Transitioning from a hammock to a cot

I'm really struggling with this. Miss A settles really well in her hammock - during the day I can put her down, give the hammock a shove and walk out and she's basically asleep before I even get to the door. At night I put her down in her hammock for the first sleep of the night, but she's always fed to sleep. Then during the night depending on how tired I am I will either put her back in the hammock (again having fed to sleep) or she'll stay in bed with me.

She really is starting to push the limit on her hammock now in terms of size and rolling, plus its hotter in there which isn't great with summer well and truly here. I've tried a few times to put her down in a cot - either one in our room or in her own room, and unless she is really deeply asleep the second she feels the firm mattress under her she starts screaming (our bed is a very soft latex mattress so a completely different feel). If I do manage to get her down asleep, then she won't settle again after the first cycle and we're back to square one.

Does anyone have any idea on how to get her to settle into a cot? I love cosleeping with her, and imagine we'll be doing that for a while yet at night but I don't trust her in bed by herself anymore because she's just way too mobile so she really does have to learn to sleep in her cot. Thanks lovelies

We use a tetra soft bed mattress in DS cot as he has issues with the hard mattress too. It makes him cosy as he is not so exposed in the cot but still able to get used to being in the cot ITMS.

Sorry I have no other solutions to offer, DS falls asleep in my arms or after a feed most of the time and does not notice the transition from arms to bed this way.

No real advice from me, though a soft mattress does sound like a great idea. I hope she adapts to the cot soon for you and sleeps longer periods. I remember you telling me it would pass with Jessica and it did :) it will for you too xo

What brand is your hammock Lulu?

i have a lambswool under DSs cot sheet, and still have flannel cot sheets on. I think these make it less of a change from being warm in my arms (after a feed) to the bed.

it is a sad day when you have to pack up the hammock.

DD2 lies on her tummy to sleep on a flat surface, so in that way we didn't have the same challenge. We transitioned by putting her on a mattress on the floor first though, because like you, I was worried about her getting off our bed too easily. My DD1 though was able to get off the bed safely from a very young age once she was awake. She just wriggled backwards and down she went. A monitor is particularly useful then! DD2 is not quite ready to get herself off the bed without a little oversight, but she isn't far off it. Once she can do that I could safely sleep her across ways and then let her get down when she's awake.

Not sure if that helps. We've recently made the transition from amby hammock to her junior bed (with a side bar to stop her climbing off).

That's interesting Jennifer. Your little girl has six months on mine, so maybe if I put the bed rails on our bed she'll be right for a while until she's ready to get down herself?? She flat out refuses to sleep on her stomach - she often rolls over and ends up on her tummy but screeches indignantly and rolls back again! Definitely prefers her side. My main concern is not her falling out of our bed (which wouldn't be good obviously) but what she might hit on the way down - we have a solid jarrah base that the mattress fits within, so if she whacks her head on the jarrah its going to really hurt.

Frangipani Lou - its a hushamok.

HotI - It will be an incredibly sad day. I know my third girl is a far more placid, settled little person but I so wish I'd discovered hammocks with the other two!

Ahh ok Lulu. I asked because the hammock that we have can go to 24kg. Sounds like there are some great ideas here.

I'm not sure about the weight restrictions, but its more that she's getting so long and she loves to stretch out upwards and outwards, and there just isn't room for her to sprawl. She's the opposite of the needing to be wrapped bub ;-) The main concern for me though is that that little minx is constantly rolling and starting to sit herself up which while difficult in the hammock, she is achieving.

I had to move DS out of the hammock before the weight limit because when he woke, he would sit up, hang one arm out and 'surf' the hammock. Pretty funny, but not very safe.