The Great Question Thread

Swiftlet

@celticknotfire @therealbitts I'm sorry for the headaches, that's miserable I've only had a few here and there and they didn't seem to really respond to the one tylenol I took either. Normally I respond well to an advil but obviously that's not an option right now. I hope things improve for you all soon!

Swiftlet

My question - what are everyone's infant sleeping plans? Should we do bassinets in the room at first and then transition to cribs? Other thoughts and product recommendations welcome

ibabyloveb87

@Swiftlet another thing that depends on the baby. I tried to get DS to sleep in a bassinet next to my bed for the first two weeks of his life but he just wasn’t into it and it was disturbing DH who was back to work already. I moved DS to his crib, still swaddled, and we all slept better. I slept in his room for 3.5 months. I am planning on doing straight to crib again and sleeping in baby’s room again too. It saved a lot of transition issues later on for us! Hopefully it’ll work out again, but I still have the bassinet. It worked better for us for naps and hanging out during the day. 

jvk2012

@Swiftlet, with my daughter we planned a bassinet from the PNP in our room. She hated it and we ended up doing a Rock N Play in our room until we transitioned around 3.5 months to a crib in her room. This time we will not be using the recalled RNP. We plan the bassinet or PNP in our room. If baby desperately needs motion we may look at the Graco Dreamglider Swing even though it is not technically safe sleep approved. We will still plan to transition into crib in his own room around 3 months. 

bg122785

@Swiftlet With my DD, we did a bassinet in the bedroom for the first 4 months and then transitioned to the crib. While some nights, sleep was crappy from all the baby grunts and noises, I liked having my DD close by those first few months.  So we will be doing the same with this next one.

kiwi2628

We had DS in a bassinet in our room the first 8 weeks and then moved him to a crib. I think we will probably have this one in a bassinet in our room for the first few weeks but will probably move them to their own room sooner than 8 weeks. Everyone slept better when we moved Henry. But those first few days I liked having baby near me

craftywitch

@Swiftlet Baby box on the floor in my room for 6-12 weeks, then moving to the crib. Since baby will be sharing with DS they may room with me longer if they’re not a great sleeper... 

lanie1000

@celticknotfire @leksiL @therealbitts
Count me in on team headaches. They started over the weekend. I tried taking Tylenol the first couple of times, but I'm convinced it does nothing to relieve headaches. I didn't realize that it could be related to blood pressure.. 

alseltzer

@Swiftlet our current plan is one full crib in our room and have both babies in it to start. I feel like it would take up much less room than 2 bassinets or that twin pack'n'play thing they have.  I've heard it's quite huge. Someone who's had twins suggested putting something like a pool noodle in between them under the sheet so they don't roll on top of each other if they're still sharing once they can roll.  Hoping to have them in their nursery before then though.

leksiL

@Swiftlet We will see what this kid likes for sleep. I will try the bassinet, if that does not work will try the PNP bassinet, which is more open, if that doesn't work I will use the snuggle surround which is basically a little box that goes between us in our bed, and if that doesn't work we will cosleep which is what we ended up doing with DD, and then we went back down the progression to the PNP, and at 3/4 mos we transitioned to a crib in her own room, except during the dreaded 4 mo sleep regression when she came back in to cosleep for a few weeks before going back again. Hopefully your kid likes one of the earlier options

Swiftlet

Thank you everyone! I love this forum

@alseltzer That was one thing I wondered about - is it better to have the two sleep together? Will that make the transition to separate cribs harder later on? I know all of this is SO baby dependent but it's nice to feel like I have at least some semblance of a plan, even if we have to adjust!

@craftywitch I'm intrigued with the baby box idea. I guess my only concern is how much of a pain is it (literally and figuratively) to bend down/over to scoop them up? I guess I'm worried about back pain, possible post- Csection, still having some post-partum belly, etc. Also, I'm laughing because thinking of where we'd put the boxes is tough - next to the bed so I worry about stepping on them overnight? At the foot of the bed near the dog bed? Slide them under the bed like storage boxes? (Kidding!)

babybelugaco

@Swiftlet our plan is the pnp. We dont have tons of room so the one we're looking at has the changing table attachment and hopefully will work for baby. We'll look into a crib when we move into a 2 bedroom apartment when babe is 2ish months old. 
My biggest concern about baby beds is keeping the cat out of them!! I've read the tin foil tips and double sided tape to deter them, but if anybody has any other tips...I'd appreciate it!! We let our cat have free roam of the tiny apartment so shutting her out of the bedroom is a no go.

craftywitch

@Swiftlet right here (I’ve been nesting in the box haha). You do have to bend over and pull baby up from the floor to bed level, but I can reach and didn’t have any problems with it last time.

lanie1000

@babyroma I had the same concern about our free-spirited cat when I was pregnant with #1. We did the double-sided tape method (putting it on a sheet of cardboard) and he HATED it. I figured he was also smart enough to recognize when it wasn't in the crib. So we also used a motion-activated cat deterrent that sprayed him with a puff of compressed air when he jumped near the crib and it worked wonders. 

celticknotfire

Thank you all so much for your feedback about the headaches!  I'll just keep pushing the fluids and resting when needed.

babybelugaco

@lanie1000 ohhhh the motion activated deterrent sounds wonderful! We've recently discovered she hates canned air. She could be across the room when one of us sprays a laptop and she bolts. I'm going to have to look into that!

leksiL

@babyroma I was worried about the cats too but they wanted NOTHING to do with the baby - she was way too loud for them! I would see their reaction before stressing out too much. Our cat and daughter are now good friends 

zseirecarg

We did a bassinet next to the bed with DD1 for the first 6mo and will probably do similar with this babe. 

clee5711

Both boys slept in the pack n play for about 6ish months. I used the rock n play or swing for naps when I couldn’t just hold the baby. 

doodleoodle

Sorry I’ve been kind of MIA. I started back to work recently and that unfortunately, coincided with DH getting more responsibility at work.

