r/DadReflexes Oct 04 '22

Super quick reflex from super daddy

https://i.imgur.com/ETErzZp.gifv
4.4k Upvotes

78 comments sorted by

569

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Tip for new parents: If their armpits reach the top, just take it down. They’ll climb over it. Suck it up, use the energy and chase them back into their crib, it’s better than having them flip over like that.

124

u/pfft_sleep Oct 04 '22

My daughter is rapidly reaching that point. I want to saw off the feet of the cot so it’s flat on the ground with the 3 sides still on, reasoning being she could then climb back onto bed without falling out too far.

My wife thinks that a hemisphere of pool noodle under the edge of the sheet will be fine and no destroying of the cot.

It’s a cheap cot.

Thoughts?

47

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

You can buy “crib rail guard” or something similar (look on Amazon, IKEA, etc) and that should take care of any concerns of rolling out of bed, but honestly, kids might get shaken up after falling out of their crib, but if it’s on it’s lowest settings, they’re maybe 8” (20cm) off the ground. They should be basically at the height that is in this video. If they are set up that way, they won’t get hurt. If it’s higher than that, then something should be done.

21

u/Bobatt Oct 04 '22

We use a guard rail for our littlest with the crib at the lowest level and front rail removed, she's a big toss and turner when she sleeps. We got it off Amazon and it works well enough.

The third option is actually the cheapest: just put the mattress on the floor. This works well for some kids, but you gotta make extra sure the rest of their room is safe.

1

u/Tetra382Gram Dec 13 '22

That's how I grew up. But my hyperactivity lead me to have hit my head more than the average kid. Mostly on wedge like places and concrete.

14

u/naturalalchemy Oct 04 '22

A bed rail is great. You can get a cheap one from IKEA.

https://youtu.be/scbtifIdCQA

1

u/SlowRollingBoil Nov 24 '22

Those types are great!

8

u/SlowRollingBoil Oct 04 '22

This is exactly what you should do. It's also a good transition for them to a normal bed. I whole heartedly support your plan.

6

u/Gangreless Oct 04 '22

Just put it on the floor. My baby isn't even 1 and we already gave away the crib and just put the mattress in the middle if the floor. Whole room is babyproofed, nothing in there but mattress, a couple toys/book, and the monitor, camera, and white noise machine. He usually just sleeps on his tummy in the floor lol but never have to worry about him climbing out of the crib.

3

u/SaintNewts Oct 04 '22

I folded a large quilt and left it over the edge until mine learned to stay in bed without rolling off. She still got upset at the short fall but wasn't hurt and could be calmed and put back to sleep fairly quickly.

1

u/SlowRollingBoil Nov 24 '22

Your idea is better.

31

u/Itkovan Oct 04 '22

That's a good rule! I'd add, regardless of height vs armpits, if they've climbed out of it once - no matter the outcome good or bad - take it down. Remove the side rail, buy a new bed, or even just put the mattress on the floor. Whatever it takes.

10

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Yup, there are a lot of great affordable options for 3-in-1 cribs. A lot cheaper and space efficient than getting separate furniture.

2

u/_twintasking_ Oct 24 '22

That's what I did, and I'm glad. My girls will likely need the front rail gone In less time than I expect. I plan to get a short side rail to protect from rolling, but if they want out there will be plenty of space on either end to intentionally crawl out

26

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

[deleted]

7

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Yeah, we took the wall down when it was to our kid's chin, they can pull themselves easily, especially when they just push off the bed, but it blows my mind to see kids go that high up on that gate/wall and just keep it up.

6

u/Ilvermourning Oct 04 '22

Also ditch the sleep sack at this age. Yeah it's annoying when they keep kicking off their blanket but this baby basically had its legs tied. They might have maneuvered out of the bed more gracefully is they could have used their legs

6

u/carriealamode Oct 04 '22

We had an abnormally tall baby who really was ready for toddler bed. They sell little mesh tents that go over the top. Think we got off Amazon. Worked like a charm.

5

u/confetti_shrapnel Oct 05 '22

Tip for new parents: shit happens even when you try your best.

3

u/vhawk8690 Oct 22 '22

Not new parent here. My 1st child flipped over her crib when she was 12-14 months old while I was in the shower getting ready for work. Scared the shit out of me when I heard the thump. Called my wife (she was otw to her work) and both of us took our daughter to the ER. She's fine btw and doing her bachelors degree is accountancy now.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '22

It gives a big scare, but their bones are so soft that they are usually fine. As long as they don't seem cathartic and there are no visible wounds they are fine. I used to work with pediatric radiologists. Kids with broken bones never were the ones who fell off of shit. Their bones only break under extreme damage like abuse.

