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Does anyone have any advice on how to get baby to sleep in their cot?
My boy was originally in a Moses basket, then moved to a Next To Me Crib kept downstairs (my husband slept with him downstairs so my alarms to express through the night didn’t wake baby when he started sleeping through) but now he has exceeded the weight limit and we need to move him to his big cot upstairs. We’ve tried for 2 nights now to get him into a routine and sleep in his cot and he just cries the second you put him in. if you put him in already asleep, he will wake up 30 minutes later, so just like his daytime naps. The room is dark but with a nightlight, the right temperature, we’ve got white noise on and stay with him trying to soothe him but nothing works until you take him downstairs.
It is an unfamiliar environment. It is a completely different room and different space for him to sleep in. It is much bigger than what he is used to. Perseverance is the key I'm afraid. Our son used to sleep in his baby box downstairs, but for very different reasons to you. When I first moved him to his cot he wasn't too keen, but he got used to it. Put him in there for his daytime naps and keep a routine at bedtime. When he first wakes up, give him some time to see if he can settle himself, if not then comfort him and once settled put him back in again. You could try putting a blanket on the shape of a U in the cot and put him to sleep inside the U shape. It will make the cot feel smaller so might comfort him. Another thing to try is to put an item of your clothing under the cot sheet, that way it smells like mum and again is comforting. Use the same blankets he had in the next to me crib, it is familiar to him.
It is going to take longer than 2 nights but it is all about perseverance. My son has always been a terrible sleeper and I've had lots of disruption to his sleep routine for many different reasons and just had to persevere and stick with the routine. He will get used to it eventually but there might be a few sleepless nights for the next few weeks.
Babies arent meant to have blankets in their cots / cribs. We’ve not been able to get him to go to sleep in it at all, so we’ve given up both nights and put him back in his crib (I can’t produce milk if I don’t get sleep and my husband can’t go to work if he doesn’t get sleep) but the crib is no longer safe for him to sleep in so i don’t know what to do in the meantime. He sleeps a solid 8 hours in his crib but will not sleep past 30 minutes in his cot..
SarahBenne67061 I should also add, the cot isn’t very big 
it’s a space saver one and he is the size of a 1 year old so its big enough but not too big that it would scare him
SarahBenne67061 babies are allowed blankets in their cots, you just have to make sure that the blanket doesn't come any higher than their shoulders and is securely tucked in at the bottom. The U shaped blanket idea would only be for when he is over 12 months. You could get him a Sleepyhead, they can last until they are 36 months, but they don't come cheap. It isn't necessarily that the size of the cot is scaring him, just that it is unfamiliar and bigger than he is used too.
He needs to get used to his cot, by taking him out and putting him back downstairs it is reinforcing that he doesn't need to sleep there, which he does. I'm sorry but perseverance is absolutely key. My son used to wake up every single hour at night for almost 9 months. I understand that you and your husband need to sleep but if you want him to sleep in his cot then you need to persevere and that will mean a loss of sleep until he gets used to it. The only other option is to try co-sleeping but that won't help you with the cot issue. Believe me, my husband and I know what it's like to not sleep at night, but it was necessary to get him into the routine he has now.
SarahBenne67061 also, if at 4 months he is the size of a one year old, then a space saver cot isn't going to last you very long!
MrsCraig I know, we’re currently searching for a new house but all we could fit into this house is a space saver cot. We were told by multiple professionals that no blankets are ever safe in a cot until baby is at least 1 year old, it’s recommended that they are alone in their cot 
SarahBenne67061 my son was at an increased risk of cot death, I spoke to numerous professionals about what I should and shouldn't do. I was told that blankets were fine as long as they were used properly, it is cot bumpers and cuddly toys etc that are far more dangerous in cots than blankets. Whilst sleeping bags are the safest, our son didn't fit into one till he was 6 months so it wasn't safe to put him in one until then, so we had to use blankets or he would have gotten too cold.
We bought a projector light (was only cheap from amazon) and that really helped. We had a few nights with my little girl where she wouldnt settle once she realised she was in her cot. I used to put her in there during the day when i was upstairs tidying or putting the washing away and she would play but she knew i was there. Like MrsCraig says its perseverance but it will pay off. I remember trying to get my now 10 year old to sleep in the cot and he would scream...and scream...and scream, i would literally sit and cry! Then one day he just fell asleep with no crying and did that every night after.
