Transitioning to Crib

Transitioning to Crib

If you're like me, the idea of putting your precious newborn in the crib from night one is a little hard to swallow...no, let's say impossible. More power to those who can do it, because in all reality, it is probably easier on mom, dad, and baby alike.

I couldn't do it with any of my three, although my second son spent more time in his bassinet from the beginning than any of my children. He was a rare sleeper, however, who did what doctors say newborns shouldn't do and slept through the night from his first night home. I did what mothers are warned not to do and let him sleep. I'm NOT in any way saying I condone this. I'm NOT saying you should let your child sleep more than 4 hours at night, as there are terrifying stories all over the internet about this. I'm only saying this is what I did.

I digress, as usual.

Oh yes, transitioning to the crib. I'm no expert, but I have three children and I think, at least with this topic, I can say I know a thing or two and I feel 100% comfortable giving out my tips/advice on making this transition the easiest possible. That's what moms need, right? Something easy...I mean, taking good care of a baby is tough! Let something be easy for goodness sake!

I co-slept with all of my children, with my second son being the one who did this the least. Co-sleeping, while not for everyone, worked for me as an exclusively breastfeeding mama who was EXHAUSTED! For some reason, rolling over in bed to get the baby and sitting up in bed to nurse just seemed easier than getting up to get baby from the crib or bassinet and bringing him/her to bed to nurse.  If you're lucky, like I was with my first son, you can even nurse while lying on your side! I loved this. With my little girl, I can't do this because she spits up too much...I really think she might have a tough of reflux, but nothing too serious.

With my children, I started out co-sleeping in the family bed. I am NOT saying I recommend this! There are studies that show contradictory results on this, with some saying it increases SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and some saying it decreases it. I will say this, if you are a deep sleeper, please do not let your baby sleep in your bed with you. Purchase a co-sleeper or have baby sleep in a bassinet next to your bed to be safe.

I then transitioned them to the bassinet within a couple of weeks. This transition didn't require anything special, because the babies were still very young and would sleep on their heads if they could. I kept the bassinet next to the bed to make night time nursing sessions easier. Try to put baby back in the bassinet after nursing, rather than leaving him/her next to you. This will get baby (and you) used to baby sleeping on his/her own.

To transition to the crib, I waited until my babies were about 2 months old. Kathryn is now 9 weeks and last night was her first full night int he crib. She did beautifully! I started introducing her to the crib when she was about 5-6 weeks old. It started out only during the day, for short play periods. She loves the little frog, rooster, and grasshopper that hang above the bed and she only sees them when in her crib. I'd let her be in her crib while I got dressed, or made my bed, or put away her cloth diapers. I'd talk to her from wherever I was and/or talk to her while standing next to her crib.

The important thing is to let baby know you're not far away. If she started to complain (NOT cry) with grunts, or other very early cues, I'd get her. I never let her cry in the crib at this point. It's a practice time...all baby needs at this point it to associate the crib with something pleasant, like a cool mobile, and  to know that you're not far away.

Try this for at least a week and even try it for more than one play period during the day. Just make sure you are quick to respond to baby.

The next step is nap time. Once baby has gotten to know the crib through play periods, have her practice napping in the crib. While it's best to put baby down when drowsy, not completely asleep, I'll admit that I still sometimes rock my gal to sleep...I just enjoy it and I know I'll not be able to do it forever. Do as you wish. The key again is to respond very quickly to baby. Have the monitor on, or be within earshot, so you are able to respond when she makes those very early complaint cues (grunts, "ehs", etc). The key is to let her know you're nearby and you'll be there when she needs you.

Again, try this for a week or more, until baby (and you) are comfortable.

Night time! Seriously, you'll get there and the best part is, you won't have to contend with a screaming baby because you'll have trained her to NOT cry in order to be attended to. I've never understood why mothers who have never placed their babies in the crib in the baby's life, put them there when they are 6 weeks old, then immediately try the Cry It Out (CIO) method (which at 6 weeks is NOT even recommended). I mean, the baby is in an unfamiliar environment, then not attended to until baby is crying. It's like Pavlov's dog....Through behavioral experiments, the dog was trained to drool without the step of seeing the food. When you leave a baby to cry, they quickly learn to go straight to crying to get what they need/want.

So, for night time, have a bedtime routine and do it consistently. For my baby, it's getting in her night time cloth diaper, putting on her jammies, sometimes I put a small amount of lavender lotion on her (or just on the outside of her jammies), I turn on her night light and turn off the big light. I feed her, then I rock her to sleep. We do this every night. She is to the point that she is ready for bed between 8-10. It's getting to be 8 more and more often. Last night was the first night I decided to try her in her crib.

When I'm trying something new with her, I always think, "What the worst that could happen?" With this, the worst would have been that she complained and I'd get her, rock her, then put her in the bassinet. No big deal. So, weighing that against the possibility that she'd sleep there until about 5:00 am for her feeding, I decided it was well worth a shot. We went through our usual routine and I made sure to swaddle her before placing her in the crib. She moved a bit, as usual when I put her down...she's like me and has to wiggle into the perfect position before she'll really settle into sleep. I stood nearby. She made a few noises, as is usual when she's falling to sleep (my girl is noisy! lol), but then she made the contented sigh and was out.

I left her room, but my radar was on high alert and to be honest, I wasn't sure I'd get any sleep. I don't know who had to be weaned from co-sleeping more, baby or me. Seriously. After a few minutes, I settled down. I went to sleep around 10 pm. Baby woke for her feeding at 5:00, then I put her back in the crib at 5:30. She slept until 8:00. I fed her again and she is asleep as I type this and it's 9:31 am. She's in the bassinet right now though....why? I have no idea. I could have just as easily put her in the crib.

I'm so proud of her and of myself, because it was actually harder on me than her! ha!

I have done this with all of my kids and it worked like a charm. There is no reason for CIO at this stage in a baby's life and I actually think it is detrimental. At this stage, trust is the most important ingredient in the parent/child relationship. I actually wouldn't recommend CIO until the baby is about a year, and then used sparingly, or when you know baby is truly only fighting sleep.

Give this a shot...remember, it's practice!!
Have patience and before you know it, your baby will be snoozing in her crib like a champ!