How Can I Make My Daughter's Crib More Comfortable but Still Safe?

I, too, would recommend swaddling. Putting something under a baby that young would make me nervous.

If it were me, I'd keep her close to me, like rolling her onto her back next to be in my bed or having her in a small, firm bed right next to me. You do have to be very concerned about safety with infants but they also want to be near their parents so they can hear them and smell them and feel their presence.

Have you tried swaddling her?

Also, where was the bassinet located? Was it near you in your room?

I'm really thinking it has less to do with the mattress and more to do with a change in environment. She may not like the openess of the crib. Mama's womb was nice and cozy (where she got to be held and cuddled 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) and the bassinet is a small space as well. Swaddling often helps with this space issue. It bundles them up and gives them that warm cozy, safe feeling. If it is warm, then just put her in a onesie and then swaddle.

Also, if the bassinet was in your room, she may miss you! Again, in your womb she was with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Held constantly! If her bassinet was in your room, then she was still close to you. She may be trying to tell you 'Hey mom! I miss you!!!'

I really don't think it is the mattress. Bassinet mattresses are not very thick and typically a little firm. I'm sure the crib mattress is fine.

Hello K., Try folding a regular quilt Or blanket in quarters, lay in on the mattress, then put the sheet on over that. With it being under the sheet it seems to me that it should be safe. It could be that she is getting cold at night also. A bassinet holds body heat in close to a baby. Blanket sleepers over pajamas is the best way to cure this problem while in a crib. Good luck.

We had a similar problem with our daughter - we ended up putting a soft- not too thick baby blanket under her. It helped tremendously. Our daughter is now 15 months and sleeps almost all night in her crib - at least last night she did. If you are not comfortable putting the blanket under her maybe try putting it under her fitted sheet - she maybe sweating (like you do on an air mattress when you don't have a blanket between you and the mattress) and waking up cold. Not sure about how safe this was for us to do but it worked fine for us - we waited to take her out of the bassinet until she got too long for it. She was able to hold her head up fine and was a really strong baby.
I have had to let her cry in the middle of night to let her go back to sleep on her own instead of picking her up and putting her in bed with me and it wasn't as bad as I thought - 1.5 hours the first night - 30 minutes the next.

Good Luck

Do not put anything between the mattress and your baby besides a crib sheet, it is not safe. When she starts rolling over, if she rolls and can't get back on her back she could suffocate in whatever is under the sheet. There is a cozy mattress that the Baby's Room makes that aslo flips for a toddler mattress and my daughter loves it (my husband has crawled into her crib a few times being silly and it is a very comfortable mattress). It was one of their least expensive mattresses and is bacteria and water proff, but still breathable.

Are you still swaddling her? She has just gone from a small confined area where she feels safe (like the womb)to the big wide open space of the crib. It may be a security issue rather than the mattress is not comfortable.

Hi K.,
Maybe it's not the mattress. Since she slept well in her bassinet maybe it's because there is alot more space in her crib. The bassinet was alot more cozy. I used to roll up receiving blanket and prop them on each side of my son. It worked great. He felt cozy. Just a suggestion. Good luck.
Chris

When you make her bed, put down an extra large bath/beach towel(just not too thick), then her sheet. It makes an extra layer between the thin crib sheet and the cold, plastic mattress. It also cuts down the noises she makes when she moves. Swaddling is still good, too, if she'll allow it, for that extra sense of security.

The expensive crib mattresses are really no different than the less expensive ones. They have to be firm for the safety of the baby. I have just a regular mattress pad and then I put a cozy chenille crib sheet on. It seems quite cozy to me with that chenille sheet on there. Then just make sure the mattress pad is tucked into the sides of the mattress. Also try a halo sleep sack. My baby always loved when I would zip her into it. She just has to get used to sleeping on her own. It takes time. Don't give up, it will work out. Good luck.

when I transitioned my son my sister-in-law told me to have his head touching the top bumper (that is, if you use bumpers in the crib). She said that it makes babies feel more secure. I tried it and it worked for him. Now if you're into the "nothing in the crib" crew then this won't be an option for you.

Hi K.,
** A simple thought that might help.
** Do this between the mattress and the metal springs which the mattress lies on.....fold up a bath towel and put the towel between the metal springs and mattress....lay the mattress on top - like notmal....make her bed with her normal sheets and see if that works.
*** What you are doing is elevating her head...sometimes this allows your infant to breath easier...which in turn allows her....and the rest of your family to sleep better too.
** I trust that this will work for you. ;-)
>K. T<
ps....don't ever use down blankets in the bed when the babies are sleeping....there is a danger about the infant not being able to breath
pss......I agree with Beck V - if you don't want to use a towel....using a piece of foam wedge works perfect, too!

