11.14.2014

An Escape Artist, a Climber & a Crib Tent

Even though Luke is only 2 years old, I have already seen differences between him and the girls.
Luke is ALL boy.
Even though we have dolls, barbies, etc all around our house he ignores them and goes straight for the balls, trucks, cars & trains.
He is also a Climber.
A few weeks ago, Luke and I were playing, I had to go to the bathroom and when I went back to his room, he had dragged his PBK Everyday chair to his dresser, turned it upside down and used it as a ladder so that he could open the top drawer of his dresser.

So, let this be a Public Service Announcement to remind you that if you have kids in your house, make sure you bolt your heavy furniture to the wall. 
All of our dressers  & bookshelves at our house are anchored to the wall, it is pretty simple to do and only costs a couple dollars. Kevin secured all our furniture about 4 years ago because
1) When Claire was 2.5 she tried to climb on Kate's dresser and it fell over. Luckily her dresser is short and it didn't land on her, but it could have been BAD.
and 2) We live in Earthquake country, we need things secured to the wall.

 So, Luke is a climber.  He climbs on the counters, he climbs on tables, he climbs everywhere.
The other day when I was making dinner, I heard Luke go into the garage and when I went to get him, he had climbed onto Claire's bike & was trying to "ride" it.
Also, he doesn't like wearing pants and is in a stage where he takes off his clothes, pajamas, his diaper...he just wants to be nakey.
He is crazy.


I knew it was inevitable that he would start climbing out of his crib because the last few times he has been in a pack n play he has climbed out of it.
When we were in Tahoe a few weeks ago, he climbed out of it everytime we put him down for his nap or for bedtime. He would run upstairs with his jammies off and he was so proud he climbed out.
We were hoping it was just a pack n play thing, but when we got home from Tahoe, that night he kept climbing out of his crib. It was a loooooong night but finally he fell asleep and stayed in his crib.

The next day for naptime was a disaster. He wouldn't stay in his crib. The 10th time I went to put him back in his crib, I opened his door to find this:
He had taken things OFF his walls!!!!!
He had gone into Claire's room and gotten her piggy bank and he was using his PBK everyday chair as a ladder and was trying to get his piggy bank off his tall dresser.
Seriously, he is crazy.

I gave up on having him nap in his crib, so I put him in his car seat and we drove around until he fell asleep....I seriously felt like I had a newborn again because for the past few days he wouldn't sleep at night and wouldn't nap.  It was exhausting.
I didn't know what to do....we weren't ready for him to be in a big boy bed (hello....see the above photo....do you think he can be left alone at night with access to everything in his room?
I don't think so!
I know a lot of people put their 2 year olds in toddler beds or twin beds, but we just aren't ready to do that with Luke....so we stooped to a low level......we borrowed a crib tent from some of our friends.
Yes, that's right. 
A crib tent (Feel free to judge) 
We felt like this was the safest option for Luke at this time until he stops his climbing phase (do boys ever grow out of their climbing phase?)
Plus, Luke can now unlock the front door, so it's just not safe for him to be able to roam free.
So, here it is in all it's glory. 
The crib tent.
I have no shame.
Something I never thought I would have to use.
Kate was in her crib until she was 2 years 10 months old...she never tried to climb out.
Claire was in her crib until 2 years 8 months old, she only climbed out once (and that week we put her in her big girl bed)
So, for now Luke is still in his crib, with the crib tent keeping him safe inside. 
And, I have to put his pajamas zipped on backwards because that way he can't take them off.
I am sick of cleaning up pee/poo in his crib from when he takes off his jammies and diapers. Ugh.
 Poor Luke.
I hope the backwards pajamas and crib tent won't cause him to have too much therapy when he is older. Ha!
Anyone else out there have (or had) toddlers that were climbers, pajama strippers or escape artists?
Crib Tenters Unite!

25 comments:

  1. Lol at all of those photos. He is adorable! So far so good our son is not a climber (fingers crossed)! I had never heard of a crib tent before so at least there are options!

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  2. My nephew is a horrible climber. He is the strongest 2 year old. It's SO exhausting when he is in town. Litterally can not blink your eye. All boy! I will say once he is asleep, he stays that way. Whew! Feel for you. I can't quit laughing at the zipper in the back pajamas. Poor mama!

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  3. My son is Luke's same age... I'm just waiting for him to climb out! Another idea I've read is to put in xl sleep sack backward :)

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  5. My niece and nephews are triplets and crib tents were a must for the boys who both climbed out of their cribs. One was so good at "escaping" that he could actually unzip the tent from inside his crib. It had to be pinned to shut!

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  6. You are NOT alone. I think it is a BOY thing AND child #3! I laugh because we have been there and still experience the crazy determination of him wanting something and getting it himself. (climbs on a kitchen stool and places step stool on kitchen counter to get something HIGH in the cupboard. eek) My 3 yr old was doing all that at 18 months. It is exhausting. You want to celebrate these "milestones" and abilities yet it is exhausting. We also duct taped his diaper and embraced the big boy bed for his safety. He put a child lock on his door so he could not open it and used a monitor (hidden) so we could hear him. And all of our exterior doors beep when opened. FUN TIMES!

