If your young babe has seriously injured themselves before, how do you...

[AimeeM]

GET OVER IT?!

Tony built the boys a seriously cool trundle/loft bed. The trundle part for our 18 month old, and he built the loft bed for our 4.5 year old (the trundle of course rolls out from under it for bedtime for the babe). He even made it only 2 feet off the ground, considering our 4.5 year old is very small for his (roughly the size of the average 2 year old - medical issues). It looks so nice and cozy. Here's a pic :) The boys get to finger paint it tomorrow!

 

 

Within 5 minutes of seeing it, The Flying Marvelous Marco (18 month old) showed us that he could climb to the top loft area. *sigh*

This is the same kid that launched himself off our bed at 7 months old, crashing onto the hardwood floors, incurring a skull fracture that required a hospital stay. By day two in the hospital, he was showing off his new skills (before this, we didn't even know he could crawl, let alone climb) in the hospital to the bemused Child Life Specialists in the playroom, climbing mini couches and tumbling from chairs.

 

The goal here, with this bed, is to get me OUT of the boys' room. I've been sleeping in there, on the floor, between the two mattresses, for a LONG time now (since he showed us he could climb to the top of his crib, and the toy box, etc).

 

Now all i can see in my mind is him climbing up there in the middle of the night and hurting himself. Logically, I know it isn't high off the ground - but neither is/was our bed; it was the way he fell and the force with which he hurled himself off, the neuro said.

 

I have to get over this at some point. I *have* to. I can't sleep on their floor forever. He's a daredevil - a climber, a grabber, a runner, a thrower. He's just... full of life. Lol!

 

But I'm already planning, much to my husband's dismay, to spend the night on their floor again. I just can't seem to shake this - it happened almost a year ago, but I can still remember feeling my heart sink as I realized the "goose egg" I thought his fall had incurred, was slowly taking over the entire side of his head and rushing him into the doctor... then x-ray... then the hospital... and the questions... the tactful request for a full body x-ray.

 

I can't live the rest of my life fearful that he'll hurt himself. I know he will do just that - it's just the type of child he is. I can't prevent all injuries, but I feel so paranoid about him when he's sleeping.

 

This is primarily a vent. I'm upset with myself.

[Flowing Brook]

would it be possible to take anything out of the room that he could climb on?  Take away the beds and have all the kids sleep on mattresses on the floor?  I am sorry you had that experience.  I hope you find something that works soon. 

[AimeeM]

would it be possible to take anything out of the room that he could climb on?  Take away the beds and have all the kids sleep on mattresses on the floor?  I am sorry you had that experience.  I hope you find something that works soon. 

 

We had only mattresses on the floor, but that wasn't working well either - he was jumping from mattress to mattress, one would slide, he'd come crashing down, etc.

 

I think he wants to kill me...

 

(I kid, I kid)

[T'smom]

Could you buy a mat to put on the floor in the "fall area"? This is extreme, but since you sound desperate, I'll throw it out there. My MIL turned my dh's crib upside down and used it kindof like a cage. He was one of a set of very, um, energetic and athletic triplets and they were climbing out of their cribs and getting hurt. I believe it was a drop side crib and they could pull the front up to get him in and out. I'm not sure if she resorted to that for his brothers or not....I'll have to ask.

[JustEm]

I would say take the frames out and just have mattresses on the floor

[trulycrabby]

It's a lovely trundle bed, but I agree with the suggestion for two matresses on the floor. I think it's the safest thing to go until The Fabulous Flying Marco's wings emerge. :) Your children are precious, btw!

[JustEm]

put something under the mattresses to prevent them from sliding?? like a big rug?

 

Edited: because of spelling errors.  I think I'm half asleep and typing.

[Guest submarines]

would it be possible to take anything out of the room that he could climb on?  Take away the beds and have all the kids sleep on mattresses on the floor?  I am sorry you had that experience.  I hope you find something that works soon. 

 

Yep. Mattress on the floor for now.

[AimeeM]

Mattresses on the floor are out - he was hurting himself jumping from mattress to mattress, or off the mattresses, or on one mattress.

