Sleep is an obsession for many new parents, and it's easy to empathise why: You're not getting almost enough, and yet you take to think about it all the time as you schedule naps and hope that (just this in one case) y'all all sleep through the night.

And since babies change so much in the first year, it seems like as soon equally you lot've got naps and nights nailed down, your babe outgrows her bassinet — and suddenly it's time to call up about those sleeping arrangements all over once more.

The transition from a bassinet to a crib may seem daunting, but don't lose whatsoever sleep over it. Here are the answers to parents' most oft asked questions about making the switch.

How long should my baby slumber in a bassinet and what historic period should I motion 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 can comfort and feed your infant in the middle of the night without shuffling down the hall in the dark. Plus, it follows the American Academy of Pediatrics' advice that babies sleep in the aforementioned room equally their parents — but non in the aforementioned bed — for the kickoff six months and mayhap up to a year.

If yous're wondering at what age a baby stops sleeping in a bassinet, in that location isn't a hard-and-fast rule. Information technology depends on a combination of your item bassinet's weight limit and your child'southward development (more than on that beneath).

Non a bassinet fan? Newborns can certainly slumber in a regular crib from day one. No thing what infant bed yous choose in those early weeks and months, but be sure that it meets the latest crib safety guidelines from the Consumer Product Rubber Committee (CPSC).

Where Should Babe Sleep?

How tin can I tell it's time to move my baby out of her bassinet and into a crib?

When your baby moves to a crib depends on several different factors. Hither are some questions to ask yourself that tin help you decide when to make the switch:

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How big is your baby?

Bassinets and other bedside sleepers are swell for newborns, merely they usually come with weight limits. Some are every bit low equally 10 pounds (which might only get you through the first month), though nigh can concord a 20-pound babe.

Bank check the instruction manual or the manufacturer's website to find the weight limit for yours. If you can't find the weight limit, err on the side of caution and motion your little one to a crib when she hits xv pounds.

Does she look cramped?

Fifty-fifty if your baby hasn't reached the weight limit of her bassinet, it might be getting just a piffling too cozy. Accept a expect the next time 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 up very oft (or very suddenly), information technology might be time to give her a footling more space.

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

Hitting new milestones is exciting, but the more than your babe tin practice, the riskier information technology is to sleep in a bed fabricated for infants. As with cribs, lowering the mattress before a baby can sit is a smart safety move, then apply the same principle to bassinets. In fact, bassinets are often shallower than cribs, so a babe who'due south rolling or about to sit up could flip herself out.

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

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

  • Make the switch in stages. Let her nap in the crib during the solar day for a couple of weeks until she gets used to information technology. Then complete the transition so she'southward sleeping in her crib all the fourth dimension.

  • Create a bedtime routine.If you haven't already established some nighttime rituals (bath, book, snuggles, sleep), now'southward the time. All babies thrive on a solid bedtime routine, so every bit you repeat these activities each eve, they'll start to signal to her that her crib — and sleep — wait.

  • Same room, different bed. Transitioning your baby to a crib might be easier if it involves one switch at a time, 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 tin can move information technology dorsum to its proper location.

  • Sleep in infant'southward room. Another way to ease your babe into the idea of sleeping in her ain infinite is to go with her. No, we're not suggesting you lot hop into the crib (that's dangerous for everyone and information technology would probable interruption), but if there'southward a bed or a couch y'all can sleep on or if yous have an air mattress, spend a few nights bunking with baby.

  • Linger for a while.Don't just drib and dash — give your infant a chance to settle down and get comfortable while you lot're still in the room. One tactic to try is the chair method of slumber grooming. Have a seat or sit on the floor side by side to the crib as she starts to doze, and then move a lilliputian further away the next dark — and the night after that — until you're out the door and she's happy on her ain.

  • Add some comfort. Until your baby is 12 to 18 months old, you lot're not supposed to put things (like stuffed animals or pillows and blankets) into the crib, only you tin can make the room more comfortable past dimming the lights and turning on some white dissonance.

Don't let the thought of transitioning your babe from your room to her own crib keep you up at night. It may accept some time to suit, simply ultimately this change should exist good for the unabridged family. Your infant learns to sleep in her own space — and you tin repossess your room again.