Why Does My Baby Hate The Crib?

I can’t tell you how often I hear “my baby does not like his crib” or “my baby has anxiety about the crib”. I understand why you may think this and there is good news. Your baby could love the crib if you give them a chance.

It’s important to understand why it’s happening.

They haven’t slept in it before:

If your baby has been sleeping in a bassinet or playpen or with you then the crib is something new. It is going to take a little bit of time to adjust to his new bed.

You are teaching them to fall asleep on their own:

When you start sleep training, you are changing what he is used to. He is used to you rocking him to sleep or feeding him to sleep. Now he has to do it on his own and it will take a little while for him to learn. When you head to his room to start his bedtime routine, he realizes that the work is coming and he starts to get fussy in hopes that you will help him to sleep instead.

You are anxious about the crib:

Your baby feels your energy. If you are nervous or anxious about putting him in the crib he will feel that from you and think that something must be wrong.

How we can help them fall in love with their sleep environment?

Spend awake time in the room and crib:

Open up the curtains and spend some awake time in the crib and his room. You can put your baby in the crib and crouch down to play peekaboo or read and play with toys in or beside the crib. Make him see that this is his space – and it is a happy place.

If you are sleep training – be consistent:

If you have tried sleep training in the past and then given up, your baby is going to fuss in hopes that you will give in again. If you have never sleep trained and your baby doesn’t know how to fall asleep in the crib on his own then you need to give him the time to learn. Be consistent. Choose a method to respond to him at bedtime and stick to it.

Smile:

I always tell my clients “take a deep breath and smile”. Remember that you are putting him in the crib to sleep; something he really does need. He will see that smile and be reassured that everything is alright.

Jamie is a certified sleep consultant with Good Night Sleep Site Halton. Proud Mama of two boys. Jamie realized that her interest in helping change some of her son’s sleep habits actually turned into a passion and she happily joined the Good Night team with her mission being to help families succeed as she did.

 When she is not working, Jamie enjoys family time with her husband, sons and golden retriever. Website: www.goodnightsleepsite.com/Halton Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodNightSleepSiteHalton Twitter: GoodNightHalton