How To Transition Baby To Crib — A Complete Guide
Ready to call it quits on the bassinet and transition baby to crib but worried about how to do it smoothly? Here’s what you need to know about making a seamless transition to crib.
Bassinet To Crib Transition: Time To Make The Big Move
For most new parents, the big question is — “when to transition baby to crib?” but little do they know that a much bigger question awaits them. The real challenge is making the baby crib transition smooth and easy for both parents and the baby.
Let’s get real. The transition to crib is not easy for any baby which is why it is usually scary for a majority of parents. After all, it might seem like an exciting leap from an infant to a toddler, your baby might feel differently. A crib not just means a new bed for them but a new adventure and potentially, new fears.
While some babies resist for just a few days, others might take weeks to settle in. However, difficult doesn’t mean impossible! A huge milestone in your tot’s life, moving from a bassinet to a crib can be smooth and positive if you follow some effective tips from parents who have been in your shoes before.
However, you must ensure you are not transitioning infant to crib. Infants deserve to sleep close to you in a co-sleeper or bassinet and should not be shifted to a crib right after birth. So, if you have determined it’s the right time to make the switch, consider some of the expert advice shared below to successfully transition your little one to their crib.
Transitioning Baby From Room Sharing To The Nursery: What’s The Best Time?
Considering frequent feedings & diaper changes throughout the night, and most importantly, to develop a strong bond amongst each other, most parents choose to have their baby sleeping in their bassinet or crib in their room for the first few months. However, it is crucial to follow all the safety recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics to reduce the risks of SIDS while room sharing.
Generally, most babies can sleep independently in their nursery when they turn four months old. However, parents usually consider transitioning their babies to their own room at around 6 months of age. By this time, a toddler forms a consistent sleeping pattern and can sleep on their own if you have sleep-trained them well.
However, switching from a bassinet next to you to the baby’s own room can feel very difficult for both parents and the babies. While room-sharing is completely safe unless you tot doesn’t share the bed with you, there are many ways to successfully transition them to the nursery if you have decided to change rooms.
How to Tell If a Baby Is Ready for Their Own Room?
If your little one is growing well, sleeping comfortably throughout the night and doesn’t require frequent feedings at night, it is a good sign that they are ready to transition to their own room. However, if your baby has turned more than 6 months of age and is still waking up every two to four hours at night, they might not be ready to make the transition to a new room.
This is completely normal and nothing to worry about. In such a case, you should wait a little longer — maybe until the 12 months benchmark but not force your child to sleep in their room or else it will disrupt their comfort and sleeping pattern in the long run.
What Makes The Transition To Crib Difficult?
If you want to transition baby to crib but are confused about what makes it so difficult, here are a few reasons for the same:
1. Missing Their Bed
As adults, we usually miss our bed when away from home so, how can the same not happen with babies? When a child is born, they miss the conditions they were habitual of inside the womb which is why most infants have problems sleeping fast. The same happens when they are asked to leave the bassinet they have been sleeping in since birth.
2. A Completely New Sleep Environment
After multiple techniques, cuddling, massaging, and swaddling, once infants gradually adjust to their new routine and sleep environment, they don’t want it to change. And that’s what makes the transition to the crib difficult. Babies resist unfamiliar sleeping environments and crave the bed they are habitual of.
3. Separation Anxiety
Another major reason why most babies don’t want to transition to a crib is that they have a fear of being separated from their parents. It is the anxiety that makes them feel uncomfortable throughout the night. The sight of finding their mommy and daddy not around for a while leads them to resist at bedtime.
10 Foolproof Tips To Transition Baby To Crib Smoothly: Tackle The Biggest Parenting Fear
Whether you are planning to move your baby from your room to the nursery or simply switching them from their bassinet to a crib and still share the room, making the decision is difficult for both you and your baby. Here are the 10 most effective ways for moving baby from bassinet to crib.
1. Set the Mood
Forcing a cranky toddler to make the switch is going to make them more rigid and resistant. So, the best way to start the transitioning baby from bassinet to crib is to make your child feel sleepy and tired.
Ensure that their sleep routine is the same and they are ready for bed by giving them cuddles, hugs, or a relaxing massage. Your bub will have an easier time with the transition when you make them ready for it.
2. Offer a Good Environment
Whether you are room sharing or placing the crib in the nursery, ensuring a good environment for your baby is highly important.
- Keep the lights dim and prefer soft glow lights to keep the room illuminated just enough for you without disturbing your baby’s sleep.
- Ensure that the room has optimal sleeping temperature to make the nursery a snooze-able space for your baby.
- Keep a check on the humidity levels of the nursery and use a plug-in humidifier to reach the ideal levels between 30% — 60%.
3. Make the Crib Comfortable
Once your tot is sleepy, their bed should be welcoming and comforting too.
- Choose the best crib for your baby and make it comfortable.
- Place a tight-fitted 100% cotton crib sheet and keep the crib free from soft toys or pillows.
- Hang a cute crib mobile to make your child further comfortable in the crib.
- Since the crib is too wide for babies in the first few months, such an open space can feel scary to your tiny human.
- Try swaddling if your baby can’t roll over yet.
- However, if the child is about six months old and can roll over easily, consider using a sleep sack to make them more comfortable in the crib.
4. Pick the Right Crib Mattress
Make sure to pick the right crib mattress to ensure the baby’s comfort and safety against SIDS at all times.
- Pick a firm mattress and choose the right mattress material.
- An organic mattress is just the right direction to research the available mattress options.
- Ensure the mattress fits the crib perfectly and there is not more than two fingers of space between the frame of the crib and the side of the mattress.
- A soft crib mattress or a larger space can pose threats of SIDS or entanglement of your baby’s head between the mattress and the crib frame.
