# My 6 month old fell out of bed last night



## CariS (Jul 2, 2005)

Last night I nursed her to sleep then came to the computer to upload photos in the room directly next to our bedroom. Sometimes when I hear her wake I might try to finish what I'm doing (never more than a 1 minute). Last night I did not do this. I stood up, left the computer on, turned off the light, walked into the bedroom and saw her on the floor. I think she rolled in her sleep to find me and woke up only when she was on the floor. My husband slept through it all. He woke to me yelling to turn the light on so I could check her.

Do I let her cry it out and put her in the crib so she doesn't fall out of bed and hurt herself? But she gets her legs stuck in the railing of the crib so not sure that's safer.

Do I get a bed rail and hope she doesn't suffocate in that?


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## rachelmarie (Mar 21, 2005)

So sorry that happened to your poor babe. Is she doing alright now?

I have a 6 month old as well. We have a bed rail (from Target) on one side of our bed and on the other side (if Dh or I is not in bed, too) we put pillows. My ds is able to roll over from back to tummy (he does it all the time when he's awake) but can't get over the pillows. He hasn't ever fallen out of bed.

Check this out: Snug Tuck Pillow You may want to get one of these. Someone else here recommended them on another thread (can't remember who or when - it's been a while).

I'm sure other mamas here will write in with more suggestions. IMO 6 months is too young to be in a crib, and please don't let your babe cry it out! There are plenty of things you can do to keep your dd safe in your bed.


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## CariS (Jul 2, 2005)

Thanks so much.

Oh - I forgot to mention!!! She's fine! Not a mark. I was shaking for so long after it happened and checked her for like 10 minutes while she nursed - the cure-all.







She's fine. I watched her behavior too of course and she's her usual happy self.

You mentioned a bed rail. Do you like it? Do you remember who makes it? How come you decided not to use the Snug Tuck pillow? That looks so cool by the way! I think it might be more suitable for her as she gets older and goes into her own bed (assuming that ever happens. Seems like a lifetime away







).

It's so helpful and feels so supportive to hear you think 6 months old is too young for a crib!!!! I live in a world where I am the ONLY one doing it and work so hard not to feel like a monster for doing it.

Thank you.


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## rachelmarie (Mar 21, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CariS*
Thanks so much.

Oh - I forgot to mention!!! She's fine! Not a mark. I was shaking for so long after it happened and checked her for like 10 minutes while she nursed - the cure-all.







She's fine. I watched her behavior too of course and she's her usual happy self.

You mentioned a bed rail. Do you like it? Do you remember who makes it? How come you decided not to use the Snug Tuck pillow? That looks so cool by the way! I think it might be more suitable for her as she gets older and goes into her own bed (assuming that ever happens. Seems like a lifetime away







).

It's so helpful and feels so supportive to hear you think 6 months old is too young for a crib!!!! I live in a world where I am the ONLY one doing it and work so hard not to feel like a monster for doing it.

Thank you.

I'm glad your dd is doing fine! I would be SO totally upset if ds fell out of bed. We have wood floors, too, so it makes me nervous to even think about it!

I decided not to get the snug tuck because right now we have a full bed and I thought it might take up too much valuable room! It was also a money issue. The bed rail from Target is a First Years brand. It was about $25. It goes between the mattress and the box spring and latches on the other side so there is no danger of it sliding out. I don't worry about ds suffocating or anything because at night he is between dh and I, and if I lay him down to take a nap he doesn't get that close to it. He barely moves in his sleep and our box spring is so creaky that even if he moves from his side to his back I can hear. When he takes a nap I am either in our bathroom (getting ready for the day - not showering, though) which is like 3 feet from our bed or at the computer which is about 15 feet from our bed.

I am the only one I know irl that co-sleeps! I love it, though, and wouldn't change it for anything.







I think it is the best thing for babies!


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## irinam (Oct 27, 2004)

Yep, bed rails is what we used. That is after DD fell a few times on the floor







:

Thankfully we have a carpeted bedroom, so she did not even wake up except once. I also put pillows on the floor around the bed just in case.


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## mother nurture (Oct 13, 2004)

I was always so worried about dd falling out of bed. Even now I usually put her in a crib (15 months old) for her nap. I don't nap and with her being able to walk, etc. it makes me nervous. I don't know how high your bed is, but ours is low. We have the box spring right on the floor and mattress on top. So, the fall would be really short. We also have 1 rail for our bed. Our is similar to the pp in that it fits between the mattress and box spring. Ours has a mesh side, so that there aren't slots for dd to get her arms, legs, head, etc. stuck in. It also makes it soft and breathable, if she were to roll into it. I also agree w/ the pp and urge you not to let your dd CIO! Good luck


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## CariS (Jul 2, 2005)

*Rachel -* thanks so much for the rail info - I'll be at Target tomorrow! I'll keep the snup tuck in mind for later maybe. Thank you! Oh - our babies are one day apart. Sienna's older.









It's so nice to hear that you love cosleeping! I love it too. I really do. I always knew I'd do it. Before Sienna (our daughter) was born we had our two 70 pound dogs in the bed and I loved that. I especially love waking up next to Sienna. She's SOOOOOOO delicious. She stretches, blows bubbles, and I know when she's up for good cuz she doesn't fuss. She's so happy. And then - and then! then! she looks at me and smiles. That's it. I'll do anything. I'm hers. I forget about the 99 times I was up all night.









*Irina -* that's hysterical!!! You said she only woke up once from the few times she feel out of bed. So funny! I'm not alone over here. Thanks though - I'll do the rail and pillow on the floor (in stead of bed as I was doing) is a great idea. Thank you!

