My Baby Is Eating Her Crib!

Someone mentioned the "breathable crib bumpers" but Breathable Baby also makes a "breathable crib shield" that covers over the tops of the rails down to the bottom for complete coverage. I ran across it when I was recently looking for a "breathable crib bumper" for a solid end crib. You can view the product on-line at http://www.breathablebaby.com/ where they also list the retailers who sell this specific product since Breathable Baby only sells wholesale.

T.,

we bought Kid Kushion® Gummi Crib Rail $12.99 at The right start you can cut it and place it any place you need it and it is easy to remove from the crib when you no longer need it.

Good Luck

I 2nd the Gummi crib rail. It sticks really well. It's advertised to go on the front of the crib, however, it can go anywhere. I put it on my daughter's crib at about the same age as yours and she's now 13 months. The protective Gummi is still sticking strong. (www.onestepahead.com) My MIL freaked me out and told me she might have some disease where she craves wood and could deficient in certain minerals/vitamins. Of course I called her ped that same day and he laughed. He was the one that actually told me about the Gummi protector. Said he had a chewer himself. What's the difference between chewing on the crib vs. chewing on her toys...nothing. Hope it helps. :o)

You could try putting in some of those "breathable crib bumpers" -they're basically mesh that lines the inside of the crib, sort of like the sides of a pack n play. Definitely give her something good to chew on - a nice board book usually does the trick :P

My 3 year old did the exact same thing when he was about that age! I just joined this site, and I had to laugh when I saw your question! He didn't chew the straight front part of the crib but rather the sides of the crib (mine is in the shape of a bell.) I couldn't ever figure out what to do, since those plastic liners are straight and wouldn't work. I thought about putting some hot sauce on the 1-2 places he was chewing, but thought that might be a bit cruel! It stopped pretty quickly. I think it's the excitement of being able to stand up in the crib, etc. So, unfortunately, my crib has some damage that my 7 month old daughter has to put up with!
My son survived the "wood chips", sorry I don't have any great solutions!

My son was a teething puppy too! :)

I actually had not noticed it right away... i was in his room doing a full cleaning, and wiping down the crib when i noticed the chew marks. He did stop doing this on his own though... and now doesn't chew on the crib because there are no 'new' chew marks.

I bet she will grow out of it, but in the meantime, i would try those gummi-rail things that the other moms have recommended. I was going to get those but since i didn't see any new marks i didn't bother.

Good luck :) you could always try one of those bitter lemon type sprays for pets... they're non-toxic at least... i would only consider this for a SEVERE chewer, and if the crib is round where a straight rail protector wouldn't work.

good luck :)

Hi, this is the first time I felt the need to respond to someone. My name is Kim, and I have seen another baby chew her crib. I was dating a guy that had a baby the same age as mine, my baby didn't chew her crib but his did, I never seen anything like it, I have boys that are adults now and they never did, well I will call her M, she was very bright and full of energy, but we finally figured it out that her teeth hurt and that is why she chewed the crib, she did stop after she nearly chewed thru the top rail. Afterwards I found a crib rail call Gummi crib rail, sells for $14.95 at www.onestepahead.com. Just wanted to let you know that this had happened before. M is 4 years old now and was never harmed by the crib eating.
About me: I am a single 45 year old mom with boys 24, 22, 16 and a baby girl almost 4.

Hi! I had actually called my pediatrician and told her that I had given birth to a woodchuck! I wrapped the crib with three layers of receiving blankets and wrapped it with duck tape. She chewed through the duck tape, so I changed to clear packing tape. She didn't like that texture so she stopped. I know it is around the sides; however maybe you can weave receiving blankets in and out of your slats and tape it down somehow. Good luck! Maggie is 19 months old and we haven't taken it off, but she is doing really well!

Hi T.,
My little girl did this as well and due to the shape of our crib we couldn't use the crib rails. My husband ended up duct taping towels around the edges of her crib. Almost a year later the towels are still there, she never got them off, so it was a nice free solution for us.
Becki

We had a chewer too. The plastic covers for the sides bars work great. The clip over the part you raise and lower. Also be sure she has a few chew toys to chomp on.

My son did this too when he was a baby. I bought a Gummi crib rail through One Step Ahead and it is a strip that sticks on to the part of the crib that they are chewing on. I think the price was about $12.

My sister-in-law had the same problem with her son. She wrapped folded bath towels around the top of crib. Can't remember how she attached them. HTH.

I was laughing so hard - thank you for this posting!

My little shark, who is 15 months now, has eaten our house; from our leather headboard, to electronics (remotes, laptops, cell phones), to all of her plastic utensiles, to all the toys - ANYTHING that is given to her, or she gets her hands on, goes straight into her mouth. AS a matter of fact, she uses her mouth as an extension of her hands. She turns things on/ off with her teeth, for example.

The other day she was standing in the doorway outside, looking at the birds and the trees, then turns sideways and starts eating the side of the house!!

We do worry a lot and have to constantly watch her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself by biting off small, sharp pieces. I just hope she will grow out of it soon...

Hi there, My daughter was a chewer too. I had the plastic guards for the rails too and they worked really well. She did go through that phase fairly quickly, though. Maybe you could call your pediatrician to see if there is some sort of taste deterrent that would be safe (kind of like that nail polish that stops nail biting) if you can't get the guards to fit. Good luck! - S.

My 10 year old son did that when he was a baby and he never had any problems. I wouldn't worry about it too much. We kept the crib and it is something he thinks is so funny now. He was a little beaver. He would do it when he wanted to get out.
Take care.

my first son did this and it was horrible. His crib now looks like a family of chipmunks lived in his room:) I tried everything, even called the crib company and the lady on the phone told me its the parents responsibility to have her child not chew the rails. UGGHHHH!! Anyways the last thing I did was attach some toys that he coould teethe on to the rails w/link a doos. Hope this helps.

HI, I have never encountered this problem, but what about if you somehow could screw a sheet of durable clear plastic on the inside where she is chewing. Kind of like how you would keep kids hands off the buttons on the tv. Not sure if this is making sense to you or if that would even work but it was the first thing to come to mind.
Laurie

Hi T.:

My son ate his crib as well. We had a beautiful large wood crib with huge knob like tops. Each inside knob was completely chewed away. The chewing did not harm him and we were concerned but when you sleep they seem to want to naw. My son has grown into a fine young man, he is 6'2", nad has beautiful strong white teeth. I guess you could try putting some foul tasting rub of herbs or something onto the posts but overall, they are fine with the chewing. I wouldn't worry.

Mother of one who turned out great.

N.

Be careful when you remove it...it often removes the finish right off the crib...