Product Spotlight: Cribs & Sleeping Surfaces

m6agua

Each week we'll spotlight a new category of product. Feel free to comment on threads like these throughout your time at the board, not just when they're in their week in the spotlight, if you discover something new OR are new to the board. This week it's.... Cribs & Sleeping surfaces!

FTMs are encouraged to ask questions & STM/+s encouraged to share their knowledge based on experience. You can use any or all the prompts relevant to you below to share info in an easy-to-read format. Pictures/screen grabs, if put in spoilers, are welcome!

For STMs:
Lifestyle(House, Apartment, Travel a lot)?
What sleeping surface do you have?
Link/Picture?
Cost?
Pros/Cons?

For FTMs:
Lifestle(House, Apartment, Travel a lot)?
What are you looking at?
Any questions for others?

To view the upcoming PSS schedule, see here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XX4aUSPsDbdyEEK5HIzMzwH2ztOVOnNCehSgMAc5w6U/edit?usp=sharing
Next up: Bath Time

m6agua

STM, live in a house and we put DD in the crib from day 1. I have the Graco Lauren crib, but an older version. I bought it second hand for a great deal. It was missing one of the screws and couldn't order from Graco, but I was able to find a suitable replacement at a hardware store. I don't remember which mattress I got, but it was an organic one from Target in the store.
https://www.target.com/p/graco-174-lauren-4-in-1-convertible-crib-white/-/A-17396055

When going to friends houses or traveling we used the pack n play. I have one that you can raise the bottom to be a bassinet. The one I have isn't available anymore, I think it was a Toys R Us exclusive.
https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Play-Simple-Solutions/dp/B01HOC6032

We did have a Rock n' Play, I only used it one night out of desperation for some sleep. There are several nights where DD slept on me while I was sitting mostly up as well. That was also out of desperation and I was just making it work.

ruby696

We used a pack n play with the bassinet for both kids when they were newborns. Transitioned into their cribs when they were about 5 months old. We also did organic mattresses. One was from Simmons and the other was from Pottery Barn.

I'm kind of at a loss for what to use with twins. I don't want to spend money on two bassinets they're only going to use for a few months. We have two pack n plays, but only one has the bassinet. I could buy a third pack n play for the second bassinet, but two will take up so much room. I'm thinking about one of the twin bassinet pack n plays, but those don't get great reviews. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears.

thepretzelchick

I'm a TTM but I'm basically starting over because I used a Rock-n-Play for the other two, and we got rid of the crib. I'm super short so I have my eye on a few cribs that are low to the ground and I could actually bend over and put a baby in without my feet flying in the air or needing a step stool, which is still not completely out of the question.

Baby will be in my room for awhile, so I need co-sleeper recs. MH and I sleep in different rooms (marriage saver, y'all. I highly recommend) so if it could easily move, that's a plus. Both rooms are downstairs. We split night shifts with babies and I anticipate doing the same again.

catem07

ruby696 have you seen the twin halo? It's so expensive though (costs more than two halos...). But if you live near a city maybe you could find one used or have a resale market?

@thepretzelchick I just picked up an arms reach clear vue bassinet. It's easy to move. 

For STMs:
Lifestyle(House, Apartment, Travel a lot)? We have a house, all bedrooms are upstairs. The master is pretty large. 
What sleeping surface do you have? For DD we borrowed a Halo. I didn't like how it had no storage and it seemed to sort of tilt in one direction. I just picked up a used arms reach clear vue that looks in unused condition. I will sidecar it to my bed for the first 4 months or so. Baby will probably go in her own room at that point. If she's a better sleeper than DD1 I might move her earlier, but I nursed my first and it was much easier to have her in my room when she was up more than once per night. 
Link/Picture? https://www.armsreach.com/products/clear-vue-co-sleeper
Cost? It's about $175 new but I don't believe it's on the exclusion list at BBB so you can get 20% off. 
Pros/Cons? This is new to me, so I don't know any cons yet. The cons are that bassinets in general are so expensive relative to the amount of time baby spends in them, but if you have a baby that is up a lot it's worth it to not have to get out of your bed. 

