Advice for Transitioning to Crib?

We moved our little guy around 2 months, because he was getting so big! We just kept the same routine that he had, but put him in his crib. Of course we had and still have baby monitors. There is really no difference to the baby, and they like being able to stretch out. I was a little nervous about it as a new mom. I did do a couple things that gave me awesome peace of mind. One was, I put him in a warm long sleeve pj with feet and didn't use blankets, of course I did this after I stopped swaddling him. I also changed my bumper from the nice thick one that came with my crib set to one called a breathable bumper. They are mesh so air can travel through them, and they have velcro to keep them in place so there are no strings involved. You can get them at Babie's R Us or online. Those two things helped my transistion imensly, and our little man did just fine. Best wishes!!

This worked great for us - try taking a few days, with naptimes in the crib and bedtime in the bassinet. After a few days, the crib will be just another place to sleep.

Sorry I am late responding, hopefully it went well...my suggestion is bunting. Sometimes the feeling of openness is a bit different for baby so we would always use a large receiving blanket, fold it into a triangle, lay the baby with feet towards the bottom point and wrap the long ends around and under baby. Our three slept so much more soundly that way and wouldn't flail and wake themselves up as much as when they weren't bunting-ed. Just make sure it is not too tight for them to breathe well, and not too loose so they break out. Good luck.

Hi L.,

I did exactly what Jackie T did and it worked out beautifully for us as well! I highly recommend the Homedics Sound Spa Lullaby Relaxation Machine.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&...

Another suggestion would be to have her take her naps in the nursery, too. That way she gets used to the crib as a place for sleep.

Hope this helps.

N.

Our baby didnt take any time at all. Hope yours goes as smoothly. Some tips I saw on a show that help keep a baby asleep all night which is actually working....1. keep a white noise machiene on. 2. have the room cool ( they suggested 68-72 but who can afford that not to mention to a Texan thats cold!) 3 put up a black out shade over the window. 4. keep the room dark just enough light that you can see to walk around with. We had already done all things except number 4. We have a Homedics brand SoundSpa Lullaby with picture projection. It has worked wonderfuly. I watched a prgram on Cnn morning show this week. We use a monitor and with out the white noise I could hear him breathing it was great. With the white noise not so much. But we can hear if he gets stuck in a corner of the crib, crys, coughs, sneezes there great. Our son is 9 months now. Best of luck. I also do not put a thing in the crib...why take that risk?

When I transitioned our son from his bassinet to his crib we had a few issues. The first of which was that he did not want anything to do with being alone in his own room even for a short nap. What we ended up having to do was move the crib into our room. For the first couple of days (naps and bedtime) I had to lay in bed beside the crib and let him feel me there by holding his hand until he fell asleep. That part of it only lasted a few days, but he continued to sleep in our room until he was about 7 1/2 months when one day I finally decided it was time for him to go into his own room as he had begun waking when I came in for bed at night, which was not his norm. He sleeps through EVERYTHING! Always has! Once we moved him and his crib back into his room he woke up for the first couple of nights around 2-3am and was easily lulled back to sleep and we have had no problems ever since. Your daughter will let you know what is right for her and when she's ready. Just be patient with her and it'll happen in time.

Hope this helps!

A.

I would just play it by ear and see how your little one reacts. There are lots of good suggestions that have already been provided. My boys had no problem transitioning. I think because they were getting so cramped in the bassinet, they actually slept better when we moved them to their cribs. One of my friends had a slightly more difficult time and found that putting her daughter in the crib for naps for a few days seemed to help the transition to sleeping in the crib at night.

Have her start taking daytime naps in the crib. That's what I did with my baby and I would turn on the mobile for her.

L.,
We transitioned our son at 4 months, and am not sure how your little one sleeps, but if she is anything like mine, it will go smoothly. Started out with putting him in his crib for naps a couple of days before, and after about 3 days, we put him down for the night and he sleep better then I could have ever thought. If anything I was more scared and worried then I need to be, and once I let go and excepted that he was on his own, I started to sleep through the night as well. Good luck, and I hope all goes well for you'll.

The adjustment will be all yours. It will not affect the baby at all.

Good luck

She should adjust just fine... Its you that will have a bit of anxiety. You've been used to your baby being at arms reach, now she will be in another room..! (Time to get a baby monitor.)

Oh, that transition gave me such heart palpitations... My light-sleeper husband insisted when she was 3.5 months that our DD was ready to sleep in her crib/room... And she was ready; she was getting too long for the bassinet. "Noooo, what if she suddenly stops breathing and I don't hear it? What if she gets tangled in her blanket? What if--" to which he cut in to say, "What if she sleeps through the night and everything is fine?!"