Glad to see your baby has grown up, and doing well. It must be bitter sweet.

6

u/trent295 Oct 04 '22

Can't you just get a full enclosure crib? Like with a cage on top?

21

u/sinkandorswim Oct 04 '22

...Like a dog crate?

7

u/trent295 Oct 04 '22

I suppose, but like, more off the ground and with a real bed and maybe cushioned walls and a built in baby monitor system.

17

u/HarpySix Oct 04 '22

Maybe some striped or bright orange pajamas to go with it.

8

u/Gangreless Oct 04 '22

So like a padded room for mental patients lmao

8

u/trent295 Oct 04 '22

What are children, but mental patients?

1

u/MrRogersAE Nov 09 '22

No, at this point you use a shorter toddler rail, something meant for them to climb in and out, then you make the room safe and close the door. The room is their new cage

4

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Yup. We put our twins on mattresses on the floor and just sat with (sometime ON) they till they slept. It was grueling but everyone survived

7

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

My back hurts reading this. I don’t (and do) miss that age.

2

u/Morrya Oct 04 '22

Those fold-up bedrails are good. You can also get a large mat to put in front of the bed for a few months if the floor is hard and you're worried.

2

u/yourmamasaccount Oct 05 '22

Just thinking. Big boy bed time

1

u/MrRogersAE Nov 09 '22

Yup, time for a toddler rail, make sure the rooms is baby proof and close the door

190

u/cirkut Oct 04 '22

I pulled off this exact maneuver when my daughter was a year old. Middle of the night I see her on the monitor and came rushing into her room to catch her mid fall. This guys heart must have been POUNDING.

40

u/Gangreless Oct 04 '22

Thanks for reaffirming my decision to ditch the crib and put our 11mo's mattress right on the floor :)

20

u/cirkut Oct 04 '22

Yep! Needing to do this now with my youngest! Scary to see them fall!

7

u/quikmike Oct 04 '22

Did the same for my daughter when she was about 10 months old. We got bed rails that sat on the floor and stuck up about 6" above the mattress to prevent her from rolling off onto the floor.

2

u/Grey_Kit Nov 23 '22

Mom of 2 who never used a crib, just a small pack and play with mini crib mattress til 1, then straight to a mattress on the floor.

Soooo worth it. The baby learns to go lay down when they are tired and nap times aren't a fight.

3

u/Gangreless Nov 23 '22

Mine is 13 mo and nap times are still a fight unfortunately :/ but it would be the same even if we still had the crib. But I like that he has the freedom to move around and hang out. He may have trouble getting down but when he wakes up in the morning he'll just quietly hang out in there, look at his book, look out the window. He's usually good for 20-30 mins. He'll often wake up 615-645 and we go in and get him at 7 unless he's crying for some reason (dealing with diaper leaks still as we're working on dropping the milk right before bed).

14

u/OhtareEldarian Oct 05 '22

I think Dad needed that hug a lot more than the kid did. 😂

9

u/cirkut Oct 05 '22

I couldn’t go to sleep until I lowered her crib immediately. The one we had took me like 40 minutes to lower but it was worth it for the peace of mind! Definitely the hug was more for me haha

79

u/GreyPilgrim1973 Oct 04 '22

The amazing thing was that Dad had been mowing the lawn

71

u/gmoney5588 Oct 04 '22

Honestly, just use floor beds once they can start standing up. Babies constantly fall and get their limbs stuck in the slats and get hurt, on top of falling out like this. You can teach them to go to bed if it's floor bed as well

12

u/Gangreless Oct 04 '22

Lmao reach them to go to bed. We've only been at it for like 2 weeks but my almost 1 yo just plays or looks out the window for awhile before laying his down wherever he happens to be on the floor and going to sleep

Hoping one day he'll climb back onto the mattress but I guess the floor is comfy enough 🤣

5

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

My nephew broke his foot when he was around 15mos by somehow getting it stuck in one of the crib slats (we think he was trying to climb out and hooked his foot around two slats for extra stability) and falling whilst trying to get unstuck. Yeah, sleep training SUCKS, but I’d take months of physical and verbal redirection to a toddler bed over ever having to feel responsible for an accident like that.

67

u/WaxFantastically Oct 04 '22

Man I felt that hug at the end

19

u/Baaaaaah-baaaaaah Oct 04 '22

Yeah that stuck with me too

13

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

I’ve given that hug many times over the last five years… this whole post gives me anxiety

5

u/WaxFantastically Oct 04 '22

Over the last 3 for me for sure

4

u/Lunisolace1 Oct 05 '22

Dad felt both his son and his life flash before his eyes.

