It's 4pm and Lizzy still hasn't taken her nap. I just spent the last 30 min in her room, laying on the floor pretending to sleep, hoping she would follow suit. She didn't. However, what she did do was pretty revealing.
She's not napping because she is trying like mad to escape...(cue dark foreboding music)...her crib!
I know because I watched her try over and over again. She lifts her leg up and over the rail so that her knee can almost completely bend over the top. crazy! Then she actually gets her other leg up off the mattress! She's almost figured out how to escape! and I'm guessing that's not going to take long.
I knew her "crib break" was in the making, but I had no idea how close she was to actually succeeding. She's such a determined little problem solver (e.g., remember her climbing tactics?) that I'm thinking I may need to buckle down and set up a toddler or twin bed.
O, scary, scary thought.
I'm imagining episodes of Nanny 911 and Supernanny becoming all too real for me. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, I mean I'm afraid it's going to take hours of repeatedly putting her back in bed before she finally actually sleeps. Will no crib equal no sleep? or at least very painful bedtimes? Are DH and I going to have to spend our nights trying to get her to sleep in her own big-girl bed?
Knowing how difficult she's been sleep-wise since day 1, I'm really nervous about ousting the crib. But if she's climbing out, she could fall on her head/neck and seriously injure herself.
What to do? What to do?
6 comments:
I got sooo lucky in this department. We didn't stick WonderKid into her toddler bed until she was a little over 2. She never tired to climb out of her crib or over safety fences. She never got into stuff. when we finally did switch her it did take a little time to get her used to it and there were a few drops from the bed...good thing those things are so close to the floor. She didn't even wake up from the fall. I know this wasn't much help, sorry. I hope you figure out what you need to do and that whatever it is, it goes smoothly.
Hee hee. That's my sister up there. mrswndr, I mean. Here's my story. My daughter climbed out of her bed at about 15 months. Instead of spending $60 on a crib tent (I didn't think she was big enough for a toddler bed), we went to Wal-Mart and bought a $15 dollar kids tent. We set it up in her room, stuck a quilt on the floor, and put her crib mattress and some books and soft toys in there. She loved it! It took her a little while to get used to it, but she slept great in there. She didn't know how to unzip it with the zipper being outside the tent, so she couldn't get out. Once she did figure it out, we clipped the zipper shut (which now that I think about it, probably wasn't a good idea, fire hazards and all). But it was something a little unconventional that totally worked for us. We haven't had this problem at all with our son. He's almost three and still in a crib. He knows how to climb out, and did it a few times (he learned first in a playpen), but hasn't done it again after a few good scoldings.
So, yeah. A $15 dollar tent from Wal-Mart was the answer to our dilemma. Sorry I wrote so much!
Beth, that's awesome! I never even thought about setting up a tent, but I could totally see Lizzy loving it. She has a smallish tent that she likes to play in (and knock over--she crazy!), but it's too small for a mattress. Thanks for the idea! It might work. I'll have to check into it and let you know. :)
Hmm...I wish I had some advice, but neither of my kids ever tried to escape from their cribs. Even when I moved them to toddler beds, they acted like it was a crib. They wouldn't get out of it until I came in and got them, lol. Good luck!
Hi there!
We would like to invite you to showcase your blog articles to millions of internet-surfing mums through the Surfingmama Blog Carnival. Make a difference for mums all over the world. Surfingmama focuses only on stuff that matters. For mums. Submit to us practical & informative articles that mums need to make informed choices. Topics include childcare, preschool, child-education, child-safety, pregnancy, child-health, special-needs, breastfeeding, mothers-health, childbirth, getting-pregnant, and even humor!
In fact, we just concluded our premier carnival for mums where we picked 11 fabulous articles to showcase. Check it out at: http://surfingmama.com/2006/09/25/first-surfingmama-carnival-for-mums/.
Submit your article now to make it for the upcoming edition scheduled on Oct 9, 2006 at:
http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_506.html
I can SO relate to the sleep stuff. It's draining, isn't it? I heard so many techniques from people, both welcomed and not and I believe there's no secret. Each child is different, each sleep solution will be different. It just takes time to feel it out.
You're not alone!
Post a Comment