Transitioning to a crib for naps - tips needed please

[P.J.]

DS is 5 months old and he can already do what I call advanced army crawling- he's very mobile! We share the bed at night, and until now he naps on our bed too, pillow-surrounded to keep him in one area. But lately he starts to roll over and crawl on the bed almost as soon as he wakes up. Pretty soon he'll be full-on crawling and able to get over the pillows and fall off the bed. We considered removing our bedframe, but decided against it becasue it would mean we'd have to babyproof the entire bedroom. We have a very tiny house and are already struggling with babyproofing the rest of it (no space for everything that needs to be cleared), so we'd prefer not to have to babyproof the bedroom (which is used only for sleep) just yet.

We just got a crib and I would love to gently transition DS into it for naps. He'll still sleep with us at night though. Our sleep routine is that I nurse and rock him down and then lay him in our bed. Many times he wakes up as soon as he hits the bed and I have to nurse him back down, laying next to him. Can't do that with a crib! It would mean picking him up and then he would wake up again as soon as I lay him in it. I'm worried it just isn't going to work with the crib.

So, any tips how to make the transition smoothly, or how to help DS stay asleep when I put him into the crib after nursing and rocking? TIA!

[cileag]

My magic trick is to put a flattish pillow underneath while I'm nursing and then transfer baby and pillow to crib. Usually in about 15 more minutes, P. was in a deep enough sleep that I could gently transfer her off, or as she's gotten older, she almost always rolls off and then I slip the pillow away. Obviously, this comes with a caveat that you know pillows are actually not allowed due to sids etc, so you have to do what is comfortable for you.

[trumpcard]

Any other suggestions out there? DD is also 5.5 months old and becoming mobile so that I'd like her to nap in the crib. She sleeps well with us during the night and will nap on our bed without me fine but she will not sleep in the crib. I've been fighting a battle for the past week and she won't nap! She will sleep in her car seat, on her play mat, and even on the floor in her room (where the crib is) but she will not sleep in the crib! I will nurse her and she will be fast asleep but 15 second after I put her down in the crib she wakes up ready to play. Today I gave up and put her on our bed and she took a decent nap but I am quickly becoming uncomfortable leaving her alone int he bed--she is getting too good at rolling.

[Bebe's Mom]

I didn't start putting DD in her crib for naps until she was about a year. By then I had gotten really good at nursing her to sleep and then laying her down on the bed, so I just switched to the crib, although, I wish I had started sooner-we didn't have a crib set up until then. Try nursing him down and then when you put him in the crib, if he fusses just rub his belly or soothe him in some way, he may go right back down. It doesn't always work, I know, DD was terrible about taking naps at that age, and hasn't gotten much better-she is almost 14 months and it is a triumph when I can get her to take a nap-I have to wear her out but good.. I think if you just work through the fussiness he will get the idea that he is supposed to take a nap eventually, it will just take trial and error to see what gets him to sleep. Also, if you are nursing him down, try waiting about ten minutes before putting him down after he finishes nursing... that way he should be asleep, and will not notice being moved. I usually nurse DD in a glider and rock her to sleep while she nurses. Lately I have been transitioning her while she is still latched, but not actively nursing, and it works pretty well.

[mommyhoodnxtrt]

I am currently transitioning my nine month to napping in her cribs. Previously, she was napping in her bassinet, but her new found ability to stand while holding onto things proved that that option was no longer really an option. We began the crib transition last week, and today she is pretty good with napping in her crib. The first week was really, really, really hard. No matter how deep of a sleep she was in, she would always awakening upon me putting her down. It was so frustrating. By day two, I committed that no matter what, she will nap in her cribs. I purchased a white noise machine (with music), some room darkening shades, and began to use my glider.  If I put her down and she woke up, I picked her up and rocked her to sleep again. If she woke up again, I would try again, and again, and again, and again, until she figured out that "this crib is my only option for naps." We are now in our second week of "Operation nap time in cribs," but things have gotten so much easier. She now will not awaken as soon as I put her down and is better at settling herself when she realizes that she is no longer in my arms. Just be patient. Also, try keeping a journal to record your progress. I did the same when I had to transition my daughter from napping with me in our family bed to napping in her bassinet. Re-reading my words then made me realize that I can and will get through this. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[mrsnarbonne]

I ended up getting the goCrib by Guava Family precisely because it has the zip-up "door" on the side. So I lie down in the crib with my LO to nurse him to sleep and then I slip/shimmy out. I feel better knowing that he's in a safer place to sleep by himself.

[P.J.]

Thank you mamas for all the suggestions  and encouragement so far. The crib is still sitting, in pieces, in the corner of our room waiting to be put together. I realized yesterday that I need to change the way I'm thinking about it, because I was always having negative and fearful thoughts. I need to just see it as an experiment, and expect it to take time, and be patient.

We decided to wait for the set up and transition until January because we're going away for all of December, and I feel like it would be such a waste of time to work so hard to get him napping in there and then the upheaval of our entire routine during travel, and I may have to go through the whole transition upon our return in January again anyway.

Please keep the tips and your experiences coming, this is helping me gain confidence that baby and I can do this! Thanks!