Several months ago I wrote about how my toddler son suddenly had a hard time (that’s putting it nicely) sleeping in his crib. He had been the poster child of the perfect sleeper: never woke up in the middle of the night, never cried when we put him to bed, always went to bed with ease. Until we went away for a long weekend.
We remedied the problem through a series of experiments over 23 days, one of which I’ll tell you about today: It’s called the crib tent. While this is not a product blog, I feel I must write about this thing that brought order (and sleep!) back into my life.
I know a few moms who have resorted to the tent, so that made the transition easier for me. It’s not easy to put your toddler in his crib and zip him in. I felt like a bad mom; our bedtime routine has become: brush teeth, read book, hugs and kisses, put in crib, say “Nite, nite,” then ZIIIIIP! and lights off.
The first night I felt pretty bad zipping that tent up, but he didn’t seem to mind. It got easier after time, especially the peace of mind it gives me knowing that he’s not going to climb out of his crib in the middle of the night and start playing with something dangerous. It’s been a little over two months now and we still use it — otherwise he’d be climbing out every night. I think that we’ll transition to a toddler bed sooner than I have planned, but for now, the tent is working.
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November 20, 2007 at 12:24 am
your child must be the same age as mine… i had the very same crib tent (it was bought more to keep the cat out than to keep the baby in), the same crib set and the exact same under water car toy thingy that you have attached there at the bottom of the crib!
October 27, 2008 at 6:52 pm
At what age did you use this and for how long? My son is almost 3 years and was the perfect sleeper. He is now a nightmare, getting up at all hours and crying and roaming the hallway. I am at the end of my rope and am either going to lock the door or get this tent. I thought previously that this was a bad idea but am now willing to try anything. Am just worried that he is too old for this. I was about to transition him to a toddler bed. That is now on hold until I know he will get in bed and stay there.
October 27, 2008 at 6:59 pm
We got this a year ago, when my son was about 20 months old. We used it for less than 6 months. It worked great, but eventually we felt like trying the toddler bed and that worked great. We moved him to a toddler bed when we was about 26 months old. You might be surprised at how well your son might adapt to a new bed.
January 22, 2009 at 8:05 am
need your wisdom!
My son was the perfect sleeper until about a month ago when he tried to crawl out of the crib….we just ordered the tent and he cried for at least 30 mintues when we zipped him…how long will that last and will it eventually get where he goes in wthout freaking out???
desperately yours,
danielel