help my 16 month old crawled out of her crib

Megan - posted on 08/13/2009

Quoting Sherry:

Wow how did she get out?

My 14 month old at the time she got out of her crib would hold on to the edge of the crib and use her feet on each side on the little wood rails and climb with one foot on the short edge and put her leg over so she was straddling the crib edge and then move her other leg over....hold on til she couldnt anymore and just drop then would look up at me pleased as punch because she could do it.....She still is a little dare devil at 2.5 years old !!!

Megan - posted on 08/13/2009

I moved my 16 month (at the time) to a toddler bed.....I was also pregnant but she learned how to crawl out of her crib at 14 months. We actually started with the toddler bed in our bedroom (we lived in a 2 bedroom apt) and that actually worked out really nice in the mornings she would just climb into bed with me...(husband was in Iraq). We eventually moved her toddler bed in the room with the crib and when I had my second she felt like the big sister cause she got to sleep with the baby! It worked out really well!

Crystal - posted on 08/13/2009

Better to be safe! I think moving her to a toddler bed with of course rails would be a good idea. That way she wont get hurt getting out of it or falling out of it, it is close enough to the ground. You can always use a child gate in her door way, that way she can be in her room and not running around the house getting into things that could hurt her in any way. Just make sure that is is safe for her. That is what we have done. However, we are lucky. Once our son falls asleep he doesn't wake up and get out of bed. Every once in a blue moon he might wake up and call for us. But that is not even that often. Just please don't give in to letting her sleep with you. That is not safe and the parents that I know that have done it regret it now because they never have any alone time. hope it all works out for you

Ilse - posted on 08/13/2009

I would put a latch on the outside of the door so she cant get out and hurt herself. Toys are fine in her room and my eldest used to wake up and play for ages in her room b4 i even knew she was wake haha! that was around 2 and i put her in a single bed with a safety rail. I would transition her to a toddler bed so she can get out safely and its not a big thing when baby comes and needs her cot. All will be fine she just will need to do some ajusting to her new bed and not being able to get out of her room and being fine with that but definetly put some toys in there:) And dont forget the latch on the door so she doesnt get out and over the gate and down the stairs! They are amazingly smart arent they:)

April - posted on 08/13/2009

we bought a crib tent and she loves it!!!!!!! she thins it is her special place and i feel safe at night knowing she can't get out and hurt herself

Nicole - posted on 08/12/2009

I understand your problem. My 18 month old is a climber.
She climbs out of her crib, play pen and all over the couch. I actually dd see her do it and it scared me into converting her bed. She had a wood slay crib and the front panel doesn't lower so she literally pulled herself up, balanced on the top bar in front panel of the crib, rotated her legs over the front and lowered herself to the mattress with her feet between the slats and jumped from there. I thought she would get out or even worse fall out but she has always slept in her own bed and gone to bed at a certain time she she know when it is time for night night she has to stay in the bed ( even though she can get out). It seem to be working out well. I hope your transition is as smooth. Also congrats on the new little one and good luck...

Christina - posted on 08/11/2009

Yeah the hubby came home with an Elmo bed and bedding she is going crazy I am hoping this works cuz I am tired and am in need of sleep. :)- Thank you all so much for your caring info:)-

Sarah - posted on 08/11/2009

Maybe time to try converting to toddler bed. My mom said that when my brother was about 16 month he crawled out of his crib too so she strapped a messing cover over the top of the crib so he couldn't get out. But I would try switching to a bed. Less dramatic.

Michelle - posted on 08/11/2009

Hi! My doctor told me to move my son in to a bed when he starts to crawl out of the crib. So, it's time!

Petra - posted on 08/11/2009

girl do that younger than boys can my daughter was doing it at 12 month of age but she was not crawling out of her bed she would climb on top of the rail of her cot and jump out so what we did was put her in a playpen and we had a bed in her room and after a week we put her in a big girls bed it took us about 6 months to get her to like the bed but it took us about a year to get her to stay in her bed

we read a book to and my husband got up in the middle of the night to put her back to bed as i was 6 month pregnant with our second child and would this is your new bed and i see u in the morning it worked after 6 months

i hope this help u

Candace - posted on 08/11/2009

my daughter was 11 months old when we had to put her bed as a toddler bed because she was acting like she was going to climb out and i didnt want her to figure it out and my son was 13 months old when we had to do his too....it would be safer to do that.can your crib mattress sit on the floor with rails still touching the top of the mattress so she couldn't get stuck under them but it might make it harder for her to get out.the safer choice would be to get her a toddler bed though..