I thought about telling Tony to build the loft higher, and put bars around Marco's area... but then I thought "eh, that would be like a dog crate".

I can laugh about it right now. I'm tired, lol.

[JustEm]

then get a full size futon that is heavy enough not to slide around and just have that on the floor.  Both boys can share it.

[Guest submarines]

Mattresses on the floor are out - he was hurting himself jumping from mattress to mattress, or off the mattresses, or on one mattress.

 

Get one or several of those foam mattress pads and cover most /all of the floor. We used to sleep on them straight on the floor, and then rolled them up during the day. Easy, cheap, and hopefully safe.

[AimeeM]

Could you buy a mat to put on the floor in the "fall area"?

 

You know what... I have a thick nap mat...

[ktgrok]

My son just had a broken arm at 14 months old, so I feel you. And he has injured his head too. I have no idea, I'm still a bundle of nerves most days. 

[ktgrok]

I had my wild jungle creature of a child on a ful sized futon matress on the floor, with a skid free thing (like the stuff people line cabinets with) under it. And zero other things in the room. That was after the octogon cage around the crib mattress on the floor phase.

 

He's six now and safely sleeps in a twin bed, so it's just a matter of time :-)

 

After the 1 year old broke his arm I slept with him on the floor on a futon mattress. Worked really well. He rolled off a few times, but no harm no foul. 

[AimeeM]

We can't take everything out of the room, unfortunately. We're in the process of looking for a larger home, but right now we live in a small, cottage style home in a downtown city district - there is ZERO space to put the few things in the bedroom. I do mean *zero*. The house is stacked and packed (Tony bought it as a bach pad; he's finally come to the realization that 3 kids and 2 dogs later, we've outgrown the space, lol).

 

I'm sleeping in there tonight, to watch how he acts at night. If I see him trying to get up there (I'm a light sleeper), we'll take the bed out and try maybe just the nap mat for him. The doctor of course advises against the boys sharing an actual bed space.

[xixstar]

Neat beds but if you're uncomfortable with having him on a mattress on the floor then I don't think you will be comfortable with the beds either.

 

You can get those large interlocking foam blocks to put down as a rug/carpet to help with falls. And then do away with the trundle for now because I just see falling from the higher bed onto the wood frame of the trundle being painful for now. Bring it back as an option when he is older. But with the foam floor mats he can fall off the bed and probably be fine and can totally handle falling off his mattress on the floor.

 

I hear your worry from what happened before but he is growing and learning and probably better able to manage some more tumbles now.

 

Otherwise I would guess crib solutions for an escape artist would be needed until he gets older.

[trulycrabby]

Then maybe a Japanese sleeping mat, or something else that is thin yet comfortable.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Shikibuton-Trifold-density-resilient-Folding/dp/B004O7119E/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1387077491&sr=8-9&keywords=japanese+sleeping+mat

[trulycrabby]

You know what... I have a thick nap mat...

Bingo! Sounds perfect!

[AimeeM]

Get one or several of those foam mattress pads and cover most /all of the floor. We used to sleep on them straight on the floor, and then rolled them up during the day. Easy, cheap, and hopefully safe.

 

I like this. I could easily get them and put them around the loft/trundle bed at night, roll them up in the morning.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Mattresses on the floor are out - he was hurting himself jumping from mattress to mattress, or off the mattresses, or on one mattress.

I thought about telling Tony to build the loft higher, and put bars around Marco's area... but then I thought "eh, that would be like a dog crate".

I can laugh about it right now. I'm tired, lol.

The mattresses on the floor are the safest idea. The higher loft and crate are definitely unsafe for him. In nursing, we used mattresses on the floor for patients who were high risk of falls. I would use anti-skid mats under the mattresses or padded mats under the mattresses. You could also possibly secure the mattresses to the floor. You could also ask you doctor for ideas.

[Catwoman]

I vote for mattresses on the floor and super-duper-thick, super-duper-padded carpeting.

 

And then he will whack his head on the wall... :eek: ... so maybe you need to cover the walls with some kind of interesting padding as well.

