*Thank you Tiny Love for sponsoring this post. Regardless all thoughts and opinions are my own and I only recommend products that I truly love.
With both of my children, I followed the pediatrician’s advice of spending the first few months with baby sleeping in the bassinet next to our bed. Well actually with both we drew it out to be around the first 6 months that they were in the bassinet. It made breastfeeding really easy, and allowed me to sleep better knowing that they were right next to me. But with both the time eventually came where those sweet little babies were too big for the bassinet. When they could roll over and press up on all 4’s and the bassinet wasn’t safe for them to sleep in anymore. And then I knew it was time for my babies to transition to the crib that we have in the nursery. And both times I was convinced it wouldn’t go well, and both times I was pleasantly surprised by how well it went!
Transitioning a baby from a bassinet to a crib is scary and can be difficult for both baby and mom. When you are used to having your baby by your side 24/7 the thought of them being in a different room is scary. But I love that our baby sleeps in his own room in his own crib. It means that he sleeps longer stretches and that I sleep better, which is really important to me. So here are some tips that worked for us for getting baby to sleep in their crib:
(1) Turn on white noise. With both of our kids white noise was huge. We have the Tiny Love Take-Along Projector Soother in our nursery which has a simple white noise function that we use every night.
(2) Provide distractions for baby. Sometimes baby needs something to play with or look at to help them calm down before falling asleep. We usually put a stuffed animal, or a soft crinkly book in the crib with Tripp. But my favorite again comes from the Tiny Love Take-Along Projector Soother. It projects images on the ceiling for baby to look at while winding down to go asleep. They are super cute and nautical themed, which works great in our nautical nursery. And the whale is so so cute. This has become a must for me to turn on every night when I put Tripp down.
(3) Leave something with your scent in the crib. It really helped, especially in the first few days of transitioning Tripp to the crib, to have a shirt of mine in the crib with him so he could pick up on my scent and feel like I was there even though I wasn’t!
(4) Maintain a consistent bedtime routine. This is something our pediatrician is really big on. At the same time every evening we do a bath with both kid, pajamas, and then read 2-3 books. This lets baby know that bedtime is coming and that they should start preparing for sleep.
(5) Use swaddles and sleep sacks. Both of my kids needed to be swaddled to sleep through the night until about 6 months. Then we transitioned into sleep sacks. This helps them feel warm and cozy and is the perfect way for baby to know it’s time to sleep for a long time!
Another reason I love the Tiny Love Take-Along Projector Soother is that it travels easily making it great for all of our trips. And it is simple to set up and stays in place so that my crazy baby can’t knock it off the side of the crib or pack n play. It would make the perfect gift for a new mom or mom-to-be, or a more experienced mom who needs something for calming baby at night time that travels well!
Do you have any other tips for getting baby to sleep in their crib? I’d love to hear them below!
We had a rough time going from bassinet to crib, and we are now getting ready to go from crib to bed! It’s tough, but they get used to it eventually!
I remember my both kids napped for 15 minutes and that was it! They were both constantly tired and needed longer naps. To help them I used the Hold WIth Love method from “How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone” guide by Susan Urban (got it here: http://www.parental-love.com ) and it was like I shared my bed with my baby girl for the first 9 months – as long as I was breastfeeding. When she turned 9 months she didn’t want to eat my milk anymore and I decided that it’s the best time to teach her to fall asleep on her own in her crib. I’ve found some info about Susan Urban’s short ebook “How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone” ( http://www.parental-love.com ). The guide leads you step by step so I knew exactly what to do and how to do it. No CIO and it worked extremely well! It took me 4 days to make her fall asleep on her own. Only 4 days after 9 months of co-sleeping – WOW! a miracle! it took me 4 days with my daughter and 3 days with my son to make them nap longer. So big recommendation for this guide from me and my family
You were right Bonnie, Urban’s guide has helped us with transitioning our daughter to her crib after ten months of co-sleeping. I thought it’s impossible but turned out we only needed three nights to change it 🙂 Loving this guide!
I’m with you girls! After applying the HWL method from that guide my son started to sleep in his crib and that’s my victory! Nice of you that you shared the link
I will say briefly: the HWL method from Susan Urban’s guide works and it works fast! I’m so glad I stopped by to read the article and the comments and that I purchased the guide! Life is beautiful when your baby sleeps in a crib 🙂