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  7. Yes! We went through this with child #3 - of course, a boy! We had to put him in a toddler bed before age 2 to keep him from hurting himself. Everything was taken off of his walls and only necessary items left in his room. We double-gated his room (think one baby gate on top of the other) to keep him from roaming the house at night. Also had to duct tape his diaper and invest in EscapeeJays - pjs actually made for escape artists. A little expensive but so worth not cleaning up the constant messes. Thankfully, it was just a phase that we have emerged from successfully. However, it is SO EXHAUSTING to live through!! Praying that it is a short-lived phase for you guys! Don't feel one moment of regret for doing what you gotta do!

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  8. Yes to everything you just said. I think I have all of those same pictures of my son (2.5) The garage scares me the most. We put big boy undies on over his diaper and he can't get those or his diaper off like that. We also zip him up backwards in his pajamas (but now I'm going to look into the EscapeeJays pp talked about.) We keep a childproof doorknob cover on the inside of his door that he, thankfully, hasn't mastered yet so he cannot roam the house. Plus if there were ever an emergency I want to be sure I know where he is so I can get to him quickly. I'm told by everyone this is just a phase so hopefully we are almost over the worst of it!

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  9. I hate to tell you but, "you ain't seen nothing yet"! Crib tents save the day. Samuel had one too!

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  10. My twin GIRLS did this!!! In fact, when we started putting their jammies on backward to avoid the dreaded diaper removal (which worked with their older their brother and sister), they started climbing into each others cribs and unzipping each other!!! So...we had to start using DUCT tape around the diaper so they couldn't get them off!!! And not only would they climb out but they would lift each other up or stand on each others backs to climb onto stuff-I can't even count how many room disasters I cleaned up! Unfortunately...we had to abandon naps at age 2- buying 2 crib tents wasn't in our budget back then.

    They are now state champion gymnasts so all that climbing did lead us down that path. And...they are perfectly happy to jump and climb their way to glory all they want now!

    Hugs,
    Trisha

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  11. I love the crib tent! I had no idea that anything like this even existed! And also smart thinking on the backwards pjs!!!

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  12. Ohhhh yes. Our son was 18 months when he was climbing out every night. We finally put him in a twin bed and just used a baby gate... terrible idea. It wasn't two weeks before he was climbing over the extra tall gate. It was a TOUGH 6 months because we had a new born in the house two. Good times. Wish I had known about the crib tent back then!

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  13. And as far as do they ever stop climbing things? Nope. Gabriel is 6 and he still is constantly destroying/climbing/being insane. He will give you lots of heart attacks. Prime example: at 3 years old, G climbed onto a picnic table and did a front flip off of it. For fun. On purpose. Eek.

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  14. I feel like this post was written about my 2 year old! I'm so glad to read this because I really had been thinking that my child was the only one that done all of this stuff!

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  15. You just described my 2 1/2 year old daughter and she's been like this for months. Everyone tells me it's a boy thing but not in my house! My son wasn't half this crazy. And to the mamma with the twin girls - bless your heart! I can't imagine having two of them!

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  16. My 22 month old daughter--weighing in at a whopping 21 pounds was getting out of her crib by climbing over the railing somehow and then dropping down like a baby ninja before running out of the nursery laughing. My husband set up a night vision game camera so we could see how she was doing it--hysterical! We took down the crib and put in the toddler bed, with a smooth-sided baby gate at her door. It took 2-3 nights to get her used to it, but she does fairly well now. I admit to sitting by the bed and rubbing her back until she falls asleep, though. A bad habit, I know--but the upside is that I've found this is also a great time to read on my kindle. :)

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  17. boys are something else, aren't they??

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  18. Bless your heart! I'm exhausted just by reading your post. :) My third is a boy but is just 16 months, so you've given me good tips in case, God forbid :), I need them!! :)

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  19. My daughter has recently started the dreaded pj and diaper removal!!! I'm thrilled to read I'm not alone! No climbing out yet- but it's only a matter of time.

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  20. This post had me laughing out loud! I have a 17 month old and a lot of these pictures are a familiar site around here. He hasn't climbed out of his crib yet, but I know it's only a matter of time. We do keep him in a sleep sack so I think that helps a little. My daughter was nothing like this!

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  21. i laughed outloud that he took things off the WALL!! boys!! great idea on the tent, you have to do what it takes right? no shame!

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  22. That's a great idea. My wife laughed at me when I mentioned the idea of a guard of some sort...but now that its on a blog, she will think its crafty!

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  23. Yes! This! It all started happening last week. My son ripped all the pictures off his walls and climbed out of his crib, falling flat on his face. I woke up to him standing behind his door sobbing. :( First thought was the crib tent, but it's been recalled and I can't find one anywhere. I'm desperate. He is a climber too and it worries me so much!

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