[Melissa in Australia]

I vote for putting some sort of soft blanked /rug thingy on the floor and leaving it at that. the bed isn't really high enough to badly hurt himself if he falls. He is at an age now that he will learn if he falls and hurts himself a bit.

[mathnerd]

I have a boy like Flying Marco. He escaped his crib at 9 months. We got 2 Full size futon mattresses and put them on the floor. We used the carpet grip pads under them. Then I covered all the surrounding hardwood floor with 1 inch thick and cushiony Interlocking Foam mats. My local costco had a great deal on them 6 years ago. They look like this http://www.amazon.com/We-Sell-Mats-Anti-Fatigue-Interlocking/dp/B003HEVQMM/ref=zg_tr_2522073011_15

I swear to you that it works, it is so safe and we still have them on the floor even though he has moved to a traditional bed. Also remove anything removable from that room and use it only for sleeping.

Good luck.

[tabinfl]

I agree that a soft floor covering -- the interlocking foam mats mentioned above, an area rug, anything -- would help a great deal.i

 

We've had our share of injury ER trips (1 toddler finger squashed in hinge side of door, 1 set forhead stiches, 3 broken arms, 1 nursemaid elbow, one scary but thankfully minor labial laceration from slipping just the right/wring way as she was teying to sit on a training potty, plus a couple of illness-related visits). There have been countless bruises, scrapes, goose eggs,cuts, and so on. I talked with our pediatrician after the 2nd broken arm on the same child (1 year after the first), a bit worried about it all. She told me that she is actually more concerned about the children who never get injured, because it often means they get little or no physical activity, or what they get is so limited that they don't really get to play[/].

 

My criteria now boil down to: will a mishap cause a lif-e or limb- threatening injury (if so, I generally nix it unless I can find a way to make it safer), and is it something they can forsee (if not, I explain the hazard and satisfy mese,f that they understand the danger & consequences).

 

It is difficult after a severe injury to back up and potentially have something else happen, but there are some steps you can take to make it safER and give yourself some peace of mind while still letting him be his wonderful exuberant self!

[Tammi K]

When he was 18 months old, ds climbed to the top of a cargo net that, at it's top, was 8 feet off the ground. At 24 months he climbed to the top of his brothers bunk bed and when I asked rhetorically, "Now, how are you going to get down?", he launched himself off and on to the hardwood floor. At 30 months, he climbed near the top of a 10 foot crab apple tree and waved to us through the window. (We were moving into the house and the doors were open. He slipped out and found something to climb on!)

 

When he was 3 1/2 we enrolled him in a kinder tumbling program. By the time he was 9 he was Hawaii's state gymnastic champ at his level.

 

The thing is, with climbers, I don't think you can stop them. It's in their nature.  I have a horrible fear of heights and I've worked really hard to keep that fear from hindering my son. You have the added burden of dealing with a serious injury. So I understand the fear and hesitation to letting him play freely. But, really, I think that you will not stop his behaviour without seriously squashing who he is. Personally, I think, based on my experience with my own DS ( back then, affectionately nicknamed 'Tumble Monkey') that you should not restrict climbing apparatuses. Give him LOTS of opportunity to climb, and jump, and tumble. And, then teach him where he is permitted to climb.

 

The bunk is great. Can your DH add a little stairs/slide to the side?  Or a wide step ladder?  Or a long, thick rope attached to a ceiling stud to swing from?  We had an IKEA chair (like a hanging cocoon) that hung on the ceiling. He loved to spin and climb on that thing!

 

I feel your pain. My kiddo still gives me heart failure on a regular basis. :grouphug:

[Melissa in Australia]

great idea

[AimeeM]

I vote for mattresses on the floor and super-duper-thick, super-duper-padded carpeting.

 

And then he will whack his head on the wall... :eek: ... so maybe you need to cover the walls with some kind of interesting padding as well.

 

The wall was exactly the issue. Lol.

Well, that and he is still unsteady jumping on the bed (*sigh*) so he would underestimate his jump and end up face planting somewhere in the room.

