[cholderby]

DS is so darn active and noisy that we have decided to use his crib (he sleeps just fine in our bed. I don't). I've attempted this 3 nights in a row now and he has yet to sleep longer than an hour in there. I think that he doesn't yet associate the crib with sleep and probably thinks I am putting him in there before we go to our "real" bed.

So how do I go about transitioning? I had always fed him to sleep before. There is a bed in his room, so I have fed him lying down and then I put him in the crib. This usually wakes him up, so I turn on the mobile. Eventually he falls asleep, but he's back up an hour later.

We have some white noise in his room (a rather ineffective "air purifier"). What else helps? Do I just have to suffer through a bad week or so?

I am at the end of my rope...

 

[Mommiska]

Hi - I've bumped another couple of threads on this topic for you...

You don't say how old your ds is? If he's very young (under a year), I probably wouldn't try any particular techniques to get him to sleep longer - if he is going from sleeping with you to sleeping in a cot, it's pretty natural for him to wake up a lot (even if not fun for you!).

If he's older than a year, you can google 'Dr. Jay Gordon' - he has some suggestions (gentle, non-CIO) for transitioning a toddler to a crib.

If I were you, I would probably start with naps. Get your ds used to napping in the crib, while still co-sleeping at night.

Then, once he was used to that, I'd probably try to get him to sleep in the crib for the early part of the evening (the part while I was still up), then take him into bed with me when I go to bed.

Once he was used to that, I'd probably then move on to working on getting him to stay in the crib - again, depending on how old he is....

If you want this transition to be gentle and non-traumatic, it's going to take a long time, I'm afraid...but it is worth it...

Good luck!

 

[cholderby]

THank you! I hadn't thought of starting with naps, good idea.

DS is only 3.5 months. I had envisioned cosleeping for quite some time, but I am so darn tired. He is only sleeping in 2 hour (or less) increments. Every once in awhile he sleeps for 4 or 6 hours straight.

 

[aprildawn]

i'm wanting to do the same thing. dd1 slept fine w/ me, dd2 thrashes about passing gas all night. it doesn't wake her up...just me!

 

[cholderby]

I'm right there with you. He's not known as Count von Poopenstein for nothing.

 

[veganbaby]

I'm trying to transition DD to sleep on her bed at nap times. The crib is side car to the bed for now. Its going to be a slow process. Eventually the crib will be unattached to the bed and both rails will go up. DD is almost 10 months. I just started today. She is sleeping in the crib as we speak.

 

[~Nikki~]

My daughter ended up in a crib for pretty much the same reasons when she was about 16 months old. She wiggled so much, and was SUCH a bed-hog, that DH and I would both find ourself laying on our sides with about 2" of bed each!

We had been doing naps in the crib from about 6 months onwards (prior to that, she napped in my arms after nursing), so she was used to it a little bit. I tried some pretty drastic tactics to ensure that she was comfortable with sleeping there at night, though. For the first week, I would actually climb into the crib and lay with her. :LOL During the second week, I camped out on the floor until she fell asleep. The third week, I'd just sit on a rocking chair for about 10 minutes - knowing that I was near-by seemed to be enough to help her fall asleep.

Of course, if she woke during the night or early morning, she'd automatically join us in bed. It wasn't until she made the transition to the bed that we started comforting her back to sleep in her own bed when she woke up.

 

[sabros]

Don't feel bad about climbing into the crib... I thought I was the only one nutty enough to attempt this!

: And my son is 13 months!! I'm working on transitioning to at least part of the night in the crib. Cosleeping on a futon for months on end is kind of taking a toll on our family (the bed with DH gets crowded if we all sleep there all night).

 

[cholderby]

I read somewhere that, in Japanese hospitals, mothers and babies share a "crib". Not for postpartum, but if one of them needs to be in the hospital. That would be the ultimate. Owen falls asleep nursing and then, if I could just leave him where he was....

Perhaps I could construct something around a twin sized bed?

 

[Lula's Mom]

Yes, you could probably put a twin mattress on the floor against the wall. But I think he's not going to sleep well, because he wants to sleep with you.

Could you sidecar the crib, instead, as someone else said they do? If the problem is that he moves too much and is too loud, then having him in his own separate bed space may help. If the problem is just him waking every couple of hours- 3.5 months is too young to sleep much longer without nursing. I always figure, if my baby is going to be nightnursing anyway, I don't want him in another room! By the time I'd get in there to feed him, we'd both be a lot more awake than if he was next to me.

