How Get Your Baby to Sleep in a Crib

Your baby needs plenty of safe, healthy sleep to grow, and the safest place for them to sleep is in a crib. However, to get your infant to sleep in their crib may require a little effort on your part.

In this article we'll answer common crib-related questions, including “How to get baby to sleep in a crib?” “How long do babies sleep in cribs?” “Can a newborn sleep in a crib” and “When do babies stop sleeping in cribs?”

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If you want personalized guidance around how to get baby to sleep in crib, download the Smart Sleep Coach by Pampers™ app. The app walks you step-by-step through crib training and how to get your baby to love sleeping in their crib.  

Why Your Baby Won’t Sleep in Crib

If your infant will not nap in their crib or sleep in their crib at night, it can be both frustrating and exhausting. However, constantly having the “baby won’t sleep in crib” conversation is normal – and won't last forever.  

There are several possible reasons why your infant won’t sleep in their crib:

• Sleep Associations: If your baby associates sleep with being rocked, fed, or held, they might have difficulty falling asleep in the crib without these cues. Luckily, there are many different responsive sleep training methods that help you encourage your baby to sleep in their crib and build healthy sleep habits.

• Separation Anxiety: Babies often experience separation anxiety, especially around six to eight months. They may feel uneasy when they're not close to their parents. There are ways to help your baby feel supported when they feel this way.  

• Developmental Changes: Growth spurts, teething, or reaching new milestones can disrupt sleep patterns, making it harder for your baby to settle in the crib or any sleep space. Sticking with your routine can help here.  

• Overstimulation or Overtiredness: An overstimulated or overtired baby might struggle to settle down and sleep in their crib. Making sure their wake windows are timed correctly is key to preventing overtiredness and making it easier to fall asleep in their crib.  

Why your newborn won’t sleep in crib

It is normal if your newborn won’t sleep in a crib. Newborn babies biologically need extra support to fall asleep. After months in the womb, they continue to crave the warmth, smell, and sound of their parents. Often sleeping close to you, or having a contact nap, is preferred because it mimics the conditions they experienced in the womb. Additionally, newborns have small stomachs and need to eat frequently, often waking every 2-3 hours due to hunger.  

Once your baby is around 4-months-old they can fall asleep independently in their crib – they just may need a little support from you to get used to it.  

When to Transition Baby to Crib  

You can get started with transitioning newborn to crib or crib training a toddler or older baby at any time. Many newborns sleep in a crib from day 1, while others don't start until their parents decide it’s time to move baby from bassinet to crib, or they outgrow their bassinet – it’s up to you!  

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends your baby sleeps in your room for the first 6 months of their life, which is why oftentimes a newborn baby will sleep in a mini crib or bassinet to start. Some parents switch to a crib when it’s time to move your baby to their own room. There are also babies who will start crib naps or transition to a crib earlier.  

Since babies grow fast, using a crib from day one may make it easier for your baby to understand that’s where they sleep and rest.    

How to Get Your Baby to Sleep in a Crib – Tips and Tricks

Here are tips if you’re looking to train baby to sleep in crib.  

1. Set the Scene: Make their room dark, ensure the room temperature is between 68-72° F, and invest in a sound machine. For more on setting up your baby’s sleep space, read our sleep training checklist.

2. Check the Diaper: Make sure your baby is wearing a fresh, clean diaper. Many things can disrupt your baby’s sleep, the last thing you want it to be is their diaper. Overnight diapers can help your baby feel more comfortable at night.

3. Put Them in Crib Awake: Put your baby into their crib when they’re calm and sleep but still awake, rather than putting them down in their crib when they are already asleep. This helps them associate the crib with sleep and not develop the habit of needing you to hold them to sleep. Plus, if your baby falls asleep in a different place to where they wake up, they may get startled and cry out in shock or concern when they wake between sleep cycles.

4. Create a Routine: A bedtime routine helps calm your baby while also cueing them that it's time to sleep in their crib. A bedtime routine can include a fresh diaper, snuggle, story, and lullaby. Whatever you do during this bedtime routine, keep the energy calm and soothing before you put them in the crib – and keep the steps consistent in the same order.  

