How to Transition Baby to Nursery

This conversation on How to Transition Baby to Nursery has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyVTechNursery #CollectiveBias

Over the past week or so, we’ve been working on transitioning Blair to her nursery. After all, I worked so hard preparing her room before she arrived… might as well get some use out of it, right? When it comes to transitioning Baby to the nursery, a band-aid approach works best for our family: move all sleep to Baby’s room at the same time. Now that I’ve navigated this rite of passage with two little ones, I want to share some of my best tips on how to transition Baby to nursery!

Go Cold Turkey on Non-Nursery Sleep

Or as much as you can, anyway. My babies have always fallen asleep in the car, and there’s not much I can do about that. Once they are 6 months, though, it’s time to move nighttime sleep out of mom and dad’s room and to the nursery. We dragged the process out with Colton and still allowed him to fall asleep in other parts of the house for naps, etc., and it made nighttime sleep that much more difficult. With Blair, we learned our lesson and have gone right to all naps and nighttime sleep in her nursery.

Currently, the AAP recommends that infants sleep in the parents’ room “ideally for the first year of life, but at least for the first 6 months.” We chose to transition both of our babies to the nursery at 6 months, however, it’s an individual decision for each family. After all, you know your baby best!

Invest in a Quality Baby Monitor

A quality baby monitor is a must once Baby is in their own room. We chose the VTech VM5251 5” Digital Video Baby Monitor with Full-Color and Automatic Night Vision, White for Blair’s nursery and have been very pleased with it so far. One of my favorite features is the automatic night vision, which makes it super easy to check in on our little lady during the evenings. I also love the sleek white design. The monitor we had previously used with Colton was an eyesore, to put it mildly, so this one is a welcome change.

The monitor can even play lullabies and has a two-way intercom to allow you to talk to Baby throughout the monitor. At this age, I still head to her room for a quick feed whenever she wakes up, but I think the two-way talking feature will come in very handy once she is a little older. For now, I can just tell her “mama’s coming!” when I’m on my way. The monitor has up to a 1,000 foot range, so we can hear each other all over the house.

The VM5251 also includes a temperature sensor, so you can easily see Baby’s room temperature on the display. You can even set an alarm to alert you if the temperature goes above or below your settings, so you can make the necessary adjustments.

Also, if you have multiple children [or plan to in the future], this monitor is a great investment because you can add additional monitors to the system to keep an eye on multiple children in different rooms.

If you liked this VTech VM5251 baby monitor review, you can find the VTech VM5251 for your own baby at Target.com! You can also check out VTech on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Have a Nighttime Routine

Our nighttime routine has been the same with both babies. Don’t fix what isn’t broken, right?

• Dim the lights [this is the big one to signal that it’s time to wind things down!]
• Bath [one last playtime to get that energy out]
• Lotion + Pajamas
• Storytime
• Breastfeeding
• Place Baby in Crib

On breastfeeding to sleep: I’ve been told time and time again not to breastfeed my babies to sleep, but honestly,  it is what works best for us. In fact, breastfeeding releases CCK, which contributes to relaxation and sleepiness seen in infants after breastfeeding. Plus, breastfeeding always makes me feel good, too. I enjoy that special mommy and daughter time at the end of a busy day. For more information on the benefits of breastfeeding to sleep, this article on comfort nursing at Kellymom is extremely thorough and well-researched.

Transition Over the Weekend

Unless you are very, very lucky, it will take [at least] a few nights for Baby to transition to her new sleep space. Start the transition over a weekend [preferably a long one], so you don’t have to worry about getting ready for school, work, etc. in the morning after a sleepless night. This time around, my husband was extra nice and let me sneak in a nap the afternoon before we began transitioning Blair to her nursery. That extra hour or so of sleep helped a lot when I was answering her cries multiple times for the first few nights.

Have Patience

Let’s all pause for a moment to appreciate those baby rolls. And chins. Plural.

For a baby, any transition is a big transition. Keep at it [see Tip #1!], and don’t worry if Baby doesn’t take to the nursery right away. Both of my children did eventually develop a preference for sleeping in their crib in their very own room, and sooner than you would think. Believe me, I know how tempting it is to give up and bring Baby into your room when they are repeatedly waking up, but the end result is well worth it.

With that said, you know your baby best, so if you think they aren’t ready for the transition after a few nights, there’s nothing wrong with tabling it and trying again in a few weeks, a month, or whenever you feel is right.

When did you transition Baby to their own room? I’d love to hear what worked for you in the comments!

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