Does your Child wake up when you transfer them to their cot or bed?
If that’s a hard yes you are not alone - honestly I see this so much when working with families.
And you are not doing anything wrong…
Some Smalls accept being transferred easily whilst others find being put down once they’re asleep almost impossible.
But here’s my top tips to transfer your child into the cot
I really hope they help you!
Push their sleep pressure
Your Small might find the tricky transfer easier when they have a bit more sleep pressure behind them. So try pushing their sleep later by 10/15 minutes and hopefully that might help
Try the transfer feet first
I know this sounds a bit silly but try putting them down feet first. This can help to ground them and prevent their startle reflex waking them. You could also try transferring them to their side first and then gently rolling them onto their back- it’s the same theory
Get curious and give the chance to settle
If your Small wakes up as soon as you put them down but they’re calm and NOT upset or crying stay close but give them the chance to settle themselves back to sleep- they may just surprise you!
Physical contact once put down
Keeping a hand on their chest or being cheek to cheek (if that’s logistically possible!) could help bridge that separation from you and accept the transfer
Transfer before they’re totally asleep
Attempting the transfer just before they fall totally asleep can feel super scary but sometimes doing this can actually help your Small accept the separation
I really hope this is reassuring and these tips help you.
However, I'm always honest that you could try all the tips and tricks and your Small will find the transfer impossible.
If this happens my suggestion would be to find a way around the transfer and take the time to support them to settle to sleep in their sleep space.
This could look like introducing a floor bed, cuddling to sleep in their sleep space or slowly working towards more independent sleep if that’s what makes most sense for you.
The bedtime boundaries ecourse talks you through all the steps to slowly support your Small to fall asleep independently in their cot or bed. And the best bit there’s absolutely no talk of self-settling or sleep training- just simple and practical advice to support your Small to fall asleep by themselves!
Need more support with supporting your child to fall asleep alone?
My bedtime boundaries course talks you through all the steps you need to move away from feeding, rocking or patting to sleep to your child falling asleep alone in their sleep space
And FYI there’s no talk of sleep training or leaving them to cry themselves to sleep.
