Naive question on transitioning to crib

dvmmomma · December 2014

I'm a FTM but I do read a lot and research things so I'm not completely ignorant

DD is 3 1/2 months and sleeping swaddled in the rnp. I can put her in the crib and she'll sleep but she just doesn't sleep as well. I'm a fan of letting her tell me what she wants. I don't enforce certain things just because I read it somewhere. However, I'm wondering if I'm being naive to think that one day "when she's ready" she'll just start sleeping in her crib. Should I be trying harder to get her to sleep in it now while I have the advantage of being able to swaddle her? I haven't done much research on cio but from what I know, that method doesn't seem appropriate for me.

Basically, I'm hoping someone will tell me I can keep enjoying my sleep and that she'll sleep in a crib when she's ready with no fussing. Too much to ask?

mfsunshine222 · December 2014

No advise...as I'm a FTM too, but I am in the exact same boat as you. DH and I decided to try the transition to the crib over the holidays. That way if we lose lots of sleep at least we don't have to get up for work in the mornings. I will try moving the PnP in LO's room for a couple nights and then move him to the crib once I feel he might be ready.

We are also on a time crunch...LO rolled over (front to back) 3 times now so we need to be working on getting him unswaddled. I'm figuring doing it all at once (kind of) might be easier than trying to do one and then the other.

TeacherVicky · December 2014

Like everything else, you'll get differing opinions on this, all based on personal preference and experience.

Do I think it's too much to ask that the transition will go smoothly without any fussing? Yes

LOL

I find any change brought forth in a baby's sleeping routine is hard on LO, only because they have to learn something new.

CIO is not for everyone, though not recommended until 6m anyway. There are other methods of sleep training that are much gentler than just letting LO CIO, but I truly believe that any type of transition or change will cause some crying. What differs is how you'll deal with it, whether it be CIO, Ferber type intervals or responding right away and all the time.

Personally, I don't think that one day she'll just "be ready" and allow a smooth transition. She may be ready one day, but will be used to sleeping in the RnP, so it will be a little difficult. I'm not saying it has to be a traumatizing event, just that she probably won't go from sleeping in the RnP to sleeping in her crib without flinching. There will probably be some sort of regression.

I never used a RnP, but I did have both LO's sleeping in a bassinet in my my room for 4w and 8w each. I chose to move them to their cribs in their rooms at those times for multiple reasons, but essentially because I wanted their rooms/cribs to be their sleeping space in the long run. So if it were me, I would start transitioning. If you choose to do that, maybe you could start with one sleep for a week at a time and progressively add more time in the crib each week?

dvmmomma · December 2014

She has been sleeping in her own room so at least I have that going for me.

Is it LO dependent on which is better to change first- meaning should I try her sleeping in the rnp unswaddled first and then move to the crib or should I move to the crib still swaddled first? @mfsunshine222‌ my babe is also rolling front to back so I feel your time crunch too. I've already noticed some regression so I think she needs a change. We swaddle in the miracle blanket and I think she just looks uncomfortable in the rnp with her arms stiff by her side so maybe I'll try unswaddled sleep first.

Ugh. So many choices. I need an instruction manual. Thanks guys.

ashiscute · December 2014

Nicb13 said:
I would just keep doing what works for now while she's still so young. Worry about the crib down the road.
Most likely no, it won't be easy to transition but nothing really is with babies. Like everything else though it will take consistency and work on your part.

This. I wouldn't push moving her until you need to. No it's not likely to be an easy transition but it will be easier I think if you don't force it. Also, PP is right that CIO isn't appropriate before 6 months anyway.

clwheel · December 2014

For us, we started her in there for naps on the weekend and then at night. Not every night did she make it through the night in there but we got there eventually. She'll be 6 months in a week (REALLY?!?! ugh) and there are still nights she ends up in the RnP, like this week because she's been stuffy.

I'm totally for, whatever works for you But that's how we started our transition. I think it did help that she was still being swaddled when we moved her.

dvmmomma · December 2014

ashiscute said:

I would just keep doing what works for now while she's still so young. Worry about the crib down the road.
Most likely no, it won't be easy to transition but nothing really is with babies. Like everything else though it will take consistency and work on your part.
This. I wouldn't push moving her until you need to. No it's not likely to be an easy transition but it will be easier I think if you don't force it. Also, PP is right that CIO isn't appropriate before 6 months anyway.

Thanks guys. I do feel like it's time for something different. She went from a nice schedule of 8p-8a with just one 1am wake up to now every 2 hours or so. I know about the dreaded 4 month sleep regression but IMO, there's a reason for the regression. I think tonight I'll try the first stint in the crib and see how it goes!

