Baby Not Sleeping in A Crib? See our Brilliant Baby Sleep Guide for Modern Parents

If there’s one thing babies are good at, it’s sleeping besides being insanely adorable and really awkward and funny. Babies can sleep at almost all times; those guys are seriously awesome. So, when a baby won’t sleep in a crib, it can be very irritating especially if you are trying to check another stage on how to get ready for baby and you want them to sleep properly in their bed. When is that happening if they are always waking up from an unusual sleep? Now we’ll just focus on what to do when your baby won’t sleep in the crib.

The place where babies go to catch some Zzzs can be as contentious as the bedtime skirmishes that frequently accompany it. Some babies melt at the hint of their parent’s voice or a soft touch while others take a lot of coaxing to sleep peacefully in their own beds. Whether you’re dealing with a newborn who can’t sleep at all, an older baby who keeps waking up in the middle of the night, or a toddler who has become too attached to sleeping snuggled up next to you, here are some tips on how you can get your baby to sleep in their crib and stay there.

Understanding Your Baby’s Situation

For the first weeks of your baby’s life, keep in mind where they have been for the last 9 months. Your newborn has been surrounded by white noise, calming motion, lots of warmth and a full belly of cushion and comfort. Her little world was quiet, safe, secure and reliable. It never hurts to gently recreate that comfortable situation for her in her own sleeping environment.

Why Won’t Your Baby Sleep in The Crib?

You put months in preparing the nursery for the arrival of your little one. You’ve bought an affordable convertible baby crib, baby proofed your shelves, and maybe even baby proofed your windows. Finally, when he arrives, he wants to sleep anywhere but his own room. It is a classic conundrum, for new parents, and one you likely won’t be able to solve overnight.

5 Reasons Why Your Baby Isn’t Sleeping in The Crib

1. The fear of the unknown and a fear of abandonment, along with an infant’s helplessness — all this leads to their preference for a parent’s warm lap. Once they overcome these feelings, you should begin to notice your little one sleep in her own bed. As a parent, it is great if they love to be with you but for its sake and yours, it is important they sleep in their own beds a few hours each day as well.
2. Teething pain: When your baby is teething, it can make it really difficult for children to sleep. Until the tooth comes through, you can contact your health care provider who may be able to prescribe specific medicine to help your child sleep. In the meantime, massage a baby with some child-safe teething gel to help soothe their sore gums. Teething which can being at an early age of 3 or 4 months and last until the age of baby’s first birthday. Teething is never fun for baby or parent and can be a primary cause if your baby is waking at night because they need to be nursed or held.
3. Illness: If your baby is sick during the night, it may disrupt their sleep and required you to care for them at night. The sheer and fever related symptoms may make it hard for the little one to go to sleep in the first place. Once your baby is well, you should begin to see them sleep better at night, although they may still get up at night to nurse since they are still only drinking a few ounces of milk at night. Illnesses can easily interrupt the shallow, light sleep that infants spend most of the night in. Always contact your doctor if your baby is sick to get a medical assessment. Getting a full night’s sleep is essential the health and well-being of your child.
4. New milestones: Rolling over, sitting up and babbling – such cute tricks your baby may be learning in his/her crib at night!
5. Sleep regression: As your child matures, he may experience ‘sleep regression’, in which he temporarily requires you to help him fall asleep or wakes up at night crying and begging for you. He may go back to fragment of his infant sleep cycle, so may wake more frequently. When his sleep meets these signs again, it is time to remind him how to (or simply allow him to) self-soothe. Sleep regression that usually lasts for 4-6 months when toddlerhood approaches.

How to Get Baby to Sleep in Crib? 13 Brilliant Tips

There are some things you can do to convince the little love bug that the crib is where it’s at — after all, your baby’s comfort should be the top priority. For starters, according to experts, the secret lies in understanding the reason why babies are reluctant to sleep in their own bed. Once you make this clear, you can help them adjust themselves to a proper bedtime routine.

1. Ensure Your Baby Is Ready to Sleep in Crib:

Three to four months old is still early to start off important developmental matters for infants. Challenging as the process might be, it’s this time that babies lay down the motor patterns of life — they start to make certain associations. This period, according to many healthcare professionals is a great time to begin getting your sweetie off of your shoulder and to her crib. However, depending on your baby’s temperament you may need to wait a few weeks before moving your child out of the baby cot and into his crib.

2. Go Slow

The transition from your arms to the crib is a huge moment for your baby. Be careful to take your time with this and not force the issue, as babies are creatures of comfort and they may have trouble adjusting to being accidentally woken up and put into the crib. Try not to let the experiences turn threatening for your little one, but about set the child in the crib having become accustomed to the idea over time.

