This is Murphy’s law of parenting: once you get your little one to sleep a full 12 hours a night without waking up, he decides to bring a whole new twist to your daily routine. That is, literally throwing himself out of his crib, narrowly avoiding a concussion, and surprising you at your bedside at 3am. This new “milestone” (a term that, frankly, often seems like a polite way of saying “an agonizing learning experience”) can feel like the end of the world – or at least the end of all the things you’ve started to enjoy again.

You know, it’s like having one hour at night and sleeping 6 hours straight. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to encourage your child to stay put. And most importantly, there are ways to keep them safe until it’s time to change their crib for a bed. Here’s how to restore some semblance of your cozy bedtime routine. When you first brought your baby home from the hospital, you probably placed the mattress in the crib in the highest position so you could easily reach and scoop him up.

But if you forgot to lower the mattress because your baby got bigger, you can buy time by setting it to the lowest position now. This can make the top of the railing high enough that your child can’t climb over it with their foot. You can also remove any stuffed toys, blankets, or bedding that might cheer up your child. Another way to safely use your baby’s crib against him is to turn it around so the shorter front side is flush with the wall. Obviously this won’t work if your crib has straight sides, but many have a much higher back than the front.