Co-sleepers who've transitioned to crib...

&orchid&

I want to know from those who've actually successfully transitioned their babies & the way you did it.

1. My 5 mo old still nurses a lot at night.  I think he does it because it's so easy to snuggle up and nurse.  Which, I'm fine with but I need to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  When did your co-sleeping baby STTN?  Did they do it while still co-sleeping with you?  

2. When did you transition to the crib?  Again, I'm still okay with him co-sleeping but I think I'd sleep better without him in bed with me.  Of course, that's when he is sleeping through the night, because waking to go to his nursery will probably be harder on everyone.  What method did you use to transition?  How long did it take?

I'm not a fan of the ferber method.  Though, I'm okay with a little fussiness before I come to the rescue.  Last night he spent an hour in his crib and chattered without falling asleep.  He kept rubbing his eyes and fussed a bit more, so I tried putting him in his swing (which is where he gladly goes down for naps) but then he cried.  In the evening he likes to nurse to sleep, which I cannot do when he's in the crib.  I've tried sitting in the nursery and nursing him until he falls asleep then laying him in the crib, and he wakes up and cries.

 Right now he's sleeping in our bed by himself where he was nursed to sleep.   

 

williebulldog1

I started transitioning my LO around 5 mo. She was also nursing a ton at night, which I thought was because she was right next to me. I used the Ferber method because I couldn't find anything else that worked. The first night was the worst, 40 min of crying, second night 12 min, third night 10 min. All of those nights she slept through the night. It was bliss. Than she got sick and has two teeth about to come through and the only way she will sleep is in bed next to me again.. I don't want to leave her to cry especially since I know she is not feeling well. Anyway, not sure this is to helpful, except to say that Ferber worked well for me. I really felt like we both slept better not being right next to each other. Good luck :

emberlee3

I started putting DD in her crib around 6 months. It was slow going for a few weeks because she still startled a lot. I did not leave her to cry, and if she really couldn't stay asleep, I took her back to bed with me. I figured she needed time to get used to it. She now sleeps in her crib unless she is sick. She does not STTN. She usually wakes once to eat and sometimes cries at other times. Overall, we are both sleeping much better than when we bed shared. She is FF, but was BF until 4 months.

stacey&daniel

I did it very slowly.  Starting at 3 months, we tried to put her in her bassinet (in my bedroom) or crib (her bedroom) every night around 8 pm.  When she would wake up the first time (12ish), we would try and get her back in her crib.  Sometimes she cried and we would just bring her back in bed.  Eventually she got use to the idea and she was able to go back in her crib after nursing.  The main reason it took us until approx 8 months is because I would fall asleep while nursing and not get her back into her bed until she woke up to nurse again.  Now that she is sleeping longer, I don't have that problem.  Also, she likes to stretch out more, so she actually prefers her crib.

I transitioned her from our bed, to the bassinet right next to the bed.  Then I went from the bassinet to the crib.  I used the bassinet in the bedroom because she was still nursing eery 3-4 hours when she was 3 and 4 months old (She did that until 6 months). I did use controlled crying to get her into her crib at first.  One minute of crying, one minute of comforting. We also have a sleep giraffe and a night time puppy (sings music and has a little light). When she is sick or really fussy we stay in her room for 5-10 minutes until she falls asleep.. guess she wants to see us and feel comfortable. Lots of head rubbing, back rubbing, and our hands being placed gently on her chest.

I found the less I forced it, the easier it was to make the transition.  We're almost to the point where she sleeps in her crib all night... but if she wakes up before we are ready to get up for the day, then she might spend an hour in bed with us. But that is at 6 or 7 am.  

Just go with the flow, as your baby gets bigger he will naturally want more space and will be comfortable in his own crib. Good luck!

DCMerged

We started with naps in the crib for about a month. When we transitioned to nights, we went promptly to him as soon as he fussed at night wakings and nursed or rocked him back to sleep. He got used to sleeping in his crib but the nursing/rocking association got so strong that we had to break them (No Cry Sleep Solution for nursing and Ferber for rocking). The night sleeping has been the hardest thing for me as a parent for sure. Good luck!