I want to keep my girl in her crib as long as possible. But my 22 month old is just starting to put her foot up on the top of her crib rail. 
When you noticed your baby doing this, when did you transfer her/him to a toddler bed? Do I wait for her to actually climb/fall out? Is it possible for this "leg up" thing to be just a phase and she will stop doing it soon? Please let me know what you did when you saw your baby showing signs of climbing out of the crib. Thanks!
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I have seen my 2.5 year old do that once or twice and then lose interest in it. She hasn’t tried to climb out yet! (And yes I’m lucky...)
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@Foodnerd81: I'm hoping mine loses interest, too!! She does it when she is playing in her crib before nap. I've been following your post - I hope my girl doesn't stop napping!
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Can you put on a sleep sack to keep the leg from being able to go that high? You can zip up the back for an escape artist. I know it doesn’t work for every kid but could be worth a shot.
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My son likes to climb things but he only recently figured out how to climb out at 27 months. He was doing the leg thing for awhile too.
Keep them in the crib as long as possible. When we switched to a toddler bed after the change, he hasn’t slept on the bed since
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Sleep sacks for life. Seriously. My 3.4 year old climbed out of the crib for the first time the other night. She’s still in the crib; we had a chat about why she needs to stay in (mamas sanity)
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@Littlebit7: I definitely think the sleep sack helps! Though at this point my 2.5 year old takes hers off half the time (I know i could turn it around and zip up the back but I haven’t bothered since she isn’t climbing out.
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@Foodnerd81: oh mine has had hers
Off every morning for 9 months. Our turning point was that we’ve been living abroad
In air b and bs for three months. She’s been in pack n plays and realized really quickly that they have low sides and she can climb in and out for fun. When we got back home it took her about 4 nights to do the same. Although she hasn’t done it since after I had a chat with her (night or naps). Knock on wood. -
I’m a certified sleep consultant- keep her in as long as possible. If the back of your crib is higher, turn it around so the shorter side is facing the wall- looks crazy but will buy you some time. Also drop the mattress to the floor if it works with your crib type! You essentially take out the black metal “basket” below the mattress. Just make sure there are no holes or openings for little arms to fit through. Lots of positive sleep speak too during the day- “we sleep so we get big and strong!” “Elsa has so much magic because she sleep so well!” Or whatever character she may like!
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We converted both kids’ cribs early (20m and 18m) and no problems or regrets. Both kids are/were really good about staying in bed.
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@agold: Our son started doing that too, around 20 months, but it was a phase and he never actually tried to climb out! We moved him to a toddler bed at 30 months but not for that reason. It’s been fine btw. He still calls for us to come get him out in the mornings!
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DD2 did this around a similar age, and we switched her immediately. However, that was because I was being induced with DD3 in about 5 days, and my in-laws (who had been warning us for awhile that we really should switch to a toddler bed by this age) were watching my other girls while I was at the hospital. I didn't want her falling out on their watch and having it be some big "I told you so" thing...
Also another vote for sleep sacks - my oldest was in sleep sacks until well after 2, and we kept her in her crib, sides on, until she was...three? at least?! No issues! Although I totally get it might be hard if she's not in a sleep sack currently, but it's worth a try if you sell it as a "cozy blanket" or something!
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There’s a big difference between putting a leg up and close moving out. DD2 has been putting her leg up at least since she was 20 months and she’s 26 months and has yet to climb out. Kid loves her crib. Definitely keep him in there as long as possible! We had to transition DD1 at 21-22 months because she was climbing out and landing on a hardwood floor and it was not good. At least when they are closer to 3 they can understand the rules of a bed better (they’ll still be wild but at least they have more wits about them).
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My 25-month old started climbing out of the crib with his sleep sack on! He learned from his 3-year old brother who would climb in and out of it. The first day he figured it out we counted 40 times climbing out! We took the 4th side down so he's in a toddler bed now and it's pretty bad. My older son was able to stay in his crib until he was past 3, so much better.
@MrstypeA: Any other tips if the crib isn't an option anymore? My 2-year old used to have zero problems going to bed (maybe a 2-minute protest sometimes) and now it's taking 1.5-hours to get him to bed, plus wake ups at night. ACK!
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My oldest climbed out of the crib once and then never did it again. We finally switched him to a toddler bed at 3.5 because we were sick of having to get up early in the morning to get him out of the crib so he could go potty!
My youngest started climbing out around 2 and couldn't get back in and we were sick of having to go put him back in bed, so we switched to a toddler bed earlier for him!
So really, all this to say, just wait and see. Some kids climb out once and then never do it again. Others climb out all the time once they learn how! I wouldn't rush to switch though - from what I've heard and experienced, the older they are for the switch, the easier it goes.
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For those saying sleep sacks - what product do you recommend when kids are older and its warm? I have some 9mo fleecy sleep sacks but theyre way too warm and probably too small now. My LO is 14 mos.
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@Clementine12: both Aden and Anais and Halo make a really light muslin sleep sack.
Or if you want something slightly heavier than Muslin but not actually heavy, I LOVE the babydeedee sleep nest lite. It’s like a soft thick tee shirt. And the snaps on the shoulders are clutch. And I think they make them up to 36 months or something. -
@SweetiePie: thanks! I'm going to give one of these options a go. I never got the nice A&A blankets and the nursery is a warm room, so that's tempting...
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@AnnabelleG: without knowing all of the story- i would venture to guess that he is going to sleep too late. Normally when we see a disruption of the sleep cycle in the middle of the night it's because they didn't star with a good cadence going go sleep. Usually the melatonin converted to cortisol and he's starting the night sleep with that extra stimulant (cortisol) in his system. I would suggest lots of positive sleep speak, have him repeat to you what the routine for going to bed is and stay very firm to your rules. Your routine should only be about 15-20 minutes. If you have a 2 book and 1 song rule then that's how it ends. If he does continue to get out of his bed, silent return and no engaging in his behavior.
Lastly, don't be afraid of a 5:30 bedtime if you think he is so overtired. Think of his sleep for the day in totality.. if he slept poorly the night before he is going into the next day with some sleep debt that needs to be paid off somehow! so earlier nap or earlier bedtime are your best friend.. and you'll see, it don't result in early waking.
good luck!
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@MrstypeA: Not to derail but the super early bedtime is miraculous. We did it with my older son and now with the 4 month old - if he had a crap nap day (which, mercifully, is few and far between these days) I do a 5:30pm bedtime and he still will go all night till 6:30am or so. I feel like it’s my reward for dealing with a crappy nap day haha. He goes down super early then I can have a more casually paced dinner and spend time with the toddler.
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@MrstypeA: Thank you! He didn't fall asleep until 8pm last night even though we started lights out at 6:30pm, but I'll try even earlier and see. That sounds right to me that he's getting overtired and then he's so excited/maybe anxious about the new freedom of his bed. Thanks again!!
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This turned out to be a great thread! I love all the input and side conversations.
My goal has been to eliminate her playing around in her crib. I woke her up earlier today (she's a very late sleeper) and she was ready for her nap when I put her down today. No playing around/leg resting on rail shenanigans.
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