When bringing the baby home which do you prefer...Bassinet or crib?

fisk2005

Ladies as you know I'm a FTM, I'd like to know preferences for those that are also FTM's. Which have you purchased or researched? And lastly, please put brands and why you like them below!

yoyopez

my chicco pak-n-play has a bassinet insert we used in our room until DD was 4 months then put her in her crib in her room.

JJsMum

I have an arms reach co-sleeper and/or a Rock N Play for the first few weeks.  Neither of my boys liked sleeping flat for the first couple of weeks, so we used the RNP, then we moved to the cosleeper, and then we moved to the crib once they were only waking once or twice a night.  For those early, up every 2 hour nights, it was soooo much more convenient to have them in our room.  I could just roll over and feed them rather than having to get up and go to another room.  Both boys were in their own rooms (and cribs) by 8-10 weeks old.

fisk2005

So you just kept it connected to the play pin? @yoyopez‌

yoyopez

it is similar to this one https://www.chiccousa.com/gear/playards/lullaby-lx/lullaby-lx-midori.aspx it attaches all the way around the sides and is about a foot deep.  once baby can roll over, you remove it and put the baby in the bottom part to sleep or play.

edit- i had trouble posting and had to go back in and add spaces to words

Littledeer84

I have heard great things about the RnP, and I want to get one this time. Seems like ages since dd was a newborn. But we used a bassinet for the first few months. She was just so small it seemed like she felt more secure in the bassinet than the wide open crib.

fisk2005

I've heard great reviews about these! I think I will purchase one for sure just don't know what brand! Hopefully I can read more feedback from those that have purchased one before making a final decision! It will go on my registry since I've been asked which one I wanted a crib or bassinet!

yoyopez

remember, a bassinet is a short term (few weeks or months) item while a crib, once they transition into it, is something you can use until they are 2 or 3 unless they start climbing out.  you will probably need the crib PLUS something like a bassinet/ rock-n-play/ co-sleeper.

fisk2005

Yes I've read on average 30lbs for bassinet. So I'm just researching! Thanks so much for the feedback it helps a lot! @yoyopez‌

yoyopez

regardless of weight limit, you should stop using the bassinet once the baby can roll over or sit up which is usually between 4-6 months.  good luck!

fisk2005

Oh for sure! Don't want any safety risks! [-X @yoyopez‌

yoyopez

ha ha, i wasn't sure how far you'd gotten in your research.  my DD is almost 2 yrs old and isn't 30lbs... that must be one sturdy bassinet

fisk2005

Lol I have siblings so I know a little something something X_X @yoyopez‌

Staciefacie

I didn't choose either, only because with my first it was so hard for me to sleep if she wasn't on me or near me. So she slept in my bed for quite awhile then she started in her crib and not too long after she turned one I got her a toddler bed. She loved/loves it.

ldcmbrk

I have used the same cradle for all 4 kids and this baby will as well. I love knowing all my kids slept in the same bed for their first few months next to my bedside. Plus, I can hand it down:)

Mnerani

We put my son in the bassinet attachment to his PNP for the first SIX months. 

It was key for us, because he liked to be gently rocked to sleep, and you can slightly move those bassinet attachments to create a very gentle rocking motion. He wasn't making any moves to get up on all fours before that time, so we never worried about the safety.

He actually STILL sleeps in the PNP at 1.5 years (w/o the bassinet, obv) because he likes to mash himself up against the side of whatever he's sleeping in, and the PNP mesh sides are much more comfortable than even a bumper. He was waking early (between 5 and 6am) and the DAY I moved him back into a PNP, he started sleeping until 7am. It's not as "cute" as a crib in the nursery, but who the hell cares, if it buys you more sleep!

We are getting another PNP for this baby and will only buy a crib if we think it's necessary down the line.

lct2008

We had my son in the pack and play next to our bed for the first six weeks then moved him to his crib. Sometimes he slept in his swing too in those first weeks.

meggiev123

We used the PNP bassinet function by our bed for the first 3 months, but thinking about the RNP this time. 

ladybug0088

We are using a family cradle so I'm not sure which category to select.

jcsumm0

Whatever allows baby to be in my room.  I would not have slept a wink the first few weeks if I couldn't have checked on her sleeping right next to me.  Plus it makes MOTN nursing so much easier.  We used the bassinet of the PNP and the RNP.  You might want to double check with your dr, because I think there have been some recommendations against letting babies sleep for long periods in the RNP.  Not sure though.

