Transitioning - Murfreesboro,TN

Updated on November 09, 2006
S.S. asks from Murfreesboro, TN
21 answers

I have a 6week old who I am trying to transition to her crib instead of the pack n play in my bedroom. Usually she goes to sleep with little difficulty but in her crib she will not sleep without her pacifer and if she looses it she panics and will not calm on her own. She flails around in what I consider to be the saddest thing ever until I go to her and give her the paci back. We did these about 9 times last night and finally I just slept on the floor in her room. My husband says let her cry it out but I feel she is still to little for that. Any suggestions? Should I just let her cry and learn to soothe herself?

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So What Happened?

So I am thankful that others agree with me that crying it out is to soon for now. She did great last night. I put her pack n play next to her crib and she did not even need her pacifer. I appreciate everyone's thoughts on this. Some were very reassuring and some were a bit off for me. I agree that mommy intuition is probably best and I am glad to have gotten some reassurance from other mommies who have already been through this situation. Thanks again

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M.C.

answers from Athens on

S. try moving the pack and play into the room first Then transfer her into the bigger bed later. you might be making too many trnasitions for the child to be comfortable. Good Luck:)

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S.C.

answers from Savannah on

I personally think she is too young to cry it out. I have a five week old right now and I wouldn't do that with her. I think they are so new to the world and wouldn't understand.

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D.J.

answers from Knoxville on

Is there a problem with her sleeping in your room in the pack and play? I mean I'm sure after being in your belly for 9 months that she wants to be close to Mama. Crying it out would NOT be an option for me. Studies show that it isn't self soothing it is teaching the child that the parents won't help them when they need it. There is a great Harvard study I just read but don't have a link to. You could google it. Mama knows best when it comes to the kids. If it feels wrong to you, don't do it.

I would never tape a paci to a child. If that child was to vomit or spit up in the night it would surely suffocate and die.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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B.

answers from Augusta on

Please dont let her cry it out. she is way to young to try to self soothe, and most of the time it dostn really work. It just teaches parents to not listen to their kids crys and teaches kids that mom and dad wont be there when they need them. Babies dont cry for no reason.

Shes fussing because you've taken her from her small pack and play and put her in a big open crib, its a lot more space than shes used to, most 6 week olds are still in their bassinets by mommys bed. Why the rush to switch her? if you REALLY have to move her swaddle her and put her in one of those dont roll over things those tings that you put around baby to keep them from rollign over or to prop their heads up. It might give her the feel of being in a smaller space, I have also heard that taking a long towel and rolling it up and putting it across the crib closeing off one side of the crib helps with that too.

Follow your instincts God gave mommys instincts for a reason , dont ignore them. Daddies dont often have them.

Daddies are hunters (made to bring home food) mommies are the nurturers ,

1 mom found this helpful
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K.B.

answers from Hattiesburg on

This probably won't be a popular response.. but I used the clips that would attach to her night gown. She learned how and where it was once it slipped out. Also, there is a paci called a "Wubbanub" It may help her located the paci too. It has a small "plush animal" acctached to it. I would only reccomend it if she has pretty good heard control.

http://www.soothie-pacifier.com/Wubbanubs_c_5.html

Oh and this is strictly a personal opinion. I wouldn't do any type of cry it out yet. She is too young, according to books and docs. I slept with my daughter on my chest for the first three months b/c that what she wanted! Yea, I was a first time mom too. THen I would gradually slide her off my chest to my bed. We co-slept for about three months. THen I would begin to transition her to the crib. She would start out in the crib and wake in the middle of the night and come to the bed with me. Gradually she slept longer and didn't come to the bed with me anymore. I do cry it out method now, if I need to but my daughter is 13 months and I didn't begin it until she was about 7 months old.

Hope that helps!! It does get better.. GOOD LUCK
K.

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V.W.

answers from Nashville on

I didn't transition Brittany to her crib until she was 3 months old. I let her sleep in a bassinet in our room until she was too big for it. If your not opposed to letting her stay in your room for a couple more months then she'll be ready for her crib by then. They say it actually reduces the risk of SIDS to let the baby stay in your room for as long as possible.

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A.E.

answers from Memphis on

Please don't let her cry it out. She is too young. Have you tried swaddling her? Are you transitioning her out of your room or out of the pack n' play? It may be too soon to transition. My 4th child is 6 weeks old and sleeps in the room aceoss the hall from us.

