Weekly Questions (2/5)

katie121209

So I called my insurance company hoping the Spectra pump was covered-nope-so it’s either the Medela pump In style advanced or the Ameda Purely yours. I have the Medela pump in style from my last pregnancy, is there any reason to hope the Ameda is any better or should I get another Medela? 

Amphibious22

Thanks for the advice ladies!
@catlady1215 @May14th2011I didn't think to look at walmart, but I actually got a desk from there a few years ago and it's really nice.
@rnielsen321 yeah I've always loved Ikea furniture, but my mom made a comment about how I'm not in college anymore and need to start buying "real" furniture, whatever that means. 
@mytinc we did look at the sets from bbb but it was a while ago and we were pretty overwhelmed. I don't think we're gonna do a changing table, probably just a changing pad on a dresser, but we really want good storage options for toys/books. 

Austenista

So I was looking at bassinets tonight and came across this one. People demonize the rock'n'play, but this? It just looks like a tall RNP. Opinions? (Confession: DS slept in a rnp until I transitioned him to his crib at 6mos) How is this different? 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRV77ZP?tag=amz-mkt-chr-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-mac00-other-nomod-us000-pcomp-feature-scomp&ref=bit_scomp_ask_sav0&th=1

dinodna3

@Austenista I saw this recently too and was intrigued. I’m guessing the only really difference is that the rnp has a hard back. 

marcus7676

@Amphibious22 we have the sniglar crib from ikea. It has held up so well and we are using it for Two. I like that it is unpainted (I didn’t want my baby chewing paint) and my H was able to use a nontoxic product on it to seal it. 

sunshineandwhiskey

@Austenista disclaimer: I too used the RNP and it was a lifesaver for us. I’m not above getting it out again for this LO if the PNP doesn’t work. But for some reason something about that sleeper makes me anxious. Maybe since there isn’t much structure? The mesh? Idk. I like it but I think it would make me more nervous than a RNP which I guess doesn’t make sense. 

ETA:

 this pic freaked me out 

amys614

@Austenista yes! I was looking at that too. I wish it had better reviews. I mean overall it has a good rating, but the bad ones are really bad and scary, so itll be a no go for me.

Does anyone have anything of the sorts that they love? I was also looking at another arms reach type thing that has a place for diaper changes too. It's one area I really feel like I don't know what I want or need at all. 

It's always super annoying that so many reviews on any site now are people who were provided the product for review. 

catlady1215

@amphibious22 over the past couple years, a lot of our pieces have been from walmart. my work desk, our tv stand. all good quality and solid!

rnielsen321

@Amphibious22
I LOL'd as that is something my mom would have said at one point. Until she started hanging out with me at IKEA. Yes... we would do social times at Ikea. We used to live within a 20 - 25 minute drive from 3 Ikeas.  My mom likes their hot breakfast, and with the winters in Canada, sometimes it is a nice stroll through the galleries. 
I am a fan of their meatballs and gravlax. When I was pregnant with DD, I was at Ikea one or twice a month. 
They do have lower end furniture for dorm rooms, agreed. But their kid stuff, kitchen stuff and sheets are great... 

Now that my parents have a condo in FL, they have embraced the awesome nature of IKEA, as they can shop in person in Canada, and get the same products in FL. She has come around!!

RE: Bassinet... I didn't have one with DD. She slept in the PNP. They are used for such a short time, that I didn't invest in one. You could find them at consignments, if you are stayin on a budget... OR as said in the Freebie Thread, there is Baby Box.... I got one for this wee one. It is what the Finns use, and is essentially a bassinet for safe sleep. 

Amphibious22

@rnielsen321 we are getting a RNP and throwing caution to the wind for the first little while, but question about the baby box. Is that meant for co-sleeping? Like it goes on the bed between you like a dock a tot? 

