Would this be completely absurd? (re: my youngest and bedding...)

[AimeeM]

So, as I've posted before, my youngest son Marco has had... issues... with sleeping arrangements. Six months ago he took a header off our high, king sized bed and incurred a skull fracture. Scary stuff.

 

We also aren't confident that he can't climb to the top of his crib... and he likes to use his mattress as a trampoline (and I can just envision him taking a head dive from that - which is much higher, on it's lowest setting, than even our big bed).

 

So, I'm still sleeping on the floor with him in my older son's room... half a year later. Something has to give. I haven't slept in bed with my husband in 6 months, my back hurts, my 4 year old has started climbing onto our floor bed with us... and Marco (my youngest - a year old now) is becoming entirely reliant on this method of bed down.

 

When we travel, Marco sleeps on a carpeted floor, propped up on a firm pillow (we didn't try that until recently - it seems to help his reflux), with a light weight blanket over him... we put his large play yard around him (one of the huge free standing ones). He sleeps nicely like that.

 

I'm considering moving his crib out of our room (taking it down completely), putting the play yard up instead, putting down a nice soft rug (small carpet), giving the kid a firm pillow, and calling it a day.

 

I know, know, know his pediatrician will/would yell at me - that this isn't safe, but frankly, it's no less safe than him and I sleeping on a sleeping bag on the floor of my son's room... it's no less safe, imo, than taking the chance of him launching himself or monkeying his way out of the very high crib and taking another header. Is it?

[East Coast Sue]

I've had a similar problem and I definitely learned to do what works and not worry about anything but safety. Really, I caught my youngest standing on the railing of her crib as she jumped for the floor! No way could she be safe in a crib again- she was only a year old. She had done a flip out of her crib before she turned one... Your sleep is also a safety concern (in my opinion) so if you've found a way for you both to sleep and not end up in the ER- well that gets a green light and thumbs up from me!

 

Hang in there!!!!

[AndyJoy]

Why don't you just put the crib mattress on the floor?  Does he sleep better on the firmer floor?  It would probably sound weird to an outsider, but I totally understand sleep issues and would do it in a heartbeat if it meant better sleep for everyone.  I would just make sure the rug is small enough that he can't wrap it around his head repeatedly and that the pillowcase is zipped shut or something so he doesn't end up with it over his head if he experiments.

[AimeeM]

He does seem to sleep better on the firm floor, but with most of his upper body propped on a firm pillow.

 

And yes, my exhaustion is starting to take a toll - I'm short with the children, I have no energy left for creativity or fun during the day, meals are starting to be more and more processed and quick, I'm running on coffee (which isn't helping his sleep, I'm sure, since I nurse, but I also can't seem to function without it).

 

And my poor husband. He's been incredibly patient (obviously - his primary concern is Marco's safety as well), but he misses me in bed (and I miss sleeping in a bed!).

 

Marco's also started getting more gutsy in general - I wake up to find he's wandered off the floor bed and is scaling my older son's mattress, the book case (it's low and light weight - not a risk of falling and hurting him)...

 

I had first considered putting his mattress in the play yard, but I'm concerned that he will jump on it and it'll slide out from under him, or again that we'll end up with a height -vs- railing issue. Putting his mattress on the floor in our room, outside the play yard, isn't really an option because he WILL wander, and he could squirm his way under our bed... and there's heavy furniture in our room as well.

 

I plan to also put his crib mattress on the floor of my older son's room for nap time, to start a transition there (ideally, when he's a bit older, we want to move him into that room)... that way it's during a time when I'm awake, the door is open, and I can somewhat supervise (versus doing it at night when I'm asleep).

 

I know I sound paranoid, I just can't go through that again - the absolute terror I felt when I saw the entire side of his head swell up, the questions and looks at the hospital... I feel like I'm over analyzing this, but I can't get that mental picture of his poor head out of my mind.

[momto10blessings]

Have you tried a pack n play next to your bed? My kids who could climb out of their cribs could not climb out of their pack n play because of the mesh sides.

