Crib Transitioning Tips

As you may have read in a previous post, sleeping was not a priority for my son and was a real struggle. Because of that, I had him in our bed until he was 6 months old! I am not going to lie, it was pretty convenient for nursing to just roll over and we did feel a sense of security having him next to us but I was ready to have my space back!

 6 months was the perfect age to start the transition and begin a routine that we would stick with every night. After his bath and getting him pajamas on, we read him a book. Next I dab lavender oil on his jawline. This actually started because not only is the oil supposed to help with winding down and relaxing, it is supposed to help with teething pain. I think him smelling the lavender aroma also helps him understand that this is bed time and not nap time. We would have his bottle ready and give him the full 8 ounces of milk after reading his book. After book time, I turn the lights off and turn on the white noise machine. If you have not downloaded the app or have a machine, do it now! It helps drown out the noise in the house so if you drop something or are watching TV and it gets loud, they won't hear it! I keep him in my arms and rock him on the chair until I can tell he is drowsy and then gently drop him in the crib. He rolls over and gets in the position that he wants and is out!

I think the key is that I put him down when he is drowsy. If he were completely asleep, he would wake up thinking he just had a great nap. If he were awake, he would start crying and screaming and working himself up to the point that he wouldn't go to sleep! (I have tried both.) He definitely does not sleep through the night but does sleep in his room until about 6-7am. At that point, I change his diaper, make another bottle and actually put him next to me in bed and he sleeps till about 10:30am. I know some parents are lucky and have their kids sleep through the whole night but that is not our case! In fact, I am forever grateful to only have to wake up once considering the lack of sleep I had the first 6 months.

Some babies are great sleepers from the minute they are born and some, well, are like mine and take a lot of conditioning and training. I hope my tips are useful for you guys!

His favorite book. Soon you will have all the books memorized!

I know there are a lot of oils but this one is our favorite! Great to diffuse also!