Ana - posted on 08/11/2009

A toddler bed will work and be fine. It is a bit early, but they are low to the ground. The key is to make her area safe. The doorknob covers may keep her in (although a word of caution...my smartypants figured out quickly that he could hang on the doorknob and pop them off) for a time.

Do you hear her when she is getting up in the middle of the night? Does she want something in particular or is she just awake? I have early risers and ones that have no trouble getting up in the middle of the night, so I feel your frustration! We had to make our entire home baby safe zones, and I am a very light sleeper because of it.

You can also get outlets that allow you to have the outlet and corded lights etc but they have a special cover that screws on over the part against the wall to keep the child from pulling cords or getting to outlets. I have put these in all of our low outlets in the kids rooms.

Marcia - posted on 08/11/2009

She sounds brilliant, you must be proud! : D She may not like being out smarted, but have you tried the handle covers for the door knobs? If you put one on the inside of her door and shut it all the way, she should be bound to her bedroom. And the toddler bed is probably best for safety reasons since she's found a way out of her crib, you don't want any unnecessary bumps or bruises.
My son is still in mine and my husband's bedroom, but when we transition to his own room, I'm planning to cover all of the outlets, except one for a lamp (though hopefully all), with the plain covers. Granted, they'll no longer be outlets, but that also means no fingers, tongues, or toys will be near holes with electrical current. You can get them at any hardware store.

Erica - posted on 08/11/2009

Ok, my children are also very close together, and I had to move my daughter to a toddler bed early in order to have the crib for baby brother. First off, start the transition now, so that she is used to the toddler bed before the baby takes her crib, that way she doesn't get jealous. I started by putting the toddler bed in the room for a couple of days but still having her sleep in the crib. Then I started playing with her on the toddler bed so that it was something fun, and we would read books in it, but still spent a couple more nights in the crib. After a week of the toddler bed in her room I started putting her to bed in it. Yes, she is going to get up, but just keep putting her in bed. Same thing in the middle of the night, explain that it is still night time and she needs to stay in her bed. Then shut the door. If you can, find a way so that she can't open during the middle of the night. Usually their rooms are the safest place for them, they can't get into too much trouble in them. With the door shut she can get up in the middle of the night, but not go anywhere. She'll soon discover that being up is boring and will put herself back to sleep. You just have to be willing to listen to the crying.
My daughter was 12 months when we started moving her and it only took a couple of weeks. Just be consistent and they will eventually understand.

Brittany - posted on 08/11/2009

Maybe you should look into purchasing a Dutch or Stable style door for her bedroom. Those are the doors that are split in half horizontally. I remember my Aunt and Uncle having one on my quad cousins' door ways. They couldn't crawl over it until almost 4 or 5 years old.

Christina - posted on 08/11/2009

She is smart she can climb baby gates and open doors and take off all the safty plugs. Our bed rooms are on the second floor I have baby gates at the top and bottom but I am worried she will climb them too. She has a play room with toys and her bed room just has her bed and a rocker.

Brittany - posted on 08/11/2009

My son is almost 17 months and not crawling out but I would still go ahead and move her to a toddler bed. Are her toys in her bedroom or in another room? If possible, I would move the toys out of the room and put a baby gate across her door way. Go ahead and teach her that the toddler bed is to sleep in and not to get out and play (the reason you should move the toys out for now). It might take a week or so of taking her back to bed over and over again but better to work on this now before the new baby comes.

Sherry - posted on 08/11/2009

Its a shame you dont have a camera monitor there great we have one then you could see how shes getting out,If she does it again maybe its time to buy a toddler bed because she could seriously hurt herself. With a toddler bed you could put a few toys in her room and shut the door eventually she would go back to her bed.

Christina - posted on 08/11/2009

I dont know there is noting in the crib to step on, but she was on the floor and at the door when I found her.

Sherry - posted on 08/11/2009

Wow how did she get out?

Christina - posted on 08/11/2009

Oh and the crib is at its lowest setting!