Flip. Flop. Back. Belly. Flip. Flop. Back. Belly. Repeat that sequence about 10 more times and you have Kaylani's nighttime performance. Luckily she doesn't wake up every time she flips or flops, but she has been trying to escape her crib around 4am each morning. Even luckier for us is that she'll usually go back to sleep for another 3 hours if Mommy nurses. Since she's getting 11 hours of sleep in total during the night, she can flip and flop as much as she wants in her crib. Kinda.
The great crib escape is something Mommy and I have been dreading for quite awhile. She can't exactly pull herself up yet, and she's barely getting from down to sit as it is, but the way she's developing we just never know when it'll happen. A few nights of waking up to Kaylani whining to get out of her crib, and seeing her tugging on her bumpers trying to either get up or get out was enough to cause us to take action. Tonight, we lowered her crib one more level. Now her mattress is a a good 1.5 feet from the top which means she'll have to work pretty hard to get out. There's only one more level to go. Hopefully our backs won't give out before we get to that next level. So far so good.
Taking care of the worry around flipping and flopping in bed was the easy thing to do. Figuring out what we're going to do with her on the changing table is a completely different story. There, it's not flip, flop, back, belly. Instead it's flip, crawl, bang head on wall, grab edge of table, pull, roll, and try and jump off the 3' ledge. Now repeat that 10 times and you have Kaylani's diaper change routine. No matter how many times we pick her up and put her on her back, she'll immediately flip over and try and make a break for it. In bed? Kinda cute. On a changing table? Not so cute. On a changing table without a diaper? Definitely not cute (okay, still kinda cute, but don't tell Kaylani that).
A few months ago we laughed at our friends Steve and Lisa when they showed us that it took 2 of them to change Aidan's diaper. One of them would hold him by the arms and belly while the other changed his diaper. At the time, it seemed ridiculous that they would need 2 people to overpower their baby. Now, I'm thinking that we need 3 of us, or perhaps a restraining strap attachment for the changing table to keep Kaylani still. Karma sucks.
Kaylani's new diaper change routine is still new enough to us that we're okay avoiding any type of restraining device for the moment, but if she keeps it up, that all might change. After all, safety comes first, and giving her the chance to pull herself off the 3' ledge and onto the ground (or into the garbage can/diaper genie that happens to be on that side of the table) doesn't sound like a good thing. We'll see what happens, but in the meantime, check out these pictures from the last couple of days. Unfortunately none of them are of Kaylani hanging off of the changing table because we can't spare a set of arms for a picture during diaper changing time!
And when you're done checking out those pictures, don't forget to check out Dad-Blogs for the latest installment of Fatherhood Fridays! There's always a great bunch of reads over there to keep you busy for the weekend. You'll love it. Trust me, or your money back!
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8 comments:
I would definitely reccommend lowering your crib all the way much sooner than you think.... Like she may not even be pulling herself up at all, and then one day when you're watering the plants you'll hear a loud bang followed by some crying. You'll run upstairs only to find your baby on the floor and you'll wonder who the heck took your baby out of his crib, I mean her crib, b/c she couldn't have possibly climbed out on her own. Not that it's happened to us....I'm just saying. Definitely reccommend the lowest setting... :)
I put my little man in his crib after a bout of diaper changing gymnastics so I could dispose of the evidence. As I returned to his room I caught him lifting one leg up and trying to lean out of the crib, and we've been on the lowest level setting for six months already. I immediately pulled up all the foam floor tiles in the living room that he's been tripping and falling over now that he's sprinting around the house and repurposed them around his crib. I'm scared to death he's going to jump out of it one night.
OK..this little girl is too cute.
We have the same issue with our son. He hates being put on his back during changing and tries to move around.
Can we quite messy. He is beginning to follow direction now..so we have an understanding that he needs to stay on his back duirng changes. However, just yesterday I arrived home from work to relieve Grandman from baby sitting and I found her chasing our son with a diaper..and trying to put it on him while he was standing up and trying to get away...
Squirt only fell out of his crib once, I have no idea how?!? It's amazing the things these kids can do at times.
Oh and diaper changing...doesn't necessarily get easier as they get older. Just saying....
Reading this post brought back so many memories. My back started to ache in sympathy with you.
Our oldest flipped out her crib twice! So when the youngest came along, we moved to the lowest level much more quickly than we did with the first.
When the babies were younger and got to rambunctious on the changing table, we did use restraints. I was scared to death they would fall off.
BTW, I'm still a "flip flopper." Sometimes I get more exercise in my sleep than I do awake. LOL
If I can be so bold as to try and help:
1. Lower the crib all the way now. If she tries to climb more, it's time for toddler or big girl bed.
2. Skip the changing table. Change her atop a blanket on the floor. Sit perpendicular to her on the floor placing one leg over her chest to keep her in place. I've done it with 5 kids, it works.
@weaselmomma - leg over chest, I like it.
I've found that any way to immobilize the hips works wonders. I picked that little trick up from watching to many MMA fights. It's all in the hips.
@Rina - That's hilarious! Thanks for the "generic" advice :)
@PJ - Foam floor tiles around the crib sounds like a good idea. Lowering the crib probably makes more sense
@Andrews - Thanks! We're lucky that she can't crawl very fast away from us yet. Don't even want to think about the running away times coming soon!
@Jason - I really was hoping it got easier...
@SM - We're definitely going to learn from all the advice from everyone else. No need for Kaylani to fall out just cuz she's our oldest!
@WM - The leg over the chest trick has come in handy. We've done that 5 times since I read your comment already!
@Scott - Never thought about it like a MMA move. Kinda makes me feel a little less mean, although I have to remember not to press down so hard!
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