RebekahP14 · December 2014

Why didn't I think of this too?! Genius to transition over the holidays! Going to do this with my almost 6 month old. Sorry daddy, but vacation is going to a good cause.

jessieran · December 2014

We got the zipadee zip sack, and had our son sleep in that in the RNP for a few weeks, and then started putting him in his crib at night when we put him down. After a few wake-ups, we would move him back to the RNP for the rest of the night. Slowly, he has started to sleep longer in the crib each night, and last night he slept in his crib all night long, only to get up once for a feeding. It was true bliss

The zipadee zip is great because it is a good transition from a swaddle, and because they hands are covered unlike most sleep sacks. That prevents him from playing with his pacifier, keeps those little fingers warms, but still is safe for them to sleep in, since they can still push themselves up on their elbows/hands and roll.

elisetaylor09 · December 2014

I just transition my 3 mo to his crib from the pack n play in our room. He's been sleeping through the night for the past 5 wks and I wanted to go ahead and start working on the transition if it was going to be rough. Fortunately he's been a champ and still sleeping through the night.

littlemissmarla · December 2014

Sorry in advance for the wall of text, I'm on mobile. I can tell you what we have been doing that so fat has been working out great. DD loves the RnP, especially when she can turn her head and rest her cheek on the soft lamb head. We have the RnP and a porta-crib in our bedroom so DD goes in the RnP from 8-11:30pm (swaddled) then we have to feed her at 11:30 because she takes oral meds (she's still asleep during this time) afterwards we put her in the porta-crib for the remainder of the night. What I initially realized is that she likes the coziness/security of the RnP as opposed to the openness of the crib. First the porta-crib is a smaller than the crib in her room and I have added an infant positioner under the sheet in the porta crib. Summer infant makes these positioners that are made for the car seat or stroller and I just lay it flat in the crib, under her sheet and she lays with her body positioned within it. She gets some security but more space- she was getting too long for full nights on the RnP. Next week we plan to move to whole night in porta crib and then we will start to remove pieces of the positioner. I believe a slow transition has been really helpful and we haven't had any real issues. DD will be 5momths next week. Now when we have to get rid of the swaddle .. That will be a struggle for us. Hopefully after she's comfortable in the porta crib, when we are ready it should be easy to go to her crib in her room.

littlemissmarla · December 2014

Forgot to add- you can do part if the night in RnP and then move over to the crib. No one says it has to be all or nothing

moking2 · December 2014

We used the magic sleepsuit to wean from swaddle and RNP. He loves it! best thing I have purchased. So many of my friends used it I had to try and its the best IMO.

ILikeMikeJr13 · January 2015

Have you tried a noise machine in babys room? White noise helped our DD sleep. Also we started putting DD down for naps during the day in her crib to acclimate her. Then we would put her down for the first block of the night in her crib, and eventually worked our way up to all night.

We no longer swaddle (she is 3 months) and no longer rock her to sleep. She protested naps for a week or so when I would lay her down in her crib once she became drowsy. But I wanted her to learn to soothe herself and fall asleep on her own (helps her overnight) so I would sit by her crib and watch her. She eventually learned that it was time to sleep and doesn't fuss much anymore. Now she loves her crib and travels around the mattress in her sleep! Doctor said its great to allow babies the freedom to move around without a swaddle. Helps their gross motor development.

Mizuiro007 · January 2015

I find naps to be an easy time to work on transitioning as I've usually had more sleep then. LO doesn't sleep swaddled. He started rolling over in it almost straight home from the hospital so I wasn't that comfortable with it. Utilizing naps I've just been gradually helping him to learn more and more ways of soothing himself. At 3 months he does extremely well with a lovey. I started out just gently stroking it on his cheek to soothe as he was falling asleep and now he's caught on that he can do it himself. Unless he's wet or hungry he'll wake up and find his lovey, hug it and nuzzle it until he drops back asleep.

Another thing I've found that seems to help him is having quiet play in his crib where he just lays there in the afternoon and relaxes while I put his clothes away there in his room. He seems to get that I'm right there and it's a safe place and allows him to get used to the openness while he's awake and the room is bright.

Then just having really regular routines. Around 6:45 PM he get's his PJs on and a bottle. Then we'll sit and snuggle and rock and sing or read a book and by around 7:30 PM he's asleep in bed. Awake again for a diaper and another feeding around 11:30 PM and right back to sleep. He'll sleep then until about 5-6 AM. Routine is everything for us, including making sure he has his naps. If he misses even one nap then we're in for a rough night.

Edit: I had to add that I've built our routine based on him and watching when he's tired and not letting him stay up later than he would normally to avoid overtired meltdowns. Still listening to him but also helping to keep him regular, like I'm reminding him not to forget sleep even when so much fun stuff is happening.

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