This time I plan to get an arm's reach co-sleeper to make MOTN nursing even easier.  We transitioned DD to her room and the crib at 7 months.  We'll play it by ear with this LO, but he/she will be in our room until at least 6 months.

Some people side car the crib, which means attaching it to your bed with one of the sides off, so that is another option too. 

PC0909

DS slept in a graco pnp in our room for 6 months.

MrsSinner402

Threadjack: I'm nervous about a bed side bassinet only because of my cats. We cant lock them out of the room or they scream outside the door. Are there any types of bassinets that have a type of netting/topper that can be folded back perhaps?

aander6

I second pack n play with a bassinet insert. You can use it as a crib when you travel or want baby to nap at a friends house for a long time DD is 16 months and we still use it all the time. It is just so much more versatile then just a bassinet which you can really only use for a few months. 

ashie0610

DS slept in his crib from the day we came home from the hospital.  His room is about 10 steps down the hallway from ours so it wasn't a hassle to get up for nighttime feedings.  It worked for us because it allowed me (or DH) to get better quality sleep when we actually got to sleep in those early days.  

We do have a hand-me-down bassinet that my stepsister gave us which we kept in the living room for naps, but he never seemed as comfortable in there.  He grew out of it VERY quickly too.

DS is an amazing sleeper, so we plan to do the same with this baby in the hopes that we will have the same luck!  Although I'm hearing it's likely we won't.

Emerald27

Aww. There's no SS option for those of us who have neither and opt to snuggle baby in our bed at night.

jcsumm0

MrsSinner402 said:

Threadjack: I'm nervous about a bed side bassinet only because of my cats. We cant lock them out of the room or they scream outside the door. Are there any types of bassinets that have a type of netting/topper that can be folded back perhaps?

@MrsSinner402 My cats (we had 2 when DD was born) were terrified of her and didn't go anywhere near her.  They slept on our bed still but no where near her.

AppleGrapeMSTK

We had the PNP like others. It was one of the few baby things we managed to keep when our house was ransacked last summer. DS slept in the PNP in our room for the first 7mo because his bedroom was upstairs next to MILs bedroom, and I REALLY didn't want her checking on him if he cried. The first 3 or 4 weeks, though, he slept on me or in a bouncer next to our bed.

MrsSinner402

jcsumm0 said:

MrsSinner402 said:

Threadjack: I'm nervous about a bed side bassinet only because of my cats. We cant lock them out of the room or they scream outside the door. Are there any types of bassinets that have a type of netting/topper that can be folded back perhaps?

@MrsSinner402 My cats (we had 2 when DD was born) were terrified of her and didn't go anywhere near her.  They slept on our bed still but no where near her.


We have two and I know my siamese will want nothing to do with baby, but my big fat cat isnt afraid of anything. So I worry he may try to jump in the bassinet or something.

fisk2005

You're right! Sorry @Emerld225‌ lol what is an RNP vs a PNP? I know PNP is pack and play...@jcsumm0

HappyCianci

We had a mini crib, which is very sweet and stylish, and we pushed it right up against our bed. The problem was, I kept waking up in the wee hours of the morning with my newborn in my arms (rather unsafely, sometimes. I was passing out with him like that.) We hadn't planned on bed-sharing, but at that point I realized I needed to plan for it so that it could happen more safely. I cleared out a big part of our bed for him, and when he got a little bigger and started rolling and flopping, I took off a wall of the crib and built a sidecar.

Sleeping with him beyond the newborn period helped us all get more sleep and secured our nursing relationship! I plan to do it again. We actually have two large beds pushed together already, and I'm going to plop our mini-crib mattress on top of the one against the wall. My partner and I will have a ton of room and the baby will have a little "platform" to sleep on that will be easy to keep clear of blankets, open, and easy to reach. It is not an elegant solution, but our bedroom is not so much about style these days.

SusieBW

DD went straight into her crib from day 1.  I'd rather avoid another transition.