 

Or if your husband or a friend can build a simple box to go around the crib mattress just so little guy can't roll off and short enough that he can't jump off the sides and get hurt

 

Will he not sleep without you now or are you afraid to leave him alone at night? You could try taking all the furniture except for the mattress out of his room so he will not climb on other things when he awakes. It would be temporary, he won't be doing tis in a yr or so

 

Good luck mama!

[AndyJoy]

Have you tried a pack n play next to your bed? My kids who could climb out of their cribs could not climb out of their pack n play because of the mesh sides.

 

 

I'm not the OP, but sadly my son climbed of his crib one night and his Pack 'N Play the next, so that was a no-go for us.

 

[AimeeM]

Have you tried a pack n play next to your bed? My kids who could climb out of their cribs could not climb out of their pack n play because of the mesh sides.

 

Or if your husband or a friend can build a simple box to go around the crib mattress just so little guy can't roll off and short enough that he can't jump off the sides and get hurt

 

Will he not sleep without you now or are you afraid to leave him alone at night? You could try taking all the furniture except for the mattress out of his room so he will not climb on other things when he awakes. It would be temporary, he won't be doing tis in a yr or so

 

Good luck mama!

I'm afraid he would either tip the pack and play or climb out of it. If he can shimmy up the crib, on its lowest setting, I'm not comfortable taking the chance. Lol.

 

I am afraid to leave him unconfined and alone. He enjoys... exploring :p

 

If I'm completely honest, I'm dead surprised he hasn't injured himself again. He's my third child, and by far my most daring. We're only half joking when we tell each other (my husband and I) that Marco will be the child that puts us in medical debt until our retirement. Lol.

 

Good thing he's a healthy, robust child :D

[Petrichor]

What if you put the mattress on the floor or your room, and babyproof your room? Put a childlock on the inside of your doorknob, fasten the heavy furniture to the walls (I think it's supposed to be with young kids in the house anyway?), and either put enough stuff under your bed (under the bed storage boxes?) or remove everything from under the bed so that it would be ok if he climbs around?

 

Another option might be putting your bedframe away for a little while, and sleeping on either just the mattress or the mattress and boxspring with baby.

 

Or just do whatever you were talking about with the rug and the pillow. At 12 months(much younger than that actually), my DS was capable of navigating bedding just fine, which for him meant our bedding - a comforter, sheet, and pillows (the two pillows that me and DH sleep on)

[8circles]

Have you tried a crib tent? Might be too late since he's been sleeping with you but it might be worth a try.

[ZeeMommy]

"I'm considering moving his crib out of our room (taking it down completely), putting the play yard up instead, putting down a nice soft rug (small carpet), giving the kid a firm pillow, and calling it a day."

 

This sounds just fine - you tried it before with him sleeping soundly and safely. You obviously need more sleep yourself, so give it a try! Then again, you could always duct tape him to the floor (JUST KIDDING!!!)

 

My third child, also a boy, was a climber. He's now moved on to saying "no" or "whas happehn" about hundred times a day. Hang in there!

[MomtoCandJ]

Dd slept in a twin size bed, fully put together with a safety rail at 15 months. Prior to that was a twin mattress on the floor in a completely baby proofed room. Dd climbed out of her crib at 8 and half months old, those crib tent things didn't work for her, she figured that out in a week. Play pen was 10 months and baby gate was about a year. She is now 4 and we still call her monkey butt since she loves to climb :)

[StephanieZ]

None of my kids really "did" cribs properly, lol.

 

When my kids were toddlers, we had them in (low) toddler beds or in a twin mattress on the floor.

 

The oldest had the twin mattress on the floor so that dh or I could easily lie with her. (Spoiled but very easy first baby.) The other two were VERY limber infants and toddlers, easily climbing out of their cribs before first birthdays, so it was toddler beds for them (because we had one by then). 

 

The baby's room was baby-proofed, and we either had a baby-proof door knob or simply reversed the knob and locked them in! We had baby monitors and also lived in houses that were small enough we would have heard them really yelling if the monitor went out. Essentially, we turned their rooms into huge cribs -- or maybe huge padded cells, lol. 

