Logan started sleeping through the night when he was 10 days old. For those of you who hate me now, don't. I've had plenty of other rough things to make up for that lovely blessing. Anyway, he learned how to climb out of his crib recently. This new exciting activity has greatly disrupted his consistent sleep habits. Basically, whenever it is time to sleep he climbs out of his bed and stands at his door and screams. He can't open his door because after several days of him escaping, I put a handle on it that he can't open. I've had a few suggestions already:1. Put his crib upside down (cage him in).
2. Take the springs off of his crib all together and put the mattress on the floor. The top of the mattress is still higher than the bottom of the crib. Hopefully dropping the mattress a few inches will make it so he can't escape.
3. Benadryl.
4. Just give in. Give him a toddler bed and accept it. This, however, still doesn't solve the screaming at the door problem.
So far, I'm considering option two as a temporary fix. Has anyone else figured this one out yet?
12 comments:
Hey Lisa,
My niece Grace learned to climb out of her crib at 16 months, so Jen found this crib tent thing that is just a little mesh tent that goes over the crib to prevent them from climbing out. It worked great for her, let me know if you want more info. But I think she got it from onestepahead.com
My Chad hated the crib from the beginning and would simply cry. I couldn't take it, so I put the mattress on the floor. Sometimes he slept on the floor, sometimes on the mattress, but he was happier. Sorry, but he was also a terrible sleeper and a sleepwalker. When I caught him out the door going to grandma's house in the middle of the night, he spent lots of nights sleeping with us--at least I knew where he was.
As you can tell, I've no good advice at all.
I've done the same thing with each of my kids- put them in a big boy bed (or take the side off the crib so it looks like a toddler bed, tell him he's a big boy now and teach him what big boys do. Daddy stays in his own bed all night, so should you. Talon took to it immediately and Saia only took a day or two to settle in. My kids sleep with the door open and soft music on. It helps them feel connected to us while they fall asleep. Just my experience... just like I don't baby proof my house, I just teach my kids.
Good luck Lis!
I absolutely failed at sleep-training, so am of no use. My kids always hated the crib and did better on a bed which they were usually in by 12-18 months. However, that's probably not his problem so don't know if it is the right solution. I just read a promo about "the no cry nap solution" book that looked very interesting. It was only about $10 on Amazon and the excerpts I read were great. Maybe she has some tips. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
And lets just say I'd rather take the fact that my 21 month old still gets up regularly through the night and that both of my kids won't go to sleep without us holding them (see....failed!) over what you've gone through. Yikes! Hope you are doing great! Good luck!
Liam is going through a sleeping habit change too. He was always my good sleeper. I could put him in bed and within a few minutes he'd fall asleep. Now, he screams and cries and its awful. I just stick to the routine and hope that this phase will end. I'd go in and cofort Logan once. Take him back to his bed (definitely get a toddler bed, youdon't want him falling or getting hurt while climbing out of his crib) then let him cry it out. Since you haven't had to do the cry it out method before it'll really be sad for you, but give it a try. You're a good mom, you'll know when he needs you and how long you should let him cry and how many tries it should take. Do what feels right.
every child is different, i am sure you'll find what works for logan. here's what we did with our girls: put babe in her big girl bed after the bedtime routine. closed but did not lock the door. as many times as she got up and came out we picked her up and put her back to bed without saying a word. (no reinforcement for getting out.) it took about an hour for about 3 nights, then she got it. and i think idea #2 sounds good if you're hoping to buy more time before moving to a big kid bed. good luck!
I wish I could help but my little girl never even tried to climb out. I think my little boy will be a different story though, he is already a lot more active. Keep us posted on what works for your little man. I will be interested to hear. I have found if all else fails, pray about what to do. I think that is the only way to figure out what works best for your own kid.
Both my kids have had similar problems, although not with climbing. They just hated the crib and would stand up and scream forever. With Adam, we just gave him the toddler bed. Most days, he slept on the floor right in front of his door.
With Alex (now 21 months), we still haven't really figured it out. He hates bedtime. He's in a toddler bed, which he refuses to stay in. He gets out and screams by his door most nights. Kirk (the more patient one of us) goes in and sternly tells him to get back in his bed. Eventually he falls asleep in his bed. (Gratefully, for the last few nights, it's only taken 10 or so minutes, although sometimes this ritual takes 30 to 60 minutes). Good luck. I think establishing -- and re-establishing -- sleep patterns is one of the hardest things about being a parent!
Owen always hated sleeping in a crib, so we changed it to a toddler bed by the time he turned one. That worked for us. He liked the freedom of getting in and out on his own. It did take a little work to get him used to staying in it while it was time to go to sleep, but he got the hang of it. And sleeping habits of kids do change. If Owen is just simply not tired enough to sleep, I'll give him a few more minutes to use up some energy. But I've always been a wimpy mom. I hate hearing kids cry, especially my own.
Make a change to help the little guy feel capable and do more negotiation. He's smart, he'll try to be independent, and when he's independent he'll be happier.
I was leaning towards a duct tape solution this morning after James woke up his sister, turned on all the lights, ran laps around the house and started beating on my door at 5:30.
get him a toddler bed, some books on cd and a toy car. worked like a charm with both my boys.
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