*Beth -* our bed is also on the floor - box spring and mattress. Thanks for mentioning the rail is mesh! That totally makes me feel better re suffocating&#8230; or NOT suffocating.

Also - I read on another thread that a mom put her bed against the wall to eliminate the falling ratio which I'm going to do as well.

Thank you all!!! I seriously feel better. I have a bunch of action to take now. Phew. Thank you!


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## Alvie (Mar 14, 2005)

Hi,

When my ds started to crawl we put the bed on the floor (box spring and mattress) with pillows around it. It's against the wall too, so it minimises falling whilst asleep. He did fall out once though. I forgot to put the baby monitor on and he must have woken up earlier because I heard a 'thump' and then a cry. OMG I felt sooo bad, poor baby.









I then taught him how to get off himself, which I urge you to do as soon as they can crawl and it was surprising how fast he picked it up. When he was ready to launch himself off head first, I slowly said..."turn around" and turned him butt first and then I said "feet first" (or something similar) and gave lots of praise when he got off.

Now when he wakes up he sometimes gets off all by himself and crawls out the room to come and find me! Too cute


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## CallMeMommy (Jun 15, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *judesmama*
I have a 6 month old as well. We have a bed rail (from Target) on one side of our bed and on the other side (if Dh or I is not in bed, too) we put pillows. My ds is able to roll over from back to tummy (he does it all the time when he's awake) but can't get over the pillows. He hasn't ever fallen out of bed.

This is exactly what we do, bed rail on one side and pillows/rolled up comforter on the other. I had to make an emergency run to ShopKo at 9:30 at night after ds fell out of bed for the SECOND time! I was bawling the whole way to the store I felt so bad!


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## alison77 (May 26, 2004)

ds fell out at 13 months and got a big lip from hitting the edge of the bedside table - i was more of a wreck than he was though! that's when we moved our bed onto the floor . . . .


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## Livie'smomma (Apr 7, 2005)

Hi!
I am glad to hear your dd came through it all without a scratch. I started putting my babe in the crib for naps only and if I wasn't ready to come to bed and by some freak chance she fell asleep before I was ready for bed. I had to learn the tango with her because if she wasn't in a deep sleep, as soon as she'd hit the mattress, she'd wake up and cry...so she really has to be out and then as I put her in the crib, I put my energy into her to stay sleeping AND to stay sleeping through putting up the NOISY clicking of the rail.

I agree with what someone else said about teaching your babe the right way to get off couches and beds. I always say "feet first," and have been since Olivia was your dd's age. It is amazing how much they understand. In the beginning I had to take her legs and swing them around to show her while saying this is how you get down. Now she goes feet first every time.

Our bed is pretty high off the ground and since dd is 15 months now, she is almost able to get her feet to touch the ground when she swings them over. I still put her in the crib as I mentioned above, just so I can have the peace of mind to go back to doing whatever it was I was doing. There was one time where my DH and I planned to go in the hot tub when dd fell asleep. I got her to sleep, put her in our bed as I had been doing, turned on the monitor, went down 3 flights of stairs-ouside, got into the hot tub, and as soon as I took a sigh of "wow this feels great," I heard WAAAAAAAAAHHHHH. So I made the mad dash naked all the way back upstairs so she wouldn't fall out of the bed. After that it was the crib for her (as I said, for naps only). We co-sleep and wouldn't have it any other way.

Sorry, I didn't intend this to be so lengthy.
Good Luck!


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## CrazyCatLady (Aug 17, 2004)

It's happened to lots of us! Me more times than I'd like to admit, but I only sleep on a matress so it's not a far fall. The rail sounds like a good idea to me. If she sleeps with you, I don't see the point of putting her in a crib just to move her later. Crying it out never has to be an option. I don't have tons to add, just wanted to say good luck and not to feel bad. It even happens to parents who don't co-sleep.


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## CariS (Jul 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Livie'smomma*

Sorry, I didn't intend this to be so lengthy.
Good Luck!

Don't you dare appoligize for the length! Anything with a naked woman running around anywhere is funny and worth the read!


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## MamaKalena (Jun 17, 2005)

So glad your baby had a gentle fall







. Our ds is nearly 8 months and, after reading these posts, I realize we've been SOOO lucky that he hasn't fallen out of our bed yet. I'm going to take this to heart and lower our mattress to the floor first thing tomorrow!

Livie's Mama: How did you get dd to sleep in her crib? Any secrets? I'd love if our ds would sleep there for at least one nap a day to give me a break, but he wakes up within a few minutes _if_ putting up that CREEKY railing doesn't wake him first







.


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## kamesennin (Jan 3, 2005)

I would be careful about bed rails, my dd learned how to pull herself into a standing position at 6 mo and she almost pitched herself over the thing. She would have fallen a good foot higher than she would have just falling off the bed. Babies learn quickly and a bed rail could pose more of a temptation rather than just the edge of the bed. We're trying to do the "feet first" thing here (she's 7 mo now), but in the meantime we have the bed up against the wall. I've heard this is dangerous to do as well because of suffocation issues, but I'm aware of her all the time and it's working ok for us. I wish we could put our mattress on the floor so I wouldn't care if she rolled off, but we have this huge wooden thing that can't be moved. Oh well. I hope she learns how to climb down soon. Anyway, good luck and I hope you find a solution that works for your family!
Cheers,
Liane


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## Dulcealegria (Apr 12, 2005)

My ds has also fall from the bed, which is not so high. What we did is to put many pillows around the bed, so in case he falls, he falls softly.
Hope it helps.


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