# Help!! Baby won't stop crawling out of bed!



## Issibearmama (Dec 15, 2007)

DD is now 10.5 months and we've been cosleeping with her since she was a newborn. Now that she is a proficient crawler she won't stop crawling out of bed!

It started a few weeks ago. Three times in one night she crawled into the cosleeper/bassinet we had kept pushed against our bed.







So, we took the bed off the rails fearing the next time she tried to make a great escape she might end up on the floor and hurt herself. This only seemed to make things worse. It's as if now she sees the floor and as soon as she wakes up from a nap goes right to it.

This morning I nursed her to sleep, snuck out of bed, took the monitor with me, and went to the bathroom. Well, before I had a chance to pull up my pants (sorry tmi







) I hear a scream! I rushed into the room to find her on all fours on the floor.







: She was only a little disoriented, but, fine otherwise. Still, I'm concerned. We've been teaching her to turn around and slide off feet 1st, which she does do sometimes, but obviously not every single time.

What do we do? Is it time to start using a crib? We're leaving for vacation in a few days and I'm dreading it. How do we keep our little girl snug and safe in our bed?


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## mamatoady (Mar 16, 2004)

Is your bed on a frame? If not, I'd take it off and just have your mattress on the floor. Also, I knew a mom who used her crib mattress on the floor next to her bed and that's where her toddler slept....you could go further and put a bigger mattress there so you could fit down there to nurse her and come back to bed....but if you had the frame off your bed and a small mattress on the floor--she wouldn't hurt herself if she climbed or even fell out.

Also, remember this might be a new phase that she'll grow out of. She's so excited to use her new skill that she's waking up in the night to use it which is totally common. When it's not so new anymore, (even if she's been crawling since 6 months), she probably won't be doing it so much. My ds went through something like that, I'd keep waking up to find him sliding purposely off the side of the bed, but he was tired and would sit there and cry , so I'd just pull him up and nurse him back to sleep.

sarah


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## mommabear207 (Nov 19, 2007)

my ds also went through a phase of trying to crawl off the bed. i also recommend putting your mattress on the floor. its really the only way to ensure no injuries now that baby is so mobile. even bed rails can be climbed over. the other thing we did at first was to just not leave the room. i did things like laundry or took a nap myself. it can be hard though to really stay there and not leave "for a second" or go to the bathroom cause thats when they wake up and decide they're heading out to explore. i also tried to give ds lots of practice climbing off the right way. now hes great at it and when he wakes up and wants to go get his toys or his favorite thing-a hat- off he goes. you might as well let dc learn the skill and soon they'll be onto bigger and better things.
as for your vacation- if you can't but the mattress on the floor make sure shes in between you two and i'd put padding down on the floor just in case she got off the bed wrong or bring a bed (inflatable) for her on the floor.
also the crib seems to just make lo's mad about their loss of freedom and provides them with another skill-climbing over the rail-which is even higher up.


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