I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

DS is 5 months old and has slept in the rock and play since the day he came home. He struggled with reflux, colic, bad gas issues, the works. I think he's finally outgrown many of these issues and he needs to transition to the crib now ( he's very tall and 19 lbs)

The issue is that to get him to sleep I've been rocking him in he actual rnp. He doesn't transfer at all so if he falls asleep when I'm feeding him or rocking him in a chair and try to put him down, he wakes up and I'm back to square one.

I've tried to just put him in his crib to see what happens on both his back and his belly and he's not having it. I feel like my only option at this point is to do a motified CIO ( which I did with my daughter but she was older) I'm just not sure if he's too young or if it will even work with him( he's been known to scream and cry relentlessly if he's upset)

He also doesn't sleep through the night yet, he wakes 2-3 times a night to eat ( not sure if he's hungry or if it's out of habit)


Does anyone have any advice or suggestions for me!?! I'm desperate at this point!

I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

You just have to keep trying. He likes the RNP because it's snug for him, and the crib is wide open. You should try putting him in the crib while awake to play and get used to the openness of the crib. Keep putting him in there to sleep - I wouldn't use the RNP anymore - you're just making it harder on yourself now. Try putting him in drowsy and see what happens. With my son, we'd put him in drowsy and then sit there and rub his chest and say "Shhhhh" to get him to fall asleep. Around 6 months we were able to put him in his crib awake and he would fall asleep on his own for naps/bedtime.

As for waking at night to eat, it might just be habit. He shouldn't need to eat 3 times a night. Once maybe, but not 3 times. Try and dream feed him maybe before you go to sleep and see if that helps with the overnight. You could try a modified CIO, but when it's 3am I know it's not easy!

Good luck.

Re: I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

Re: I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

With DD I started naps in the crib and then did night sleep. She was always a good sleeper so it was never a big deal. DS was a whole different story. He was in the RNP swaddled so we made sure he stayed swaddled when he was in the crib. We did CIO at three months for bedtime (he was nursing to sleep and up all the time at night) and it worked like a charm.

I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

I could have written your post word for word. My son had all the exact same issues as yours and was a RNP junkie. He would only sleep in there. When he turned 4 months i tried to transition to the crib and punked out. He hated it in there and I wasnt ready to let go (he was in my room in the RNP). I gave myself a deadline of 5 months.
My DS had a binky addiction as well, and when he was waking in the night he just wanted to be given his bink so he could go back to sleep. This was driving me nuts bc i was never sleeping a full 7 hours in a row.
So at the 5 month mark I did CIO. Im not going to lie -- it was the hardest 2 days of my life, but in hindsight it was the best thing i could have done for him and me. After 3 nights we were golden and he STTN. Now at almost 8 months old I can count maybe 3 times where he hasnt slept 7-7 (knock on wood!). I dont think your DS is too young to try it. You just have to be committed to it. If you cant hear him scream and are gonna run in, and pick him up, dont even start the process. It will be torture for both of you (thats what i did month 4 and it was terrible). If you are able to stick with it, then it will probably benefit you both!
And i agree with pp about him eating 3 times a night. How many ounces is he taking during the day? If he is eating 28+ id say he is just waking out of habit.

Edited to add: i would not buy a crib wedge. everyone told me to get one and it didnt really help. DS would just slide down the thing and wind up on his back. If you being on an incline will help the transition, id recommend actually raising the crib itself.

Message edited 5/14/2014 1:50:40 PM.

I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

I used a white noise machine and a sleep sack so baby felt "enveloped" by something. Once I introduced these two things she was fine.

Re: I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

We started the transition with him going to the pack and play in our room from the RNP. We did that for 2 weeks. It really seemed to help alot. We originally tried going right to crib once and it was a disaster. I think he was still able to sense us in the room so it made it more comfortable.

Even after he as in the crib... halfway through the night he would wake and we would put him on RNP for the rest of the night. he lasted longer and longer until we didn't need to do that at all.

Good luck!

Re: I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

I found with my DS that everything happened in time. He might not be ready yet for the crib. Try again in a few weeks. Eventually your dc will outgrow the rnp. My ds happily slept in the crib around 6 months. He napped in the rnp until 8 months. At that point he always sat up in it, so that was over.

Re: I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

Re: I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

Re: I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

We tried transitioning from RnP to to the crib at 3 months and it was a disaster. We all had a few horrible nights so we moved our DS to the pack n play in our room to get him used to sleeping on a flatter surface. at least when we woke up every 30 mins to an hour (ugh) he was close by. slowly but surely as the weeks went by he slept longer and longer until finally at 5 months, we felt he was ready for his crib and sure enough, it worked. Give it time, you will both get there!!

Re: I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

I had a lot of trouble too! At first he slept in RnP in his room to get use to being in there. Then slowly I tried naps n it worked. Once I felt comfortable I put him in at night but I didn't rush it.

I also layered towels underneath crib to make it more of an incline n I rolled up two towels one by each side so he felt a little snug like RnP. After a week or so I took out the layers of towels n now he is flat. I still use the two towels rolled underneath the sheet for him. Good luck! I was very discouraged at first n gave up but the slower u transition him may work better.

Re: I REALLY need help re: transition to crib - kinda long

Thanks for the suggestions ladies! I know it's time because he's starting to try and roll over in the rnp.

Fingers crossed!