 

The outlets were covered. The windows had bars/locks and safe coverings (roller blinds). Dressers and shelving were securely attached to walls. Etc. Honestly, it always worked fine. There would be a set of toy bins in the room, and a book case with some books. The toddlers might pull out some toys or books to play with, but they were not generally destructive. No more so than any other 30-60 min playtime. We had the occasional messy diaper disaster that might have been better contained in a crib, but nothing that wasn't readily handled with a few minutes of cleaning and an occasional steam cleaning episode, lol.

 

 

[bobbeym]

Dd slept in a twin size bed, fully put together with a safety rail at 15 months. Prior to that was a twin mattress on the floor in a completely baby proofed room. Dd climbed out of her crib at 8 and half months old, those crib tent things didn't work for her, she figured that out in a week. Play pen was 10 months and baby gate was about a year. She is now 4 and we still call her monkey butt since she loves to climb :)

 

DS19 was like this. Nothing contained him past 9 months old or so and it was easiest to just put him in a toddler bed with a rail and remove everything else from his room.

 

OP, I say go for it.  If you feel like your best option right now is to let him sleep on the floor in the play yard, then do it.  I think as mommas, sometimes we have to trust our instincts and do what we think is best even if it doesn't make sense to everyone else.

 

When DS15 was about 3yo he started sleep walking.  After waking up one morning to find the dining table set with food and knives throughout the house, we knew something had to change.  DH rigged nylon rope into a slip knot from the boys' bedroom door across the hall to the laundry room.  DS19 (who was 7 at the time) could open the door but DS15 could not.  Way less than ideal, I know, but it worked and by the time we moved a couple years later DS' sleep walking was an annoyance but not a safety hazard.

[AimeeM]

You ladies make me feel so much better! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one having to find creative sleep solutions! Lol.

 

Eventually Marco will share a room with Nico (4), but I'm not comfortable with that yet, which is why I would prefer to keep him close by (the other morning, Marco woke before I did, scaled Nico's mattress and jumped onto Nico's arm - hurting the 4 year old... just as an example, lol).

 

The good thing is that I *can* put Marco in there on his mattress during naps, it IS child proof, and we can start the transition now by using it for nap times, even I keep him on the floor in a play pen in my room for several more months.

[Terabith]

I don't see anything at all wrong with your plan.  I don't even see it as particularly unsafe.  He's a year old now, right?  And obviously he is mobile.  A firm pillow is just fine.  Good plan!  :-)

[applethyme]

Do what works. My son spent most of his little months sleeping in his swing. He slept there until he was big enough to be mobile. It worked best for him and because of his severe reflux it was the safest thing for him.

[fairfarmhand]

I think your plan is fine.

[AimeeM]

I don't see anything at all wrong with your plan.  I don't even see it as particularly unsafe.  He's a year old now, right?  And obviously he is mobile.  A firm pillow is just fine.  Good plan!  :-)

Oh, he's mobile. Lol.

This morning, at some point, he was able to grab a drink (that I thought was placed high enough on the shelf that he couldn't reach it) and pour it all over the floor - and bedding, lol.

[Truscifi]

Another vote for your plan being fine.  Ds9 was in a low toddler bed before he was a year old because he dove off the top rail of his crib and sprained his knee.  It swelled and he had to have xrays and the whole deal.  :huh:   So we totally babyproofed his room and just went with it.

[zoobie]

Have you tried a crib tent?

 

We put our king-size mattress on the floor for a while. It was supposed to be just for a few days when I was making a new headboard and getting a different frame, but it was much more comfortable and it worked well for my co-sleeping baby. I wound up leaving it there for over a year!

 

A friend didn't have a nursery and had a "wild child." She had two closets in her bedroom, so they cleaned one out and put the crib mattress on the floor and a baby gate on the door. There was room for a soft basket of toys and books. It was the perfect, tiny, child-proofed room for him. Though apparently even now he likes to hide in her closet when stressed. :)

 

Montessori At Home (I think that's the title?) describes a completely child-proofed room with mattress on the floor, secured bookshelf, etc.

