Is Your Little One Trying to Climb Out?

I will NEVER forget the day that my second son, who was under the age of 2 at the time, jumping out of his crib! He was sleep trained at a young age, and was sleeping perfectly fine. But one early morning all of a sudden I heard a loud thump (we had wooden floors then). Of course, we tried to put him back in, but he kept jumping out and so that’s when we transitioned him into a bed.

But if you have a little one who hasn’t fully jumped out yet, there’s hope! If your baby is jus lifting a leg, or at least seems interested in doing so, then you are at the right place! So what do you do when your little one starts lifting that leg up to try to jump out?

Let’s just say before we go on, that if your child has continued to jump out and now it’s a safety issue, you must transition him to a toddler bed. You should check out my other post on how to transition to your child to their bed here.

But what can you do to avoid your child from fully jumping out of the crib? There are some “crib hacks” that you can do to try to keep your child in their crib for a little longer, or at least until they are developmentally ready and able.

1.     Lower the mattress: In this case I don’t mean just to lower it to the lowest setting. I mean, literally lower it all the way down to the floor. Take that spring board that is under the mattress, and put the mattress on the floor. The mattress should still be contained in the crib, but now it’s on the floor. I need to note that if the mattress can easily slide out/move around, then it can become a safety issue and you do not want to do this option.

2.     Turn that crib around: Does your child’s crib have the back part higher than the front? Are you able to turn the crib around, so that the lower part is facing the wall and the higher is facing out? Yes, you have the sides that are lower, but sometimes this is enough to trick the child and they stop lifting that leg!

3.     Move surrounding furniture away: Is your little one using a piece of furniture that is next to the crib to gain leverage? Make sure to move any surrounding pieces of furniture (rocking chair, night stand, book stand) that can be used as a prop to help your child climb out.

4.     Remove bumpers: Get rid of any bumpers/mesh bumpers that may be in your child’s crib. This can be used as an extra leverage to get a little higher (sometimes that’s all they need) to lift that leg up. Even anything inside the crib, like pillows and blankets, are sometimes used to create like a small mountain that can be used for these kids to step on, gain a little leverage, and then climb over.

5.     Sleep Sacks: I STRONGLY recommend these, as this is the safest thing to keep those little legs in. Even if your child hasn’t been using a sleep sack, they are still recommended as they keep their legs contained and unable to lift one up.

6.     Special pijamas: There are special pijamas out there that are different than the sleep sacks, but have the same function. They come with a snap/zipper or are sewn together at the legs to hold those legs tightly together and avoid the legs to separate and lift one up. I would definitely look into those!

7.     Crib tents: Crib tents are super helpful! While they have gone back and forth with recalls, they do help keep the child in the crib. While I do recommend them, I strongly suggest looking up the latest safety recalls/measures as they are often changing.

If you feel like you’ve tried everything, and still at your wits end, I hear you! I was there too!! Let’s talk! Schedule a call here.