How to transition baby to crib?

Question

My son is 4 months old and during the day he naps in his swing and at night he sleeps in the bed with me. A month ago he would refuse to nap anywhere but my arms. Anyways, I really want him to sleep in his crib by 6 months. I’m going to start with naps but so far he completely refuses to sleep in it. Any tips?

Answer

Going through the same struggle. Baby is almost 6 months and has napped in glider or our arms, and slept in bed with me. We just started with naps. I rock him until he is drowsy, lay him down either on his side or tummy and Pat his butt until he falls asleep. He will nap for about 40 minutes, which is better than the 25 hes done for the first six months of his life. Hes in his crib for the first time tonight. I'm having major anxiety about it!

Answer

I would start with night time sleep in the crib first. I was told to start with naps but it was disastrous! I decided to just try putting him in there at night and first time he slept for hours!!! I guess it’s easy at end of day they are tired. However- He still will only sleep a max of one hour for a nap in crib (he could do 2-3 in swing) but he does sleep 10-12 in crib at night.

Answer

Our goal is to have our LO in her crib by 6 months as well. From birth to about 2 months old she only slept with me. To break that habit we bought a sleep side bassinet. She adjusted well knowing I was an arms length away. She's now 4 months old and in her 4 month birthday we started having her sleep through the night without any feedings (a 7 hour period). When she turns 5 months old we will start putting her in her crib to try it out. If she likes it great, if not we will take her out when she cries and put her in her bassinet. At 6 months old, however, she will stay in the crib. Even if it means using the CIO method. Making small changes every month seen to help with adjusting to new sleep habits.

Answer

You shouldn’t do anything harsh before 6 months. No CIO, no sleep training, nothing that can make them feel abandoned. You also cant expect babies to adapt to big changes all of a sudden. You need to pick one thing at a time and transition through that. If baby is sleeping with you and depending on a swing, I would recommend longer than 2 months to successfully transition baby to be fully alone. That’s harsh on them to just go cold turkey when they’ve had so much comfort.
I’d pick one category first. Either work on getting naps away from the swing, or work on getting baby to sleep without you. Whichever you work on first, I’d recommend getting the sheet that baby will be sleeping on and either sleep with it in your bed, or wear it in your clothes for a day so your scent is on it. That helps comfort babies, and as gross as it is if they spit up on something, that helps too. Unless it is excessive of course.
We encouraged good sleep habits from the start. We got a co sleeper that resembled a bassinet but went in our bed for the first two weeks, and week 3 we moved him to a pack n play next to our bed and pushed it a little further away each night until he was 5-10 feet away. Once he got used to that, we started a night time routine and he was sleeping through the night (9-9/10) at 5 weeks. We focused ONLY on bedtime. He does what he wants during the day. At 11 weeks we began putting him in his crib in his own room. If he woke up more than 3 times, we’d put him in his pack n play for the night, but  he’d still sleep through once he was settled. By week 13 he was full time in his crib. We are at 17 weeks now and teething with no issues. 
Good luck! And please be patient. Theres a sleep regression at 4 months, and 2 big leaps. Babies will be a little harder to adjust to things.

How to transition baby to crib?

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