 

Oh, is everything you own ;) strapped to the wall? My little one is on the move and we need to get on that. The PSA on that low dresser that killed the 2 year old breaks my heart.

[T'smom]

I really think your idea is fine too. I would be surprised if your ped thought it was unsafe! Is it the pillow you are worried about?it seems his physical development is advanced enough that it wouldn't be an issue. I also had a climber/adventurer so I feel for you.

[AimeeM]

I really think your idea is fine too. I would be surprised if your ped thought it was unsafe! Is it the pillow you are worried about?it seems his physical development is advanced enough that it wouldn't be an issue. I also had a climber/adventurer so I feel for you.

Same ped who flipped when I told him I was sleeping on the floor with him - he just repeats the same thing ("crib"), regardless of that this isn't safest for Marco...

[KungFuPanda]

What about a mattress and box springs on the floor with the head slightly lifted? Also, how about letting your kids sleep together? Me ped. Actually recommended this when I told him I was lying down with my son to get him to sleep at night.

[Coco_Clark]

I'm honestly confused as to why your plan isn't safe.... Are one year olds not supposed to have pillows? Is the floor somehow dangerous? Both of my older boys moved into twin beds shortly after their first birthday, blankets and pillows and all, we didnt even use rails. My 9 mo old is my first sleep roller so he will most likely start out with a mattress in the floor.

[8circles]

I mentioned the crib tent but I wanted to clarify - I don't think your plan is unsafe except I'd worry about him getting out and into trouble if you're still asleep. The pillow/blanket situation sounds fine & developmentally appropriate.

[VeganCupcake]

At a year, a pillow and blankets are fine. I think your plan is great.

 

I just wanted to add a voice urging you to secure all furniture to the wall. My kids aren't even climbers, but we do it to all furniture that could possibly tip in an earthquake (we live near a fault) or if a child pulled or climbed on it.

[Jean in Newcastle]

The bedding doesn't seem to be a potential problem.  The potential problem is having anything he could climb on and then jump or fall off of.  So. . . I would take out all bookcases, dressers etc. even though that might be inconvenient.  You could put some soft toys in there for when he is wanting to explore.  I would also be esp. careful about the window in the room - that it is securely shut and that there are no blinds or cords that he could get wrapped up in.  

[sbgrace]

I can't think of why that would be the least bit unsafe. A year is past concern of SIDS, isn't it? If he can climb out of the play yard (it's just the thing around him, right)? I personally would make the room safe and lock the door. We had a climber. I did use a crib tent. I think they are considered unsafe now, but it didn't contain him too long anyway. We child proofed his room and put a child knob on the door. I hope you get sleep soon.

 

My climber did get injured as a baby/toddler. But as he's aged, it's his more cautious brother who seems to get the injuries. My climber is still the same, but his confidence and experience seems to make him safer somehow. Or maybe we're just lucky with him!

[LibraryLover]

Futon that can be pushed under the bed or rolled up in the morning?   Full sized; let both boys sleep on it together. Lock them all in with you at night.

 

I agree, secure those dressers and bookshelves, TVs. etc.

[Terabith]

Same ped who flipped when I told him I was sleeping on the floor with him - he just repeats the same thing ("crib"), regardless of that this isn't safest for Marco...

 

Oh, well then.  Your pediatrician is on crack!  How on earth would that be dangerous?  If he had his own room, I would say empty room with mattress on floor, but if he's sharing with his brother, then obviously that isn't going to work.  Your plan sounds great.  Kids sleep great on the floor.  It's good for his back.  He's safe.  You can sleep.  Everybody wins! 

[AK_Mom4]

When DD12 was little, she slept on a crib mattress on the floor after she got too mobile for the crib but wasn't quite ready for a regular twin bed.  Baby gate across the door so she couldn't escape.  Her big sister slept in the same room and we baby-proofed it.  It worked fine!

[Ecclecticmum]

I'd look into floor beds and montessori bedrooms for kids.

