Any suggestions for gentle ways of moving DD into a crib?

[lellian]

Let me explain because trust me, I know, I would LOVE to co-sleep with her still, for a lot longer, but she's gone from rolling over last week, and laying on her back waiting for me to attend to her if she wakes up crying to full sitting up in our bed and crawling. Our bed sits on top of drawers. It is high off the ground. It is a complete hazard for her without one of us in it with her, and we aren't always in bed with her, obviously. She has a crib that has never been used. Now, I think, it is time to introduce her to her crib and get her to nap there, and go down there for the first time at night. Once she's up, I'll take her to bed with me.

Any suggestions? All DD knows is nursing to sleep in our bed. Is there a way to do this that isn't a shock to her system?

BTW she wakes up with every single transfer. If she's asleep in the car seat and we even open the car door, she's up. If she falls asleep on DH, and he breathes too heavily, she wakes up. Even when she sleep with me, if I scratch my nose, she's awake.

She is sleep challenged. Always has been. . .all her 7 months so far.

OH, before you suggest putting our mattress on the floor, we'd love to, but we'd have no where to store our bed frame. We don't have the storage space, and the bed frame is only 2 years old. No way would DH sell it so we could sleep on the floor.

TIA.

[Maja's Mom]

Lellian your scenario sounds a lot like mine. My DD is 7 1/2 months. She co-sleeps with us currently. At around 3-4 months old I began putting her into her crib at night before my DH and I went to bed (for fear that she would roll off the bed when she was on her own). When she awoke in the middle of the night I took her to bed with us. A couple months ago she decided she didn't like her crib/or want to sleep there any longer. She woke up every 5-45 mins (depending on the night) until we just put her in our bed. She sleeps fine in our bed when we aren't there so we have been putting her to sleep there for the night, although I still have some anxiety about the safety of the situation. We eventually ending up buying bed rails so she couldn't roll off our bed, when we weren't there. Our bed is raised as well. So far that has worked but I have had to place pillows near the bottom of the bed where the bed rails end so she doesn't roll off there either. I am not sure how long our current scenario would last but wanted to tell you that I understand your situation.

Would love to hear any suggestions people might have for you. My DD only knows nursing to sleep as well (other than being carried in a baby carrier or being driven in the car).