DD1 is in a crib we bought used. She's still in the full crib but we have the toddler rail. Will probably switch her around 3 (April) if she doesn't demand a switch before then. Baby will eventually go in that crib.

Speaking of, if you're nursing, get a husband/boyfriend pillow so you can nurse in bed! No reason to get up and go to a chair. 

bananapanda

For STMs:
Lifestyle(House, Apartment, Travel a lot)? We have a house, master is on main level and other bedrooms are upstairs
What sleeping surface do you have? We used the halo bassinet for about 5 months and then the pack n play beside my bed (bassinet part and then just the regular pack n play).  I wanted to keep DD in our room until at least a year since room sharing until 1 year is suggested but also with our bedrooms so far apart I was nervous.  Probably at some point around 1 year or maybe a little before she started sleeping in our bed half the night because it was easier to pick her up and put her in bed with us than try to console her in the pack n play and get her laid back down peacefully.  Unfortunately that stuck and she's 2 and still in our room.  She does use her toddler bed sometimes and sometimes still in our bed.  I assume we'll do something similar with this baby although I'd like to try to move her to a crib in her room upstairs around 1 year.  Maybe having DD1 already upstairs will make it a little easier.
Link/Picture? https://smile.amazon.com/HALO-Bassinest-Swivel-Sleeper-Bassinet/dp/B079N8VH3C/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=halo+bassinet&qid=1574115283&sr=8-5
Cost? $230+
Pros/Cons? I loved having her right by the bed and at a perfect height I could see her through the mesh.  The base is very sturdy also so I never worried about my 100lb dog tipping her over.  It's a little pricey, but I think it was worth it for us.

ruby696

@catem07 I have seen it, but I think it's too big to fit next to the bed on my side. And it's so expensive! Maybe I'll look for a used one (although that kind of weirds me out).

ETA: spelling

peachnectarine

We used a pack ‘n play in our bedroom for the first few months, but I’m think of getting a bassinet this time to save room. The crib we had with our first two was one of those cribs with an attached changing table. I thought it would be great having a changing table attached to it and it had three drawers for storage... wrong!! I HATED that crib! It had like a panel and then slats where the changing table was attached and made it SUPER easy for both of my babies to climb up on. They would climb up and end up on the changing table and then cry because they were stuck. I was super paranoid and glued to the monitor to make sure they weren’t climbing! Once they got proficient, they would climb down the changing table and then be free. It was awful. I threw that crib away and will definitely be just getting a regular crib this time around! 

rox7777

For STMs:
Lifestyle(House, Apartment, Travel a lot)?
For DS1 we lived in a condo overseas. A PNP in our bedroom was our main sleeping option. He occasionally slept in his swing for short periods of time on bad nights. 

For DS2 we had an extra room and a crib. He never used it. He hated every baby thing ever created and had extreme colic. I basically slept upright holding him for the first year.

For this baby I’m doing a crib in the nursery and a small bassinet in our bedroom for the first few weeks. I’m determined not to colseep this time. 

What sleeping surface do you have?
We’re going to be using the Little Seeds Metal crib because it’s rose gold and I’m obsessed. I’ll likely do another graco mattress. They’re light weight and reasonably priced. 

Link/Picture?

Graco Premium Foam Crib and Toddler Mattress in a Box - GREENGUARD Gold Certified, Non-Toxic, Breathable, Removable Washable Water Resistant Outer Cover https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010S7VZI0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_I.Y0DbSJV8E0B

Cost?
I think the crib is around $200ish. I’ve been price comparing. The mattress is $60. The cheap ones are tempting, but I know I wouldn’t be happy on a cheap mattress so I try to go by reviews and options. 