I sympathize- my baby was such a loud sleeper the first few months! Around 4 months, he started sleeping quietly, without the accompanying squeaks, snores, moans, groans, squeals, etc. Now at 6.5 months he sleeps like a rock between us.

 

[HappyLamb]

One book that helped us quite a bit was "Good Night Sleep Tight" by Kim West. I don't think it's as AP friendly as No Cry Sleep solution, but definetly not UN friendly. She has some good suggestions. Also, I read a book called "Breasfeeding For Dummies" and the also have suggestions on transitioning to a crib. It can be a long process- but now, my DS has been sleeping in his crib for about 3 months (he's now 6 months old).
Good luck! PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[cholderby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lula's Mom Could you sidecar the crib, instead, as someone else said they do? If the problem is that he moves too much and is too loud, then having him in his own separate bed space may help. If the problem is just him waking every couple of hours- 3.5 months is too young to sleep much longer without nursing. I always figure, if my baby is going to be nightnursing anyway, I don't want him in another room! By the time I'd get in there to feed him, we'd both be a lot more awake than if he was next to me.

Our room isn't big enough for both the crib and our bed. I'm close to just breaking open the piggybank and buying a cosleeper. Someone else suggested "swaddling" him in a sheet, since its so hot. I'll try that tongiht.

 

[TiredX2]

I don't have many ideas other than those already mentioned (though, have you tried a white noise machine for *you*?). But I wanted to comment on the following:

Quote:

Originally Posted by cholderby DS is only 3.5 months. I had envisioned cosleeping for quite some time, but I am so darn tired. He is only sleeping in 2 hour (or less) increments. Every once in awhile he sleeps for 4 or 6 hours straight.

That sounds really normal to me. 5 hours is technically sleeping through the night and most children just do not do that at 3.5 months. Not only is it normal, but it is *safer* for them to wake more often--- children who deep sleep are at increased risk for SIDS. DS is only now going 4 hours a night and he will be 4 years old in August. It took DD until 25 months (when we partially nightweaned due to pregnancy). Now, I do think my children are on the late end of normal, but I also think that 3.5 months is totally normal to still be waking that often.

 

[dido1]

Just wanted to post that your 3.5 month old waking every 2 hours or so is really normal. Your body and sleep clock does adjust to it after awhile so you will stop feeling so sleep deprived soon! Do you have a safety rail on one side of your bed or are you trying to cosleep without one? I found that when I put up a safety rail I slept way better because I wasn't trying to sleep with DS in between DH and I. We tried him in a p'n'p and a crib but it just didn't work and I was loosing more sleep trying to get him to sleep alone than I was feeling squished in bed. Now we have the crib sidecarred, which doesn't leave a lot of room for walking around our beds or getting into the closet, but we all sleep really well and have room (DS is now 13.5 mos).

 

[cinnamonamon]

The crib never worked well for us either -- with ds1 I started sleeping with him in his room on a mattress on the floor -- with cushions all around in case he rolled off. I slept the 2nd 1/2 the night with him for almost a year. We've been lucky with #2 -- he sleeps like a dream.

Some things that may have helped:

-Don't assume everytime he grunts or rolls that he needs to nurse -- sometimes he just need to grunt/roll/etc. I think I actually *taught* ds1 to expect to nurse every time he made a peep. He'll let you know if rolling into your warm body isn't enough to reassure him/put him back to sleep. Also try patting/rubbing his head/back; cuddling up your face near him & breath on his head; and/or putting your hand on his stomach/bottom so he feels a little pressure.

-Make sure baby has room to roll/move if he prefers that

-Swaddle baby if he likes it -- I swaddled ds2 until 3 months or so & it always helped calm him

-Get comfy nursing lying down & dozing while doing it. It helps to hide the clock so you aren't looking at it & counting minutes.

-Check your diet -- something in it may be causing his excessive gas/discomfort/nightwaking

-If you're comfortable with it try rolling him onto his tummy to sleep -- or his side.

-Make sure he's warm/cool enough

Most importantly, remember that many babies do this; it's completely normal -- just do your best & eventually he'll outgrow it. He's still REALLY young right now. Isn't 3 months about the average time for a growth spurt?? Good luck mama & lots of hugs from a mama who's btdt.

eta: I wanted to be clear that we cosleep w/ ds2 & I believe that's why he sleeps so well. Ds1 was moved out around 6 months old cause dh couldn't sleep w/ ds's rolling around. I think the upheaval probably made the whole problem worse. At present he sleeps until 2ish in his room, then comes into our room & cuddles up to me & sleeps until morning...anywho -- just felt like I wasn't clear enough... dang I need to go to bed! :LOL