Falling out of cot -12 months old

[vickie]

can anyone help or had similar experience? DD is 12 months old (just) and last night she threw hersef out of her cot after a bout of screaming (well, I was trying to do controlled crying). Id only left her 3 minutes and I heard a horrible thud and she was on the floor. What do I do now????? Buy a new cot?? Im worried sick about it as Im sure she'll do it again now she knows she can.

[codswallop]

Its time for a bed

[ANGELMOTHER]

Have to agree with Coddy, she may be young, but short of a crash helmet what else can you do

[vickie]

I just cant think she's old enough for a bed. She's still really teeny and anyway she'll just fall out of that.

Can you get infant crash helmets?

[codswallop]

get the side bars things - argos do them

[vickie]

Hmmm - I think I might just buy a cot with higher bars as she'll just topple over the top of those side bars. Nightmare - didnt want to have to think about this until she was about 2!!

[ANGELMOTHER]

Lol Vickie, not sure about the helmets, sorry.
Is it a cot or a cot bed ?
You might find it is just a phase but to keep your mind at ease, make sure in the meantime that you put plenty of pillows and cushions at the foot of the bed so if she does make it out she can't injure herself. Also clear the cot of anything she might use as a stepping stone IYKWIM....best of luck

[vickie]

Good idea - am going to surround her bed with pillows. I hope it was a one off. It's a cot bed and I have always worried that the mattress was too high but she's our first and you dont think about these things when you're new to parenthood!!

[kaz33]

Silly question - but do you have the cotbed at the lowest height ? They normally have at least two settings.

[GillW]

We moved ds into a bed (albeit with side rails and both head and foot boards) at not much older than this because he was consistenetly climbing out, even in a grobag. He actually started being a lot better about going to bed almost instantly we made the change, so I wouldn't rule it out in your case.

I just figured that even if he could get over the bed rail (and it's a very low toddler-height bed anyway) then it was at least less far to fall and therefore potentially safer than falling from the top of the cot sides, and initially we put the cot mattress on the floor just in case. Having said that he never has actually fallen out of it (he's now just 2).

[Ghosty]

Vickie ... my DS did this at 14 months and I was terrified that was it. We weren't prepared to get him a bed yet so I put loads of cushions on the floor and hoped for the best. It was a one off and definitely a fluke ...
Mind you by 2 years he had learned to scale the sides of his travel cot (which were much higher than the normal cot) so that was when we put him in a bed ...
HTH!

[Welshmum]

Don't know how helpful this is because I don't know where you can get them here but my SIL (in NZ) sent us a thing that saved us going mad with DD trying to stand up in her cot in a growbag and then falling over and banging her head, It like half a sheet that you tuck in over the normal sheet - to cover the are where the baby lies in the cot. Sewn on to it are two more quite wide bits of sheet with really strong velcro on the ends and you basically buckle them into their cots over their growbag. I know it sounds really mean but they can wriggle and turn to the sides and generaly fossick about once they're in. Anyway 2 weeks of this cured DD completely and since then she's made no escape attempts - she's 17 months now and still in her cot. Someone in NZ on mumsnet might now if you can get them here....

[bobthebaby]

It's called a "safety sleep" and they cost about $90 (which is 30 pounds give or take) You could make your own with some cotton and thick velcro. It's one of those things I can't bring myself to spend 90 bucks on, but if I did would probably change my life.

[bobthebaby]

Here is the website

SafeTsleep

[Enid]

Vickie, as kaz33 says are you SURE it is on the lowest setting? They normally have at least two. We have just moved ours down to the lower one (grr as it doesnt have drop sides and does my back in).

[WSM]

Enid, ours has a dropside but I've never used it. The mechanism was just too noisy to operate in the early days of putting her down asleep, it would wake her up and undo all my hard work ! We never got into the habit of using it when DD was going to bed awake. The dropside side (IYSWIM) is against the wall now so even if she figures it out there's no way she can use it to escape (it's a bit of a dodgy mechansim which doesn't always catch properly TBH). Our cot has 3 mattress positions and she can only just peep over the top of the bars with it on it's lowest setting, hopefully she won't be making a run for it in the near future !

[CountessDracula]

Bobthebaby, that website says:

Safe T Sleep? - It's an ingeniously designed wrap which keeps your baby sleeping in a comfortable and safe position. Your baby will be able to sleep in varied positions without the risks of head deformities, suffocation, or feeling tied down or restricted

What head deformities? Is this something that I haven't worried about that I could have done?!

[bobthebaby]

NZ obviously has an obsession with deformed heads. It's important to keep them nicely rounded until they can be totally stoved in playing rugby at school. The bit about brain damage gets me. Talk about using fear to sell your product.

[bobsmum]

Freaky live demo Btb!

[Ghosty]

CD ... Some people really disagree with this but some newborn babies develop flat heads at the back if they sleep on their backs. Also some newborns get flat bits if they favour one side of thier head to the other ....
My mother is a midwife (trained in the 'old days' and she told me that if I wanted to avoid my baby having a flat head I should sleep him on his side and swap sides every so often ....
To my M/wife's and HV's horror I did this and my son never had any sign of flatness anywhere on his head ... in fact when he was a baby and was bald everyone commented on the beautiful shape of his head.
In NZ midwives recommend the SafeTSleep for this reason and as it keeps babies still it avoids them rolling over to their tummies and suffocating.
I would have thought that vickie's baby would be too old now to try with one but I may be wrong ...

[bobthebaby]

Everyone I know who has got one thinks they are great. I know a mum who sleeps her baby on his front and I wish she would buy one as I'm sure its because she's worried about head shape. My ds would only sleep with his head to the left, but I spent the money on an osteopath instead and he now alternates himself. He does not have a beautiful head, but then after 2 hours of pushing who would?

[Boot1]

I put our DD in her own bed at about 13 months. She has loved it from day one and is so happy and content in there. I plan on putting our DS in a bed at about the same age - if I can.

[mieow]

DD is 23 months and she managed to throw herself out once after screaming one morning. She hasn't done it since which I'm glad about as she is quite small.

[aloha]

I am utterly amazed a 12monther could throw herself out of a cot if it's on the lowest setting. Did she pole vault?! Do you provide steps?!! Again, are you certain the cot base is on the lowest setting? It should lower to the tops of the legs of the cot.

[aloha]

BTW my son always slept on his back until he could roll over (late) and he has a lovely round head.

[Welshmum]

Should have said we used the safetsleep (so pleased I know now what it's called!) when DD was about 10 months - and stopped after a couple of weeks. Didn't know anything about the deformed head prevention.....does this really happen? Anyway she's got a lovely round head.