Transitioning to crib! HELP!

katesalms22

my 5.5 month old was recently sleeping in his rock n play and was sleeping through the night! I nurse him to sleep bc that is literally the only way I can get him to sleep! Sometimes it would take me 2-3 times of putting him down and nursing him to sleep again before he would finally go down for the night and not cry, but once he was down he would sleep 8-9 hours straight! So now that he is sitting up on his own and sleeping through the night pretty much, I thought it was time that we move him to his crib...

WELL it has been a nightmare! After our bedroom routine, I would nurse him to sleep and for me to even put him down in the crib he has to be dead asleep. Oh and the first night we tried putting him down in the crib, we tried not picking him up but he screamed until one of us finally did... We were up until 1:30am that night trying To get him to sleep in it! The next couple nights I just decided to just pick him up whenever he was crying bc the first night was awful listening to him cry all night... Well the past 3 nights have just been awful... I would put him down at 8:30ish and he would fall asleep for 40min-hour then wake up crying... I'd nurse him to sleep again and then try putting him down again but he would wake up crying right away and after nursing to sleep 2-3 more times, I decided to just rock him to sleep bc I've nursed him to sleep so many times already... This has been going on every night until 12:30/1am before he would finally fall asleep for the night. Once he would go to sleep in it he wouldnt wake up until 7:30am, thankfully. The struggle of putting him to sleep in there is taking a toll on my husband and I....We are desperate for any suggestions or any words of wisdom that anyone has...

Also I don't sleep well when we cosleep and there is just not enough space in our bed for all of us... Also he has NEVER been a good napper during the day, it is also a struggle to put him down for nap time, he only sleeps good when he sleeps on me and nurses to sleep, once I put him down he wakes up crying... It's been like this since he was a newborn and I thought it would be better by now... And also he refuses to take a pacifier... I'm really at a loss and would love to hear all your opinions on what I should do... I'm at the point where we might just have to let him CIO cause I don't know what else to do but hearing him cry breaks my heart... HELP!!!

SMac2013

When my son was having a hard time getting used to his crib I would hold him in his blanket and get the blanket all warm before I put him down. I would also make the "shh" sound in his ear after I later him down if he woke up. Sometimes that helped put him back to sleep. Eventually he got used to his crib, he won't nap well in it, he prefers the pack n play. Good luck! I hope it gets easier.

rlucido

I used a semi CIO approach. It was hard for a few days but it did get better. Whatever you do stay consistent. Babies like consistency.

I would put my son down and if he started crying I would let him go for 15 minutes. If he was still crying at the 15 minute mark I would go in and soothe him. I only stayed for a few minutes and would sing, rock, rub him. I only feed him if I truly thought he was hungry. Then after soothing I put him back. If he started crying again I would wait another 15 minutes. If I had to go back again this time I would not pick him up. Just sing and rub him for a few minutes. After that I would let him cry. One night he cried for two hours! It was the worst night of my life but it only happened once.

Be strong. Your son will get use to it. Make a plan with your husband and stick to it. It will be hard but it will get so much better! Try to remember that when you keep going to your son you are prolonging his wakeful time when he should be sleeping. I know it feels awful to let them cry but you are hurting him more when you keep going to him. He will learn to go to sleep on his own but you have to give him the opportunity to learn it.

Also, did you ever swaddle your son? I did and I stopped around 4.5 months. But he became and awful sleeper for about a month until I swaddled him one night out if dispersion and he slept amazingly. Now at 6 months he is swaddled with one arm out and sleeps from 7pm-7am. Not sure if the swaddle will help you but it has been a life saver for my family. A swaddle is like a big hug to babies and helps them feel secure and helps them calm down. At least it does for my son.

Hope this helps and good luck!

myjessesgirl

That sounds very frustrating! We transitioned a bit earlier so maybe that helped, but after a couple nights of upset, our daughter has been sleeping well in her crib. So hang in there! There were a few bad nights that were as you described: nursing or rocking to sleep that abruptly ended in crying once she was put down... It is definitely not fun! A few things that helped us: consistent bedtime (right now she goes down at 7:30 and sleeps through until 7 or 8), Halo sleep sack (not the swaddle kind), and I do still nurse her to sleep (after all, if she falls asleep while nursing, I'm not going to wake her up!). I also did have a couple nights that we resorted to letting her cry it out, but never for extended periods of time. I also use a sound machine; we discovered that thunder works well. Sometimes I put her down and (as long as she is not screaming from the beginning) I'll set a timer for 10 minutes, go do something, and then turn on her monitor when the timer goes off. If she fusses during that time, it is quickly over and she's typically asleep when I check the monitor. But 10 minutes feels like an eternity if you are listening to a fussy baby. Just think of your own transition to a new bed; I know I can't sleep the first night or two when I'm on vacation! Good luck with your LO and I assure you that every night DOES get better!

katesalms22

@rlucido he never really liked being swaddled. He always fought to get his arms free when we did. He also was sleeping in his rock n play which was a lot more snug than the crib... Also does your LO take a pacifier? I feel like he just doesn't know how to soothe himself and relies on me to soothe him to sleep bc he refuses a pacifier... I don't know how to get him to soothe himself on his own to fall asleep on his own... I might have to try your CIO method cause what else can I do? Also what is your bedtime routine for your LO?

rlucido

@katesalms22 my son doesn't seem to like the swaddle when we are in the processes but once he is all snug he settles down and starts to get calm and relaxed.  I still swaddle mostly because it is the best way I've found to soothe him.  He does not take a pacifier.  I tried and some days/nights I really wish he would take it because it would help but he just won't.  In case you might be interested these are the swaddles I use.  I've tired others and they can't keep his arms in.  This one keeps his arms down most nights and I've found by keeping one arm out he does not struggle to get the second arm out.  I also put him in a long sleeve onesie to add friction so it's a little harder to get the arm(s) out. https://www.adenandanais.com/en-us/productlanding/4693/baby/easy-swaddles/classic/easy+swaddles.aspx  Maybe the crib just feels too open for your LO since rock n play was sung.  Maybe give the swaddle a try in the crib.  It might help transition him into the crib. 

