How to get baby to nap in crib

bobbysgirl08

Hi all! I'm a working mom and I am off this week, so I'm hoping to teach my baby to nap in her crib. Before I went back to work, she only slept in her swing or carseat, but now that she's 9 months old I really want to transition her to napping in her crib. She goes to a babysitter and generally sleeps in her carseat, although occsaionally in the pack n play.Does anyone have any tips on getting her to learn to sleep in her crib? I've been hesitant to start since weekends are so unpredictable, but I figure with this extra time, it might be a good time to start. Thoughts?? Right now I'm attempting to let her cry it out, but she's going strong!

carinamarie77

I did CIO for my LO to sleep in his crib with checks starting at 5, 10, 15 and so on for an hour. If he's not sleeping after an hour, I get him up and wait for the next nap. It was tough for only the first day but then it was a breeze.

saraboston

https://news.health.com/2009/08/24/infant-car-seats/

Napping in a carseat all the time is seriously bad for your baby. I can't imagine any licensed child care provider wouldn't know that. You need to fix this ASAP. CIO would probably be the fastest solution.

saraboston

https://www.oandp.org/jpo/library/2003_03_102.asp

ETA: I hate to flame a newbie, but the fact that you've let this go on so long is seriously  irresponsible. I'm a WM too, but you need to leave your child with a responsible person while you're working. What if LO had tried to get out and suffocated?!? Not to mention all the research on how it's bad for oxygenation, bone development, head shape, etc. 

Wufroggy79

I would discontinue carseat napping ASAP. Even from birth, the pedi told us to use the carseat as only the very last resort. I would do anything you can to start napping in the crib, which may include some rough nights. The older LO gets, the tougher it is going to be to break bad sleep habits.

skio

Yikes, ditto others on the safety of the carseat sleeping. For a 9-week-old, maybe. For a 9-month-old? Really not good.

Hang in there and continue doing what you're doing. Put her down drowsy and check in to soothe (pat, shush, etc. but do not pick up) at increments that you're comfortable with - start with 2, then 4, then 8 or whatever. Ferber suggests not letting it go on for more than a half hour with naps...if she's still crying after a half hour, take her out and try again a little later.

kermit0883

I completely agree that sleeping  in the carseat needs to end ASAP!!!  Totally not good for your child on so many levels, honestly my jaw hit the floor when I read this post!!

 Our son slept in the bassinet beside our bed for the first 2-3mths and napped during the day in his crib...that way by the time he outgrew the bassinet he was fine with the crib and used to it.  However, we did use white noise when we fully switched him to the crib....we ran a small fan for noise and it helped a lot!  He has been sleeping 10-12hrs a night since he was 5mths old!!

I would do what others have said and put her in her crib drowsy (our son has been a belly sleeper since 2mths and sleeps well this way), and check on her after 5min, 10min, 15min ect...but do NOT pick her up and do NOT talk to her.  Just keep laying her back down and rub her back or pat her butt.  You could play some quiet soft music that will shut off or you can shut off after 10min or so.  If she still isn't asleep after an hour, then pick her up and rock her and try it again!

You will probably have a few rough nights, but she needs to learn how to put herself to sleep, especially at 9mths old!  Good luck momma!

kmlevine04@gmail.com

Looks like some of you took this post to be about sleeping at night in the crib. OP was asking about naps, and I have the same problem. Mine sleeps great at night in crib 12 hours, but resists naps. I usually let her cry 20-30 mins then take her out and in the past its been a 50/50 shot at getting a nap to happen. Now its like 100% not happening at all. She'll cry for 30 minutes until we take her out. I haven't let her cry longer than that. She doesnt nap much to begin with - two 30 min naps is a good day. Generally she'll nap in the car when I drive to do errands, or in our arms ( I wouldn't have promoted the lap-napping, but my mom and dad do our babysitting for us and like to let her sleep in their laps and she's adjusted to it at this point). 

For those of you who've done CIO for naps, how long do you let them go for? How many naps did it take to curb the crying?  TIA!

pixieprincss

LO will not sleep in anything with 4 sides. We cosleep at night and for naps, he has a floor bed (AKA mattress on the floor). For naps, DH or I soothe him to sleep (cuddles, nursing, massage, humming, etc. and then inch away once he is out. While your DCP may not have the luxury of that kind of time, that is something that you could try on weekends with an element that the DCP can use (special song, a lovey, etc.).

alietep

That was really no help.

alietep

That was really no help to the one that said "Really? put her in the crib and be done with it."