- Make sure that the crib mattress you are purchasing is certified and tested for high quality and safety as per the safety standards set forth by the CPSC and the ASTM.
5. Create a Safe Sleeping Space
You can only put your baby to sleep in their crib if their sleep space is highly safe.
- Always place your baby to sleep on their back until they are 1 year old.
- Clear the crib of objects, soft toys, and pillows — especially if your baby is younger than four months of age to avoid the risks of suffocation.
- Never overdress your baby and ensure they are not too hot or cold.
- Give your baby a pacifier if you fear them rolling over while sleeping as sucking on it requires forward positioning of the tongue which can potentially decrease the risk of oropharyngeal obstruction and hence, SIDS.
6. Make the Crib Feel Like Mommy
One step that is going to work magically to ease your baby’s transition to crib from bassinet is by making the crib feel like you for your little one.
- Try sleeping on the baby’s crib sheets for a few days before using them on the crib.
- You can also sleep with your bub’s swaddle to instill that mommy smell in it.
- Moreover, you can also put your everyday mild scent near your baby to let them feel you while they sleep.
7. Make the Switch in Stages
Don’t expect your baby to instantly start sleeping in their crib overnight. The transition is going to take some time and the most natural way to ease it is by making the switch in stages.
- Rather than forcing your baby to sleep in the crib throughout the night, make them familiar with the crib during the daytime first.
- Start with short naps every day and gradually proceed to longer or nighttime sleep once the baby is comfortable.
- Stick around for a while until your baby sleeps to make them more comfortable.
8. Prefer Sharing the Room in the Beginning
Although we have already shared a few pointers on how to make the transition to the nursery easier, we recommend sharing the room initially. It can either be you sleeping in the nursery or placing the crib in your room — depending on what suits your lifestyle, preferences and space availability the best.
9. Follow a Specific Sleep Routine
The bassinet to crib transition can be a lot easier if you follow the same sleep routine for your baby.
- Signaling that it’s time to go to sleep at the same time every day makes it easy for babies to adjust to the crib within a few days or hardly a week.
- However, remember to be flexible with the baby’s sleep routine as some days might not go as planned.
10. Be Consistent & Patient
Most importantly, practice consistency and patience to make it easier for your baby to understand your disciplines and routine structures at all times.
- Remember, sometimes parenting can be completely different from the way you expect it to be.
- Even if your baby resists more than you’ve ever heard, please be assured that you’ve got this!
- Sooner or later, they will learn to sleep independently in their crib if you remain positive, consistent and tolerant.
Are All These Steps Really Necessary For Your Bub’s Transition To Crib?
Nah! Nothing is necessary for any baby milestone because you know your baby best. You must trust your parenting intuitions and take the best decisions considering the preferences and comfort of your little one.
You don’t have to follow all these steps if one or two of them seem to be working. You know your baby best and can figure out their needs for a smooth transition more than anyone else. All you need is to make sure that your baby is ready for the transition, is familiar with their new sleeping space, has the same sleep routine and feels comfortable at all times.
Frequently Asked Questions About Transitioning Baby From Bassinet To Crib
Your baby’s transition to crib can be a lot easier if you read our answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about the same.
What is the easiest way to transition baby to crib?
While the transition to crib from bassinet is usually difficult for most toddlers, here’s how you can make it easy:
- Be patient
- Allow plenty of time for your baby to adjust to their new bed
- Don’t rush it
- Make the experience fun for them
- Start slow with daytime naps
- Follow a consistent sleep routine
- Make your toddler feel completely safe and familiar with their crib
How do I get my baby used to the crib?
Although moving baby from bassinet to crib might take a little longer, you can gradually get your baby used to their new sleeping space if you are consistent with the practice. Start with naps and follow the same sleep routine every day. Even if your child resists, do not break the consistency.
How do I transition my baby from bed-sharing to crib?
The baby crib transition is a little more difficult for parents who co-sleep with their babies. Such babies usually feel separation anxiety more than babies who sleep in bassinets. However, with determination and consistency, you can tackle the resistance.
- Gradually start with placing the baby’s co-sleeper inside the crib in your room.
- The transition can be very difficult if you change the baby’s bed as well as the location at once.
- Keep the crib close to you and assure your baby that you are near.
- Once the baby is comfortable not co-sleeping with you, you can slowly make them sleep in the crib independently.
Is co-sleeping bad for babies?
Co-sleeping poses the risks of SIDS and is considered harmful if your baby shares the bed with you. However, if you use a co-sleeper to sleep near your baby, it is completely fine. Co-sleeping can, however, make it difficult for babies to transition to their crib as compared to babies who don’t.
How do I get my infant to sleep in his crib?
Transitioning infant to crib is not a good idea and you must wait until your child is at least three months of age to put them in their crib. You can rather consider a bassinet, cradle or pack n play for your infant.
Ready to Ease The Crib Transition?
We’ve said this many times and we’d say it once again! There is no hard and fast rule to raise your baby. Parenting is a unique journey full of ups and downs. Depending on your lifestyle, preferences and your baby’s safety and comfort, you have to decide what works for both of you the most.
The transition to crib is just a phase and you would successfully get past it one day or the other. All you need is patience, consistency and positivity. Remember that every baby is different and you don’t have to be strict to make them follow sleep rules. You must respect your bub’s comfort and voice if you want to seamlessly transition baby to crib.
Which of these steps do you think your baby might be the most comfortable in? Or, have you already been through the transitioning phase before? When did you transition your baby to the crib? What was your experience like? What worked for you the most?
If you’ve got experience, please share your precious advice for other new parents to get ready for this milestone in their parenting journey too. We’re waiting for your comments!