 I’m loving this conversation about sleeping situations. I’m a third time mom, but a total infant sleeping idiot. Any tips on how to gently sleep shape a newborn? I could never get either of my babies to settle for very long (More than 10-15 minutes)in ANYTHING other than a wrap or in my arms... until after 6 months of nonsense I did a graduated Ferberesque sleep training method. Controversial, I know, but I was desperate. There were many tears shed by all of us. With having three I know there is no way I’ll be able to let baby exclusively sleep on me, and I will sleep train again if I have to (at 6 months) but I’d really, really rather not.

ibabyloveb87

@doodleoodle I sleep trained at 4 months using Moms on Call. Again, not everyone will agree with it but my kid has slept through the night on his own since then, minus a few illnesses and random nights. I plan to do the same again. 

char245

@doodleoodle there is a FB page called “respectful sleep training” that I found to be extremely helpful! They have a lot of resources on all kinds of sleep training so you can get help with whatever method works for your family. 

leksiL

@doodleoodle - I used the sleep lady shuffle method, where you put baby to bed sleepy but awake but stayed next to them and then sat in a chair and moved the chair a little towards the door every day until you could just leave. https://sleepingchildsaneparent.com/blog/chairmethod

I couldn't do CIO but I can understand how parents with very difficult children can. My brother did it at 6 weeks with his kids and I did side eye that one hard.

kiwi2628

@doodleoodle there’s a book called Precious Little Sleep and it’s a bible to me. I sleep trained lightly at 9 weeks, and then more seriously at 4 months and my kid has STTN every night ever since, minus a few colds or near nap transitions. It’s been amazing. 

jvk2012

@kiwi2628, omg Precious Little Sleep is also my bible! Have you joined their FB page and listened to their podcasts? Love them!

tmk2021

Any advice for someone who doesn’t live near any type of baby store such as Buy Buy Baby or Target? I am having such a hard time deciding between similar big ticket items such as strollers and car seats, but I have no place to actually touch and feel them and try them out. I’m feeling the pressure to pick items out just because I need to finish the registry, but I’m scared I won’t like anything I pick. 

jvk2012

@taylor2020, any local friends or neighbors you could ask for their opinions and try out their gear?

tmk2021

@jvk2012 I just moved to this area about 2 years ago. We haven’t made many friends yet and none of them are parents.  I’ve asked my SIL what she uses for gear but that’s no different then reading reviews. I’m worried I’m just going to have to go in blind, off reviews, and hope it all turns out well.

kiwi2628

@jvk2012 yes I’m part of the group! I post there sometimes!

@taylor2020 where is the closest one? Just make a day trip. The strollers I wanna they aren’t at BBB- we have to go into the city (50 minute train into Manhattan) to try them out at a specialty store. But I would seriously try them out first. So many people here say they like the city mini (and I got one based off reviews used) just as a jogging stroller and I hate it more than anything.

tmk2021

@kiwi2628 they’re several hours away, so it would be longer than a day trip 😞 I am going back to Ohio in October though, so maybe I can go to one then. I was just hoping to have the registry done by then because I’m having a shower that week too. 

kiwi2628

@taylor2020 make a romantic weekend getaway to try baby stuff and before baby comes. We often do long weekend to other cities- stay in an Airbnb, explore the city, eat a bunch of great food

doodleoodle

Thanks, ladies! 

@taylor2020 that is rough! I wish I had some advice. The only thing I could think of is maybe popping into a local MOPS group (which might be a bit strange), or trying to find some to try out at yardsales or consignments shops. Honestly, though, I would buy an Amazon Prime membership if you don’t have one already. That way you can return the items if you don’t like them. 

ibabyloveb87

@taylor2020 I don’t live near anything but a Walmart. I asked people who had kids already and went with their suggestions. I’m sure a lot of people here can make suggestions too on things. I know it’s hard when you can’t be there to try things. 

rebornlotus

optimism3 said:

Polling people’s opinion on taking class C drugs. My understanding is that these are the ones where there’s no reported issues but that’s because there’s been no studies in humans or animals (correct me if I’m wrong). 

In a gross overshare - one of my primary symptoms from day 1 has been diarrhea and Imodium is giving me life. I try to limit it but even so I’ve probably been taking it 1-2x week on average. I asked the nurse once how to deal and she told me to take it, but I have lingering guilt. Thoughts? 

Category C- Animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks.

Category A and B are generally considered safe in pregnancy

clee5711

@taylor2020 I read tons and tons of reviews online especially on amazon and target. Lucieslist.com is also super helpful. 

zseirecarg

@taylor2020 what about going to a family friendly park or something near by and asking people there? Sounds silly, but seeing people actual use them might be helpful. 

clee5711

@zseirecarg I did that at the zoo with double strollers. Moms really are the greatest help 

babybelugaco

Argh, I know many women have issues with acne during pregnancy bc our bodies do crazy things....my acne appears to be on my neck, collar bones and shoulders the most! It makes me crazy! Anybody else have it in weird places??

brookert615

@babyroma I’ve been getting them on my neck and it’s super annoying!!! 

malloryfrommn

@babyroma mine have been on or just below my jawline.