 

Ours started off like that (along with co-sleeping), but for some reason I let hubby do the new mattress purchasing and he came home with bases & beds galore (sigh)

 

Now that our current mattresses need replacing, I'm planning to go back to floor beds & montessori styled rooms. Luckily this time DH is in agreement, so I have his help to order it.

 

Basically just mattress of whatever style on the floor, if its summer you can look into mosquio tents (but really, wait till a certain age before using those, a young bub could wrap themselves up in them).

 

You can create a floor base (just wooden one-slat sides) as an aesthetic "separator" from the rest of the room, or place the mattress on a larger rug to give that "bed space" effect. If its a wooden floor, I would suggest a rug or something as a buffer underneath the mattress, plus some sort of padded rug perimeter (or cheap-alternative: extra pillows) surrounding the bed.

 

Thinking back to when we got the high up beds, I adapted the drop side cot, I basically took the side off (the dropping side) and rigged the slats of it onto the base of our bed, then put hte matresses down, it allowed me to "co-sleep" and feed bub of a night, but for her to have her own space, me mine, and off she rolled, she would just roll into me.

 

DS is another story, he wiggled through anything with bars, so really, even cots were a dangerous place were he could get stuck, mosquito netting and mesh bed sides were a life saver then (although if DH hadn't gone out and purchased huge king bed bases, toddler beds, cots and the like, I wouldn't of had to spend extra brain power and money trying to fix the problems.

 

Best bit of mattress on floor? No wiggling under it and getting half-stuck trying to get all the toys that have rolled under there (*sigh* I still have to do this every few days with two of the beds, and the other more solid base has just enough room under it (wheels) to let dust bunnies and things get under, take the wheels off and you have a huge heavy base that can't be moved and books (and pencils and tissues) are forever falling down at the headboard end and you have to pull/drag/huff puff to get the base out far enough to rescue said items and clean baseboard.

 

yep, not a fan of bed bases. I'm more of a Tatami mat and fluffy padded eider sleeping bag kinda girl ;) Oh and heated asian tables, its freezing here, I would so sleep under one of those heater tables right now rofl.

[JudoMom]

You need to do what works for your family.  I don't even see your plan as unsafe, myself.  Your pediatrician needs to get outside her box and over herself.

If it makes you feel better, during the hotter months of the year, all 5 of my boys sleep on my floor.  They have for years.  We're the only bedroom with A/C.

[Luanne]

When my daugher outgrew her crib, she still kept falling out of bed so I put her mattress on the floor.  She also slept on a bean bag part of the time (her choice).  She was about 7 before she could stay in her bed without a guardrail on it.

[Luanne]

I had similar issues.  I sometimes had my son lay propped up with a Boppy on the floor (alone).  I did what I could do.  He slept in his car seat a lot too.

 

That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.

 

Rebekah wouldn't even sleep in her crib until she was about 4 months old.  She slept in her car seat the first four months.  Then she wouldn't stay asleep in the car seat so I put her in her crib.  She slept great there after that.  I didn't take her out of the crib until she was over 3 because she moves all over the place when she sleeps.  Fortunately she had really short legs and still couldn't get out of the crib.

[nd293]

Do what works. Our children have variously slept in a travel crib and a real crib (mostly for naps or early evening while we were watching TV), in a king sized bed with both parents or a double with one parent, in a single bed against our bed, in a single bed in our room, on a sofa bed in our room, on a mattress on the floor in our room. There isn't a right and wrong, as long as you feel it's safe.

 

And remember there are many, many cultures where people routinely sleep on the floor. It's ridiculous to see anything intrinsically wrong with or dangerous about sleeping on the floor.

[Julie Smith]

I'm not sure if this is possible for you.

 

But I put both my boys on a matress on the floor. Then I would use a babygate and lock them in there room. They had very sapartan rooms so no worries about that. (Picture futon on the floor. a pillow. a baby blanket. a stuff animal. a book)

[alef]

I think your plan sounds just fine. I understand your fear--I have also had a baby with a skull fracture (he slipped from my arms onto the bathroom floor) and never want to repeat that experience. I have mostly kept my babies in bed with me, but my bed is a king size mattress on the floor. Lots of people sleep on mats or rugs on the floor all over the world, I really don't think it is that strange.