And on that note has anyone used a dock a tot/is it worth it?

sunshineandwhiskey

@Amphibious22 I'm curious about the Dock a tot too! 

kmurdock925

I haven't used a DAT but I think I'm going to for this one.  I know there are mixed reviews about it but I think there are soo many positive outcomes (there is also the snuggle me).  With DD1 I noticed that she liked to lay on her changing pad so I put that in her PNP and she slept on her changing pad for probably 2 months...I figure it is a similar concept to the DAT but the DAT Would be a bit nicer and designed for that...If nothing else...they hold their value and you can sell them on the DAT BST pages for basically retail...even used...sooooo there is always that.

rnielsen321

I don;t think Baby Box goes on the bed... You will want to keep it firm and Level.  But you also wouldn't put a Bassinet or a Moses basket on a bed either, IMHO. 

I can only share what we did with DD. Believe it or not, due to the small nature of our house, the PnP (with napper attachment) was set up in the Living room. And DH and I took shifts sleeping in our bed upstairs (for GOOD SLEEP) and being with DD in the Living Room catching some zzzz's  on the couch. This lasted for the first 6 weeks.  Then we transitioned to a Small PnP next to me in the guest room, with only one feeding in the night... for about 2 weeks... then as the guest room was like 8 feet from her crib in her room, she went in there at like  8-10 weeks... I suspect (hope) we can do something similar with this one. And so DS will sleep in baby box on the main floor so as not to arouse DD and DH upstairs.

I would not co-sleep as I am a larger lady, and my DH is 350 lbs... no matter how firm a mattress there is a rolling void towards him. It was way safer to let her have her own space. And she was a very good sleeper, independently. (That changed, after 15 mos, but we are getting back to it) 

Amphibious22

@rnielsen321 thanks for the info. We really aren't planning on co-sleeping, I was just confused by the baby box in general. There's a part of me that hopes he can go straight to his crib, but I know that may not be realistic for him or for me. 

ffw0617

@Amphibious22 what's unrealistic about a baby in his/her crib?

pupsicle23

@Amphibious22 My kid did it! In her own room, even. We will probably keep kid 2 in our room, but will probably put her in the crib. 

May14th2011

We have a pack n play with bassinet insert. We'll use that in our room until baby is sleeping through the night, then switch to the crib in a bedroom. 
For my kids, they won't instantly sleep alone anywhere, even in the swing. For the first two weeks or so, they have to be held or they'll just scream. So as soon as we're home from the hospital, I start working on transitioning them to sleep without being held. I put them down often, for a few seconds, gradually lengthening the time, until they're able to be down without crying for much longer periods. 
Both of my kids were able to sleep alone in the bassinet for an hour at a time by 4 weeks (maybe earlier, my memory is foggy of that time), and both slept alone, through the night by 6 months. 
I know several people who came home from the hospital, put baby in crib and never had an issue. My babies aren't like that, I have to actively work to get to them sleep on their own. 

Amphibious22

@ffw0617 most of my friends with babies have stories similar to @May14th2011 so when I tell them I want to start in the crib, they laugh. Also the crib will be in the nursery down the hall, so I don't know how much I'm gonna want to be walking down the hall all night long. 

MoonOverGoldsboro

@Amphibious22 Just throwing it out there that my son slept in his crib from day one. So it can happen, though I don’t know if I’ll be as lucky with number two. We also have a little house, so the nursery was very close by. 

sunshineandwhiskey

@Amphibious22 IMO the convenience of having DD in our room for the first couple months was so nice. My husband would get up and change her, hand her to me to feed, hed go back to sleep until she was done, and then he changed her again if needed and then placed her back in the RNP. It was nice to not get out of bed esp with a csection. We transitioned her to her crib around 3 months and I felt ready then. 

Austenista

@Amphibious22 @ffw0617 it’s going to depend on the baby honestly if it is possible. When I was pregnant with DS I just kind of assumed he wouldn’t have an opinion yet on what he slept in. I didn’t realize that this just wasn’t the case. He had big opinions. I had one of those expensive halo bassinests and he probably slept in it all of twice. He hated that thing and would scream until he was removed from it. What he liked was the RNP and so that’s what he slept in. If he had been willing, however, I would have definitely kept him in that Halo. As it was, it was one of two items I didn’t keep. 