[AimeeM]

There were no climbing attempts last night. I slept next to his trundle area and then AS SOON as he woke up, I pushed in the trundle. He was far more interested in finding me in the middle of the night.

 

[AimeeM]

There's one step on the end for DS4 to use, but I think a slide would EXTRA neat! And it might tempt the babe to slide down that, instead of jumping off.

I'm having a hard time learning how to let him be *him*, admittedly, lol. He terrifies me.

When he was 18 months old, ds climbed to the top of a cargo net that, at it's top, was 8 feet off the ground. At 24 months he climbed to the top of his brothers bunk bed and when I asked rhetorically, "Now, how are you going to get down?", he launched himself off and on to the hardwood floor. At 30 months, he climbed near the top of a 10 foot crab apple tree and waved to us through the window. (We were moving into the house and the doors were open. He slipped out and found something to climb on!)

 

When he was 3 1/2 we enrolled him in a kinder tumbling program. By the time he was 9 he was Hawaii's state gymnastic champ at his level.

 

The thing is, with climbers, I don't think you can stop them. It's in their nature.  I have a horrible fear of heights and I've worked really hard to keep that fear from hindering my son. You have the added burden of dealing with a serious injury. So I understand the fear and hesitation to letting him play freely. But, really, I think that you will not stop his behaviour without seriously squashing who he is. Personally, I think, based on my experience with my own DS ( back then, affectionately nicknamed 'Tumble Monkey') that you should not restrict climbing apparatuses. Give him LOTS of opportunity to climb, and jump, and tumble. And, then teach him where he is permitted to climb.

 

The bunk is great. Can your DH add a little stairs/slide to the side?  Or a wide step ladder?  Or a long, thick rope attached to a ceiling stud to swing from?  We had an IKEA chair (like a hanging cocoon) that hung on the ceiling. He loved to spin and climb on that thing!

 

I feel your pain. My kiddo still gives me heart failure on a regular basis. :grouphug:

 

[trulycrabby]

I think the suggestion for tumbling classes is brilliant. :)

[AimeeM]

I think the suggestion for tumbling classes is brilliant. :)

 

Me too! I've actually been looking into something for both boys. There really isn't a time when I can take the youngest without the 4 year old, so I'll see if DS4's pulmonary specialist clears him for tumbling; if so, I'll look into the several gyms we have around here.

 

[RoughCollie]

There were no climbing attempts last night. I slept next to his trundle area and then AS SOON as he woke up, I pushed in the trundle. He was far more interested in finding me in the middle of the night.

 

That is great!  I had to sleep on the floor with  my sons when they were that age to prevent them from getting into trouble in the middle of the night.  It was not fun.  We had carpeted bedrooms, so I put "nests" of down comforters on the floor for them to sleep in.  They liked being little birds.  I was so happy when I could return to my own bed.  I'd always get joined by at least one of them in the middle of the night, but I didn't mind that.

[AimeeM]

That is great!  I had to sleep on the floor with  my sons when they were that age to prevent them from getting into trouble in the middle of the night.  It was not fun.  We had carpeted bedrooms, so I put "nests" of down comforters on the floor for them to sleep in.  They liked being little birds.  I was so happy when I could return to my own bed.  I'd always get joined by at least one of them in the middle of the night, but I didn't mind that.

 

If he would KEEP his butt ON our bed, neither of us mind a kiddo in the bed with us. Part of me thinks that this may just be what is needed to get myself back in our bed... and I know he's now 18 months old, not 7 months... but he hurt himself falling off our bed.

At least I'm not alone in sleeping on a children's room floor, lol.

 

[Farrar]

I think you just move on.  My kids were cautious by that age, but around age 10 mo or so, they were HORRIBLE about injuring themselves.  I'd be very, very, very carefully trying to edge through a doorway holding them both and they'd do that stiff baby thing right at the moment when we'd pass the entry, thus knocking themselves silly and getting a big goose egg.  And they did it all. the. time.  No matter how tight I thought I had them.  I started putting one down, walking through with the other, then going back, but let me tell you, that's no way to try to navigate a house.  In fact, on two occasions, they suddenly, violently pulled away so suddenly and hard that they were dropped on their heads.  And don't even get me started on the waking up in the middle of the night and slamming their skulls against my forehead weird sleep game.