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S.W.

answers from Atlanta on

ditto... too young for cry it out. I'm a big advocate for Ferber (it is NOT as mean as it sounds) but not until at least 6 mos. What is the reason for moving her now? With my first I was so fixated on "not starting any bad sleep habits" that I insisted she sleep in her crib from day one. As a result I got very little sleep. I don't know what I as thinking. With baby number too I had a different attitude and was all about getting whatever sleep I could, which meant him sleeping with us until about 6 mos, at which time he transistioned to the crib JUST FINE. I just mean... do what you have to do to get some rest and work it out later. 6 weeks is SO young to worry too much about where and how she sleeps. Just get some sleep!!

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T.T.

answers from Memphis on

when we first brought our baby home, she slept in her bassinet by our bed until she was 4 weeks old. What helped a great deal with us was wrapping her up really tight in her blankie and playing her lullabies and she would go straight to sleep. dont get me wrong at first she fussed, but we would only let her fuss for like 5 minutes, so that helped because she learned to just go straight to sleep even if ahe fussed for a minute...we went through the same with her pacifier, she could never keep it in her mouth and would wake up crying, so she learned to suck her thumb and now she hates the pacifier.(not big fan of the thumb either) but it helped tremendously, she always went straight to sleep, no problems. She is 5 months now and refuses to sleep anywhere but in her own bed! I would try these things for right now, it worked out great for us, but I wouldnt let her scream all night either, i think she still a little too young, so hopefully this will help. Ours started throwing fits around 3-4 months and thats when we let her cry in her bed and now she great! hope this helps you-good luck

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J.

answers from Memphis on

We have 4 kids & 5 grandkids - two of the grandchildren live with us (ages 20 months & 4 months). We kept the 20 month old in the bassinet in our room until she outgrew it & then in her crib till she was one. She was at a mildly higher risk for SIDS, so the drs. recommended keeping her close. We didn't start letting her "cry it out" until she was a year old. By then, she could find her pacifier if she needed it & self-soothe in other ways, too. I did the "cry it out" with some of my kids & it drove me nuts and I'm not sure it helped them learn to sleep alone until they were older anyway. The long & short of it is, though, that you need to do what works best for you & your daughter. Not all babies are alike (to say the least)! And neither are all moms & dads. If it were me, I'd keep her in my room till she was a little older and not so easily startled upon awakening. Good luck! J.

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R.R.

answers from Atlanta on

i think six weeks is a little young to let them just cry it out until they go to sleep. what we did is set a time limit. when my son was that small we would wait for about 5 minutes and then go in and calm him with whatever needed. then as he got older the time went further and further. the swaddleing is a great idea too. my son loved it. they also have out the baby positioners which we used and it keeps them situated in the bed. maybe if she is not moving around a lot the pacifer will stay in her mouth longer? good luck....

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A.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

Hi S.
I have a 14 week old and she still sleeps in her basinet in our room. Our pediatrician recommended keeping her in our room untill she was 4 months as this can help prevent SIDS something we were not told with our older two children.
I think she is too young to cry it out. We swaddle our little one and this seems to help.
A.

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M.I.

answers from Memphis on

I would try to teach her to self-soothe such as trying to help her find her thumb or her hands. Letting her whimper for a moment and not rushing in right away with a paci is okay because it allows a baby the time to try to figure out how to soothe herself without the advantage of having mommy or daddy putting a paci back every time it is lost. Trust me, I learned this the hard way and am still learning when to just let her figure it out for herself. I'm not saying let her cry it out but just give her a moment before rushing in. I have a 3 and a half month old who can ,most of the time, soothe herself back to sleep with her fingers. Yes, I do still rush in with the paci every night but it is only when I can see she is about to really start flailing and is about to cry. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't, and usually when it doesn't is when she really needs something such as a bottle, a diaper change or to just be rocked back to sleep (because, yes, your daughter will miss you in the middle of the night!). As far as the pack and play goes, I would suggest moving the crib into your room ( for the next few months)and moving the pack and play into another part of the house to use during the day. My daughter was put in the crib from day one and has never had a problem (although it took a little while for her to get used to the pack and play). As with everything else, just give it a little time and it will all eventually work itself out.

