Tips to Make Your Baby Sleep in a Crib
Are you worried that your baby is wouldn’t sleep in her crib without crying out? Have you tried all effort at that but all to avail? Well, every mom was once there, too.
Transitioning a baby to a crib for the first time can be an extremely daunting task especially if you’re just introducing it for the first time. A lot of effort would be required to do that. The question is, does it really have to be this frustrating? No, not at all. The good news is all of that will soon be over after reading this article to the end.
In this article, we share some practical tips to employ to make your baby sleep in her crib without crying out and on her own.
Sounds like a promise? But that is just the truth if only you’re going to follow everything discussed in the piece holistically.
So enough of the bluff lets dive into the topic properly.
Table of Contents
When Should You Transition Your Baby to a Crib?
As time passes and your baby is growing bigger, you’re in a hurry to transition her from a bassinet to a crib. Holl, how do you know when to do this? Well, you don’t need to rush about it. There are steps to take and what to know first.
What to Do Before Putting Her to a Crib
When you’re trying to put your baby to her new sleep space (crib), there are things you need to do. The only reason you want to transition her is for safety and so you shouldn’t jeopardize this. Make sure you make her new sleep environment really safe and enjoyable for her. How bad or good the area will determine how vulnerable or immune she will be to some sleep-related causes of infant death like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related infant problems.
As you’re set to put her to a crib, here is what you need to watch out for or do:
- Make her sleep in her bed and not in an adult bed or the same bed as yours.
- Ensure she sleep on her back.
- Use a firm mattress always.
- Maintain a perfect temperature or humidity level in her room.
- Use only one layer of clothing when dressing her up.
Best Transition To Baby Crib Tips
Transitioning her from the bassinet to the crib can be a no-brainer and here are the simple transition tips to use:
- Create a routine.
- Choose when to start it.
- Get the sleep environment ready for the baby.
- Do it on a consistent basis.
- Make her remember the time always by saying it’s bedtime.
How to Sleep Train Her for the Crib
When trying to sleep train your baby, you need to know that there is no general method, it all depends on what for your own child. So trying to figure what works for your own baby is the very thing you need to do. If after trying hard nothing works for you, then you might need to consider seeing an expert to help you out.
For inspiration purposes, you might want to try this practical sleep training approach with your child:
- Make it a ritual by creating a routine sleep schedule.
- Don’t go hard with the change, start little by little as you’re transitioning her to a crib.
- Make her sleep early.
- Make her sleep space very safe and comfortable.
- Know how long a baby is expected to sleep. This according to expert varies based on age. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, it’s recommended that 11-14 hours is okay for a child between 1 and 2, 10-13 hours for those between the age of 3-5.
- Consult an expert where nothing works for you.
What Not to Do When Sleep Training Your Baby
Sleep training a child to a sleep can be dreadful to so many parents especially if you have a cranky child who wouldn’t sleep easily but wail throughout the night. As the night approaches and you try to put her in the crib, you know for sure you should be preparing for another sleepless moment because, as usual, she is going to wail and wail. This is the worst nightmare any parent can have and you shouldn’t let it persist.
But you really need to pause and ask yourself this question: Aren’t you already taking this far? You see, you need not be overprotective or respond to every cry or wail that your baby makes. You need to to be able to distinguish when she is really in need of your attention from when she isn’t. Not all cry are real, some are just whimpers
To overcome this you need to stop doing these things now as you’re sleep training here:
- Stop using food as the only way to clam her to sleep every time she wouldn’t sleep easily.
- Don’t respond to all cries.
- Avoid late feeding.
- Don’t let her doze before sleeping. Make a habit to put her in bed at her consistent and dedicated time.
- Avoid late sleep.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes you’ll feel like just giving up trying to transition your baby to a crib because nothing seemed to have worked for you. You shouldn’t give up. You only need to know to earn the simple tip to get her sleep in the crib without tears. This begins with your ability to figure out the best time to transition her to the crib, plus what you should avoid while sleep training her.
Some children can though be cranky or fussy, don’t always respond to all their cries. You only need to learn to distinguish real cry from mere sleeping whimpers. Don’t become too overprotective of her as that could cause more problem for you.
Another mistake most parents make is to believe what works for one baby will also work for theirs. This is very wrong as it’s never so with sleep training. When sleep training your baby, the first thing you need is to figure an approach that works best for her situation and stick to that. Although you’ll need to go through a trial and error method here it’ll pay off later when you found out what works for her.
Above all, don’t go hard with the change, make it little by little and you’ll soon see things changing for the better.
Thanks for reading!!!