[trulycrabby]

I want to ask  the pediatrician exactly why she thinks a pillow on the floor is unsafe. Unless you live in an area in which brown recluse spiders and/ or scorpions are really, really abundant, then I just don't get how your arrangement is unsafe. What's safer than the floor? 

[AimeeM]

I want to ask  the pediatrician exactly why she thinks a pillow on the floor is unsafe. Unless you live in an area in which brown recluse spiders and/ or scorpions are really, really abundant, then I just don't get how your arrangement is unsafe. What's safer than the floor?

Our conversations go *something* like this (after general grilling about what the babe is eating, saying, and doing):

 

Doctor: Where is Marco sleeping?

Me: On the floor with me; I'd like to put him on the floor by himself.

Doctor: We've talked about the crib being the safest place for a baby his age.

Me: Not safe when he can monkey his way to the top (and then I remind him that the height of the crib is TWICE the height of the bed he incurred the skull fracture from).

Doctor: Crib on the lowest setting and he shouldn't be able to get out.

Me: *nod and smile* Okey dokey

 

There is nothing more to say after that. I dread every appt because I feel like I'm going to have CPS waiting for me at the door, asking to see sleeping arrangements!

 

I am strongly considering moving both the boys over to our daughter's pediatrician (we stayed within the office, but switched peds, when we kept getting the runaround about dd11's stomach issues - it was with the new ped, within one visit, that she had a full panel done and we discovered the wheat allergy and celiac's).

The one issue here is the wonderful doctor our daughter sees only works part time at the office and it can be more difficult to get into see her.

[AimeeM]

I'm not sure if this is possible for you.

 

But I put both my boys on a matress on the floor. Then I would use a babygate and lock them in there room. They had very sapartan rooms so no worries about that. (Picture futon on the floor. a pillow. a baby blanket. a stuff animal. a book)

Our 4 year old is already on a mattress on the floor (split chin after he sleepwalked off his toddler bed and onto the hardwood - these floors are going to be the death of me) - he's just a generally very restless sleeper.

I wouldn't put him alone in a room with the 1 year old unsupervised though. Even with me on the floor with them right now, I generally wake up to ds4 flopped elsewhere in the room. He's a HARD sleeper and I would worry about him flopping over on the baby.

[bethben]

When we brought our daughter home from China at 2 1/2, she was used to a crib, so we gave her a crib.  We were concerned that she would wander the house or get outside without us knowing (which she had already figured out to do).  She easily got out of it.  We tried a crib tent.  She broke through two of them.  We figured out she was using her closet organizer as a climbing gym and was jumping off of her 3 drawer dresser.  So, we took everything out of the  room (including the closet organizer), put her mattress on the floor, and reversed the lock on her door so she couldn't get out.  We even took the window openers to her windows because she was opening the windows by herself and we were concerned she would get out the window or leave it open on a negative temperature night.  We were truly concerned for her safety because while she had ability to do all of this, she lacked common sense.  We even thought about taking a traveling play pen and using it upside down over the mattress on the floor.  It can be scary when a young child has ability without wisdom.  

 

Beth

[8circles]

Our conversations go *something* like this (after general grilling about what the babe is eating, saying, and doing):

 

Doctor: Where is Marco sleeping?

Me: On the floor with me; I'd like to put him on the floor by himself.

Doctor: We've talked about the crib being the safest place for a baby his age.

Me: Not safe when he can monkey his way to the top (and then I remind him that the height of the crib is TWICE the height of the bed he incurred the skull fracture from).

Doctor: Crib on the lowest setting and he shouldn't be able to get out.

Me: *nod and smile* Okey dokey

 

There is nothing more to say after that. I dread every appt because I feel like I'm going to have CPS waiting for me at the door, asking to see sleeping arrangements!

 

I am strongly considering moving both the boys over to our daughter's pediatrician (we stayed within the office, but switched peds, when we kept getting the runaround about dd11's stomach issues - it was with the new ped, within one visit, that she had a full panel done and we discovered the wheat allergy and celiac's).

