This is a question for anyone who has co-slept before. What did you do to get your baby into his own crib?

Question

I have a 7 month old I'd like to get into his own crib. He's never slept in it, only knows it as a playtime place because I've set him in there to play with his mobile for 30 minutes or so while I go do something. He slept in a changer in our room for 2 months 5 months ago but I'd like to start helping him sleep in his crib. Open to ideas but prefer not letting him just cry. thanks for the answers

Answer 1

I didn't move my kids until they were over a year, then I moved them into their own beds. Experts are now saying that infants (under 1 year) need to sleep in the same room as mom and dad. Is the crib in your room? When we moved our kids into their own beds we would sit next to them until they fell asleep for the first week or so, then slowly move out of the room. Having a bed time routine so that they know what happens next helps. I never let my kids cry it out. I would let them whine a bit and fuss, but not cry.

Answer 2

Well, they say you can't spoil a kid in the first 6 months. You can get them used to a routine, though. It's a lot harder to undo sleeping arrangements with a 7 month-old than it is to start them where you want them in the first place.

I'd probably get him to sleep, and transfer him to the crib afterwards. And, when you notice he can't quite hold his head up anymore, go for it and try putting him in there right away. Kids regularly fall asleep in their play areas, it shouldn't seem too strange to him. Say whatever you say when you put him in there to play, and just lay him down in the crib.

Kids at this age understand a lot more language than most people think, and using different words may make all the difference in his attitude toward the crib. If you say, "Wanna play with your mobile?" every time you put him there, say it when you put him to bed. But just for a little while, because the words you use now are the basis of his language skills later in life, no use lying to him on a regular basis.

Answer 3

Hi, as a mother of seven they differed with their sleeping patterns. My #7 never slept in a cot after 8-10 months because he simply refused to. He was in a moses basket to bouncer in day and saw his older siblings getting into a bed. I removed the legs off his bed and got another mattress ( I have a few spare) and placed it in front of the bed. One side of bed was against the wall so was the bottom end (cornered the bed) and a huge toy box where his headboard is (otherside) to prevent the thought of climbing over headboard, and placed the mattress along the front of bed so had the whole width of the mattress to fall onto, then only a tiny drop to floor a couple of inches like a roll over. A gate must be got for the bedroom door though if upstairs! He grew up fast, on the toilet at 14 months too and never wet the bed after 14 months out of nappies too.

Answer 4

Big mistake with using what you want to now use as a bed for him as a play area. There is nothing wrong in letting him cry though!

Perhaps change the room around with the crib in a differant spot and start with naps in his crib.

Answer 5

put him in his crib and walk away,its gonna take alot of nerve and patients!but dont go back in no matter how much he cries,because if you go back ,he will learn that if he cries from being in there mom will come back and give in!try putting him in there at nap times first,because its easier to cope with in the day,when you are not trying to go to sleep your self at night.and be consistant with his sleeping arrangements ,meaning dont let him sleep in other places just because its easier!and put him in his crib at night long before your bed time that way,he has a chance to get through it all before you are trying to go to sleep!