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K.S.

answers from Macon on

Hi S., I actually breast fed my baby in my be for the first six months. He awoke frequently to eat. Maybe your baby is hungry. Try feeding her when she wakes up. And don't expect her to sleep all night right now. My two year old still does not sleep all night in his room. She is also way too young to soothe herself. My one year old wakes up and I lay him back down and rub his back for a few minutes just to let him know I am there for him. You don't really want to try to self soothe until about 6 months. Until then they need to know you are there for their every need whatever it might be.

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B.

answers from Jackson on

I agree with the others, don't let her cry it out - she's too young for that.
Was she waking up in the pack and play in your bedroom?
Have you thought about moving it into her room and trying that for a little while? Maybe that would be comforting while she transitions to a different room.

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A.N.

answers from Atlanta on

Please don't let her cry it out at 6 weeks old. Even the guy "ferbie" who invented this horrible idea says you shouldn't do it until at least 6 months old. There is a reason she is uncomfortable in her crib. She has been with you her whole life and all of the sudden she is alone. Pretty scary for a baby. My advice; don't transistion her just yet. She is still an infant and needs lots of comforting. There is no need to make her feel insecure at such an early age.

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M.E.

answers from Atlanta on

I was a different first time mom and still am to this day, I have never let my son cry anything out, and he sleeps in his own bed, didnt untill he was about 1. Im a single mother so I had more time to prepare him.. But I would say listen to your inner voice. That mother inside you. She is still new to this big world dont make her feel like she has to adapt faster than she is ready to.

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A.P.

answers from Atlanta on

I went through the exact same situation with my son, who is now almost five months old. My boyfriend was pushing the cry it out theory too, but personally, I thought six weeks was much too young to make a baby cry it out. I told my boyfriend that we were still in the stage of building trust and he accepted that and let me run the show. At six weeks, your baby isn't self soothing so much as crying herself to exhaustion and giving up altogether. In the end, since I was the one who introduced the pacifier, I kept him in our room until he was about two and a half months and slowly transitioned him to the crib. By then he had figured out a way to keep his hand over his mouth to keep the pacifier in when he was sleepy, and if it fell out while he was sleeping, he didn't wake. Now that he is a few months older, I give him time to self-soothe and more often than not, after a few whiney seconds he finds a way to entertain himself unless something is truly wrong. I know every baby is different so that might not be the case with your daughter, but my overall point is to go with your gut. It's all about what is right for you, your baby and your family.

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L.

answers from Atlanta on

Hi S.,

My son slept much better "swaddled". www.miracleblanket.com sells a great swaddling blanket. It has a pocket for feet and wraps great. I was never good with the receiving blankets and this thing was a life saver! I think the cozieness of swaddling helps them feel secure and sleep better. I do agree it might be a little young to cry it out. Maybe keep her in your room for another couple weeks and try and get some sleep yourself. Much easier to roll over and put a paci in than get up and go to the next room. 10 weeks is a much different baby than 6 weeks.

Best of luck!

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C.

answers from Atlanta on

S. - we had this same problem with our son (now 5). He did not want to sleep in his crib when we brought him home from the hospital. He ended up sleeping in his pak-n-play for this first 6 weeks. What worked for us was a gradual transition - we started moving him in the early morning when he was still asleep from his pak-n-play to his crib and he woke up in there. We put him in the crib for his naps - sometimes he would just lay there and look around and then fuss but then sometimes he would fall asleep. Whenever we could we would put him in the crib awake/asleep so that he would wake up there and adjust. We also had one of those things that play music near his crib and he had a very small crocheted blanket that he liked to keep his hand on (we removed it as soon as we saw he was asleep and then gave it back when he was awake). Gradually he got used to it and he would go to sleep in his crib at night and sleep fine. I think it is ok to let them cry a little bit but I also agree with you that 6-weeks old is really too young to do that... that is really more for older babies who are having trouble going to sleep at all - not just going to sleep in the crib rather than the pak-n-play.... good luck! C.

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Z.L.

answers from Memphis on

it sounds very odd, and i'm sure there might be better solutions to this, but when my son did the same thing with his paci, i scotch taped it to his cheeks. he never had a problem with losing it after that, and once he got the hang of holding onto his paci until he fell asleep, i stopped doing it. But in the beginning, when we all needed as much sleep as possible, that was the best solution, in my opinion. My best friend did it with her son, as well, and it worked wonders. I hope you find your solution soon!

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