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Monday, December 22, 2008
A baby prison break!
How do stop babies from climbing out of their cribs? When is it time for a toddler bed, and when do you tent them in?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s a noise that a mother doesn’t easily forget — the “thud” of her child climbing up and then falling out of his crib.
My now 5-year-old son figured out how to escape around 12 months old. I didn’t expect it because our oldest child had never even attempted a prison break.
The thud of him falling was so loud it woke me up in our bedroom down the hall. I startled awake and knew immediately he had fallen. He figured out how to get up and over the top rail but had no plans for the other side. So he just dropped to the ground.
I have been watching our 21-month-old baby experimenting in her crib for the last few weeks and knew her first escape would come soon.
She had been pushing her arms down as hard as she could on the top rail trying to lift herself over. Then she would wrap her toes around the curved spindles of the crib trying to climb out. When she couldn’t get any traction there, she moved on to an impressive karate-style sideways kick to swing her leg up and over the rail.
None of her earlier moves actually secured her escape last Wednesday night. It was a new plan that I hadn’t seen before. I know the move now because she demonstrated it after her successful break out. She does the sideway kick but hooks her toes on the top of the thin metal pole that the front of the crib raises up and down on. Then using that leg for leverage, she pulls herself up and over.
Her “thud” didn’t sound the same as my son’s. She sounded more like a gymnast landing a vault — a loud but solid hit and definitely all foot, no head. (I’m pretty sure my son landed on his head.)
Once she hit the ground, she was on the move immediately. She opened her own bedroom door, (Didn’t really know she could do that either — more ways we are in trouble!) and came running down the hall to our room screeching. She wanted to with us and was so proud of herself that she had escaped.
Normally a great sleeper, Lilina had been having a tough week. She had been taking medicine to help clear out her lungs, and it was wiring her. Usually Lilina goes right to sleep. I rock her a few minutes, kiss her good night, tell her I love her and lay her in her crib and she’s out. All week she had been crying and eventually coming into our bed where I could listen to her breathing and comfort her.
I had been sick all week too, and by that Wednesday night I needed her to stay in her crib so we both could get a good night’s sleep. My husband and I had both rocked her over and over again that night. She would fall asleep but then wake as soon as we put in her the crib. After literally hours of trying to get her to sleep I finally left her crying in her crib and went to lie down in my own bed. That was when I heard the “thud” and her joyful cries coming down the hall.
I ended up sleeping with her on the floor of her bedroom that night.
So what do you do when your child can escape the crib? It’s too dangerous just to let them climb out at will. Do you go ahead and put them into a toddler bed or do you try to contain them in their crib with a little invention known as the crib tent?
My son was way too young to put in a toddler bed, plus Rose was still in it when he started his prison breaks. So I had not choice but to try out the crib tent.
For the uninitiated, the crib tent (the brand I use is Cozy Crib Tent II) is mesh fabric that completely surrounds the inside of the crib even going under the mattress. It vaults up like a tent. It hooks all around the crib on the outside to keep it secure and then zips in the raised portion. The tent never seemed to bother him and kept him in his crib for almost two more years.
I feel like Lilina is also too small to roam her room at night. But I was worried she wouldn’t accept being tented in knowing she could escape.
I bought a tent the next day. And she was not happy about it that night. She screamed and cried. It was a terrible night, and I finally ended up sleeping with her on the floor again.
She did sleep in the tent for nap the next day without much fight. However, she came down with a fever after the nap. I’m still trying to decide if she had an independent moment or just didn’t feel well.
For the last few nights she’s been getting back to her normal pattern of sleeping even under the tent. And I’m definitely sleeping more soundly knowing that once again she’s safe.
Did you have jailbreaks from your crib? How young were they? Did you move them toddler beds or try the tent? Is it mean to tent them in? What are other options for parents with escaping toddlers?
You can email Theresa at ajcmomania@gmail.com
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