so on. Please if anyone has any ideas on how to get him to sleep I would cry tears of happiness. Thank you.
Thank you for all of your advice. We decided to stick with it and he is doing much better now. Night 3 was just a good as he would have been in the crib and he seems to enjoy his bed too now. He is better with this now than with his crib. He will tell us when he is tired and say car car (he has a car bed). Thank you again.
Did he actually climb out?
Was his crib at its lowest level?
Why would you think it would only take one night?
Just keep doing what you are doing.
Maybe a crib tent would be a better choice than a toddler bed. While crib jumping needs to be addressed, he is obviously not ready for a toddler bed. At lest in a crib you know where he is and he is safe, as long as you can keep him in it.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2404625
There is a product made for babies who are "crib jumpers" but too old for a todller bed. It is a mesh dome or tent that fits over most average sized cribs. It zips up from the outside. It is perfectly safe and maybe can see through it and so can you when you go in to check on him. But when he wakes up he can't get out until you unzip.
I believe it's made by safety first.
I would shorten his nap, move his daytime nap to earlier in the day, remove sugary foods and drinks, and wear his little butt out before bed. Make him run and play and tire him out before bed. When my little ones were between a year and a year and a half, they had so much energy it was crazy. I used to play lion and mouse with them. They would act like the mouse and I would chase them all through the house. Then we would switch and they would be the lion and I was the mouse. We also played basketball. I would get out all the foam and cushy balls and we would throw them into clothes baskets. That way they always made baskets and we could clap and cheer.
We had to buy a crib tent for our son who had gotten out of his crib. We ordered it online (I can't remember the web site, just google crib tents)and its easy to put together and zips up like a regular tent. He can't escape!!!!It's comical to see his little face peering out at me in the mornings. If you are willing to put him back into a crib, this might work for you. If not, I suggest one of those doorknob protectors that just snap into place. I have a friend who tried that to keep her son from escaping his room at night and it worked for her. We gated our daughter in her room to keep her from wandering at night and THAT worked for us. Good luck.
Childproof the room & put up a gate or two. Stick to your daytime routine of waking & sleeping. He'll get back on schedule at night quickly. Don't get up with him at night. If the room's safe, let him go.
My son jumped out of the crib early as well. I bought a crib tent because I knew he wouldn't stay in a toddler bed. It worked like a charm and he actually likes it. Good luck! TR
you could just keep doing what you are doing for a week or so and he will get the hint, but you have to follow through. i know it's rough, but this to shall pass.
All of my kids abused the freedom of an easy out bed. It lasted a week or two, then the newness wore off and they got used to the new bed. I know how you feel. It is frustrating, but hang in there. You'll both love the bed in no time.
I had the exact same problem with our fist little boy. We tried to switch him to his big boy room before the baby got here. It was a VERY long week, but we finally got through it. He would sleep in every direction except on his pillow. Plus, he wasn't used to the rail being gone, so he'd roll out of bed. We'd watch him and just put him back to bed if he got out. Then he discovered he could get up to play.
My recommendation, pull all of his toys out of the room. Make sure everything on his level is safe. Put him to bed with the lights out, and let him work it out. He may cry, he may goof off and play with the blankets, just give him his space to figure things out. He'll eventually get bored and crash out. If he cries, and you have a baby monitor with lights to indicate how hard he cries, turn your monitor down and occasionally watch the lights. The crying is only going to frustrate you. If you have to sleep, give yourself a time limit and set your alarm clock. Say 30 minutes, then go in and check him after the alarm goes off. If you are rested, it will make this transition much easier, than if you are tired and frustrated. This is just an adjustment phase. Remember...THIS TOO SHALL PASS!! Take a deep breath and know you are not alone. Best wishes and happy snoozing.
Have you tried a crib tent? You can find them at Babies R Us.
Our eldest got out of his crib at 15 months. I was expecting number two and feeling lousy, and I needed to sleep. We solved our problem by baby proofing his room carefully and putting his mattress on the floor. He wouldn't hurt himself if he fell out. The we put up a baby gate and let him just play with a stuffed animal until he fell asleep. He was always in his bed, covered up when we woke up the next morning. He was happy, we were happy.
Read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. He is a pediatrician who specializes in infant/child sleep issues with over 30 years of research. There are areas of this book that address this specific issue. Good luck to you!