I said 7am-7pm above because its was easy without getting into too much detail but really bed time fluctuates between 6-7pm and he wakes up between 6:30-7am.  Sometimes he wakes around 5am and just needs to be flipped over and goes back to sleep.  I start soothing my LO about 30 minutes before bedtime.  I will turn down the lights and talk softly to him.  I don't play with him or try to make him laugh once we start our bedtime routine.  I will read to him for as long as I can.  Sometimes within a minute he gets fussy (like he's telling me I am tired and want to sleep!) and sometimes we can read for about 5-10 minutes.  Then I swaddle him, he does get more fussy during this process, and then I feed him a bottle.  Sometimes he falls asleep while eating and sometimes he doesn't.  Sometimes he falls right to sleep once I put him in his crib and sometimes it's a rough evening of our 15 minute CIO routine.  But more often than not he goes down with just a little crying and then he is usually out.  Every other night I give him a bath as part of the routine.  Another thing I've done to help soothe is putting lavender oil is his bath or putting it on my wrists while I'm feeding him.  I figure it doesn't hurt and it might help.  I also use a sound machine for white noise.  I was told early on that this is a comfort to babies b/c it reminds them on being inside you.  I turn the sound machine on low when we start our bedtime routine and then once he is in his crib I slowly turn it up to full volume.  

I was really strict about night sleep and naps when my son was 8 weeks old so he has gotten pretty use to going to bed and typically does not fight too much.  I read the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child and it was really helpful giving me a guideline on how to get a baby to sleep.  See the link below.  I am pretty structured with my LO days and he does not stay up more than two hours at a time during the day and currently takes three 1-1.5 hr naps.  Not every day is perfect and sometime keeping him up can't be helped but since I keep him on a pretty consistent schedule he falls back into it once we get back on schedule. 

 https://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0449004023/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441422101&sr=8-1&keywords=healthy+sleep+habits+happy

I hope this is helpful.  I wish you the best of luck!  Just stay consistent on how you put him down.  It's not as important what you do for your bedtime routine but that you do the same bedtime routine consistently and proximity at the same time each night. 

rojita-2

We haven't transitioned our bub yet (planning to try this weekend) but one piece of advice I have received was to set up an air mattress for the first few nights so you can sleep beside him. This of course is dependent on space in the room but it may provide that little bit of added comfort and calm... Not sure if it works but thought I'd share! Good luck (and hopefully good night!!)

SharLovesAlex

I haven't tried transitioning mine yet because it's still so warm and his room doesn't have an a.c. I was planning to try this month, but my son is like your LO, he doesn't soothe himself, he relies on me to soothe him. I honestly think that he'll sleep better in the crib because I put him in the bed with me in the morning when he wakes up and he sleeps well, all over the bed. Maybe he'll be okay in the big crib (he sleeps in a rock n play now). I swaddle him still though he hates it, but I have a sleep sack so he has his arms free. Initially, I put both arms in til he is drowsy then I take them both out. He's not been sleeping as well as he used to, not sure if it's from teething or what, but he wakes like every hour and I have to rock him back to sleep. I'm really dreading the crib transition. Hopefully it works out. I wish I had advice for you but have no clue what it's going to be likept for me and what I'm going to do, I'll just try to stick with my bedtime routine (the same since he was about 8 weeks old) and hope for the best!

katesalms22

Thanks for the input everyone! I appreciate it! It's been getting slightly better... He has been getting up every hour now until about midnight then will finally sleep the rest of the night. Better than when we first started when he would literally wake up right when we put him down in the crib... Baby steps I guess... I also have been letting him have his morning naps in my bed with me since he was pretty much born because like I said he sleeps so well with me... But I'm wondering if I should make all his naps in his crib from now on? What do you guys think? I do love that snuggle time I have with him but I'm wondering if i should put him in his crib instead... I'm curious as to what you guys think?

jacksonma0

We transitioned to the crib at about 12 weeks, as my son had gotten too big for his rock and play. I started putting him in his rock and play in his bedroom for a few days at naptime, just to get him used to being in his bedroom. We did revert back to swaddling for a few nights when we started putting him in at bedtime, but we got through that phase pretty fast. Once he got used to the crib, i think he likes it a lot more. He rolls all over at night, and the enclosed rock and play was frustrating him.

jschnavis

Hi, I am trying to transition my little guy and I am having a hard time. He likes the swaddle but then gets to hot.

luckaloo

Sounds a lot like my first. She had a HORRIBLE time transitioning from the rock n play. Some things that helped were putting a towel under one side of the mattress to simulate the rock n play angle. We gradually phased that out. She was also addicted to the swaddle so I would sandwich her in between two rolled up blankets to simulate the cuddled sensation. We eventually phased that out as well. I would definitely start using the crib for naps so that the routine becomes established and baby will be able to associate sleep with the crib.

For my second, I didn't want to relive the horror of transitioning from a rock n play and a swaddle so I started him in a pack n play and then transitioned to the crib at 5 months. I used a zippadee zip https://www.sleepingbaby.com this time around so that he would have free range of motion, but still be secure. It works great. He is able to roll around and even soothe himself with his hands in his mouth. Hope some of this helps.

saramatt84

We just moved into our new house last night was the first time my lil guy slept in his new room and crib I turned on a low light and soft music it seemed to work he woke up a few times but always went back to sleep he used to sleep in his swing so the transition was kind easy but it was only night one good luck