18mth old climbing out of cot

elly123

My 18 month old has mastered the art of climbing out of the cot :eek::eek:
He was out in a flash last night. I put him down and he started crying usually has a moan for 1-2 mins then he's gone but last night i had just left the room and i hear a thump i went back in and there he was standing at the door looking up at me. I put him back in to see if he would do it again and to watch how he did it. Literally leg up and over and slides down. Our dilemma is he can open the bedroom door. We have a stair gate but my fear would be him climbing that or going into the bathroom. We sat up for ages last night trying to figure out whats best for his safety so we are considering turning the cot to a bed and safe proofing all the wardrobes and chest of drawers. If we put a stair gate on the bedroom door we wouldn't be able to close the door.

Anyone any advice?
I'm desperate... I stayed up with him last night and he fell asleep in the spare bed then i transferred him to cot. I stayed in spare bed but every time he moved i jumped up, then at 7am this morning he heard my alarm and seeing me and he was out over the cot in a split second!!!

djburchgrove

I knw this may not be the best solution, however you seem scared that he can open the bedroom door? Why not just lock it. Get a swing lock that you can only open from outside (like a toilet cubicle), gives you absolute easy access to the room in case of emergency anyway, but wont solve a problem if it infuriates the child being locked in.

Like i know their is concerns with fire etc., and it may frustrate and aggravate the child but you seem to have your hands tied with your tricky young one!

Child proofing the room then of course.

Another possibility is to see if he is actually able to climb the stair gate? Do a few little tests with him, putting his favourite toy on the other side of the gate, with you standing right behind in case of a fall? Can you not get a bigger stair gate?

elly123

Thanks djburchgrove. My husband suggested the lock on the outside of the door around where the handle is so that way god forbid there was a fire you know where the lock is and your not rummaging. I personally am not 100% comfortable locking him in but his safety is priority. He's a determined little man and really strong! Climbs everything.... the biggest problem is him getting out of the room so maybe the lock on the door is our only option.

Ahhhhhh I taught we had another few months before all this! But the little messer is constantly surprising us. He picks stuff up really quickly so i'm hoping if we turn cot to bed he will be ok after awhile. He's generally a really good sleeper so i really hope this doesn't mess that up!

pwurple

Sleeping bag / grobag?

Mine was nearly two by the time she figured out climbing over things in it, even though she could run in one.

Think of it as training for future sack races!

Sligo1

I would agree with the Grobag solution? It may prevent him getting his leg over the cot. My fella is 21 months and very tall/strong. I would say hed have been jumping out of his cot months ago if he wasnt in a grobag. Its a big fear of mine actually!

elly123

pwurple wrote: »

Sleeping bag / grobag?

Mine was nearly two by the time she figured out climbing over things in it, even though she could run in one.

Think of it as training for future sack races!

Hey Pwurple, I love grobags and so does he, his snuggie is actually his grobag cant go anywhere without it but has been getting out of them since he was 10 months old. We have tried loads of different types....and he's managed to get out of them all.

We were looking at the groclock but i don't think it would suit him, but might give it a try.

My husband is out in Blanch at the moment trying to source everything to toddler proof the room. Multipurpose latches on drawers and wardrobe doors, a bed safety rail, we have a spare mattress for the floor to put beside his cot bed. A new baby monitor as ours broke last week..... the room has wooden floors so his floor mats will go down just incase he decides to sleep on the floor some night hahaha. He's such a good little boy but is a typical boy, wants to climb absolutely everything!

vibe666

we put a stair gate on the bedroom door to keep ours in the room, then another one at the top of the stairs. we also have a monitor that has a sensor pad and goes off after 30 seconds of no movement, so he never got very far before we knew about it.

another option might be a taller cotbed with higher sides on it to make it harder to get out? we also put a spare mattress on the floor next to it to stop any potential bumps.

i actually heard of someone a while ago who ended up putting a pallet on top of the cot to keep them in as they had twins and everything else they tried they had managed to work together and still escape.

not that i'm advising you to put a pallet on top of your childs cot!:eek:

in related news, our 9 month old girl has just started standing and has now figured out how to escape from her grobag, so i think we might have a little houdini on our hands!:D

elly123

vibe666 wrote: »

we put a stair gate on the bedroom door to keep ours in the room, then another one at the top of the stairs. we also have a monitor that has a sensor pad and goes off after 30 seconds of no movement, so he never got very far before we knew about it.

another option might be a taller cotbed with higher sides on it to make it harder to get out? we also put a spare mattress on the floor next to it to stop any potential bumps.

i actually heard of someone a while ago who ended up putting a pallet on top of the cot to keep them in as they had twins and everything else they tried they had managed to work together and still escape.

not that i'm advising you to put a pallet on top of your childs cot!:eek:

in related news, our 9 month old girl has just started standing and has now figured out how to escape from her grobag, so i think we might have a little houdini on our hands!:D

Vibe you made me laugh out loud a PALLET each to their own and whatever works as long as its safe! Our little man is a houdini, can get out of everything from his grobag, babygrow, his pjs, carseat straps, buggy straps you name it he can get out of! He's like a little macgyver!

