When you were pregnant, you probably took great care in designing your baby’s nursery and carefully selected the best items for your baby registry. One of the most important things in the nursery is your baby’s crib. After all, she will sleep in her crib for 2 to 4 years, right?
Unfortunately, for some of us, sleeping in the crib is just a nice dream. After you had your baby, you might have purposely decided to keep baby in your room in a co-sleeper bassinet and imagined transitioning her to her own room and crib around 6 months old when she was sleeping through the night. When she turned 6 months, you might have learned it’s not that easy to transition baby to sleep in her crib and I’m here to help!
One thing I want to emphasize is that only some people can sleep anytime, anywhere. My husband happens to be that way. (As I’m typing this, he just started snoozing on the couch next to me.) Only some of our babies will sleep in a stroller (my boys are NOT among them!) and only a few will transition to sleep in a crib without a hitch. My older son (who inspired this site) was not so adaptable, which is why I did make an entire site about baby sleep. 😀
When your baby is a newborn, she might not sleep in her crib because it’s far away from anyone who she seeks comfort from, mommy and daddy. And, it might seem too big compared to the womb, especially if she isn’t swaddled.
Months later, now your baby won’t sleep in the crib because it’s the equivalent of you going to sleep in the guest room. It is only her bed because you said it’s her bed. Your nursery might be beautiful, but to her, she may as well be in a different house when she’s trying to sleep in “her room”. Some adults can’t sleep well in a hotel (even the nice ones) for the same reason: It’s not your bed.
Once again, sleep associations come into play in how your baby knows how to fall asleep. Does she need to move to sleep (via a rocking chair, bouncing ball, or bouncy seat)? Does she need to suck to sleep (via pacifier, nursing, or bottle)? And, is she in a comfortable place to sleep? Up until now, she hasn’t slept in her crib, so why would that be a comfortable place today just because she turned 5 or 6 months old?
How to Get Your Baby to Sleep in the Crib
The #1 goal in helping your baby sleep in the crib is to make it feel like HER room and HER bed. Here are a few tips you might consider:
• Consider putting YOUR bed in HIS room for a few days.
• Make sure you spend non-sleep time in HIS room
• Have him sleep on his own crib sheet for a few days, so it has his scent
• YOU sleep on his crib sheet for a few days, so it has YOUR scent
• Give it time. Don’t expect it to go perfectly on the first day. It might take a few days to a couple of weeks, but the first few nights will most likely be the most difficult. Expect it to be rough and he might just surprise you but do expect it to take work. Only some will have an easy transition.
One thing you want to do is make sure your baby knows how to fall asleep on his own, FIRST. Otherwise, you are simply going back and forth from your room to his all night, instead of reaching over a foot or two (or if you are co-sleeping, maybe just a few inches). Even if your baby is sleeping great in your room, if she has trouble adjusting, make sure you are sensitive to the fact that this is a new place for her, and don’t just let her cry it out. Some babies actually sleep BETTER, immediately, once they are in their own space, not smelling Mommy’s milk or hearing Daddy’s snoring all night long.
I don’t get how my 6 months old is going to fall asleep on his own laying in the crib. He’s either nursed to sleep by me or rocked by my husband. Each time we’ve tried to get him to sleep in his bed he’s just wide awake rolling and playing around. If I put him down “drowsy” but not yet asleep he screams as if some one’s hurting him. I really hope there is a way to get him to get good sleep associations with him falling asleep by himself but without the cry out methods
Hi Olga,
Thank you for your comment! I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble getting your baby to sleep in the crib. Based on his age, and assuming he’s generally healthy, we do recommend doing some gentle sleep coaching to help him start to learn fall asleep independently, and re-settle himself when she’s not hungry but is waking at night. I’d recommend checking out our sleep training series, which takes you step-by-step on how to set up for sleep coaching, select a good method for your family and baby (we include several low- or no-cry options), and make a plan. The first article in that series is here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-training-from-no-cry-to-cry-series-part-1/
We do also offer the DIY Express Sleep Plan or the personalized consultations with a baby sleep expert if you need more support through the process: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/
I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any questions!
New born baby is used to sleep with mom. Getting baby sleep in crib really difficult for mom. Thank for a guide to put baby sleep in crib. Really helpful guideline.
@Rosa – We are so glad the article was helpful! Let us know if you need any additional help and we’ll be happy to point you in the direction of other resources.
My children have always slept in my bedroom from birth, first in their moses basket and then in their cots. I’ve read somewhere it is much safer to do that in the first year. I’ve got four kids and have found that they just love being swaddled so whether they are sleeping during the day or at night they would be snuggled up in their swaddling blanket and sleep beautifully. I didn’t do this for my first and second and definitely noticed a difference. I’m pregnant with my fifth and I’m hoping that this one will sleep as well as my last. I do have issues with my older kids now though. They’re in their own beds and often get out so I guess I can’t have it all!
I did the playpen/co-sleeping thing which I believe was a mistake to start!! Babies belong in a crib and my next child will go straight to crib, no bassinette or playpen! After a month of this, I attempted to get him to his crib and no way was he staying there until one night I rocked him to sleep, rolled up two receiving blankets and put them on either side of him which made him thing my arms were still there once I laid him down. Been sleeping there ever since and usually a good 6-7 hours!!
We just made this transition successfully! Our 6 mo old daughter had reflux, so was sleeping in an inclined chair in her own room. We made the transition during a vacation, as the only place we had for her to sleep was a Pak n Play! It was rough for the first few nights but she got better and better, and we just put her straight in the crib when we got home and she’s sleeping like a champ in there now!
That’s great news Liz!
While reading this post, I remembered my daughter when she is still 7 months old, I only let her stay on the crib while I am busy sleeping in the mid night, since she does not want to sleep then I only let the dvd on and let her watch tv cartoons, then when I woke up, she is still on the crib and still watching dvd. energetic as ever! haha. that is the magic of the crib, safety and durable!
My daughter started out in her crib and did (relatively) fine but my son’s room wasn’t ready yet when he was born, so he started out in our room. When he was about 3 1/2 months we started putting him down for naps in his crib, then a few weeks later we did nighttime. It went pretty well. We were doing CIO at the same time and he did very well.
Timely article. I’m just getting ready to order my 3-month-old’s crib. I’ve been sleeping in her room (with her in her Pack N Play), so hopefully the adjustment won’t be too hard since she’s already used to the sights and sounds in there.
Glad you found it helpful, Lainie. Wishing you a smooth transition.