Moving baby to crib after NICU

kckpriest

New member
When did y’all move your baby to the crib? Our son was born 10 weeks early on February 29th. He spent 7.5 weeks in the NICU and has been home 8 weeks. So technically he is almost 4 months, but has an adjusted age of 6 weeks. He currently sleeps in our room in a bassinet, but naps during the day in his crib. He’s a great sleeper and does really well in his crib! I am a teacher and have been thinking about switching him to his room before I go back to school in August, but I am feeling unsure due to his age!
 
Also just to add that we used a travel crib in our room once our eldest (full term and big baby) outgrew his bassinet but was too young to be in his own room. We plan to do similar with our preemie but as he’s much smaller we have more time.
 
@kckpriest I moved my 27 weeker to his crib at 4 months adjusted! He was always a good sleeper, but I think we all slept even better after he moved. I kept a baby monitor on him for reassurance, and never looked back!

Edit: 6 weeks adjusted does seem early, but I’ve found with a baby monitor it’s not much different than being in the room with them.
 
@kckpriest I moved my son 2 days after he came home. He hated the bassinet, I could hear every sound and couldn’t sleep. I put him in there one night at 2am and he slept 5 hours. While I didn’t…. I did use it as a test to see how he handled the change. My eldest slept well alone in her room and so did he. Always go with what your pediatrician says and makes you comfortable. This is what worked for me and may or may not for you.
 
@kckpriest The guidance is to keep them in your room for up to a year to reduce risk of SIDS. That’s what we plan on doing. We will be going by adjusted age for this one
 
@kckpriest There’s nothing wrong with you moving him to your room. It is recommended to have the baby in your room until 6 months adj but there’s no inherent wrong in the baby being in their own, safe sleep space.
 
@kckpriest We moved our baby when she was around 1 month adjusted, and she’s been sleeping in her crib for about 3 weeks now. She hated the bassinet, the mattress was so thin. She loves her bed and sleeps 9+ hours a night, with a single feeding around 4am every night. It’s been great
 
@kckpriest Mine was only 3 weeks early so not technically a preemie by most standards, but he was a chonker and outgrew his bassinet at 3 months so I had to put him in his crib for safer sleep.

Never looked back! He actually sleeps better alone in his room.
 
@kckpriest My 32 weeker went on a pack n play sleep strike at 6 months actual. We couldn't fit her crib in our room so we had her sleep in her crib from 6 months on. She slept well in her crib.

Guidance is a great starting point but eventually you have to make choices that work for your kiddo and family.
 
@kckpriest My LO naps in the crib during the day and sleeps at night in the bassinet. Had him at 29weeks. He is 3 months actual, 1 month adjusted. We have a baby monitor in his room.
 
@kckpriest 33 weeker with 9 week NiCU stay and no respiratory or heart issues … switched to crib in own room around 1 year. Slept in a bassinet/nice Nuna pack in play in our room up until that point. We used a baby monitor both in our room and once moved to her own room in her big crib, and an Owlet sock out of paranoia (and to track sleep through sleep training) until about 6 months. As long as you are following as much safe sleep practices as possible, and have a good monitor with audio and video, 6-12 months is probably just fine. I don’t think I would have been comfortable until they could fully roll all directions.
 
@scaredtodeath It's a term for a baby born closer to term, but still preemie, who typically don't have major medical concerns, but need assistance to eat (feed) and to grow.

Babies born around 32-34 weeks may need to be fed through GI tubes and either have difficulty maintaining energy to get through a feed themselves orally or may be help learning how to eat.

They may also be capable, but need to grow to make discharge weight.
 
@kckpriest My daughter's baby was born at 26.6 weeks. She was in the NICU for 97 days. She's now 6 months old, 3 months adjusted and sleeps in a bedside cradle next to my daughter. She said she's going to keep her in the cradle until she's a year old or close to it because she's concerned about SIDS. Unfortunately with SIDS it happens suddenly and there's no resuscitation if that happened but I think it just makes her feel better having her close by until she's older.
 
@kckpriest We plan on room sharing for a few years as we have a small house. I have a full sized crib that is immediately next to my side of the bed. The recommendation is at least 6 months of room sharing.
 
@kckpriest My daughter was born 8 weeks early. We moved her from a bassinet in our room to a crib in her own room at 5.5 months (3.5 months adjusted). She immediately took to it and started sleeping so much better. Woke up once a night for a bottle for a couple months, but now consistently sleeps through the night and really clearly looks forward to being put in her crib when she gets sleepy. 12 months.
 
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