Sleeping in crib

Mrss827

My 9 week old twin boys are sleeping in their rock and plays at night (swaddled) and are sleeping about 6-7 hours at a time which is great. I don't put them in the RNP's at any other time except bed time. During the day they usually nap in their swings. Over the past few days, I have been trying to get them to nap in their crib or pack and play to try to get them used to it for when I start transitioning to the crib in a few weeks. When I put them in the crib/PNP, I put them together. The only way they will sleep in there is on their belly, but even on their belly they only sleep a few minutes at a time. After a few minutes, it's like they get startled and wake up crying. I think it may be because it's just open space that they aren't used to. Any tips on how to transition them to their cribs?

JustGoWithIt

We do the exact same thing...sleep I RnP, nap in swing. I think mine doesn't like the open space either. We're going to start trying this transition next week. My LO doesn't like being swaddled either, so I'm not sure how this will go...

I don't have the answer for you, but it think it will take a LOT of consistency & practice. Good luck & let me know if you find something that works!

ashiscute

I don't think you need to transition them yet.  What's the rush?  9 weeks is awfully young and good sleep is better than sleep in a certain space.  My DS slept in a swing until he was 6 mos or for naps and at nighttime.  We then transferred him to a crib.  

argonne

First off, swaddle them when putting them in the crib ( I am assuming they aren't swaddled since you put them on their stomachs).  Also, white noise is key for DD.  Some people have also suggested warming the crib up with a heating pad and removing it right before you put them down.

Secondly, realize that daytime sleep and night sleep are run by different parts of the brain.  While they may start napping in the crib, that may not correlate to sleeping in there at night. DS would nap in his crib, but wanted nothing to do with it at night until he was about 5-6 months old.  DD naps in her swing, but won't nap in her crib even though she will give me 3-5 hour stretches in the crib at night.  It's weird.

You also may want to look at something like the Magic Sleep Suit.  I am getting one for DD to transition her out of swaddling and get longer night stretches.  They look silly and seem gimmick-y but a couple of people I know personally swear by them and they get really good reviews online.

jenlynne0624

If you have a pack n play you can try putting him down in that first then gradually move up to the crib. Also, if you rub the sheets on you and put them back in the crib baby may sleep better because the sheets smell like you. I have also heard that if you put baby's head near the top of the crib or their feet near the bottom it doesnt feel like it's as open to baby. Also, what pp said about the white noise. Even an app on your phone will help.

whimsy515

I tried transitioning my DS by taking naps in the crib first. I noticed he wasn't sleeping long in there, and that resulted in him being cranky. One night I realized that if he's too tired to wake up when I change him, he might be too tired  to notice that he's in his crib instead on RnP. So that night I decided to put him in his crib and it worked. After a few weeks of that, now he can take long naps in the crib. So you may want to wait until they're really asleep, and put them in the crib at night. Every baby is different and you may have to do many tricks to make it work. Good luck!

roo1oo

I agree with PP, if you're having trouble transitioning now I'd hold off until they're a bit older. I tried transitioning LO out of the RnP to the crib at 3 months right when I went back to work and it was a disaster. I held off until he was 4 months and it went so smoothly! Sometimes you gotta wait until LO is ready for it.

If you're really set on getting them in the crib now, swaddle, white noise, and some kind of crib soother/mobile worked great for my LO.