5. Make Sure the Time is Right: Sometimes all you need to do to get your baby to sleep in their crib is to put them down at the right time. Take this free 3-minute sleep quiz to get a personalized sleep plan that will tell you the exact time to put your baby to sleep each night, so they fall asleep faster in the crib – and stay asleep longer.  

What to Do if Baby Won’t Sleep in Crib All of a Sudden

Sleep regression can cause your baby to stop sleeping in crib. Routine and consistency are the key ingredients to help your baby through a sleep regression or sleep disruption.  

When Do Babies Stop Sleeping in Cribs

Most of the time babies stop sleeping in cribs when they reach three feet tall, though different crib manufacturers have different safety guidelines. Always read your owner's manual for the most accurate advice for your baby’s crib. Also, to keep your baby safe as they grow, make sure to lower the mattress in the crib to prevent them from climbing and potential injuries.  

Pediatric Sleep Consultant, Mandy Treeby, recommends keeping your baby in their crib for as long as possible. “A mistake many parents make is transitioning them out of the crib too soon, I usually recommend keeping them there until around the age of 3 or 4 when they are better able to comprehend the transition to a big kid bed.”  

Here's more information on when and how to convert your toddler’s crib to toddler bed.  

Crib Safety Tips

Regardless of if your baby will or won’t sleep in their crib, it’s important to ensure their sleep space and crib are safe. Remember, while cribs are the safest place for your baby to sleep at night or during naptime, a bassinet or portable crib or pack and play are also safe and more portable, until your baby outgrows them.

Here are basics for baby sleep safety and crib safety:  

• Keep Mattress Firm: Babies should sleep in a crib on a firm mattress with a tight fitted sheet. Avoid using additional sheets as blankets or to cover them – if you have stopped swaddling, then opt for a sleep sack for optimal safety. Here's how to know when it’s time to stop swaddling.

• Keep It Clear: Your baby should not have any additional sheets in their crib, but remember to also keep it clear of pillows, blankies, stuffed animals, or anything other than a pacifier if they use one.  

• Keep It Close: If possible, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends you keep the crib in your room for your baby's first six months. Also, it makes checking on them at night easier and faster.

• Keep Your Baby on Their Back: Always put your baby down on their back in the crib to sleep, for their first year. It’s common for babies to start rolling onto their side or stomach around 2 months. If this happens, gently roll them back over onto their back until they're able to roll over both from front to back and back to front.

• Clear Cords, Wires, or Ropes: Be sure to look outside the crib for potential hazards, too – including extension cords, blind pulls, mobile strings – anything that is a choking hazard and within your baby’s reach should be removed or secured.

The following crib safety advice is especially important for vintage, antique, or hand-made cribs:  

• Avoid Drop Rails: Drop rails in cribs are super quick and easy but can just as easily injure your baby by dropping on them or dropping down and allowing them to fall out.

• Avoid Slat Gaps: Make sure the space between crib slats is at most 2 3/8 inches. Your baby may be able to fit their head between anything larger.

• Keep it Plain: Decorative cutouts or designs are cute but also dangerous. Keep your crib as plain as possible to avoid injury. (Also, plain cribs are more affordable, which is an added incentive!)

• Clean Fits and Corners: Check the crib’s corners, panels and anywhere else where two points or segments meet. You want to make sure there are no protruding snags or gaps that may catch your baby’s clothing. This can lead to serious injury.  

Final Thoughts  

While it may take some time for your baby to warm up to sleeping in their crib, a crib is the safest place for your baby to sleep. By instilling healthy sleep habits, making a cozy and comfy sleep space, and encouraging your baby to sleep in their crib through sleep training or consistency, your baby will start to love their sleep space in no time! The Smart Sleep Coach app is there to assist in this process, so give it a try – many babies start sleeping better in as little as a few days (and the first week is free!)

And remember, even if your baby doesn’t like the crib, the transition from crib to toddler bed or big-kid bed will be here in the blink of an eye – babyhood moves fast, and everything baby sleep-related struggle is usually temporary.