Consistency is non-negotiable so your baby’s bed-time routine always needs to be the same. After all, predictability relieves a great deal of the stress and will make your baby feel safe and secure. Ideally you should be heading in for bed-time routine at the same time each night to help your baby fall asleep on its own.

3. Put Her Down Drowsy

Surely, it feels just heavenly when your baby fell asleep on your sight. Yet, if you go down this way, your infant may expect to fall asleep in your arms every time. So, after an activity, massage baby, put him in the bassinet and while drowsy let him know it’s time to sleep. Give him a sound, a hand-over-hand motion or a simple turning motion instead of picking him up — and as soon as you notice that he’s getting resolute, gently kiss him goodnight and leave him on his own.

4. Let You Child Have Some Crying Time

Since newborns are active sleepers and have a strong inclination to cry, when they wake and notice that you’re not next to them, they’ll cry as they feel lost. Parents obviously want to rush to check if everything’s okay but allowing your child to have some “crying time” may actually help your baby learn to soothe himself. It often takes more than few minutes before they fall back to sleep. If you want to save yourself from unnecessary panic and anxiety, you are encouraged to follow our advice.

5. Let Your Child Play!

Infants are curious by their nature. Give yours some time to develop her skills while awake during the day and perhaps she’ll sleep better at night. Crawling, creeping, and rolling around are great ways for young children to hone their senses and also best way to get them to sleep early.

6. Make Sure Your Baby Is Fed and Well-Hydrated

This needs no explanation; you are all aware why a calorie-depleted body can hardly feel sleepy. To get your infant well-hydrated before introducing them to pleasant dreams, make sure all those mid-day feedings are taking place. Also watch out for late-day feedings as well since it can cause your baby to be overtired. Again, healthy diet is bursting with a number of drinking choices that fulfill babies.

7. Do A Mini Bedtime Routine

For some infants it works but most of the times it usually does not. As said before, predictability and routine are very important for your babies. That is why bedtime routine is very helpful and important as well. What you can try is a cuddle routine, a short story about your day, a warm bath followed by bedtime cuddles, that are great earners of beautiful dreamy sleep.

8. Prep the Space

Experts recommend to darken the room and keep the room temperature around 16-19 C which often helps your little one fall asleep better. After bedtime always keep the lights turned off and listen out to your baby, if he whines or cries then let him do so and try to get him back to sleep. You may also try reading soothing bedtime stories which may help relieve unexpected sleep interruption. Further, anything that helps with stimulation is not welcome at bedtime. Keep screen time to an absolute minimum, placed electronics, such as TV and phone, at least six feet away not to bed-time disturbance. On top of this, one cannot forget to mention safe sleeping settings, precisely materials, mattress toppers and sheets must also satisfy babies safety.

9. Use A Swaddle

Swaddling the little baby is a subtle technique to keep the baby snug and add a calming effect. Be careful not to wrap the baby so tightly that she feels restricted to move her limbs about.

10. Assign a Sleep Figure

With time, your baby will start to equate his or her crib with cuddles and rest and will more than fall asleep easily. Therefore, assign a sleep figure to put the baby down at night by and this person should always put the baby down for a good night’s rest every day. This will help the baby start feeling like the person is there to keep them safe, so that it feels it is alright to sleep in a different place.

11. Avoid Soft Surfaces

You may have tried to pass off your baby to sleep on fluffy cushion or pillows before but did that seem to work for you? If not, then don’t turn back to this clumsy solution. Your baby needs to have that sense of safety which is evidently lapsed when she is on plush or fluffy surfaces. Therefore, try to keep the crib mattress a bit cool and firm so that it’s a relaxing place for your little girl.

12. Reduce All-Night Cuddles

Once your baby starts to drift off to sleep, make sure you avoid handling the baby too much. Cuddling when a baby is settling down is acceptable and even in an ideal scenario important, although laidback love tends to push the baby out of the way of its much-needed sleep. In other words, you need to stop holding your child constantly to reduce the time it takes to adjust to the crib.

13. Make your Child Feel Secure

You have to make the baby feel secure from anything that’s bigger or stronger as it’ll be this that will provoke different emotions. You should have placed your baby to bed before you and your partner have completed your good night kisses, the soft voices and the fading light, all of these should be the final straw that makes the baby surrender into a deep and secure sleep.

Follow these “how to get baby to sleep through the night” steps for getting your baby to sleep in crib. Soon enough, you will successfully achieve your goal of a slumber party and baby’s self-soothing in one small package. The baby will sleep more and longer as well as gain better and longer lasting rest. Don’t bet on it, try it out for yourself! Be the best modern parent you can be.

If you found these tips helpful – then we have an additional 13 all-natural ways to help your baby sleep article as well.