How and when did you transition your baby to his/her crib?
LO is almost 8 weeks and has slept in the Rock N Play since birth. He used to freak out when we put him flat on his back (and as you know the R&P is at an incline). He now spends more time on his back during playtime, and I'm wondering when we should attempt to get him in his crib.
During the day he naps in his swing (I know, I know) and also in the R&P.
coconut / 8498 posts
We didn't use the R&P, but we did use the Nap Nanny. We decided to just switch cold turkey at around 7 weeks for nighttime sleep (she's a much better sleeper at night). If you have tips on getting LO to sleep anywhere but my arms for naps I'll gladly take them! She's not a fan of any baby holding contraption.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@c.sassy: LO naps much better during the day if swaddled. He fights it, but without it he just cat naps. I really want to break the sleeping in swing habit, but for now I'm just taking the naps! I'm thinking of putting him in his crib for one nap a day (or at least trying) to get him used to it....
coconut / 8498 posts
@winniebee: Our miracle blanket is truly a miracle at night... during the day it's becoming hit or miss. She's started to break out of it now... grr! The one nap a day method didn't work for us, but I hope it does for your LO! I should add that mine started sleeping much better and for longer stretches at night once we switched to the crib! I think she was uncomfortable in the Nap Nanny by early morning.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@c.sassy: Interesting! I keep saying I want to put him in his crib but then I"m nervous about getting a terrible night's sleep!
apricot / 468 posts
It's good to hear all of your responses! I got the Rock and Play for her to sleep in and was wondering about the crib as well. She isn't here yet but I only have a few weeks left!
cantaloupe / 6687 posts
@winniebee: oh my...I was sooo stressed about this when LO was a little about 2 months. I noticed she hated being placed in her crib for naps and I googled "transition from rock and play to crib" and read pages of people struggling through it with no helpful tips.
I tried and tried and she hated the crib and was sleeping such long stretches in the rock and play that i felt like it was going to be impossible but I was determined to get it done and what ended up working for me was keeping her swaddled and I put her in the crib after a middle of the night feeding when she was pretty much dead asleep after nursing. I had previously only tried the crib during day naps and it didn't work but when I tried it during the middle of the night I guess she was so tired she just kept sleeping and woke up in the crib fine a few hours later. After that she didn't fight the crib and we were able to keep putting her in the crib. I know that is not super helpful but it's what worked for me (I has tried no swaddle, pack and play). I don't know if I'm going to use the rock and play with #2 bc of the stress I had from trying to transition. I might just go straight to the crib or use the pack and play instead...we shall see...
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
I'm bumping this thread....
LO is almost 11 weeks and I'd like to transition to the crib. Last night, put him down in the crib but he only slept 2.5 hours in the crib (whereas he will sleep anywhere from 5-6.5 hours in the rock n play). He now likes to be on his back, so maybe it was just a fluke but I can't help thinking this is going to be a battle!
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
Do you think the issue is laying flat or the fact the R&P cuddles your LO? Because theres a wedge you can get to put in the crib. We tried putting DS in crib w wedge and he went ballistic. We think he enjoys being snuggled so we are waiting till he's bigger to move him into the crib.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@krsmall: I'm not totally sure....he seems to like laying flat on his back now whereas before he used to just scream. I think the issue *might* be that he kicks his legs like crazy (and perhaps wakes himself up?) when he's laying flat whereas he cannot do that in the R&P. Yesterday was also a horrendous napping day. Literally had no good nap, so that might have been part of the problem. Going to try again tonight.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
@winniebee: does he like being slightly elevated? Have you considered getting one of those incline things you can get for the crib that lifts a baby's torso up a bit? I think you put it under your sheet. Maybe that plus the swaddle would help?
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
My friend said they kept their LO in the R&P until she started turning over and did not want to be in the R&P.
