Trust me on this you guys, don’t make this transition from bassinet to crib more complicated than you need to! There is very little difference between your little one sleeping in a bassinet and a crib. Figure out when you’re going to do it, prep for it, and then do it. Give your baby some grace while they adjust and you’ll be just fine!

Why make the transition from bassinet to crib?

The bassinet is a great safe sleep space for your newborn (though it’s also perfectly safe to put your baby in a crib or pack n play from day 1 as well). Oftentimes, families who use a bassinet decide to transition out because they want to move their child to their own room and don’t have room for a crib in their room OR because their child has outgrown the limits of the bassinet.

It’s really important to read your bassinet manual and see when it says to move baby out of the bassinet. Depending on the brand, it may have a weight limit or a skill limit (able to roll/crawl) so be sure to check your individual manual for the safest limits. 

To read more about room sharing and baby sleep safety, see this post: Room Sharing with Baby: Tips to Make it Work

How to make the transition from bassinet to crib?

I want to reiterate, don’t make this more complicated or stressful than it needs to be. There will be very little difference between the bassinet and the crib. If you’re moving your baby from their bassinet in your room to their crib in their nursery, you can move the bassinet into that room for a couple days before you transition to the crib.

It’s also worth taking the crib sheet that you will be using and getting it to smell familiar before that first night. This may mean laying it on the floor and doing tummy time with baby on it during the day. Or taking the sheet and stuffing it down your shirt for an hour or so before putting it on the crib mattress. This just helps to add another layer of familiarity for baby.

If you are really nervous about this transition or you find your baby does really struggle, you can use the bassinet halfway through the night if needed. Then keep pushing forward so that within a few nights your baby is sleeping 100% of the night in their crib.

Other tips for the transition from bassinet to crib:

Avoid introducing crib bumpers when you switch to a crib. These are not safe (yes, even mesh ones are unsafe). Your baby will adjust to the crib slats and being able to move around more. Bonking their head or limbs on the crib (while unpleasant) is not going to do any lasting damage and is not worth the risk of using bumpers.

If worse comes to worse and you’ve given your baby a week or two to adjust and they just keep getting stuck in the crib slats, switch to a pack n play until they are better in control of their body. This is a simple fix as many families already have a pack n play for travel purposes and there is no issue with a child sleeping exclusively in a pack n play.