First of all a mother would not be that cold. and If you all looked she said babysitter. NOT CHILD CARE PROVIDER*

Krzbizkit77

Hi there. I actually just wrote an article that was published in The Expectant Mother's Guide to Boston on getting your baby to sleep. Check it out- https://www.expectantmothersguide.com/library/boston/getting-baby-to-sleep.htm. A couple of tips that may help..... room darkening shades, a sound machine or light classical music, put baby down with a full belly- just not too full, and put something in the crib that smells like you for comfort (I know putting in one of your tshirts may be seen as a possible safety hazzard, so maybe one night you could sleep with a stuffed animal, so your scent rubs off, and give that to baby to sleep with). Don't be afraid to let her cry for a little bit. If she starts to cry hard or if she cries for more than 15-30 minutes, go in to console her (without taking her out of the crib). Good luck

edwardlinda

Hello,

I'm having the same problem.  Our daughter Kaitlyn, 10 1/2 months will not sleep in her crib.  She currently sleeps on the bed with us.  When she was few months younger, she would fall asleep in our bed but I would move her into the crib.  Now that the crib has been lowered, I'm having trouble putting in her crib gently as I am vertically challenged (and she's now not used to sleeping in it).

I have tried to do the whole letting her cry and checking in on her method but it doesn't work.  She crys harder when she sees me and at that point, I break and pick her up.  I can't bare to see her cry and eventually throw up.  I'm searching for other methods of getting her used to her crib. 

My husband is annoyed with me for allowing her to sleep with us and it's causing us to argue.  Any suggestions?

Krzbizkit77

Have you tried putting on some light classical music and giving her a tshirt that smells like you??

judahsmommy1

My method has always been to stay with my son while he's upset. I leave him in his bed but pat him or rub his back. I'll give him hugs, but he stays in the bed. When he (eventually) calms down, I stay for another minute or so and then leave the room. Sometimes I have to go back, sometimes I don't. when I first started doing this, I would wind up spending nearly a hour in his room. But that dwindled quickly and he's a great sleeper now. (Will go down for naps or bedtime without problems unless he's sick or teething.) I would think you could easily get her used to sleeping in her crib in a week this way.

For me, not letting them out is crucial! That way they know that crying won't get them out of the crib. (Obviously if something's wrong, diaper, vomit etc.. I would definitely take care of that!) And staying with him has been a big deal to me so that he doesn't feel like I've abandoned him. His bed isn't as much a place of separation from mommy, because if he needs me, I'm there. That's my trick. It's work, and very draining the first few days... but I feel like it's what's best for my son. Good luck!

edwardlinda

We have not tried leaving something that smells like us in her crib.  Maybe we can give that try.  But, do you start of by staying with them from the beginning or do you leave after you put them down and come back to check?

I am reading that all mothers who had gone through this came out with great results at the end but I am having trouble getting through the crying.

BritneyMichelle

play play play!!! Hopefully your baby usually sleeps through the night! Seriously though, play with baby until she is ready for food! Then feed her some regular baby food.... I give my baby a bath after this point, then give her a warm bottle (or boob if you're breastfeeding) all curled up with a blanket and thin pillow as well as a large teddy bear in her crib. I have a thing that projects stars on the ceiling so it's not completely dark (dimmer light lamp if you don't have one! Great investment!) and I play music for my baby as well. Merralee has no problems sleeping in her crib and learned quickly.... I give her a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room each time, too.  

The times she is stubborn and won't go to sleep in her crib, I will put her in her swing or let her cry. I go and check on her every 10-15min, then come back in, pick her up and pat her back to see if there are any air bubbles... if nothing within 5min I set her back down with her bottle (warm it up if need be. I never warm it up more than once) in her crib again. (obviously switch out bottle for boob if she breastfeeds... though I don't usually have a problem getting her straight to sleep if Merralee breastfeeds (once in a blue moon)).... 

I would say work on getting baby to sleep and then setting her down in the crib until she's more used to the crib.. then she'll be more willing when it comes time to teach her to be half-asleep before set down, rather than conked out. 

Hope this helps! Kinda rushed it all together, lol. 

Krzbizkit77

This will come with some trial and error, every baby is different and every mom is different. I would recommend cuddling your baby for just a couple of minutes (without letting her fall asleep) then gently put her in her crib (no mobile or toys in there), you can leave something that smells like you and then leave the room.... that is where I would start.