Babies really cannot tell the comfort of a mattress. They are weightless and so flexible. I just think that she prefers your warm body. The bassinet may have been smaller and prevented her from rolling so much and getting into awkward positions. I am afraid I do not know anything safe to do, but contact your pediatrician for advice. Good Luck.

I'll share with you what I did with my son's because I felt the same way...you can decided for yourself if it will work for you. I took one of my fleece blankets, folded it in half and laid it on top of the mattress pad. I then took the crib sheet and covered the fleece blanket. Although it did not make it so thick that the boys sank into it, it was a bit softer and because it was my blanket, it "smelled like mom." Once they were a little older (about 4 months), I bought 2 yards of fleece material and lined the crib (on top of the crib sheet) and then tucked the ends underneath the mattress so it would not come loose and become a suffocation hazard. I also used a sleep sack with both ways. My boys slept much better on the softer mattress. Good luck!

When my was little, she had the same issue. I put a heating pad in her bed under the sheet, briefly warmed up the bed before putting her in it, TURNED IT OFF, then put her in bed. It seemed to be hitting those cold sheets woke her up. Worked great! The other thing is, she is only 10 weeks old...she might just want her mom! She is fresh out of the cooker and used to being very cozy. Have you tried swaddling her? She might just be feeling too "open". Something I learned from my daughter who now has 3 little ones of her own...keeping infants cozy AND using one of those white noise machines. Those things are great!!

Instead of putting her the long way in the middle of the bed, have you tried lying her the width of the bed next to the side to make it more cozy for her instead of so open. Just a thought.

I remember that problem very well. Our oldest suffered from that as well. After checking with my family we found the problem. It's wasn't the mattress that is to blame. This is how it was explained to me. Think about how your daughter was all cozy in your womb, the bassinet was also nice and close and cozy, and laying on you she can feel wrap her arms around you. Now, in the BIG crib (in her world at least), when she throws out her arms or kicks her feet there is nothing there. She gets scared, wakes up and cries. What we ended up doing was getting three inexpensive blankets from the dollar store and some duct tape. We rolled the blankets up and then duct taped them in the roll. We then put her in the crib and put one blanket on each side of her body and one near the bottom of her feet. She slept with a baby wedge so that kept her from rolling, but the blankets gave her something to feel. Your other option would be to try and burrito wrap her. My daughter didn't like the burrito wrap at all, however the rolled up blankets did work very well. Good luck!!!

My daughter slept on an incline sleep positioner wedge the first 6 months of her life (due to reflux). It had a foam insert and we noticed she did not sleep as well once off it. We found foam to go under the mattress (similar to egg crate, but a without the bumps). We cut it to the size of the mattress and she has slept great every since.

I doubt it is the matress, but most likely that the crib is very large compared to the bassinet and she felt more secure sleeping in the smaller space. Is she too large for the bassinet? If not, I'd let her sleep in it a little longer. If you are looking to move her to her own room move the bassinet into her room and maybe once she gets used to that, you can work towards moving her to the crib. Also, let her take naps in the crib so she can get used to it.

do you have a mattress pad?? just a regular crib mattress pad...

Are her sheets soft and flannel.?

I doubt that her mattress is bothering her.. but my kids had a mattress pad and flannel sheets. -I also like the jersey stretch sheets.

put her sideways in the crib... so she can feel the sides.. a crib is a huge bed for a tiny baby.

I don't think that the crib has anything to do with your daughter not being able to sleep. Babies can sleep on the floor! She's probably startling and waking herself. Maybe you should kind of swaddle her? The experts say to go in and soothe the baby, don't pick her up, and then leave. If she then cries when you leave, repeat the process. This can be tiring, but not as tiring as it's going to be if this keeps up. Babies need to learn to soothe themselves when they wake. I used this technique and it took a few nights, but it works.

With my second baby, he didn't sleep well in a crib, either. I put his little chair in there for the longest time and let him sleep in that. It cradled him more, I guess. It got to the point where I asked the pediatrician if she thought I was going to have to put a LazyBoy in there, he was getting so big ;-)
Good Luck! This, too, shall pass!

I"m with Lisa O. Just get a quilted type mattress pad made for cribs. they fit tight on the mattress like the sheet. They're under $20 at BBRU.

K.,

When our son started to get too big for his bassinet we first had him sleep in his bassinet in the crib to help him adjust to the space. Then when we moved the bassinet out we put a Momma Bear (with womb sounds and heartbeat) in the crib with him. This bear had two Velcro attachments so it could be attached to the side of the crib and not fall on him. The heartbeat sounds really helped to sooth him when he woke up in the middle of the night. I think in the beginning the wide open space of the crib was very frightening, but the heart-beat bear helped to calm him down and relax enough to fall asleep again. Most mornings we would find him cuddled up to the bear sleeping soundly.

Good luck!

-C..