RNP transition... day #3

There have been a ton of posts asking about transitioning from the rock and play (RNP), myself included. We are on night 3 and wanted to share my experience. Obviously, every baby and situation is different, but thought some moms might like to hear how it went down for us.

My LO is 8 weeks old. She has mild/moderate acid reflux. She weights 12.10 lbs (10.4 at birth). She eats 4 oz roughly every 3 hours during the day and will take 5 oz for any feeding after 6 pm.

I have been contemplating when I was going to start to get her out of the RNP and into her crib. I knew that she was still so little and didn't want to make it a huge ordeal or "fight" with her to accomplish this. I was willing to go with the flow and let her lead. With that being said, last week I noticed that her naps became shorter and shorter in the RNP, she now prefers the swing. Also, at night, she was no longer willing to fall asleep with the TV on or a lit room. I would have to turn all the lights off (including the TV), turn on soft music, and walk her around the house. Then, I would be able to put her down in the RNP. She wasn't soothed by the rocking motion anymore, that used to quickly put her to sleep. That was my indicator to try her crib. Also, she was extending the amount of time needing to feed at night, going between 5-7 hours long.

The next night after her bottle and bath (around 9 PM), I brought her into the nursery turned off all the lights, put on some music and rocked her to sleep. After about 15 minutes, when I knew she was asleep I transfered her to the crib. I pulled a chair close and sat next to her crib. Anytime she stirred enough to fuss a little I would sush her and give her, her binky. I wouldn't talk, except to say "its okay" and would stay by her side. I also wouldnt let her get into a screaming fit either. I wanted to keep her sleepy. I needed to do this for about an hour. I had my phone with me on the lowest light setting to keep me occupied. At this point I still have music playing. I downloaded a baby sound machine app. It has 20 different sounds and you can program it to go as long as you would like. When I knew she was sleeping, I turned off my phone app and turned on a sound machine stuffed animal (a little lamb that attaches to the crib) that will play for up to 45 min. I left her room and didn't hear a peep until 4 AM. After her feeding at 4, I was skeptical if she would return to her crib. She went down with little issue. I ended up sleeping on her floor (on a twin mattress from my son's bunk bed) in case she needed me... she didn't. I am now on night three of this routine. I still need to stay about an hour, but it has gone very well and I am able to get to sleep by around 11 depending on when we start. Yesterday she slept until 6 AM after falling asleeo aepund 1030 pm with her last bottle at 8 pm.

There are a few other things I did to make her crib as comfortable as possible:

-I created a nest with beach towels underneath the crib sheet so the crib wouldnt feel as wide open

- given her reflux, I elevated her mattress using a blanket underneath so she was raised just a bit.

- as I mentioned before I use sound machine

- I use a space heater to heat up her room before going in and turn it off before leaving.

- we follow a standard routine. Bottle with medicine, gas drops, gripe water, and keeping her elevated for at least 30 minutes after eating (due to her reflux). Next is bath and pj's ( We only use soap every other day but lotion up every night). Then its lights out and her favorite, Dave Matthew's Band on my Pandora just to get her settled then I switch to a lullaby on the baby sound machine app.

I hope someone finds this helpful! At least it was a nice way to pass the time while listening to the same lullaby play over and over and over while waiting for my LO to fall asleep enough so I can leave.

PS: Eventually I will begin to sleep train for her to fall asleep on her own. (Around 4 months or so given that she doesn't do it on her own) For now I am going to enjoy this special time with her.

Lots of luck!!