I too am thinking about trying a crib from day 1 and seeing how that goes with little brother. I just know that it’s really going to depend on this baby whether that is going to work for us or if we have to find something else that works for him. 

ffw0617

We aren’t having a real nursery just transitioning our huge master closet. So the crib will start out in our room anyway. A baby that can’t sleep alone would be terrible for me as DH travels for work every week from aug- dec. We aren’t from here and have no real family. I’d have no one to sleep with this baby all the time. At daycares no one sleeps with the infants and there aren’t as many sleeping options as at home so he’ll have to get use to it. 

BurlapandLace

Thoughts? It is a mix in powder designed to introduce common allergens (peanuts, milk, eggs, almonds, soy, wheat, shrimp, cashews, hazelnuts, oat, cod, pecans, salmon, sesame, walnuts, and pistachios) early and often in Babies. Based on the idea that early introduction decreases likelihood of allergies.

https://www.spoonfulone.com

May14th2011

@BurlapandLace it says it's for babies at least 6 months old. Why not just give them the real food and not the powder? I'd definitely have to discuss it with the pediatrician before I used it. I don't know if I see a point if baby has to be 6 months.

lisa2589

@May14th2011 from what I understand, the idea with these products is much smaller amounts while much more frequent exposure than what a baby would get just introducing the real food. 

ETA: Also I believe they’re mostly used when a parent or older sibling has severe food allergies, or some other reason to believe baby could have allergies. Probably with the supervision of an allergist. It’s amazing the things they’re learning!

katie121209

I have been seeing the ads for that product pop up on Facebook and was intrigued. With DD I would just cautiously introduce a bit of an allergen in the morning and then watch her like a hawk the whole day. We don’t have a family history of allergies though. 

BurlapandLace

@May14th2011 ~ The interview I saw with the product creator asked the same question. She said the point is that you want to introduce the allergens early and OFTEN. And that it can be difficult to get the whole list done often. This makes it easy to give daily to give the best chances that all the allergens are covered well for baby, very early on (well before one year old) 

BurlapandLace

@l2589 @katie121209 - the interview I saw (mentioned above) said it’s not just for those with a family history of allergies. Something like 65% of people with food allergies have no family history of it or something like that

amys614

@BurlapandLace very interesting. I am intrigued. Pretty expensive though. Before I looked, I was thinking oh it's probably like $30/month. Still worth it if it works, but yikes. 

silvergreen

@Amphibious22 Chiming in a little late, but I've had similar questions to you. MIL is asking what crib we would like to get from Pottery Barn Kids (she insists that she wants to purchase it for us), but we were already kind of leaning towards IKEA because they have the strictest safety standards, meeting international guidelines as they obviously distribute worldwide. Having said that, for initial co-sleeping I did some research about pack 'n plays and decided that they seem like a decent option as they typically have adjustable mattress heights and can continue to be used up until the age of 3. I really liked the look/reviews on the Nuna Sena Aire. It's pretty expensive for a PNP ($300), but seems well-designed and worth the investment. They also have a mini version for $200.

I was searching YouTube yesterday to see how it is set up and came across this video that gives a wealth of information about co-sleeping options that I found very helpful (the lady in the video used the Nuna Sena Mini Aire too!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXqMEhRdL4k&t=524s

BurlapandLace

@amys614 - I haven’t even looked at the price! Is it crazy? 

lisa2589

@BurlapandLace it looked like $75/month 

BurlapandLace

Oh dang! That’s steep! 

amys614

Yeaaa $75 or broken down to $2.50 per day. I mean it's the price of a coffee or some other crappy snack I'd be willing to waste $$ on daily so I'd certainly go for it, but I just wasn't expecting that. 

BurlapandLace

I will just hope the price comes down in the next 10 months. Haha 

marcus7676

@silvergreen We bought the Nuna Sena Mini for DS.  He slept in it for a total of less than 2 weeks.  He hated being on his back and then outgrew it by 2 months old.  We ended up buying a cheap Graco PNP after that, which has worked well (he's pushing the limit now at 2.5).  So, don't get the mini!

silvergreen

@marcus7676 Thanks for the advice! I was leaning more towards the full size so I appreciate your affirmation!