Upon bringing your baby home from the hospital, you may begin with a baby bassinet next to your bedside. It is convenient for monitoring the baby, and it enables you to reach the baby easily when you need to breastfeed. While baby bassinets are not tiny, they are not enormous either, meaning your baby will outgrow them quickly.
With the charm of the baby, the perfect smiles, and the joy of touching them, you may feel there is no perfect time to part ways even as they grow past the capacity of their baby bassinet. However, you need to understand that transition and change are part of life; we should adjust to them appropriately and develop measures to help us transition. This article discusses the tips to help you decide how long the baby can sleep in the baby bassinet and what you need to help them move to the crib.
See Also: Softest Crib Sheets
The importance of a baby bassinet
Utilizing a baby bassinet provides many benefits and is recommended for little children before moving them to the crib. It serves as the foundation for growth and paves the way for further development after nurturing the parent-baby bond. It is esssenial for training the baby on certain skills such as how to sleep in a bassinet. Such skills are essential for their future development and transition to change.
Portability
Due to the small size, the baby swing bassinet is easily portable, and you can easily move them around the room while cleaning. If you are interested in spending time outside the bedroom, you can carry t along without interfering with the sleeping baby. This way, you can monitor the baby while you attend to other activities. The portability makes them portable, and you can move them closer to your bed to monitor the baby at night. As you keep the baby closer to you all the time, the mother-baby bond also improves.
Strengthen the bond between the mother and the baby
A bedside bassinet keeps the mother closer to her baby, allowing the two to bond every time. As long as the baby is closer to the mother, she will always think of its well-being and focus on nourishing it to grow. The baby equally enjoys the mother's company.
How long can a baby stay in a bassinet?
The question of how long can a baby sleep in a bassinet has no definite answer. Parents need to watch out for certain factors to help them make the decision. The big question should be, after what duration do I transfer the baby to the crib rather than wondering how long does a bassinet last. Bassinets are manufactured from durable materials and can last longer; however, the baby can outgrow them easily.
Eventually, every baby outgrows the baby bassinet; you need to prepare for such times and plan for a perfect crib for your baby. There is no recommended period for you to move the baby from the baby bassinet, but you can consider certain observable factors to help you transition. Some parents are sometimes anxious to get their child out of their room to get better sleep, and they can move the baby to the crib without caring about the observable factors.
The baby bassinet weight limit
Baby bassinets are manufactured to contain tiny babies with weights less than 20 pounds. However, the baby swing bassinet come with age limits as one of the specifications. The new versions can also support additional weights up to 33 lbs. The challenge is that they can make the baby too comfortable to the bassinet hence affecting their transition to the crib. When the child surpasses the recommended weight limit for the baby bassinet, it is time to move them to a new crib to avoid accidents such as the baby bassinet collapsing under the baby's weight. Babies grow fast; hence you need to plan for the crib in advance to avoid emergency shopping or the basinet collapsing with your baby.
The baby is too big for the baby bassinet
Most baby bassinets are designed to fit the baby up to six months old, beyond which the baby is considered too old for the baby swing bassinet. As they approach six months, babies may become too big to fit into the baby bassinet, sending a signal for the need for transition. However, certain babies may stay in the baby bassinet for more than six months since they grow slowly.
The baby begins to roll or sit up
You can also observe other traits, such as rolling. Babies begin to roll as they approach six months; you need to observe these traits keenly then begin planning for transition. As they roll, they require more space since they are outgrowing the space; they may also fall on the floor easily. Babies deserve to have fun as they roll; forcing them to stay in the baby bassinet when they begin rolling limits their freedom and takes away their happiness.
Baby bassinets are also shallow than the crib, meaning if the baby begins to turn or sit up, they could potentially topple over. The sides of the baby bassinet are also made from weaker materials, and they can break, allowing the baby to fall. It is critical to watch the baby's mobility, but I would advise transitioning as they approach six months. At this point, you shall have established a stronger bond, and you can begin to part ways as your baby moves a little further from your bed or your bedroom.
How to transition from a baby bassinet to a crib
Shifting from the baby bassinet to the crib is procedural; for some people, it is a big transition; for mothers, it is a broken bond as the baby moves to a new environment. Babies are also bound to get surprised by the changes. The new environment can overwhelm them, and they may take time to adjust to the new arrangements. Your baby needs to settle in the new environment as fast as possible the faster they settle and become used to the new environment, the more the chances of you having a peaceful night's sleep. Lucky for you, we got you covered with expert tips to help during the transition.
Prepare the crib
A crib should always be safe for the baby because it will be their long-term home before moving to normal beds. Check the structural integrity of the crib to ensure it can support the weight of the baby. Ensure the materials used in the manufacturing cannot rapture easily, exposing the baby to danger. The crib will be the baby's playground; ensure no rough edges or pointed nails. As they roll, they could also get stuck on the sides of the crib; ensure the spacings are wide to avoid their feet and arms getting stuck. They should also not be so big that their necks can get stuck, making them choke or suffocate.
