Why won't my baby sleep in the crib?
Infants often wake up immediately upon being transferred or realize when a parent leaves the room, resetting the entire sleep cycle. This constant disruption leads to severe exhaustion for parents and prevents the baby from staying asleep independently.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Transferring the baby to the crib after getting them to sleep elsewhereDid this help you?
- 2laying next to the infant until they fall asleepDid this help you?
- 3Contact napping for 2+ hours instead of crib napsDid this help you?
- 4Feeding 1-2 times a night and soothing the baby back to sleep manuallyDid this help you?
- 5Taking turns with a partner to protect sleepDid this help you?
- 6Using a worn t-shirt over the crib mattress, white noise machines, fans, or slow transition techniquesDid this help you?
- 7babywearingDid this help you?
- 8swinging or rockingDid this help you?
- 9walking around with a carrierDid this help you?
- 10leaving waste in the toilet unflushed until morningDid this help you?
- 11using white noise machines to mask household soundsDid this help you?
- 12using a bathroom on a different floor or in the basementDid this help you?
- 13navigating the house carefully to avoid creaky floorboardsDid this help you?
- 14Co-sleeping part of the nightDid this help you?
- 15Using a pack n play as an approved sleep spaceDid this help you?
- 16Using a crib as a baby jail until toddlerhoodDid this help you?
- 17Sleep training the baby earlyDid this help you?
- 18Using automated bassinet technology like the SnooDid this help you?
- 19Warming the crib mattress with a heating pad prior to transferDid this help you?
- 20Putting babies down awake without a complex sleep ritualDid this help you?
- 21Going to bed at the exact same time as the childDid this help you?
- 22Staying in the same position in bed all nightDid this help you?
- 23Starting cosleeping out of desperationDid this help you?
- 24Waiting it out until the child naturally grows out of it years laterDid this help you?
- 25Staying right next to the baby while they sleep in the swing to watch themDid this help you?
- 26Using a crinkle toy under the baby's feet to hear movementDid this help you?
- 27Using alternative sleep methods or avoiding the swing entirely until milestones like head control are metDid this help you?
- 28feeding or rocking the baby fully to sleepDid this help you?
- 29taking shifts with a partnerDid this help you?
- 30practicing putting the baby down drowsy but awakeDid this help you?
- 31patting the baby's bum and shushingDid this help you?
- 32Co-sleepingDid this help you?
- 33Rocking or walking the baby to sleep for every nap and bedtimeDid this help you?
- 34Trying a modified Ferber sleep training methodDid this help you?
- 35Considering a floor bed to lie with the baby and sneak outDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The last few weeks he refuses to go to sleep and fights it any way he can.”source ↗
“the problem is that the second I go to leave the room he notices I’m gone and wakes up and the process restarts.”source ↗
“I’m so tired and I can’t keep doing this. Please help”source ↗
“As the title says, my 5 month old daughter has been a bad sleeper since birth.”source ↗
“Last night was another brutal night of waking every single hour.”source ↗
“My three month old has been co sleeping with me (starts in the bassinet and then ends up in my bed with me halfway through the night. I practice safe sleep) I would like to transition her to a crib or one of those floor beds with the high railings around it.”source ↗
“Did any of you skip the crib? I just don’t see a point in getting one now. I’m thinking the floor beds the move but wanted others opinions?”source ↗
“My 8 month old son absolutely will not sleep in his bed: my wife and I have tried getting him to sleep and then placing him in there.”source ↗
“He's a very light sleeper and just ends up waking himself right up.”source ↗
“He will scream and cry and sometimes bang his head to get our attention and have us pull him out of his crib.”source ↗
“When we put him down he immediately senses and starts screaming and crying.”source ↗
“yesterday I made over 15,000 steps just walking around with the cangaroo because I was afraid to put him down..”source ↗
“and also that baby wearing is super tiring and my feet, hands and lower back hurt already :(”source ↗
“I will admit I have left the odd little brown gift for my wife for this reason.”source ↗
“I couldn't let a poo mellow, but I remember when they were babies being so irrationally angry at any little noise.”source ↗
“We were afraid to move in case we woke her”source ↗
“By 4 months or so, it would take us 40 minutes just to rock her to sleep and hopefully transfer her successfully.”source ↗
“We were so exhausted at that point we tried to “sleep train”, and it worked almost immediately after one or two naps.”source ↗
“However, we’re about to have a newborn. And we have a loud and active toddler, and much less time. I guess my question is how did you physically handle sleep for a second?”source ↗
“It would be great to not spend like 5 hours a day just rocking the baby to sleep this time.”source ↗
“I literally have to hold this kid propped up all night. I love her so much, but she’ll be the death of me lol”source ↗
“I had to start cosleeping when she was 18 months because I was legitimately starting to lose my mind from sleep deprivation.”source ↗
“I thought she was going to positionally asphyxiate so I gave the swing away to a family whose babies were bigger”source ↗
“even then it’s so hard to know what’s right and wrong because everything is wrong when you ask lol, so frustrating sometimes, especially when you’re a sahm and don’t have help often.”source ↗
“Our baby has to be rocked or walked to sleep for every nap and bedtime.”source ↗
“For his naps, you cannot put him down or he will wake up and not go back to sleep”source ↗
“We have tried a modified Ferber method to sleep train, but after a week we have up because we weren’t making any progress.”source ↗
“every time I try to sneak out after he is laid in the bed for the night he wakes up. Every. Single. Time.”source ↗
“Common thing for me now past babies bed time, I just bask in the ambiance. Anyone else let it mellow from the pure fear of a waking baby?”source ↗
“As soon as I go to place her on the bed or her crib she instantly wakes and starts screaming.”source ↗
“I literally have to go to bed when she does every night and stay in the same position until she wakes in the morning.”source ↗
“just wondering if yall let y’all’s baby take supervised naps in the swing, i know it’s not advised to so i shy from it.”source ↗
“is this a big deal and do i need to stop immediately? or just not as long?”source ↗
“my baby will not fall asleep on his own. he needs to be fed to sleep and then placed in his bed. and half the time he wakes up immediately. how do I get him to fall asleep on his own? I mean every nap and every night is like this…”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 5How to keep a crawling baby safely contained while doing chores
- 2Baby cries really hard during tummy time
- 6How to get a baby to sleep after stopping the swaddle
- 2How do you take care of a newborn all alone?
- 15Why won't my baby eat meals or sleep for naps?