When a baby is born you realize that there are so many milestones that he/she will reach. It’s amazing how many of those milestones are reached during the first year alone. You get excited when they happen, but once they do you realize how quickly time is going. I can’t believe how many firsts have already passed! That is why the latest milestone was more scary for mommy than it was for baby. Last week marked a big one for us. Last week our son slept in his crib at night for the first time. He’s such a big boy!
I had a heck of a time deciding when the right time was to make the big move. Christian has been sleeping in a bassinet in our room since he was born. It was great having him in there with us. It was great to be able to see him, and make sure he was ok, but as time went on I realized that he makes a ton of noise at night. He would grunt, and fuss then put himself back to sleep. But just because he goes back to sleep doesn’t mean that I do. I would hear him get up, and I would just lay awake waiting for him to cry to eat. Not to mention those times that I would get up to feed him when he may not have needed it. Not very productive huh?
At 10 weeks I thought that it may be time for the move to the crib. But in the back of my mind I felt gilt. I tweeted and wrote on facebook about it and heard from many that they had their baby in the bassinet for 3 months on. Was I a bad mom for moving him before 3 months? He seemed cozy in his bassinet…or maybe just big? Was he squished? Would he like his crib? Would I have a miserable night just because I decided to move him to his crib? As you can see I was a mess. The Captain was no help at all! When I would tell him I was nervous he’d say “well then don’t move him”. Huge help huh? Way to make me feel better dear husband! Funny thing is that he doesn’t have to get up with the baby…I do!
I decided to just bite the bullet and go for it cold turkey. I fumbled with the idea of putting his bassinet into the crib so he could get used to his surroundings (recommended by the pediatrician),but he had been doing fine napping in the crib so I figured he’d be ok. So, we proceeded with the normal bed time routine, and I put him down in the crib. I took the monitor and got through the rest of the night with a glass of wine. I kept checking the monitor (oh the joys of a video one!)…and guess what?? He was fine! He slept “like a baby” and slept till 4:30!! He did amazing! My little boy successfully slept in his crib!
Funny thing is that he sleeps with both arms wide out…and I was worried that he wasn’t going to be cozy. Seems he liked the room! It’s been a full week since his first night and he’s done fine since (fingers crossed). This milestone down, so we are on to the next! Mommy made it through this one I guess! We’ll see how I fare with the rest!
How did your little one do in the crib? When did you transfer him/her?
All of mine have been different ages, I mostly decide by whether they are still nursing in the middle of the night. My older three went earlier, my last two were about 8 and 6 months!
Just in case you haven’t heard, this is the second article I’ve seen in the past few weeks about how easy it is for someone else to intercept the feed from your baby video monitor: http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Beware-the-baby-monitor/RHk-EKa10EGw-4DGXRuGeA.cspx
will was in our room for about a week and i just couldnt do it. i was getting no sleep and he didnt seem that comfortable in the bassinet…so, into the crib he went with no problems. i needed my sleep. mike would sleep right through anything…not me. i dont feel badly about putting him in the crib at 1 week at all. he slept better and i was better with him because i got my sleep!!! ?
Been following you for awhile. Lovely Blog! Our little girl is 2 months this week. We put her in her crib at 4 weeks. The first four weeks we lived in the guest room down stairs and used the pack n play bassinet. We missed our bed soo much. Our bedroom is right next to the nursey, so we can hear her without a monitor. First night, she was fine. No problems at all. She has been in her crib at night since. She naps during the day in her pack n play down stairs. It all works out great. I think sometimes its our anxiety about these changes that make it worse than it really is. The first night in her crib, i checked her probably 5 times during the night.
Anyway. I think she would have been fine in the crib from day 1. Its mom and dad who wanted to be downstairs for convenience of fridge, TV (pump, bottles, etc.)(I am exclusively pumping….she refused the boob…long story)
Great blog and no worries.