My little girl is fine in her cot now. How do you feel about sleeping bags? Some people are funny about them.
He’s in a sleeping bag every night as they're the safest! We’ve got a projector actually as he liked it when he was a newborn so I’ll try that in there, thanks 
Do you have a normal Moses basket with mine from six weeks I would put the Moses basket inside cot to get used to the surrounding and was great. Is there any chance you could put cot next to bed like the next to me crib. That’s trouble with them cots makes them think they sleeping in your bed. White noise sounds old phone and play them from YouTube or apps.
He outgrew his Moses basket at 6 weeks old 
he’s a giant baby, size of a 1 year old now at 4 months old
SarahBenne67061 
big boy it’s the bars that I think scare them can’t you pull them down
Ann1984 no it’s a fixed cot, but it’s not the cot, it’s the room we moved it into the living room last night and he slept like an angel, so now we have a huge cot taking up the living room but at least we both slept!
SarahBenne67061 do you have a room ready for him when ready maybe one of you snore and waking him. And put cheap travel cot in to see if he sleeps alone in there. I have know people that have put baby in their pushchairs to sleep
I am not going to give any advice because old people are no longer listened to, despite a wealth of wisdom accumulated over years. All I will do is tell what I did which resulted in a good night's sleep for all of us, continuing with my sisters' kids and my grandkids.
At 6 weeks they were in their own room (before old enough to realise) in a large dropside cot, they went to bed same time every night after bottle and bath, no lights, no sounds except external normal sounds of a household.
Throughout childhood this continues to the extent that if I mistakenly left the hall light on I would hear a voice calling out, 'mummy, light out!'
Lights, sound and movement are a distraction to sleep as your senses are not at rest.
They were both toilet trained by 18 months too.
Ann1984 I don't think old wives tales benefit anyone, I never ever administered alcohol to either of mine lol. And don't forget they were doing those things as young mums, possibly in the hope of peace and quiet. I used gripe water occasionally for upset tums and bonjela for teething.
My stepmother was a fully qualified nursery nurse and I was still living at home when she had 3 of my 4 siblings. I could see the results of her training first hand and she taught me to bathe, feed and change nappies. My first sibling, when I was 10 was like having a real life doll and I loved her to bits. We're now in our 50s and 60s have an unbreakable bond and have never argued, it has been dreadful being apart during covid.
Ann1984 as you know I read a lot of historical novels and there are often gruesome tales of childbirth etc. But one thing they used to do was rub the newborns gums with honey and their body with salt.
I think it is wise to listen to any advice and then use your own common sense and intelligence to work out if it is good.......or not.
Update - we moved his big cot into the living room last night and he slept through the night in it, no bother, so it’s the room he’s not happy in, not the cot
SarahBenne67061 try and spend some time in the day in the new room including tummy time and during the day when he has his naps try and have them in the new room
Part of the problem might be the white noise my boys hated it and slept better once I took it away it doesn't work for everyone.
I breastfed 3 and never woke up to Express milk is it really necessary
He loves the white noise, it drowns out the household sounds (e.g my dogs if they walk about) and I don’t breastfeed, i exclusively express milk for him so if I don’t express, he doesn’t get fed
What's ever you find works best but your giving yourself extra work and less sleep SarahBenne67061
I simply breastfed on demand no alarms in night no expressing no cleaning bottles no warming bottles. It's always ready and right temperature easy. SarahBenne67061
Imnotcheap yes not everyone is lucky enough to be able to breastfeed - I wish I could.
Ann1984 he is still awake by 10pm, we can’t get him to go down earlier than midnight he’s sleeping from 12pm-7:30am at the earliest but when we put him down before midnight, he’ll only sleep for 30 minutes at a time
SarahBenne67061 my friends youngest started doing that They found letting her lose a Afternoon sleep helped. Or don’t let her have a sleep after 4pm
Also these give good advice:
https://www.snuz.co.uk/sleep-centre/sleep-talk/how-to-ease-your-baby-s-transition-from-crib-to-cot/
We had a similar problem with our first baby. The health visitor at the time was a bit of a hippy type of lady, she said turn the cot 90 degrees because it's all to do with ley lines. We were unbelievers but desperate and magically it worked. Don't know why or how but subsequent babies were always slept in the same direction. Try it, can't harm.
Strangely, where he sleeps downstairs in his crib or cot, it happens to be one direction and upstairs where he won’t sleep, is 90 degrees different 
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