Big boy bed disaster....what now?

[sleepdeprivedby2]

My DS (15 months) is very active in his sleep and insists on sleeping across the bed (just like his dad apparently so we shall blame him). This was fine until he started getting his legs stuck in the cot bars and waking up screaming 2 to 3 times a night as he tried to roll over with his legs in the bars .

Thanks to the recommendations on MN I bought an AirWrap bumper and this worked well for about a month until he worked out that he could push the AirWrap down and still stick his legs through

So in fear of him seriously hurting his legs we changed his cot into a bed and a nightly battle to get him to sleep began.

In his cot he would play around for a bit and then settle himself and go to sleep around 7.30pm. Now no matter how tired he is he views bedtime as this big game. So far we have tried SuperNannys stay in bed technique for over 2 weeks with absolutely no effect (he enjoys being walked back to bed!) so I think he is a little bit young for this as he just doesn't seem to get it.

I think the main problem is the fact that he is so young, but I feel like we can't put him back in the cot for fear of hurting himself.

Once he does finally go to sleep then he sleeps right through , but this messing about in an evening is making him more and more tired and irritable during the day.

Does anyone else have experience of this and please does anyone have any suggestions so I can get my evenings back....

he's really very young for a bed. My children went through that stage. I'd say put him back in the cot and he learn if he hurts himself not to stick his legs through. In the meantime you resign youreself to getting up and helping him. My children soon passed thorough the phase.

i am a mean mummy though, so you may choose to persevere with the big bed. I think the suggestion then has to be a gate on his door and let him fall asleep on the floor until he realises th ebed is more comfy.

what about a travel cot?

did you try him with a grobag/sleeping bag on in the cot? my ds had a phase of sticking his legs through the cot bars at about 12mths but I kept putting him in a grobag so he couldn't and he's stopping doing it now even when he isn't in one (he's 16mo now btw). I couldn't imagine putting my ds into a proper bed yet - he'd never go to sleep/stay in his room!

Thanks for your quick replys:-

CrunchyNut, he has been putting his legs through the bars for at least the last 2 months due to the way he sleeps. How long in your experience did the phase last?
I know he is young for a bed but we did it because his older sister went into a bed at this age and she was absolutely fine but she didn't cotton on that she could get out for quite a few months where as he knew straight away. Some of the angles that I saw his little legs in when he woke up screaming i'm just not sure I can risk the cot again.

Sleepingbag, I thought about the travel cot, but are they safe to use long term?

lindsell, I took him out of the grobags as he was getting frustrated with them wrapping around his legs and he would scream everytime I went to put him in one! Maybe I should give them another go, at the very least they might slow him down a bit

can you try this?

Thanks FiveGoMadInDorset, that looks like a brilliant idea. The website states that its suitable from 2.5 years up, but it's not that much different to a normal quilt surely?

Has anyone else used the Grobag stay on duvets with a child so young and did you have any problems?