How Do You Transfer a Baby from Your Chest to Their Crib Without Waking Them?

Have you ever seen the FRIENDS episode where Ross tells Chandler about the "Hug and Roll'? Wait till she is fully asleep, snuggle real close, then gently put her down. Also I would highly suggest swaddling. My son would do that till I started swaddling him. Often times when you put a baby down that is when they flail their arms. Preventing the flail will help you out immensely. But for awhile my son would be the same way. I had to finally just stop my life and sleep with him, because that is the only way he would sleep.

For our daughter, when she was an infant, she would wake up often when we transferred her to her crib from our arms. My husband thought it was because the crib sheets were cold, while we were all toasty warm, so that would wake her up. Hubby got the brilliant idea of using a lavender neck warmer thingy that you heat up by putting in the microwave for a few minutes. We would put it in her crib to warm her sheets up and then take it out when we were ready to lay her down. It made her bed nice ad warm. It worked wonders for us!

Ha, ha. I've experienced this too. So frustrating, isn't it? Just do your best to do it very carefully. Almost like you are moving in slow motion. I bet it's funny for an outsider to watch us do this. I used to keep my baby as close to my chest as possible while I was leaning into the crib and then I'd rest for a few seconds before actually letting go of the baby. It surely helps and makes it easier when the crib mattress is at the highest point...not so easy once you begin lowering the mattress.

I had the same problem with my 1st. He would wake up as soon as his head hit the crib. I finally figured out that the crib sheet felt cold to his head, and that was what was waking him up. I switched to flannel crib sheets, and had a much better success rate :)

Before you run out and buy some, you can check to see if that is what is waking your baby by getting a fleece blanket and covering the crib sheet with it before you put her for a nap. It should be long enough to be able to tuck it tight and under the mattress. I am assuming also that your baby is too little to roll around much, and therefore there wouldn't be any danger that it could come untucked. Try it for one nap and see what happens.

If that's not it, maybe she startles going from a verticle position to a horizontal one. Maybe lay her in your arms to get her used to the position for a little bit 1st, then try to move her.

It could be that you just have a really sensitive baby- you mentioned she sometimes wakes when you take a deep breath. Again, I don't know how old she is, but at some point (about 3 mo old) you should be putting her in the crib when she's drowsy, but not asleep because she needs to be able to fall asleep on her own. Don't do what I did with my first and get her used to falling asleep by being held or rocked- it never ends :/ My first didn't sleep through the night until he was 2.5!!! With my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, I put them down when they were still awake, and they were much better sleepers :)

Very best wishes!! :)

I would gently lean over the crib and get as low as I possibly could (so not good for the back!), and "roll" them from me to their side in the crib.

Warm up the crib with either a hot water bottle or a heating pad, then remove it- and put baby down swaddled. Make sure that the place you are putting her isn't too hot! Part of it is her age. My son was like this as well, but now that he hit the 6 month mark, I can take him out of the carseat and put him in pack n' play or bed.

Also, at 11 weeks, baby doesn't need shoes. If baby was sleeping and wakes, try letting her attempt to settle herself in her bed before you decide she is awake. Give her 3-5 minutes to settle. Use a clock because if your baby is crying it can seem like 1 minute is a long time (esp if you are breastfeeding and the milk goes into gear with the crying).

Good luck!

Wait for a really deep sleep and move slowly. When baby is older, consider laying a blanket over you and then transferring baby, blanket and all, to to the crib, to hold the heat. When DD was little and I hadn't gotten her in her sleep sack before a snooze, I'd use the swaddle blanket.

Try making sure she's good and asleep. Use the "floppy arm test." If you can move their arm and it gives no resistance, they are in a deep sleep. Then when it comes time to put them in the crib, try putting them down feet first, then bottom, then back then head. They can flail and wake themselves up if they feel unsupported.

Good luck

I didn't. I either wore them during the day or coslept. My oldest was one of those kids you could change and he stayed sleeping but not my youngest with him you couldn't even stop the car without him waking up.

If she's sleeping on her back, lean as far over with her held close to you as possible, then slowly slide your arms out from under her, and gently place your hands on her belly so she still feels that pressure a bit.

I haven't done this myself, but I have a friend who used to put a hot water bottle in the crib to warm it up, then took the water bottle out to put the baby down. Then she won't be going from something warm and snuggly into something cold.

Finally, you can look into an ergo carrier. Then you won't be putting her down, but you'll still be able to get stuff done. Not as comfy, but better than a screaming baby.

Good luck.

I stunk at it!!! We also co-slept because we could suggle with them and help them get back to sleep with our comfort and body heat. I couldn't wait until they were big enough to move to a mattress of their own. Then I could snuggle them to sleep and get up and move back to my own space.

You could try looking for signs that baby is in a deep sleep. I'm sure you can look it up, because right now the only one I can think of is their limbs become lip. I would raise their hand and arm up. If there was any tension at all, I'd keep waiting. If they felt like a wet noodle, I knew it was probably safe to move them.

Good luck!

If she likes to sleep on your chest, then she probably likes sleeping on ther belly. I like the idea of warming up the crib somehow and then place her on her belly to sleep. I had a hard time with this too.

very carefully! lol

my daughter still doesn't transition well and she's 2 1/2!

I think its just that they are light sleepers. I like the swaddling idea! Good luck, I know what its like to swear at the floor for creeking and curse the neighbors for slamming their car doors lol

When my girls were little I would use a cloth diaper where they lay their head, and when they fell asleep I would lay them down with the cloth diaper which was warm from our body heat & I never had a problem with them waking up on all three of my girls, just slide the cloth a little lower when your ready to lay your baby down and support their head with your hand and gently lay them in their crib. = 0 )
Since yours may be light sleepers, try moving periodically while still holding them and they will take the transaction better thinking your just moving & still holding them. Good luck!