Neyite

I recall a boardsie recounting that her mother, in sheer desperation at her houdini little brother, put the matteress on the floor and turned the cot upside down over it so the base became the roof of the cot. :pac:

Have you got the base at the lowest settings? At its lowest our cot sides come up as far as chest height on our toddler so he so far has been unable to abscond.

cyning

My little girl went into a bed at 15 months: she had been able to go (head first!) from the cot at 13 months. Video baby monitor for peace of mind, a bed rail on a normal single bed and a cot Mattress on the floor in case she ever fell out. Never bothered child proofing her room just put her back into bed if she got out: she never pays attention to wardrobes/chest of drawers/ toys. Well not at night: downstairs is a different story!

pwurple

Mine can get out of the grobag brand growbags alright.... the ones with snappers.

The ikea zipped ones are like staight-jackets. The zip is down by the toes. She never got out of those.

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/60240691/


lmao at the upside down crib and the pallet! Baby Jail!

elly123

cyning our little fella is into everything tries to climb into wardrobes and close the door on himself! Tries to climb the chest of Drawers and i'm afraid they'll come down on him if all 3 drawers are open.

How long did it take for your little one to settle and stay in the bed? did you have to stay with her until she fell asleep?

Neyite its on the lowest setting since he started pulling himself to standing in the cot. The rails are about 2ft high and he can still put his leg up and get over it with no real hassle!!

elly123

pwurple wrote: »

Mine can get out of the grobag brand growbags alright.... the ones with snappers.

The ikea zipped ones are like staight-jackets. The zip is down by the toes. She never got out of those.

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/60240691/


lmao at the upside down crib and the pallet! Baby Jail!

Thanks pwurple but i think i'd be wasting my money at this stage. He takes his arms out and gets out of them that way without even opening the zips. I don't know how he does half the stuff he does!

I will let you all know how our first night in his new bed goes! fingers crossed i'm not up all night with him!

cyning

It was fine for ages until she discovered she could get out of bed... Hence the video monitor! When she went through the getting out if bed 50 times stage it took about a fortnight to fully stop. Although in fairness it coincided with me being heavily pregnant. When she needed to drop her nap she went through it too. These days I just sit on end of her bed feeding the baby she's asleep in less than 5 minutes.

elly123

cyning wrote: »

It was fine for ages until she discovered she could get out of bed... Hence the video monitor! When she went through the getting out if bed 50 times stage it took about a fortnight to fully stop. Although in fairness it coincided with me being heavily pregnant. When she needed to drop her nap she went through it too. These days I just sit on end of her bed feeding the baby she's asleep in less than 5 minutes.

Thanks cyning. We got a new video monitor today as typically our one broke late last week. The little rascal has cost us a fortune today! Once we get this stage sorted we're onto potty training Ohhh the joys.

Actually his nana bought him a potty and he was sitting on it yesterday trying to poo then later on when he needed to wee he went over and stood beside it and squirted his water into it while he pee'd on the floor :):)

yellow hen

Neyite wrote: »

Have you got the base at the lowest settings? At its lowest our cot sides come up as far as chest height on our toddler so he so far has been unable to abscond.

I was just about to ask the same. Our guy would need a foot prop either in the cot or outside it to get out. He wouldn't have a hope otherwise. I had a little locker near his cot and I took it away as I thought he might stick his foot out through the bars to stand on it and hoist himself over.

You must have got some shock to find him standing in front of you elly!

elly123

yellow hen wrote: »

I was just about to ask the same. Our guy would need a foot prop either in the cot or outside it to get out. He wouldn't have a hope otherwise. I had a little locker near his cot and I took it away as I thought he might stick his foot out through the bars to stand on it and hoist himself over.

You must have got some shock to find him standing in front of you elly!

I was shocked but at the same time not surprised he's up to everything.