MrsSinner402

FamousEa said:

MrsSinner402 said:

Threadjack: I'm nervous about a bed side bassinet only because of my cats. We cant lock them out of the room or they scream outside the door. Are there any types of bassinets that have a type of netting/topper that can be folded back perhaps?

There is this. My cats were terrified of the thing that lived in the bassinet and crib with my first daughter. I would still train them to stay away from it though we employed squirt bottles anytime they got near the crib or bassinet once we set them up and if we weren't going to be home we shut the nursery door.

OMG. Perfect! Thank you! Unfortunately, the squirt bottle doesn't phase my cats. They just kinda look at me like "ugh!" Then they lick the wet spot on their fur. Little assholes.

BreandMikewedding

yoyopez said:

my chicco pak-n-play has a bassinet insert we used in our room until DD was 4 months then put her in her crib in her room.

Same! The Chico pack n plays have really good support and seem to be more comfortable than a lot of pack n plays. The downside I found to the Chico is that it is hard to set-up/take down and it doesn't fit thru doors. Ours is still in our room from my 2yo because I don't want to hassle with taking it down. Graco are probably the next best for comfort and they are the easiest to set-up & take down. There is a new one that I will be getting for this LO. It's from ingenuity (I love their products) and it is completely machine washable. You can take anything fabric off and wash it. I love this idea!

BreandMikewedding

MrsSinner402 said:

Threadjack: I'm nervous about a bed side bassinet only because of my cats. We cant lock them out of the room or they scream outside the door. Are there any types of bassinets that have a type of netting/topper that can be folded back perhaps?

We had to watch our cats because they have always tried to get in bed with my son. We find our one cat curled up next to him a lot. When he was in our room in a pnp we had a water spray bottle and we sprayed them if they tried to get in. They learned to stay away and it disn't hurt them. Now we just close his door but sometimes those sneaky little cats get in and hide.

MrsSinner402

FamousEa said:

@MrsSinner402 10 years ago they were terrified of the bottle now they look at me like "Go ahead do it, I don't care" It's funny how we didn't have to use the canopy that we purchased with first DD, we really needed one with second DD. I woke up one night to check on her in her crib and was HORRIFIED to find a cat snuggled up to her in the crib. We got a canopy the next day

I'm ok with them snuggling once baby gets a little older. But my fat cat likes to lay ON things. Such as my smaller cat. Todd will purposely step all over Pete and lay on top of him. So this 19lb fatass that lays on things rather than next to them is my concern. but this canopy will be perfect for the first few months. Once baby gets to the crib we will keep the door shut and have the monitor running.

wearenutts

I put my daughter straight into the crib in her room. I will do the same with this one.

bumpuser10309732

I am not speaking from experience since this is our first, but I'm going to give the bassinet a go. I have one that was made by my grandfather for my parents when I was born. He passed away in Sept and it's just sentimental more than anything.

JJsMum

fisk2005 said:

You're right! Sorry @Emerld225‌ lol what is an RNP vs a PNP? I know PNP is pack and play...@jcsumm0

RNP (Rock N Play)  vs PNP (Pack N Play)  I liked the RNP because it kept baby angled (which both of my boys adored).  Both boys slept much better in the RNP for the first couple of weeks.  With DS#1 we transitioned to the PNP before going to the crib in his room, but it took up so much space in our room that I needed to do acrobatics to get out of or into bed.  With DS#2 we did the RNP then transitioned to the Arm's Reach Cosleeper before going to the crib.  That's probably what we will do this time too.  Since we now have a 2 story house (just before DS#2 was born), our PNP lives downstairs as a good place to put baby for a nap/change station.

MrsSinner402

wearenutts said:

I put my daughter straight into the crib in her room. I will do the same with this one.

I thought of this too. But I'd feel much more comfortable with baby next to me in case of emergency. If baby throws up or something I can hear it and tend to it ASAP to avoid choking etc.

LightBright515

I'm shooting for straight to the crib. I'm a FTM. 

I will put a RnP on my registry for in my room, but baby will be in the crib most of the time. I'm not a lover of the PnP from looks to the space it will take up in my current living quarters. 

Sofia2529

Last time, I used the Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper until DS was around 3 months. It was great for night nursing.