Sleeping in the Bassinet to Going to the Crib

A.,
We were lucky enough to have a basinet that came apart. So, we took the top/ bed off the stand and put it in my son's crib in his room. He slept within the basinet inside his crib for a couple weeks to get used to being in a different room. Then we moved him out of the basinet and into just the crib. We tried originally to go straight to the crib and had a few sleepless nights. I think it was too much space for him right away. Anyway, that's what worked for us. Good luck.

I was concerned about the same thing with my son. I started giving him naps in his crib during the day to see how that would work, then after a week or so, I transitioned him at night. To my surprise, he did very well. In fact, I think we all slept better at night. (Except the first night when I was a little worried because I wouldn't be able to hear him breathing). But he was just fine!

I fully agree with rocking them to sleep. Not necessarily on a full stomach or not but just soothing them. My three year old goes to sleep just fine after a story and prayers. I do lay with him sometimes for a minute but not long. He knows how to go to sleep on his own. At about a year and a half he needed me to let him fall asleep on his own and he didnt cry at all he just fell asleep. Maybe its differant for each child but from my experience soothing them to sleep is not going to cause you to have a five year old that needs to be rocked to sleep. Absolutely do not listen to that! The transition should be fine with a moniter. You might come to find it will be easier to have her sleep in the crib in your room. I would just play it by ear and let her kinda tell you what feels right for her :)My 2 month old daughter is in my room. I agree with putting her in the crib when she's awake to get used to it.

Hi A.,
We put our son in his crib at about the same time since he was outgrowing the bassinet. The best thing to do, actually, is simply start putting her in her crib! Since she's falling asleep when you nurse her, she's not going to know the difference, and she'll get used to her new surroundings in no time. Absolutely do not put anything in the crib with her at this point. She does not need a snuggly or a blankie or anything. At this age, these objects could still be a danger for her, and more for you to worry about when you're out of the room. Also, it is really best for your daughter to learn how to soothe herself to sleep. Don't worry about the times she falls asleep while eating, but when she stops doing that, don't rock her to sleep! Do you really want to be doing that for another year and a half or more, as a previous mom had to do? (No offense to anyone!) The thing that helped me with this the most was putting him in the crib for naps at first during the day, and using a video monitor to watch his every movement!! Good luck and stick with it - it will go just fine,
A. K

The top of my bassinet (the part they sleep in)comes off. So I just put that in his crib. And he slept in it that way for a few weeks. He acctually slept in the top part of the bassinet on my mom's living room floor the first night he slept through the night. hehe. Isn't that crazy? :)

What I did with my son was to first move the bassinet into his own room, and have him sleep in it there for a few weeks. He actually did just fine in his own room, in fact, he slept better, because he is a light sleeper and he would wake up when we would go in and out of our room, or if one of us coughed, etc.

Then we put him in a crib. I think the first few days he was sort of freaked out by the size, and having so much space around him. We swaddled him for awhile.

I see that there has already been a spirited discussion about this, but you might want to rethink having her already be asleep when you lay her down. She needs to be aware of the crib and her new surroundings. Should she wake in the middle of the night, even partially, or just stretch, she'll realize she's not in her bassinet and become startled.

Start by putting her to sleep in her crib during the day at naptimes. If she has trouble adjusting, start with one nap and work up to two. When she starts getting used to that, then transition her to the crib. I was worried about the transition with my son, but he had no problem at all. Good luck~ and congratulations!

as long as you have a monitor and remember to be VERY sensitive to your baby's needs, this should be fine. she will wake up during the night - if shes not now, then she will at some point. teething might soon happen.

remember that giving solids before bed will NOT help her sleep through the night. it actually disrupts sleep because of the digestion.

www.askdrsears.com is a site that i trust with ANY parenting information - especially their information about whether or not to let babies 'cry it out' - this is a very harmful method and i would advise you to avoid it at all costs - check the website for more information. dr sears also has many books - any and all of them are great, but the baby book would be most useful for you right now.

good luck - just be sensitive about it. our son is 22 months old and he still sleeps in his crib in our room. :D

My first advice is...do not get her used to eating and falling asleep and being put in her bed already asleep! The best thing you can do for her is to teach her how to sooth herself to sleep. Unless you want to have a 5 year old that needs to be rocked or laid with until she falls asleep you should begin now! With my two kids (now 5 and 3)I gave each of them a comfort item when they were in the bassinet. A little blankie works well. Not one big enough to get tangled in, but one about the length and width of a travel pillow. I put it under their head when I laid them down and it absorbed their scent. I also laid it on my shoulder when I nursed them, that way it picked up my scent as well. Having a familiar scent helped ease the transition. Also, keep in mind, you should "begin as you mean to go on". This is a quote from a book called, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. It was my bible for the first 8 months of both of my children's lives. The quote means, don't begin any ritual that you do not intend to continue for the next 4 years! Kids are creatures of habit. Get the book! It will help create easy, sound, restfull sleepers! Good luck!

Hi A.
The one thing I learned the hard way was to make sure the same things that are in your room are in hers also so if you sleep with a fan put one in her room to or you have a night light put one in her. Good Luck T.

I transitioned by moving the bassinet into her room next to her crib. She still slept in the bassinette for about 2 or 3 weeks, but alone in her room. Then I put her in her crib for maps for a few days and she was fine, so we began putting her in the crib at night with no problems.

Hey A.! When we transitioned our daughter from the bassinet in our room, to a crib in her own room, we just had to DO IT! She didn't know the difference! I still got up with her in the night, like always, and that was what was most important to her, I think. I always fed her to sleep too, which made it easier because she didn't have to actually fall asleep in a new place, no matter where we were (vacation, or transitioning to a new room!) she always fell asleep in my arms and that was important to her too. Switching to the big crib in her own room was more of an adjustment for me! Good luck! :)

Try putting her in the crib a little bit while she's awake during the day so she is able to get used to the surroundings before just waking up there some night. Our daughter was 6 mo when we transitioned and it seemed to work well.

We moved the bassinet into my son's room, so he slept in that for a while in how own room before moving him to his crib. Also, we had an extra twin bed in his room at the time, so some nights I would sleep in his room, at least for the first few hours/feedings.
We really had no problems with the transition.
Good luck!

We had our daughter nap in the crib during the day. This gave her a chance to get used to it. After a few days we put her in the crib at night.

A., your 4 month old won't know the difference . . . just put her in the crib. Moving to the crib is more of an adjustment for the parents : ) We moved my daughter in about that time and she didn't know the difference, but we did. I would also keep doing the swaddling until she is old enough to roll around on her own.