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
I was wondering the same thing. Sienna does her naps in the swing as well. I sometimes put her in her crib, but that doesn't last very long. I'm waiting until she sleeps a little longer (7+ hours) to transition her at night crib. (just to avoid the up and down the stairs - often)
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@Mrs. Sunglasses: Tyler does naps in his swing, too, which lays more flat than the R&P.
@jbhops: We do have that wedge - tried it in the P&P when we were first trying to get Tyler to sleep when home from the hospital. I haven't tried it since, though, perhaps I should!
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
@winniebee: Our advantage (if I can call it that) is that she lays (almost) flat in the bassinet at night.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@winniebee: We transitioned Baby Y from the RNP to the crib right around 11 weeks. What helped was going back to a tight swaddle (I would only do it loosely in the RNP) and also sometimes transitioning him in the middle of the night as opposed to putting him in the crib from the get go. I also still let him nap sometimes in the RNP, so we didn't go cold turkey.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@Mrs. Sunglasses: That is an advantage!
@Mrs. YoYo: Good to know...thanks!
persimmon / 1396 posts
We made the mistake of letting our LO sleep in the bouncer at night when she had a stuffy nose last week. I tried to put her back in the PNP last night and it was horrendous. At 2am I finally put her back in the bouncer and she slept the rest of the night with no problem. I'll just keep trying every other day until she finally sleeps a decent night in the pack and play again.
Not quite the same, but I feel your pain!
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
I'm such a procrastinator - one month later and DS is still in his R&P. I'm determined to get him transitioned in the next few weeks so I'm going to try to put him in after he wakes up for his night feeding (though he has slept through the night a few times!) Wish me luck!
GOLD / pear / 1845 posts
Wonder baby slept in the swing until....2.5 months? Then we transitioned to swaddled tight in the bassinet which worked okay, then to the crib at 5 months. I think they like to be all secure and snuggled into something small at that age. She's a brutal sleeper wherever she is though...
grape / 95 posts
I think she transitioned to the crib around 2.5 months? I wish I wrote it down. We tried to quit cold turkey. She had a couple of great days in the crib and some bad ones. During the bad ones I just used the R&P. After 1-2 weeks she was good. No more R&P at night. She still uses the R&P during the day though for naps.. and uses the swing too. Is it bad that she's not in her crib during the day?
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@babyz: def not bad! My son won't have his r&p at daycare so I need to get him napping in a crib...
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
Operation Crib Transition:
Night 1
2 hrs 45 minutes in crib (with crib wedge)
3 hours in R&P (huh?)
3.5 hours in crib (without crib wedge....not worth it)
Night 2
3 hrs 45 minutes in crib
3 hrs in crib
2 hrs 40 minutes in crib
All in all not bad so far....his sleep was all screwed up following our vacation and he was only sleeping 4 hours as his longest stretch for the 4 days prior to crib transition. Still sleeping in swing for majority of naps (that's when he decides to take them...)
To be continued....
pomegranate / 3314 posts
@winniebee: That's really good! My LO didn't sleep in the Rock n' Play, but she used to start her first leg of nighttime sleep in the swing and then we would transition her to crib. One day she just got too big for the swing/kept trying to scoot herself out of it, so we just skipped that step. I was terrified of putting her straight down into the crib, but she did well with it. Glad things are going well with your LO, too!
I'll be you will have a great schedule worked out by this weekend... maybe earlier.
pomegranate / 3314 posts
@winniebee: And I wouldn't worry about napping in the Rock n' Play. Apparently the transition will become easier once it's established that he sleeps in the crib for night times.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@meredithNYC: Thanks! At the beginning of vacation he did a few 8 hour stretches in the R&P but things went downhill pretty quickly when we were out of routine. I think he's actually gone down easier in the crib! We start the mobile when we lay him down and play it 3 x. After song 3, he's out (though last night he needed a paci). I think he was getting uncomfy at night in the R&P...
pomegranate / 3314 posts
@winniebee: Yeah, I recall some moms saying that their babies eventually got over the Rock n' Play or swing (often around 4 months, for the most part) and I wondered if my LO ever would because she seemed so content with the swing. But yeah, she eventually did and I'm kind of glad in a way because I was worried about the transition.
