Slumber is an obsession for many new parents, and it's easy to understand why: Y'all're not getting nearly plenty, and yet you have to think well-nigh it all the time as you schedule naps and hope that (just this once) y'all all sleep through the nighttime.

And since babies change so much in the beginning year, it seems similar as before long as you've got naps and nights nailed downwardly, your baby outgrows her bassinet — and suddenly it's time to think about those sleeping arrangements all over again.

The transition from a bassinet to a crib may seem daunting, but don't lose whatsoever sleep over it. Hither are the answers to parents' nearly frequently asked questions near making the switch.

How long should my baby sleep in a bassinet and what historic period should I move her to a crib?

Many newborns start their sleeping lives in a bassinet or other bedside sleeper in their parents' room. This is convenient since you tin can condolement and feed your infant in the middle of the night without shuffling down the hall in the nighttime. Plus, it follows the American Academy of Pediatrics' advice that babies sleep in the aforementioned room as their parents — just not in the same bed — for the first half dozen months and possibly up to a year.

If you're wondering at what age a babe stops sleeping in a bassinet, there isn't a hard-and-fast rule. It depends on a combination of your particular bassinet's weight limit and your child's evolution (more on that below).

Non a bassinet fan? Newborns tin certainly sleep in a regular crib from day i. No matter what baby bed you choose in those early on weeks and months, just be sure that it meets the latest crib safety guidelines from the Consumer Production Safe Commission (CPSC).

Where Should Baby Sleep?

How tin can I tell information technology'south time to motility my babe out of her bassinet and into a crib?

When your infant moves to a crib depends on several different factors. Here are some questions to enquire yourself that can help y'all make up one's mind when to make the switch:

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How big is your baby?

Bassinets and other bedside sleepers are nifty for newborns, just they usually come with weight limits. Some are as depression equally x pounds (which might only go yous through the get-go month), though most can hold a xx-pound baby.

Cheque the instruction manual or the manufacturer's website to find the weight limit for yours. If you lot can't detect the weight limit, err on the side of circumspection and move your little one to a crib when she hits xv pounds.

Does she look cramped?

Even if your baby hasn't reached the weight limit of her bassinet, it might be getting just a little likewise cozy. Take a wait the next fourth dimension yous put her down. Does she seem cramped?

If her head or feet are bumping into the sides or ends of the bassinet, or she's waking upwardly very often (or very all of a sudden), it might be time to requite her a little more space.

Can your baby gyre over or sit up in her bassinet?

Hitting new milestones is exciting, but the more your baby tin practice, the riskier it is to sleep in a bed fabricated for infants. As with cribs, lowering the mattress before a infant can sit is a smart safety movement, then use the same principle to bassinets. In fact, bassinets are oftentimes shallower than cribs, then a baby who'southward rolling or about to sit upward could flip herself out.

How do I transition my babe from sleeping in a bassinet to a crib?

Some babies likely won't care much about the switch — they will happily sleep wherever you put them. But if yous're worried the alter will cause your little one to have trouble sleeping, here are few ideas to assist with the transition to a crib:

  • Make the switch in stages. Allow her nap in the crib during the 24-hour interval for a couple of weeks until she gets used to it. So complete the transition so she's sleeping in her crib all the fourth dimension.

  • Create a bedtime routine.If you oasis't already established some night rituals (bathroom, book, snuggles, slumber), now's the time. All babies thrive on a solid bedtime routine, then equally you repeat these activities each eve, they'll start to bespeak to her that her crib — and sleep — await.

  • Same room, different bed. Transitioning your infant to a crib might be easier if information technology involves ane switch at a fourth dimension, and so consider moving her crib into your room for a few nights. Then one time she becomes adjusted to sleeping in a bigger space, you can motility information technology back to its proper location.

  • Sleep in infant's room. Another way to ease your baby into the thought of sleeping in her own space is to go with her. No, we're not suggesting you hop into the crib (that's dangerous for anybody and it would likely intermission), only if there's a bed or a burrow you tin slumber on or if you accept an air mattress, spend a few nights bunking with baby.

  • Linger for a while.Don't simply drop and dash — give your babe a chance to settle down and go comfy while you're still in the room. One tactic to try is the chair method of slumber training. Have a seat or sit down on the floor next to the crib equally she starts to doze, and and so motility a niggling farther away the next dark — and the night after that — until y'all're out the door and she'southward happy on her own.

  • Add some comfort. Until your baby is 12 to 18 months old, you're non supposed to put things (like stuffed animals or pillows and blankets) into the crib, merely yous can make the room more than comfy by dimming the lights and turning on some white noise.

Don't let the idea of transitioning your babe from your room to her own crib keep you lot up at dark. It may accept some time to adjust, but ultimately this change should be expert for the unabridged family unit. Your infant learns to sleep in her own space — and you tin reclaim your room again.