How to Transition from a Bassinet to a Crib

At what point do you move your newborn from the bassinet to the crib? And how do you make this transition? This has everything to do with naps. As a pediatric sleep consultant, I’m going to help you and your baby make this transition with ease.

Let’s talk about newborn napping. If you’ve been utilizing the bassinet, which I loved for our two girls, you have may have been wondering, “when do they grow out of the bassinet?”

And when do they transition to the big, scary crib? I hear this every single week on our Instagram Q and A. Y’all are asking me, “how do we make the transition from bassinet to the crib?” Well, I actually cover this pretty well in our newborn course. And it is no big secret. There is not much to transitioning a baby from a bassinet to a crib.

When do I transition from a bassinet to a crib?

If you’ve stuck around our YouTube, Instagram, and blog long enough, you know I’m not super anxious about things. I’m a pretty chill person, but when you are making the transition from the bassinet to the crib, it’s really not that scary. I promise!

If you are going from a traditional bassinet to a crib, how can we make this change successfully? I want you to focus on the first nap of the day.

Your newborn is not going to have every single nap in their bassinet or in their crib. They’re going to go to sleep every 45 to 60 minutes. You can not be a prisoner in your own home. You need to get out and go for a walk. You need to take care of yourself and that often means they will have a few naps outside of their bassinet or crib.

So here’s what I want you to do. If you have never utilized the crib for a nap, just start with the very first one. The first nap of the day is usually the easiest to achieve.

Your infant will wake up in the morning and within 45 minutes later, they are tired. Put them down for their nap. In the morning, we all have what’s called sleep pressure. This is because we’ve slept through the night. And we’re still carrying this cloud of sleepiness above us.

Focus on helping your child fall asleep

As the day progresses, it disappears, but when we wake up, we still feel sleepy. Your newborn is the same way. So let’s focus on the first nap of the day. You can use a swaddle and help them fall asleep with a pick up, put down method.

We walk through the five S’s. All of these sleep training practices are vital to helping your newborn fall asleep. In our newborn course, we teach you everything you need to know for 0 to 3 months old.

Using naps is a really great way to get them used to sleeping in their crib. You don’t have to just jump in and force them to sleep in their crib at nighttime. Just ease in that first nap of the day. And then, later on, you want to add another nap in the crib.

Now for these newborns, they’re having five-six naps per day. I don’t expect all of these to be in the crib or the bassinet. You’re going to have a lot of them on the go. And that’s great.

That’s the joy of having a newborn. Enjoy them and commit to that very first nap going from the bassinet to the crib. It’s not that scary.

Check out our Newborn Course

If you want all of the juicy details of routines and structuring your day, you’re going to absolutely love our newborn course. Check out this link, but I want you to know it’s not scary.

They’re going to do a great job. Give them some credit, give yourself some grace, take a deep breath, and commit to that first half of the day.

Sweet dreams. See you next time.

Becca Campbell
Your Pediatric Sleep Consultant

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