Ways To Help You Transition Your Baby to the Crib
There are many changes for you and your little one within the first few months of their life. When your baby outgrows their bassinet, one of the main concerns is learning how to move your infant to a crib. You are not alone if this adjustment feels overwhelming. Many parents worry about how their baby will react to the change. Use these tips to learn how to transition your baby.
Know When To Transition Your Baby
Since bassinets and cradles are more compact, they fit neatly in your room, making them very popular in the first few months. Bassinets are convenient because pediatricians recommend newborns sleep in the same room as their parents but not in the same bed for the first six months. Remember that it is okay to install the crib in your room and let your baby sleep there right away. However, if your little one is in a bassinet, they will eventually need to transition to a crib. Now all you need to know is how to get your baby to sleep in a crib.
Know how To Transition Your baby to a Crib
Having your newborn sleeping soundly next to you for the past six months makes for an emotional transition to their bed and room. There are some things you need to remember, and they pertain to you and your growing baby. Use these tips to help you and baby with the transition:
- You have to choose the right time. With this significant change happening, make sure no other big changes are going on in your life at the same time. Another bad time is trying to accomplish this transition while they experience sleep regression.
- Make sure their crib is a safe sleeping place. This does not solely pertain to the crib structure; while it is important, it is not the only thing. For example, bumpers in the crib are a cute decoration; they are also a suffocation hazard. Ensure there is nothing but your baby in the crib; this prevents accidents.
- Spend at least 30 mins a day in their nursery with your little one. This enables your baby to become comfortable with their surroundings instead of putting them in an unknown space. Also, start doing their nighttime routine in the new room. This step helps their transition easier.
- Set up an audio and video monitor in your little one new room. This monitor helps ease your mind since you can see and hear your baby while transitioning to their new space.
Transitioning is emotionally hard for you and your baby, but using these few simple tips helps make it easier.
Know how To Teach Them To Self-Soothe
When your baby wakes up in a new spot, it is easy to understand why they are upset. For this reason, it is essential to teach your little one to go back to sleep without you present. One of the best ways is rocking them until they are almost fully asleep. Once they reach that point, lay them in their crib and allow them to fall asleep entirely on their own. After a few weeks, this becomes their new routine.
Know how To Start a Routine
Having your baby in a routine gives them clues for when it is bedtime. Therefore, if you do not have a bedtime routine for your little one, now is the time to implement one. Start this routine with calming baby massages, putting on pajamas and snuggling. However, if your baby already has their habits in place, make sure you stick with them so they enter their transition with ease.
Even though transitioning your baby is emotionally challenging, more so for the parent, it does not have to be a fight. There are various things for you to consider when helping them move into their new room all on their own. It is the simple things that help your baby the most.