Pros/Cons?

mamaj1220

STM we use a pack and play (I like the grace version) when they are little and in our room. I’m not comfortable with the dock a tots etc and I like that the pack and play is portable so when we go anywhere I can bring it. Also when they are little the changing table option on it is wonderful and being able to adjust the height on the sleeping surface. 

Honestly I can’t remember our crib brand but it was from Toys R Us anyways and 6 years old so I doubt it’s still in circulation but it has a built in small dresser, changing table and converts to toddler bed then full bed (we didn’t convert it). 

heyybritt

Question for STMs, do/did your kids actually use a toddler bed? I'm wondering how important it is to look at cribs that convert vs those that don't. 

mamaj1220

@heyybritt we didn’t BUT my kid was also too lazy to climb out of his crib ever so he stayed in that bad boy until almost 3 😂 and then family got on us about it so we switched him to a freaking loft bed with a slide...never again so much space

rox7777

@heyybritt TTM and I’ve never used a toddler bed. My kids went straight to twin size.

catem07

@heyybritt my daughter will probably only spend a short while in her bed as a toddler bed. Then she’ll go to a full because we have a spare full. I don’t think conversion is necessary. Also if you have another kid when this one is 2 or 3 you’ll just pass the crib down and get a twin for the older one. 

heyybritt

Thanks all! @catem07 that's exactly why I'm asking, we're planning for 2 so I'm trying to think ahead. This helps!!

chewie5990

@heyybritt I think I big question is - are you planning to have more kids within 3 years or so...if yes, then I wouldn't worry about a crib that converts b/c the new baby will need the crib anyways (I guess unless you plan to buy a new crib). Our crib doesn't convert and we never used a toddler bed. At 2.5 DS moved to a mattress on the floor and then 2 months later he was in a regular twin bed and we never had any issues. 

heyybritt

@chewie5990 yeah that's about what we're planning, ideally a 2 year or so gap (assuming everything goes well and according to plan which we know it may not!). It occurred to me while I was looking at all the convertible ones that we'd then find ourselves having to buy a crib all over again so I figured I'd better ask people who actually know!

ruby696

@heyybritt We used toddler beds for both kids. I liked that they were low to the ground and the half rail kind of trained their bodies how far they could move while asleep. I had a couple friends skip toddler beds and just put matteess on the floor until their toddlers stopped rolling off. Then they upgraded to a twin.

Linsbins

DD has a convertible bed but only because my mom bought it. She has it converted into a toddler bed at our house but she doesn’t really care. At grandmas house she has the plastic frozen toddler bed and she loves it. Honestly I would get an ikea crib and then move to a twin bed. This baby is getting the convertible as a crib and DD is getting a big girl bed. 

Aso a big fan fan of a pack and play. DD slept in one in our room for seven months. And get some of those Velcro swaddles! 

bananapanda

@heyybritt we purchased a separate toddler bed since DD is still in our room at 2.  We're using it to slowly transition her (hopefully) to a full size mattress on the floor in her room.  We went with a toddler bed so it will actually fit in our room next to our bed.  It looked like the price of buying the conversion rails for the crib wasn't that much different than buying a separate toddler bed and MH was adamant that he wasn't taking the crib apart and putting it back together in our room (won't fit through the doorways) so instead he built a toddler bed because somehow that was better? 

m6agua

@heyybritt So I'm going to start by saying most of the cribs on the market today have some sort of conversion, even if it is just to a "toddler daybed" by taking the front rail off. Next I am going to say that if you decide you want an actual toddler bed they really don't cost a ton ($100 or less) and there are always ones people are selling used on FB marketplace for cheaper.

For us, our crib converts from the crib to a daybed by taking the front rail off, but it doesn't have the little half railing to put on. We bought one of the plastic Munchkin brand rails, but I would have preferred the one on the crib itself because fit would have been nicer. We transitioned DD to the front rail off just after 2 years old. We bought a twin size bed for her new room for when the baby comes. Baby will take the crib and nursery and DD will get her new room with the big girl bed.