Put him into cot bed this evening let him play in his room and learn to get in and out of the bed properly, he got loads of praise for getting in and out properly and high 5s he was delighted with himself. He loved it. When he was dressed for bed I told him to climb into bed he did and was asleep in 2mins. I'm lying here beside him on the mattress on the floor. He went to bed a little later so he was shattered, now if only every night is as easy as this. :-) hopefully he stays put during the night too and he doesn't land on top of me :-)

Drdoc

Elly your little man sounds hilarious and really smart too! My little one is 17 months and wouldn't be capable of half those things!
Sorry I have no suggestions though.....

Qwerty Dub

I measured the mattress to the top of the cot today and it was 23 inches. So with his weight on the mattress its obviously even more than the 23 inches, yet he can put his leg up over it and pull himself over. Over 2ft high!!! Little rascal.

After rebuilding the cot to make a bed, getting a safety rail, latches for the drawers, a new video monitor and a lock for the door we were ready for night 1 with Houdini. Conked out thank god and hopefully he stays like that until 7am. Should make for an interesting weekend.

Don't know what we are going to do in Grannys house though. I aint baby proofing over there too. Cost me a fortune today

Night Night Elly123. This double bed is awfully big for me all by myself

elly123

Drdoc wrote: »

Elly your little man sounds hilarious and really smart too! My little one is 17 months and wouldn't be capable of half those things!
Sorry I have no suggestions though.....

Drdoc its actually scary how smart he is, he's like a sponge soaks up everything! We'll be in trouble when he starts talking

So Night 1 was a success. He stood up once during the night about 4am and pulled at the curtain, he was still asleep while doing it so when i said ah ah he just lay back down. My alarm went off at 7 and i got up at 7.30 and he was still asleep. I had a shower and when i was getting dressed i could hear him calling daddy. So i went in and there he was sitting on his bed with a big smile. I told him it was time to get up and he lay back down with his teddy. There is a small area between the end of the bed and the rail for him to get in and out so i said come on we have to go get breakie he went to the end of the bed and when he saw the mattress on the floor he dived on to it and start laughing, I said come on we have to go, and he jumped up and climbed back into bed and told me to shushhhh so i left him in the room for 2 mins and when i went back he was still sitting in the bed! So i think its safe to say he loved his new bed last night. i just hope it stays like this

Cunning Stunt

I remember my sister cured her little lads cot climbing phase by putting him in a pair of fairly stiff pants which didn't give him flexibility to lift his leg up so high. He got tired of trying to climb out after about 2 nights.

Pablodreamsofnew

Don't forget the window locks too. If your little monkey is a climber like mine! My nerves because we live high up in a flat. It's one of the first things we did, window locks and a stair gate at his bedroom door. His room is baby proof and we have a camera watching him. I'm always nervous about him outside too, as he tend just to run off. Esp with all the news about cars and toddlers. My son is two years old next month and he has only attempted to climb out of his cot once so far and we put him straight back in. He loves his cot and we aren't in any rush getting him out until he climbs out regularly.

monflat

I feel for anyone who goes through this.

I inadvertently taught my 2 yr old how to climb out of the cot.
I had a section 4 weeks ago husband went back to work after 2 weeks.
2yr old needed sleep during day she willingly climbed up onto chair n then onto a small step up stool which I put in cot
And
It worked great during the day.

Now at night she climbs out
Tonight at bed time she claimed out.

The husband put her back in he counted 25 times she climbed out
Lost count after that.

40 mins of climbing out comin out onto landing and being put back in. Screaming.
Keeping her 4yr old sister awake.
She gave in and conked it.

I wonder if we made a big deal of moving her to a toddler bed would it work.

I'm reading through this thread looking for ideas!!!

Op I'm the same if I put in a stair Gate she will climb it and keep her sister awake.

My little one is past gro bags she just unzips them
Two different types and can get out of them.

elly123

monflat wrote: »

I feel for anyone who goes through this.

I inadvertently taught my 2 yr old how to climb out of the cot.
I had a section 4 weeks ago husband went back to work after 2 weeks.
2yr old needed sleep during day she willingly climbed up onto chair n then onto a small step up stool which I put in cot
And
It worked great during the day.

Now at night she climbs out
Tonight at bed time she claimed out.

The husband put her back in he counted 25 times she climbed out
Lost count after that.

40 mins of climbing out comin out onto landing and being put back in. Screaming.
Keeping her 4yr old sister awake.
She gave in and conked it.

