Advice for transitioning to the crib

My DD is now 7 months old. She is not a good sleeper. She is still waking several times a night to nurse. I have her sleeping in the Rock and Play, but she is way too big for it! Each night for the past month, I start her out in the crib but I always wind up putting her back in the Rock and Play because that is where she gives me the best stretch of sleep. Any tips on getting her to like the crib??? I feel so bad putting her in the Rock and Play because she is so squished in there! Now that I am back to work, I desperately need sleep, but she really needs to be in that crib!!! TIA

Advice for transitioning to the crib

We transitioned from the rnp to the crib no problem, but we did it much earlier at 7 weeks so I think the transition was easier.

Maybe she likes the incline. You can try a crib wedge to prop the mattress up. I'm sure she is too big (and rolling around) to be swaddled so that won't help. Did you try giving her a lovey to sleep with?

Re: Advice for transitioning to the crib

Re: Advice for transitioning to the crib

We did it at 3.5 mo. The sooner the better. We dropped their 4:30 am bottle at 6.5 mo b/c they would just wake for good at 6:30 and it was too much for us to get up twice. Plus ped (and everyone I talked to) said they were waking out of habit and didn't need to eat then. I just gave pacis then and it took a few days but they stopped waking. Do you want to transition and cut night feedings? If so, I'd do it all at once to get her in the habit. If not I'd just put her back in her crib after you feed her and not in the rnp. I raised one end of the crib with a box under the mattress for the first week so it was inclined like the RNP. You can also use a sleep sack with the swaddle around her body, arms out to make her feel more secure.

Do it on a weekend or time you are off and stick to it. It will take a few nights if you are firm with it. It's 3 tough nights but once its over, you will be glad you did it.

Re: Advice for transitioning to the crib

Re: Advice for transitioning to the crib

Re: Advice for transitioning to the crib

Ok. I didn't do it early, and I also have a bad sleeper who still nurses during the night at 6.5 months. We started the transition at 4 months when he started trying to roll over in the rnp and I was convinced he would die. It took us 2 months before he was fully comfortable there. A lovey helped - someone suggested putting some breastmilk on it too. I might think it smells nasty eventually but he won't. That helps. Whenever we wash it I respray it with bm. Also fore the first little while we built a nest under the sheets with rolled up blankets and towels to mimic the coziness of the rnp. And finally, as much as it sucked, we didn't move him to the rnp after any wake ups. I just felt that was too confusing. Finally, what did it (other than just time and a lot of hard work) was making him nap in the crib, too. We never did true CIO because we stayed with him while he cried, but we didn't take him out unless he was really melting down. We put him in the crib whenever it was time to sleep and stayed next to him shushing and soothing and occasionally patting him until he fell asleep. We saw improvement within a week but it took until the last 2 weeks to get to where we are now - he usually, fingers crossed, only wakes 1x a night now, around 3am, to eat. And he naps in the crib too. PM if you have more questions - I've been there.

Re: Advice for transitioning to the crib

Re: Advice for transitioning to the crib

we transitioned from rock n play to the pack n play in our room at 3 months. we tried putting him in his crib but me DH and DS were up all night so it was easier to still have him in our room in the pack n play, instead of walking back and forth every 30 mins across the hall. it took a good three weeks or so before he really started doing longer stretches but once he started sleeping much better there, around 4 months old he moved to the crib and we never looked back. good luck - I know it's a really hard transition and those nights are tough!!!