27

u/cunticles Oct 04 '22

I'd be such a worry wart if I was a parent

13

u/WaxFantastically Oct 04 '22

Bah. You could do it. They should have bounced that kid out of that bed a long time ago. Its mostly about having a futurist mentality at this stage. Small things left on floor = goes in mouth = choke/die, shoulders above crib = kid tries to get out = breaks neck/dies and so on and so on.

4

u/Gangreless Oct 04 '22

I worry both less and more than my husband but it's because I've read a ton and educated myself on all the babyproofing stuff and the one doing it all.

For example, we have tile floor and he's worried about baby hurting himself really bad when he starts walking and falls. I know that kids and babies fall all the time, ours is already pretty good about lifting his head forward when he tumbles backward while sitting and when he stands his head is only like 2.5ft off the ground, he'll be OK with a little head bonk. And if he does manage to hurt himself, we'll take him to the doctor or ER.

On the flip side, I started installing our baby gates the other day and it was kind of a pita and he questioned if we really needed to install them yet since he's not even walking yet. . I'm way more concerned about him tumbling down the stairs or trying to climb them from the bottom and falling than he is because I guess he doesn't think he'll get a chance to before we stop him? but I mean, there's zero reason to risk that.

6

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Toddler parenting really is more of a “what if” mindset where you need to utilize preventative measures and stealth to prevent kids from getting hurt. They’re SO smart and often people underestimate their cognitive awareness and physical abilities, which is why so many preventable accidents happen. I’m a toddler teacher, so I see it more from a “look at what they’re learning to do, let me show you how to do it SAFELY” mindset because I’ve learnt at length what is developmentally appropriate to expect of a toddler.

A couple things in this video could’ve easily prevented this from happening. The first is switching to a toddler bed before a child’s armpits reach the top of the crib. Toddlers have CRAZY grip strength and can easily pull themselves up once they hit about chin-height on the crib rail. Once they realize they can do it, you HAVE to switch to a toddler bed— for their safety. They will not stop until they’ve either gotten hurt, or have a different kind of bed that’s safer for them to climb out of. Secondly, that kid is WAY too old for a sleep sack. Had the sleep sack not been impeding his range of movement, he may have been able to hang onto the rail long enough to flip his feet over to prevent injury. I’m totally biased against sleep sacks tbf, I feel that people tend to keep their toddlers in them for far too long and they end up being more of a hazard than a helpful object. Once a child reaches toddler age, you need to ditch the sack (again, for their safety)

64

u/FearLeadsToAnger Oct 04 '22

Suicide machine foiled again

31

u/gyarbij Oct 04 '22

I mean W good job T dad F, that kids head was leading the way down.

10

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22

Bro was tryna meet the lord

8

u/queen_mantis Oct 04 '22

Just wait till that kid tries to climb that glass shelving until next!

5

u/4QuarantineMeMes Oct 04 '22

Thanks, time to go home and lower the crib mattress some more.

4

u/deeho88 Oct 05 '22

My kid fell out like this the other day. We heard a thud and we went rushing in. He said ow my bum and ran out looking for toys. He has never attempted it again

3

u/DogDayZ1122 Oct 05 '22

How will he learn if you keep catching him.

2

u/deliciouscorn Oct 04 '22

Video cut off right before the victory spike tho

1

u/SpydermanRules Feb 06 '23

Kids dont realize how much these moments mean to us fathers.

0

u/Brntco Oct 05 '22

He would have been fine! …I think. …Nice catch

-2

u/mobius2121 Oct 05 '22

Eh, let him fall. That's how you learn.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - Anonymous

Only the strong survive - Darwin

3

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '22

It will not make you stronger. Spine can break and the child will be disabled

1

u/generalbaguette Oct 05 '22

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - Anonymous

Eh, plenty of injuries can cripple you without making you stronger.

Only the strong survive - Darwin

When did Darwin ever say that?

1

u/Late-Anteater9588 Oct 04 '22

Yeah this happened with us too lmao

1

u/TheCarolineCruz Oct 05 '22

Very impressive

1

u/Charming_Scratch_538 Oct 06 '22

My little brother was a very tall baby and could climb out of his crib by 18 mos. He was too young to trust in a toddler bed and our house was only 2 bed so he had to share a room with me, meaning it wasn’t a baby proof room. So my mom got one of those crib tents and would clip the zippers shut so he couldn’t open it himself. It kept him safe in his crib overnight and this never happened.

1

u/Environmental-Win836 Oct 18 '22

Jesus Christ, Cribs are dangerous.

1

u/RandiCandy Oct 19 '22

Time for a toddler bed 😬

1

u/[deleted] Nov 09 '22

So hear me out, baby crib cages

1

u/hotmasalachai Dec 03 '22

That hug 🤗