I have not gotten around to it, but our kids sleep in the same room together. A recap on their ages, “A” is 3 years old and “W” is 10 months old. Up until today, both kids have been sleeping in their own cribs. A is in a regular sized crib and W is in a mini crib. It’s been working great up until potty training A.
The trouble is having to get “A” out of his crib so that he can go pee when he needs to at nighttime. At roughly 40 pounds it’s been tricky to lift him up and over the crib rails. We haven’t got him into a toddler bed or dropped the railing of his crib because he just won’t stay in it. We’re hoping since the last time we’ve tried him in his big boy bed he may stay in his big boy bed without getting out of it as often as he did previously.
Then comes “W” and her crib. Since we’ve moved “A” back to his bed (it’s actually a single-sized bed, not a toddler bed) we have moved “W” into the big crib. Though at night we’re not entirely sure if “A” will not get up and harass “W” while she’s in her crib. My wife is also concerned that “A” could potentially throw a blanket into her crib that might cover her face.
So, what can we do to ensure that “A” doesn’t harass “W” and that we can have peace of mind during the night? If we had an extra bedroom, moving them into their own rooms around be awesome, though that wouldn’t really stop “A” from going into her room still. We could keep both kids in their respective cribs, but then with “A” being roughly 40 pounds, he’s actually coming up to the weight limit of the crib. Also the bottom board of the crib is bowed because of him jumping around in his crib. My wife pointed me to a product made in Australia called a Crib Tent that is designed for this sort of thing.
Crib Pop-Up Safety Net aka Crib Tent
A crib tent, in this case a portable pop-up one. The crib tent goes into an existing crib and is made of some fairly strong breathable mesh material. It is secured by placing the crib mattress inside of the crib tent and also securing the crib tent to the crib itself.
As you can see from the above photo it fits perfectly inside our crib. There are two zipped windows (front and back) that allow you access into the crib. The zippers can be pulled with 1 hand in case you are holding you child. It also stops your little one’s arms or legs from getting stuck between the crib slats. The child also cannot pull the crib tent out as the mattress sits on top of it.
The product description mentions it being portable, though I find it fairly large when it is in its bag; it is just a bit smaller than a hula hoop. I couldn’t really see us ever taking it to the cabin or bringing it on a plane, but we do like how it can be folded up and put away if needed.
A product of Australia, the Crib Pop-Up Safety Net is designed to stop toddlers from climbing out of their crib, cats from jumping into the crib, mozzies (mosquitoes) from biting your little one as well as spiders. Yea, we don’t need to worry about our spiders unlike the ones from Australia, but having it double as a mosquito net is pretty neat. Actually, I find that the mesh material that is used is stronger than most mosquito nets I’ve seen or used on our travels.
There are two main reasons for us purchasing this crib tent:
- 1) “A” cannot throw things like blankets or pillows or toys into the crib and potentially on to his sister and
- 2) “A” cannot poke or grab at “W” while she is in her crib.
These two reason will help us sleep better at night as we won’t have to worry about “A” waking up and harassing “W” while we are asleep in our room.
The downside to the product is the cost, at $280 CDN (plus shipping) it’s not a cheap solution. Though the craftsmanship and material used is certainly reflected in the cost. If it truly can give us peace of mind that our littlest one can sleep safely while we sleep, then the cost is worth it.
If your little one can climb out of their crib and you’ve exhausted all other solutions or perhaps you’re in a situation similar to ours, then I would recommend checking out the Crib Pop-Up Safety Net.
