Our Smooth(ish) Transition from Bassinet to Crib

If you’re feeling nervous about moving your baby from the bassinet to the crib, trust me—you’re not alone. Transitioning George from his bassinet to his crib in his own room was something I was really worried about. (Cue heart palpitations.) Having him so far away from me felt like a really big deal, and my mind would race to worst-case scenarios. I loved having him in the bassinet beside my bed—not only for the ease of feeding at night but also because it was comforting to have him right next to me. Sadly, that did have to come to an end, and now that we’ve transitioned him, I’m so glad we finally did it.

The Big Push

So, what was the big push? What really set me over the edge and made me give in to moving him was that George was starting to get too big for the bassinet. He has been growing so fast and so tall that his head and feet were going to touch the top and bottom of it. Not only that, he was starting to move around more and practically spilling out. In the middle of the night I noticed his arm sticking out and into our bed. I was so concerned that I would accidentally roll over onto his little arm. George just needed more space—the bassinet was simply not cutting it anymore.

Start of the Transition

I didn’t do it cold turkey—I feel that would have been harder on both me and George. I started out by doing nap times in his crib in his own room. It was a bit tough at first because it was a new environment, and he is notorious for fighting naps. He needed help falling asleep, so I would rock him and then place him down. Sometimes it worked, other times he’d wake up the second I put him down. It became a guessing game on whether he’d stay asleep or not.

Over time, he got comfortable and really started to enjoy sleeping in his crib. I feel like he was thinking, wow, look at all this space I have to roll and squirm around in! Once I felt confident in his ability to sleep in there, I took the leap and tried it at nighttime as well. I was nervous, to say the least.

Reassurance

For me, the only reason this was even possible was because of our Nanit. It gave me huge reassurance while George slept. I was able to watch him on my phone and listen to every sound in his room. But the biggest feature is the breathing band on his sleep sack that the camera picks up—it shows his breaths per minute, and if he ever stopped breathing there would be an alert to let me know. This really put my mind at ease, knowing the Nanit would notify me and that George was safe and sound in his crib.

Something fun about it is that you can look back at recordings from the night and see how he slept. It even puts together a little video each morning of you picking him up—it’s super cute.

Happy Outcome

We are so happy that we did it. We got our room back, and now we don’t feel like we have to go to bed when he does. That first night in his crib, he slept through the night. To say I was proud is an understatement. Brandon and I have been loving getting to watch movies in bed before falling asleep. It really feels like we got some of our alone time back. And bonus (dare I say it)—George has been sleeping amazing!

I also discovered that getting out of bed to feed him really isn’t that bad. Sure, staying in bed is nicer, but I wanted George to have his own space and learn to love it—and he sure did! He absolutely loves it.

In the end, I just wanted to share a quick update on how we made this transition happen. Just know that you have to be fully ready for it yourself. It won’t go smoothly until you feel ready. I want other mamas to know that it is completely normal to feel nervous about making the transition. It’s a big step, but it is so worth it in the end. Consistency is key—I’ve learned to keep at it, and it will get better. Your baby will find their groove, and once they do, there’s no going back.