I will also add, although your question didn't ask this... I was the type of mom that responded whenever she cried. When she transitioned to her room, I promised myself that I would not ignore and sleep through any 2am crying. And there were some nights it was really hard to get out of bed but I stand by that decision... there was 2-3 times when she managed to get her foot/arm under the bummer and stuck in between the slates of the crib. There was the time at 10 months when she got a stomach virus from school and vomited in her crib at 1:30 am... There were a few fevers that needed attention in the early morning hours... My husband has a friend who told him about a friend whose wife refuses to get up in the middle of the night because she says the baby just wants attention or food... to which my husband replied, "yeah, but not every crying is because of that... Sometimes the baby needs help and you won' t know if you don't at least go in and check."

Hi L.,,,
I don't think you'll have any problems ,,sence she is sleeping alone now ,,,i would put some larer stuff animals in one end to keep the space smaller some
good lucl L.

I tried to make the huge crib feel small and inviting to my daughter who transitioned very easy...I learned the hard way from my son who transitioned very hard.

I would swaddle her and place her head up against the crib bumper so she could feel the slight pressure against the top of her head. Then I placed sleep positioners on either side of her, so she wouldn't roll. She was all snug and felt very safe and secure and slept great.

My son I tried to just place him in that big space on his back and it freaked him out...but he never was a great sleeper and being my first I had no clue what I was doing. By my daughter I had read every sleep book ever written and used all the tricks I could find.

Good luck...oh and use your baby monitor.
{{{{hugs}}}}}

We moved our daughter at 3 months and it did take a while, but I never put her in the crib before that day, and that was a big mistake. You kind of have to ease them into it. I had to start letting her play in the crib throughout the day, and I started letting her take naps in there as well. If your baby already naps in there it should not be a problem at all. Also, if you have the video monitor it makes it VERY easy on yourself! I hope I helped a little.

She should be fine, her parents will suffer more than she will!

Place a rolled up towel at the top of her head so she will have that pressure on her head. Place her in the crib so that she is sleeping the width of the crib instead of the length.This will help to make the crib not seem so big.

If she wakes up in the middle of the night with wet diaper, or whatever, try not to talk to her, do not turn on the lights. Make it as uninteresting to her as possible, so that she will not be stimulated. You could also pat her bottom with light pats. It seems to lull them to be patted.

Our daughter never used a binky so we would place her fist in her mouth. Sometimes this would sooth her. I know many babies use the binky to sooth themselves to sleep. One friend had to place 3 or 4 of them in the crib, cause their baby would throw them out of the crib right before she fell asleep, if she would wake up in the middle of the night, as long as she could find a replacement, she would not cry.

You are all going to do great.

Every child is different, but I was nervous the first time that I put my daughter in the crib from the bassinet and to my surprise she slept the whole nite. I discovered that my husband and I were actually the cause of her waking up during the nite because she could hear us moving and snoring, lol. It was an easy transition for us and she has been sleeping through the nite ever since. I always get my daughter to sleep before putting her to bed so maybe that makes a difference I don't know.

Be consistant, be consistant, be consistant!!!

Once you have made your mind up about it, and make sure its something that you want to do, be consistant and she will get used to it. sometimes its very easy and sometimes it takes a bit, but don't do the whole back and forth thing.

Have a great day!

D. Mattern-Muck
Mom's Helping Mom's Work From Home!
http://www.formyrugrats.com

All 3 of my children went from sleeping 8 hours in the bassinet to sleeping 8 hours in their crib...to sleeping where ever we laid them down. It really shouldn't be much of a transition for her, but more for you. Use a monitor if you are anxious and it will go smoothly!

My kids transitioned easily. They slept anywhere that I would lay them actually. ha. But for you to feel better about things, get a monitor so you can hear her during the night and go to her when she cries hard. Also, we have humidifiers in both kids rooms to drown out loud noises and for a humming soothing sound to help sleep to...it shouldn't be too hard..good luck!
C. (SAHM of 3 yr old girl and 1 yr old boy)

Start putting her in the crib for her naps during the day. Have a monitor so you can hear her wake up and you can do your thing!

You will be more upset at night when she is not so close to you. Check on her all you want, she will be fine. My boys stayed in the bassinet for about a week. Having the monitor is a real comfort.

Our daughter's transition was the same way and it was not hard since she was already a good sleeper, but one thing I did do was before hand I took the crib sheet that I was going to use first and I put it in our bed and then made our bed up over it and left it there all day until I was ready to use it. By the end of the day her sheet smelled just like me and her Daddy and I think it helped to comfort her in her new place. Give it a try, can't hurt right? I also did this with her plush comforting toys. I would put them in my shirt all day so they would smell like me. It works great. Good luck!