 

Anyway, my point is, it's a stage.  They grew out of it (thank goodness).  They lived through it.  I cried each time, but no permanent damage seems to have been done.  Kids are resilient.

 

In the meantime, seconding all these good bare bones floor suggestions.

[mamakelly]

I'd stick him back in the crib with a crib tent on the top, LOL!

[kiwik]

I would go with one of those lightweight sleeping bag attached to sheet thingies that prevent them from standing up in bed - they can roll from side to side but that's it. And if you have another I would stick him in a safeTsleep from day one. You have to sleep, preferably with your husband.

 

Oh and maybe you could find him foam headgear like rugby players use.

[Ottakee]

I had one that was such a climber we ended up with the big Little Tykes Jungle Gym in the living room when she was that age. Yep--the bright colored one with the 4ft. slide.

 

How about those interlocking foam mats used for exercise? Put those down and either leave the beds up or take the beds out for a few months and have the kids just sleep on the floor?

[EKS]

I'm someone who kept both of my kids in a crib (with a tent for one) until they were 3yo.  There is no way I'd have ever considered having either of them sleep in a situation like that at that age.  I honestly don't think your fears are unreasonable.

[Laura Corin]

For the moment, cover the floor with those fit-together rubber mats - like this - and put mattresses on them.  The rubber mats will cushion his fall and will also stop the mattresses sliding.

 

L

[AimeeM]

I'm someone who kept both of my kids in a crib (with a tent for one) until they were 3yo.  There is no way I'd have ever considered having either of them sleep in a situation like that at that age.  I honestly don't think your fears are unreasonable.

 

Crib is out of the question - he could climb to the top and dangle out well before a year old. Our pediatrician said that tents aren't safe and do not appear to be sold any more (I've looked! Lol!).

[AimeeM]

I would go with one of those lightweight sleeping bag attached to sheet thingies that prevent them from standing up in bed - they can roll from side to side but that's it. And if you have another I would stick him in a safeTsleep from day one. You have to sleep, preferably with your husband.

 

Oh and maybe you could find him foam headgear like rugby players use.

 

Do you have a link? I've never heard of this, but it sounds neat.

[EKS]

Crib is out of the question - he could climb to the top and dangle out well before a year old. Our pediatrician said that tents aren't safe and, true to form, apparently they aren't sold any more?

 

I am certain they could design a safe crib tent, but whatever. 

 

[AimeeM]

I am certain they could design a safe crib tent, but whatever. 

 

 

Wish they would. I wasn't trying to be snarky at all - there just aren't any sold. I can't do anything about that :(

[EKS]

Wish they would. I wasn't trying to be snarky at all - there just aren't any sold. I can't do anything about that :(

 

I think that people who make these decisions, and pediatricians who just accept that all crib tents are unsafe, probably haven't had a kid for whom a crib tent is safer than no crib tent.

 

You have my sympathy!

[AimeeM]

I think that people who make these decisions, and pediatricians who just accept that all crib tents are unsafe, probably haven't had a kid for whom a crib tent is safer than no crib tent.

 

You have my sympathy!

 

I'm with you. The closest I've found is one made in Australia :P

To be fair, my kiddos' pediatrician is fairly laid back. I'm not sure if *she* thinks they're unsafe, or if she's quoting what she has to (I'm pretty sure she can't tell me it's okay to use something that's been nationally recalled, lol).

[Terabith]

Leave bed set up as is.  I'm guessing older child would be upset if you took it out.  Add slide if possible.  Put throw pillows and rubber mats on floor.  Enroll in tumbling classes.  A glass of wine for you to relax.  He's older now.  What happened before was terrible and you probably have a bit of ptsd from it.

 

If that doesn't work, then take bed out and mattresses on floor, with mats to help keep it from sliding.  I'm guessing he doesn't have enough force to seriously injure himself bumping his head on the wall from jumping on the floor.