transitioning from inclined sleeper/rocker to crib

My baby girl, Mia, is 7 months old (6 months adjusted as of Jan.1). She has been sleeping in an inclined sleeper/rocker since I brought her home from the hospital. She is getting too big for that, but she isn't very fond of sleeping in her crib. Any advice for transitioning her to her crib? Is she too young for CIO? Has anyone ever used a sleep positioner? I think the vast space of the crib vs. her snug, secure sleeper/rocker scares her, so I'm wondering how I could make the crib space not feel so big (hope that makes sense.)

Any advice is appreciated!

 

I used rolled blankets on either side of my LOs to create a cozy space.

I used aden + anais breathable swaddle blankets that i had gotten as a gift.
I liked that they were breathable. Even rolled up, if i held them up to my face i could breath through them. An old fashioned loose knitted blanket would do the same thing.

You might try putting the blanket you plan to use in with her for a couple of days so she gets use to it before transitioning her. I tried to really sooth them almost (or all the way to sleep) before putting them down for the first couple of days.

 

If she likes sleeping on an incline, you could always put something under the legs of the crib to incline it a bit. I never used these, but I saw them in a catalog once and thought that is was a great idea - Crib divider. I also think it is a great idea to give her a transitional item to use both while she is in the rocker than the crib. It is hard to know what a child will latch on to, but I have had really good success with the Bearington Baby Snugglers... my 2.5 year old still sleeps with his and our new baby loves hers. And, I also have the Aden + Anais blankets and I absolutely love them...I would use those before using a sleep positioner at this point.

As a side note, I swaddled my twins until they were 10 months old (kind of similar to your situation). Breaking them of that was really terrible, but only for 3 days. It was smooth sailing after that! We did use a version to CIO where I would go in every 5 minutes to soothe them, then 10 minutes, then 15 minutes and so on. I never had to go past 15 minutes. But, maybe she will surprise you and it will be easier than you think... we can hope!!!!!

Good luck!

 

I hope you get lots of ideas, I swaddle loosely (can still get their arms out and move legs but still snuggled) I second the rolled up blankets, you can make a wee 'nest' so she can feel that surrounded feeling she's used to. Perhaps try letting her spend time in the cot when she's happy and awake with some things she likes to hold or play with and stay with her so she has nice associations with it. For one of my older kids i drew a face on a paper plate and tied it to the cot bars the side they faced, they loved looking, smiling and talking to it! You could sleep her crossways in it if she's not too long. I am not a fan of CIO especially when it's this sort of situation, it feels kind of mean to me when it's probably just big and scary and empty to her to leave her alone to deal with her fears. I think there are plenty of other gentler things to try first. Just my (humble) opinion of course!!! Good luck!