If you are worried about the baby noticing your absence, you can sleep on the sheets you will use to cover the crib pad. Certain babies can easily identify parents by scent; ensuring they can smell you makes them think you are around them.
The crib also needs to be comfortable and warm. You need to have a comfortable and not too hard mattress on the crib. It should have warm sheets and baby duvets to keep the baby safe from cold. If you live in mosquito-prone areas, you can have a net for the crib to protect the baby from insects and other flying particles. You can also spray the room with insecticide before you move the bay in to ensure no insects. Ensure the room is also warm and the air quality is safe for the baby. The room should also have sufficient lighting.
Prepare your baby
Putting the baby in a new environment away from the parents and on their own can result in baby stresses. You never want your baby to start getting worried at an early age. As much they need to go away, you can prepare them psychologically for the new environment. Parents need critical skills to prepare their babies for new environments. You need to introduce the transition in stages; for example, they can sleep in the crib during the day and in the bassinet at night until they get used to the crib, then you can transfer them fully. You can introduce some of these changes and skills before you move them to the new location.
Some people suggest that before you move them to the crib, you can start positioning the baby bassinet at a distance from your bed so that they get used to the distance. Other skills include allowing them to start sleeping next to you then transferring them to the crib once they are asleep. This way, they will get used to the idea slowly and get used to waking up in the new environment; however, the first night sleeping in crib is rough, and they can wake up crying and yelling at the top of their voices since they are sacred.
How to help the baby adjust to the crib life
First things first, ensure you understand how to get baby to sleep in bassinet before you transfer them to the crib. As the baby transitions to the baby bassinet, it is true that they are growing older; you need to subject them to certain activities to help them adjust to life in the crib, away from the parents. You can sing them a lullaby. Lullabies may not be effective when babies are too young, but when they begin to grow and become aware of the environment, you can sing them a lullaby in the crib to soothe them to sleep. You can also use devices such as lullaby toys set to sing for a particular duration. Music helps strengthen certain brain parts, and soon the baby will not have difficulty sleeping with the lullaby toy on. The lullaby will also instigate classical conditioning whereby the baby starts sleeping immediately when they hear the lullaby.
Swaddle the baby before they sleep
You can swaddle the baby for a while before you put them into the crib. The swaddling induces sleep so that you can put them on the crib once asleep. It also makes the baby feel more protected and less anxious by reminding them of the feelings of being in the womb. The baby will relax instantly and fall into sleep. Swaddling also reduces the Moro reflexes. These reflexes are triggered due to the sudden change in the environment. Swaddling keeps the bay from movement hance the limbs remain in perfect state, hindering the Moro reflexes.
Once in a while, lay them in the crib awake
The baby may find it difficult to adjust to the crib life when they arrive asleep. You can lie them in the crib awake during the day so that they adjust to the environment. You can also give them time to play with the toys and adjust to the technology around the crib. With time, they become familiar with being alone in their new environment, they make new friends, preferably with the toys, and you will not need to force them to sleep before you take them to the crib.
Prepare yourself
Leaving your baby alone as you walk away is quite challenging, especially for mothers. The emotional bond is severed during the first days, and it can trigger psychological effects such as lack of sleep. Sometimes you may have disturbed sleep as you get worried whether your baby is okay or not. IT is in the best interest to allow your child to practice their independence and learn to survive on their own at an early level. You can rely on parent guides on keeping your child asleep and how to take care of them through different stages of life.
Develop a routine based on the babies sleeping patterns
Regular schedules allow you to maintain sanity when handling the baby; sometimes, you need to balance the baby's needs alongside your work schedule. Conflicts of interest may arise when you tend to give one more attention than the other. Develop a night routine depending on the baby's sleeping pattern and ensure you remain loyal to the routine.
Following a routine also guides how your child behaves on certain occasions. When it reaches a time for feeding, the baby will alert you if you have forgotten. The routine also benefits the baby and allows them to grow mentally. You can also plan for other activities such as walking in the park or taking a midday siesta beside your baby.
Use technology to monitor the baby
In the world of technology, childbearing and observation are quite simple. You need to have technological devices that monitor the baby and alerts you. You can synchronize some of these devices with your phone, allowing you to get an alert on your phone whenever there is a problem with the baby. The technological items can also soothe the baby at a particular time, allowing you to focus on other activities.
Conclusion
Seeing a little child grow and transition through different stages can stir various emotions amongst the parents. The babies also find it difficult to transition since every stage weakens the perfect bond with their parents. Remaining in the room alone, away from the parent, is a huge step and scary for babies. However, they have to through the stages to gain their independence. Due to the associated factors, parents need to plan carefully for the transition processes, especially from the baby bassinet to the crib.