The one issue here is the wonderful doctor our daughter sees only works part time at the office and it can be more difficult to get into see her.

Good grief.  Your plan sounds fine.  

[fairfarmhand]

Our conversations go *something* like this (after general grilling about what the babe is eating, saying, and doing):

 

Doctor: Where is Marco sleeping?

Me: On the floor with me; I'd like to put him on the floor by himself.

Doctor: We've talked about the crib being the safest place for a baby his age.

Me: Not safe when he can monkey his way to the top (and then I remind him that the height of the crib is TWICE the height of the bed he incurred the skull fracture from).

Doctor: Crib on the lowest setting and he shouldn't be able to get out.

Me: *nod and smile* Okey dokey

 

There is nothing more to say after that. I dread every appt because I feel like I'm going to have CPS waiting for me at the door, asking to see sleeping arrangements!

 

I am strongly considering moving both the boys over to our daughter's pediatrician (we stayed within the office, but switched peds, when we kept getting the runaround about dd11's stomach issues - it was with the new ped, within one visit, that she had a full panel done and we discovered the wheat allergy and celiac's).

The one issue here is the wonderful doctor our daughter sees only works part time at the office and it can be more difficult to get into see her.

 

My response. "Why don't you tell that to Marco? Apparently, he doesn't understand that."

 

Honestly. That's ridiculous. I am so thankful I have a respectful family doctor with some common sense who actually believes me when I say. "child did this and this".  Does this dr. have kids?

 

[8circles]

My response. "Why don't you tell that to Marco? Apparently, he doesn't understand that."

 

Honestly. That's ridiculous. I am so thankful I have a respectful family doctor with some common sense who actually believes me when I say. "child did this and this".  Does this dr. have kids?

 

 

Yeah, it isn't as if it's unusual for kids to climb-out of the crib.  Sounds like Marco has figured it out on the early side but goodness, MANY MANY MANY kids climb out of their cribs.  What kind of experience with kids does this pediatrician (not) have?

[Paige]

I would completely baby proof his room, including possibly removing all furniture that is not bolted to the wall, and put him on a mattress in his room. Then, I would put a good baby monitor in there, turn the door knob around, and lock him in at night. If the play yard you are talking about is the play yard we had, they can tip over and fall apart if someone is climbing. We used to use one for my twins, who were not prone to climbing, and one of them pushed the whole thing over. She fell over and hit the floor and then the sides opposite of where she was collapsed and fell on her. She was mostly unhurt and just scared, but I would be concerned that a climber could get hurt. Also- my twins were tiny. DD couldn't have weighed 20lbs when she did this.

[Vida Winter]

I'd try the pack and play without a pillow right up against the bed so you can keep an eye on him and wake up if he starts to climb out. I feel for you; my middle daughter threw herself out of her crib (lowest setting) at one year old - no idea how she had the strength to do that, thank goodness the room was carpeted.

[AimeeM]

What kind of furniture is prone to tipping? The bedroom where he would be, only has a montessori style bookshelf (very short and lightweight) - I could probably brace that to the wall?

The only other concern, is that there is a very large (ceiling height - ridiculously heavy) armoire that we CANNOT move (seriously - it was here when we got here and we tried to move it to have the ceiling repainted professionally)... I worry about it though. I'm not sure why - if I can't move it, can he? Lol.

[Paige]

Any furniture? I'd want to secure all dressers, bookcases, etc. Can you squeeze about 2inches behind the armoire to screw a bracket on? If it's that heavy he probably can't tip it, but I'd be concerned too.

[AimeeM]

Any furniture? I'd want to secure all dressers, bookcases, etc. Can you squeeze about 2inches behind the armoire to screw a bracket on? If it's that heavy he probably can't tip it, but I'd be concerned too.

I can secure the one bookcase, otherwise the only furniture is the armoire... and I don't think that securing it to the wall would make it more safe; my husband said that the type of walls we have, with how super heavy that armoire is, if someone DID manage to tip it, the bracket would do nothing because it would just tear down a chunk of wall with it?