How can I get my 8 week old to sleep in her crib?

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Hi all,

My 8 week old daughter will not sleep in her next-to-me crib. We currently co-sleep, so she sleeps literally right next to the crib but if I put her in it she will wake up immediately. My HV advised letting her play in the crib during the day so that she gets used to it. Has anyone else experienced this and had any success moving baby to the crib? She naps in a purflo or in my arms during the day.

Any help would be gratefully received!

Following as my 8 week old also won’t sleep in his crib but will sleep next to me in bed x

Sorry - no magic words as there is no foolproof way. Sleep is developmental and the biological norm is for her to be near to you. Have you read about the 4th trimester? It's a really good insight into newborn behavior and what you can expect.,

Mine didn't until much older. Reading about the 4th trimester helped me understand why.

Definitely read up on 4th trimester.

Buy a sling and let her sleep in there during the day.

My 5yo DS2 still sleeps in my bed most nights. I'm happy to do this because it makes him feel secure.

My experience, you have to wait, DD was at least 6 months before she would stay asleep in her cot. She still fell asleep on us but we could put her down and she wouldn't wake up. We didn't do anything to 'teach" her, just kept trying the cot and eventually it worked. Warming it, white noise, blackout blinds etc made no difference till she was older.

They’re designed not to sleep in cribs at this age.

A swaddle helps reduce external stimulation to make putting down easier. Also a dummy means baby can continue to comfort suck to sleep once put down to sleep independantly.

When putting down, do it very, very slowly and keep baby close to your torso as bending to put down. Then as you slowly pull away leave your hand quite firmly on babys chest so that the weight is like your closeness.

Basically, you have to work really hard to get baby settling into sleep independently - it's never a case of just put down and job done.

My 6 wk old was sleeping fine in hers as we swapped it from it being her moses basket 2 wks ago but only until this week, it's so annoying!

Next to me has the added benefit that you can try keeping one or both hands on her. Murder on your shoulders but worked for us 😂

Neither of mine have liked the moses basket or pram bassinet but have both settled wonderfully in the big cot with swaddle and dummy for DS (DD was a thumb sucker). Babies are weird!

Thanks for the replies.

I guess I will keep her in our bed for now then. I just get freaked out about the safety aspect. I do know the safe cosleeping rules but I still worry.

@FATEdestiny I've tried several times giving her a dummy but she won't accept it. Maybe I'm doing it wrong..

Does it get easier after 12 weeks?

Try a 'love to dream' swaddle www.lovetodream.co.uk Could try gently warming the cot with a hot water bottle (then obviously remove) or putting a Muslin that smells of you in it. Lower feet first and keep hand on chest for some time before gently removing. My DS was the same so I sympathise but we got there in the end!