Even though we had the nursery set up weeks before Baby Jumper’s due date, we didn’t like the idea of such a teeny tiny baby being all alone in her crib. We set up the pack ‘n play in our bedroom instead, and our plan was for her to sleep with us for the first six weeks or so. We realized that this plan wouldn’t work very well after my c-section was scheduled. Our bed is a bit high off the ground, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get in and out of our bed. My aunt passed down my cousin’s bassinet to us, so we set that up in the living room. Our new plan was to sleep in the living room with the baby until I was healed enough to climb into our bed.
Papa Jumper took three weeks paternity leave, so for the first three weeks the three of us slept in the living room together. It was the perfect set up! Baby Jumper quickly outgrew the bassinet, though. Around the same time, Baby Jumper started to have a few problems with gas. We noticed she was more comfortable sleeping in a slightly inclined position, so we let her sleep in the rock ‘n play. We slept in the living room for about twelve weeks before I really started to miss my bed. She was born in late October and had been sleeping through the night since eight weeks, but it wasn’t until well after Christmas that I was comfortable enough transitioning her to her crib. In the end, it was a more difficult adjustment for me than for her!
We started by letting her take naps in the pack ‘n play. It took a while, but she figured out how to sleep through her jerky movements. During this transition phase, we continued to let her sleep in the rock ‘n play at night. Once she mastered sleeping in the pack ‘n play, we moved her to her crib at night. I figured it would be a long, rough night. We assumed she’d wake up since she was in an unfamiliar place. That night was the first time I ever had to use the baby monitor, and I drove Papa Jumper crazy because I had it up on full volume. I’d jump out of bed every time I heard a rustle or movement and I’d go check on her… but she was sound asleep. She even slept through the night!
She slept exclusively in her crib until this past May, when she started teething and waking in the middle of the night. If she wakes in the middle of the night, which is rare, we let her sleep in bed with us. That’s a habit we’re trying to break, though!
How old was your baby when you transitioned him/her to a crib, and how did you make the transition?
pomegranate / 3414 posts
We started DD in the crib from day 1 so we didn’t have to worry about transitioning. However, I’m due in about 4 weeks and the kiddos will be sharing a room so I think we may end up having to start LO#2 in our room because while DD can be a heavy sleeper lately she’s been sleeping pretty light and I don’t want her to wake every time the baby does.
GOLD / grape / 85 posts
We had Em in his crib at week 3. Sometimes I want him to fall asleep in our bed so we can cuddle him, but he won’t have it. Would rather grab our faces and play if he’s with us!
honeydew / 7504 posts
Our “plan” is to have baby in the pack and play in our room for the first couple of weeks, but to transition to his/her crib by week 2 or 3, when Hubs goes back to work. I say “plan” because I’m well aware that nothing ever goes as planned with babies!
grapefruit / 4079 posts
So off topic but I’ve been loving the love birds crib sheet for awhile. She looks so cute! Where did you find the mobile? It appears to go perfectly!?
cherry / 230 posts
We had Camo in a pack and play in our room right up until the day we moved (he was just over 3 months). The day we moved, we just put him straight into the crib in his own room. He did fine, and I probably slept better because every little coo wasn’t waking me up.
blogger / coconut / 8306 posts
@alison206: I loveeeee the love birds crib sheet. It’s so girly and pretty!
Our mobile is from BRU, but I can’t remember the name of the brand!
grapefruit / 4079 posts
Thanks I’ll have to look and see if I can find it. Either way, I LOVE the crib sheet!
kiwi / 538 posts
We’re going to have to make the transition in the next few weeks and I’m honestly dreading it!! My son’s in the RNP still (4.5 months) but he’s starting to get too big for it. I just get really sad every time I think about him moving down the hall. I really like having him in the same room :(.
GOLD / pear / 1845 posts
So cute!
Wonder Baby started in a bassinet in our room and is now in the crib in our room. We want her to end up in the crib in with her sister, but she has to start sleeping better first!
grapefruit / 4817 posts
My LO is still in our room (PNP) at 4 months. He wakes up at least once to eat, and I’m still so nervous about SIDS that I just can’t imagine him moving him away from us yet. He sleeps in bed with me half the time any way, something I never would have wanted before giving birth, but now just seems natural. I keep telling myself I’ll move him at 6 months. We’ll see.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
Wow, you slept on the couch for 12 weeks!?!? What a champ you are! I love my bed too much to do that. We have a bassinet that is quite large in our bedroom.
She slept in a crib when we were visiting my parents this week and did fine. I found her limbs sticking out of the sides every once in a while, though. She was in my room, too.
I think we will transition her to her crib when we get back from our vacation at the in-laws. That will give me 1 week without her in our room before I go back to work. It’s going to be so hard, I love having her in our room. I’m sure it will be nice to have some time with just my husband and me, though….and the dogs…. ha.
pomelo / 5331 posts
Thanks for this post. It never even occurred to me that we wouldn’t put him or her in their crib right away – something else to think about! And also: where did you get that crib sheet???
grapefruit / 4582 posts
DH and I keep saying once we buy a monitor DD will go to her crib. She’s 4 months old next week and is currently sleeping in her bassinet. I’m pretty sure she’s too big though because even if I put her head at the top she manages to scoot down and puts her feet on top of the rail! She’s slept through the night since 6weeks so I’m afraid of disrupting that for her AND me!
pomelo / 5178 posts
In the very beginning, both kids slept in our co-sleeper. At around 3 months, we just put DD in bed with us; we also started putting her to sleep in her crib for naps and at the beginning of the night. At about 11 months, she started waking up in the middle of the night to practice walking, and we decided it was safer for her to sleep in her own crib. Actually, it was much harder on me than it was on her! She was already comfortable with her crib, so she had no issues spending the whole night there, instead of just the first couple hours after bedtime.
We started DS in his crib for naps and at bedtime at about 2 weeks. At first, we’d kind of make a nest for him out of a rolled up blanket my SIL crocheted for him. He outgrew that by about 8 weeks, though, and he didn’t seem to notice when we took it away completely. We ended up swaddle weaning him at about 4 months, 1 week, and just last week (4 months, 2 weeks) we also transitioned him to his crib the majority of the time. Once we took the swaddle away, he started moving all over the bed, and we felt it was safer for him in his crib full-time. I do bring him to bed with me for the last hour or two in the morning when he has trouble sleeping, but otherwise he’s in his crib full-time without any issues. I miss sleeping with my baby, though!
GOLD / papaya / 10166 posts
We had DD in the bassinet for 2 days and then promptly moved her to her crib because we she was too noisy when she slept. It kept us up and we kept her up. She sleeps very well in her crib.