After sleep training for three or four days (during which time she was always in the crib at night) she gave up the swing in the daytime for napping, too. I love it. Going to keep it around for a while just in case, but man am I looking forward to putting it away eventually 
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
Night 3
4 hrs 45 mins in crib
3 hrs in crib
2 hrs in crib
Getting there....though bedtime was particularly rough last night
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
@winniebee: looks like progress!!
Our LO is still in rock n play. We are starting the transition to crib soon.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@krsmall: it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be! Crazy writing out these times though. He sleeps 10 hours on the button every night (with 2 wakes). At the final wake he has busted out of the miracle blanket.
Good luck!!
kiwi / 614 posts
@winniebee: @krsmall: @babyz: @Mrs. Yoyo: @Mrs. Superhero: @sandy: Sorry to thread jack a little, but just wondering if you ladies used the harness with the rock n play? At first my DD was so small that I didn't really think it was necessary so I swaddle her loosely and let her sleep unattached. But she is getting bigger and I worry about her somehow catapulting herself out of it with her strong legs... So did you always use the harness? If not when did you start? Is there a way to combine swaddle and the harness?
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@Chastenet: never used the harness but always tightly swaddled him. However he started trying to push himself out with his legs around 15w and overall seemed more scrunched and less comfortable in it so that's when I started transitioning him. He actually seems to like his crib more now!
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
Night 6****
5:15
3:30
2:00
*** Put him down earlier than usual tonight - 7 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. and no "evening" catnap allowed...instead when he got tired/fussy we just put him to bed.
honeydew / 7235 posts
I'm reviving this thread as I am now thinking I should move LO to the crib now that he's 12 weeks old...
he's doing great with sleep - like 10 hours a night in the rock n play. but feel like I should get him in his own room in the crib? I'm going back to work in 2 weeks.
I tried putting him in there for naps today. First nap was good, he went down pretty easily, but he's always tired for the first morning nap - but he only slept 45 minutes... Then i tried again later. Tried for 40 minutes to get him in there - picked him up 3 times to try to soothe him, he would stop crying immediately & start to fall asleep and as soon as I put him back in the crib he cried. pick up, calm, put down, cry.
So then I put him in the Rock n Play and he just slept for 3.5 hours.
Maybe we should just keep him in the RnP longer? DH thinks it's bad for him being scrunched up like that, but I'm sure it's fine... LO likes being on his back, i just feel like it's not very cozy for sleeping. and LO has never been swaddled, so that isn't an option in the crib.
@winniebee: how are you guys doing? I'm sure good now, it's been a few months.
@littlek: how did the transition to crib go? how did you do it?
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@hellobeeboston: He loves his crib. Once he got used to sleeping in it, he didn't really want to sleep anywhere else. 12 weeks is a good time to transition, before any sleep regression hits. It took about a week to transition. Once I did the above transition, he never slept or napped in the R&P again!
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
@hellobeeboston: the transition went really smooth and it actually helped him STTN.. LO loves his crib.. We just went cold turkey from R&P to crib and no issues..
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
@hellobeeboston: we started transitioning to pnp and crib 2.5 wks ago at 6 weeks (which was a bad time, didn't even THINK about 6 week growth spurt too!) anyway... double whammy, but he does really well in it! naps in his pnp (haven't tried crib yet for naps) and sleeps well at night in either the crib or pnp (~6 hour stretches). what helped us was using a rolled towel underneath the crib sheet, in a horseshoe shape... just a lil extra cushion so they're a bit more comfy and without the mom worry about sids/sleep hazards/etc.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
@winniebee: never mind, found your thread! So do you recommend starting at night? I was trying for naps but I saw someone made a point that they are sleeping deeper at night so maybe it's a better time to do it then?
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