I wonder if we made a big deal of moving her to a toddler bed would it work.

I'm reading through this thread looking for ideas!!!

Op I'm the same if I put in a stair Gate she will climb it and keep her sister awake.

My little one is past gro bags she just unzips them
Two different types and can get out of them.

First of all congrats on your new baby. It cant be easy on you especially after the section. Take care of yourself.

So we drastically changed from the cot to the cot bed after one night of climbing, we had no choice really so we had to get rid of spare bed for fear of him climbing and falling off that. We have the mattress on the floor beside his bed.

Thursday night went great as he was so tired going to bed he was asleep in seconds.
Friday night he jumped around in the bed a bit and was trying to interact with me on the mattress but i pretended to be asleep, he finally nodded off after about 15mins.
Sat night again he was tired going to bed so it didn't take him too long to nod off.
Last night i decided i would put him down and leave the room to see how that would go. He cried for a min then was up and down in the bed but never got out. He started to nod and was just about asleep and the fecking dogs out the back barked and woke him so he got a fright and jumped up. I had to go into him and he settled back once i was beside him and he was asleep again in 5 mins. We decided we wouldn't stay in the room with him last night and we would rely on the monitors. 3am and he was awake, he's just finished a course of antibiotics for two ear infections and i think his ear is still sore as he was holding it, but i also think he was cold. Anyway i went up and tried to settle him but eventually took him downstairs and gave him a bottle and some calpol and daddy went back up with him and he conked until 7.15am this morning.

So far it has worked for us, he isn't climbing in and out once we put him down. Plus during the day he takes your hand to bring him up so that he can play up in his room and get in and out of his bed.
We had to go down the route of putting a latch on his door because if he did get up he would get out of the room and although we have the stair gate he's already climbing it or he'd be in the bathroom.

The little rascal climbed up onto the bedroom window sil yesterday morning. The windows are fairly new and they have that lock where you need to push in to open the window but he's capable of anything so window locks will be applied today!

CaraMay

Don't lock the door, put a stair gate on it

GerardKeating

djburchgrove wrote: »

I knw this may not be the best solution, however you seem scared that he can open the bedroom door? Why not just lock it. Get a swing lock that you can only open from outside (like a toilet cubicle), gives you absolute easy access to the room in case of emergency anyway, but wont solve a problem if it infuriates the child being locked in.

No need for a fancy "swing" lock, just leave the key in the door, or on a hook beside/over the door.

indigo twist

God I would never consider leaving a baby in a locked room overnight! What if there's a fire, and you can't get to the baby's room .... You don't want to put any obstacles that might hold up someone trying to rescue the baby, every second counts. At least with a stair gate on the door, most adults could climb over it fairly easily (even if they couldn't see straight away how to open it.)

monflat

Well the best I heard yet was to stop your toddler climbing out of cot put a heavy mattress on top where they can't lift it but they have enough air between the bars of the cot to breathe
....oh my god. Some woman at a family wedding told my mother to tell me to try this.....
FFS and that woman is the mother of 3 small children..


Talk about creating a fear in a child...

Neyite

It just seems like a badly designed cot to be honest. I have a drop-side one and I dont think they are popular anymore but they do allow a deeper set base. My lad is 2.5 and seems average height for his age and its just at armpit height for him now.

Its high time that he was put into a bed but to be honest, I'm putting it off for the hassle and stress it will be for me.

cyning

I have a drop side cot too and my little girl was able to climb out of it from 13 months on... Although she is a complete little monkey! She was going out of it head first so way too dangerous to leave her in it: she was still in our room so moved into her own room and a regular bed around 15/16 months.

elly123

Neyite wrote: »

It just seems like a badly designed cot to be honest. I have a drop-side one and I dont think they are popular anymore but they do allow a deeper set base. My lad is 2.5 and seems average height for his age and its just at armpit height for him now.

Its high time that he was put into a bed but to be honest, I'm putting it off for the hassle and stress it will be for me.

Neyite standing in the cot the bars were just below armpits just at his chest, the problem was he could get his leg up to it and pull himself over it! I don't think its anything to do with it been badly designed more the fact i have a climber

He has settled into his bed really well, he hasn't been 100% well since August with viral after viral so id say 1-2 evenings a week he wakes up, but other than that he sleeps the night, he goes down between 7.30 & 7.45, we read a story then leave the room, he will get in and out of the bed about 10 times and then eventually falls asleep after about 15 mins. he might have a whinge for a min when we leave the room but that's not always he case.