Crib Transition and Sleep Training Part 1

To preface this post, I know that there are many ways to transition your baby to their crib and even MORE ways to sleep train your baby. These are the ways that were successful for Raegan and I wanted to share them in case another mom could benefit from them!

Raegan had been sleeping in her rock n play since she was about 6 weeks old. She loved being swaddled and having that cozy environment to sleep in. She slept next to our bed until she was 3 months old. That was when momma needed her in the nursery! I was waking up to every little sound she made and I just couldn't do it anymore. So in October when Raegan was almost 3 months old, we moved her rock n play into her nursery. She continued sleeping in it swaddled until the beginning of December.

Right after Thanksgiving she learned to roll herself over in her rock n play. After she did it a few times we knew it was time to put her in her crib. We worried that she would struggle sleeping in it since her crib wasn't like the cocoon that the rock n play provided. So we started thinking of how to slowly transition her.

First off, my husband built a little platform that helped elevate one end of the crib. One reason Raegan was in her rock n play for so long was because it allowed her to sleep reclined and not be so congested. Her cleft palate causes her to have a lot of congestion. So we knew we wanted the crib to be elevated as well.

Now this could be done with books as well, but my husband worried about one of the legs slipping off and the crib toppling over. He's a worrier.  So I let him build a sturdy platform. Choose your battles ladies!

After elevating the crib we knew we wanted the inside to be cozy like her rock n play. So we took 2 large bathroom towels and rolled them on the long side. Then made it into an upside down U. We then took 2 sink towels and rolled them on the short side and put it at the bottom of the U so that if she moved throughout the night her bottom wouldn't slide down. We also had a plastic crib wedge under the towel, but this was really not necessary.

After putting the sheet back on, we took a couch pillow and stuffed it at the bottom of the crib so that if she scooted down at all through the night, it would stop her. 

She absolutely loved this set up! It allowed her to get used to her new sleeping arrangement, but still have the comforts of what she was used to.

This amazingness lasted about 2 weeks. Then she decided that she was going to learn to roll over while swaddled in the crib too. It was time to transition her out of the swaddle and into the big ole crib!

The saying is true. "Once you get used to one thing, the baby changes it all up!" And Raegan sure did!

Come back tomorrow and hear about how we taught Raegan to put herself to sleep on her own!