This is what I would prefer:


This is what we have, it doesn't have the option of the rail.

catem07

@m6agua I'm not arguing with you because you're 100% right that the vast majority of cribs are easy to convert by taking the front off.

I was shocked to find out that some of the pottery barn cribs have the legs attached to the front piece, and not the side, so you can't take it off. That's such a low-down move by the company to make people buy the conversion kit!

ETA they're the kind that convert to toddler then full, so I guess it's necessary, but still, it's annoying and how many people actually convert their crib to a full?

m6agua

@catem07 It totally is! Most of them are "convertible" but not all are simple to do so. I would say a majority of them you have to buy the kits to convert to the toddler, then to the full size bed and most people don't realize it. By the time they need it they cannot buy the kits anymore.

rachelg777

We live in a house. We've moved a couple times since DS was born but his/our room was always on the second level along with ours. Initially we used the Halo Bassinet with the infant insert - I do like the halo but I also feel like it takes up a ton of room. I like that it is tall because I'm 5'11. We will be using it again. Anyway, we used that for like a month before using the rock n play. Obviously I won't be using that again. Around 5 months we started co-sleeping and I loved it. He moved to his crib in his room at 15 months  - still in the regular crib but it is a convertible one. 

https://www.target.com/p/simmons-kids-slumbertime-monterey-4-in-1-convertible-crib/-/A-76611897

Our pack n play kind of sucked but now it lives at my IL's. I plan on buying a travel pack n play soon and am trying to decide between the Lotus Guava Travel Crib and the Baby BJorn Travel Crib.

shamrocandroll

STM, in a house with bedrooms all pretty close together on the first floor.  I bought a bassinet for DS and he refused to sleep in it, so I think we used it for less than a week.  We had him in the Rock n' Play and took shifts being right next to him for a while (because I was so anxious about having him on a non-flat sleeping surface), but at that point we were so sleep deprived that the risk of neither of us sleeping outweighed the risk of him sleeping in the Rock n' Play for a bit.  We did that for maybe a week and then I got a secondhand Halo bassinest with a Snuggle Me organic.  They now say it's only for supervised sleep, but at the time they claimed it was sleep safe, and I felt better having him right next to my head in the Halo where I could see/hear him.  ANYWAY, DS had a lot of alignment issues that I think played into why he would NOT sleep flat, and hopefully this one is easier, haha.  

At about 5 months, we moved him to the crib and I thought it would be this huge deal, but it wasn't because he had so much more space in the crib, whereas he was getting pretty cramped in the bassinet.  Soon after that, he figured out how to roll onto his stomach and started sleeping 8 hours a night.

For travel, we had the pack n' play with the bassinet.  I used to bring the Snuggle Me and put him in that and keep him right next to my bed.  When he got bigger, he used the regular pack n' play and I also got a waterproof padded mattress cover for it because the mattress it comes with is pretty thin and hard.  

His crib is just a DaVinci one from Target and was pretty inexpensive.  It converts to a toddler bed, which is what he's in now.  I think it made the transition from crib to bed much easier because it still felt like his crib.  We'll be moving him into a twin bed soon so we can change it back to a crib for the new baby.  The nursery is really small, so I expect baby #2 to be in the toddler bed after the crib to save on space.  After that, probably a lofted bed or we'll think about moving the wall to steal space out of one bedroom to give more to the nursery.  But... that's like 3-4 years down the road!

pirateduck

Question for STMs- It sounds like most people start with baby sleeping in the master with them in a PNP or Bassinet.  Did you put baby in the same spot for daytime naps for consistency or did you put baby in the nursery for daytime naps to get him/her used to that space?  pros/cons of both, does it even matter either way?

shamrocandroll

@pirateduck LMAO, DS never took a nap that wasn't on me or in a carseat his whole first 3 months of life.  But he was a problematic newborn with colic, haha.  I let daycare teach him how to nap in a crib. 

ETA He also sometimes napped in the car.

chewie5990

@pirateduck we didn't really have the nursery set up until DS was 6 months old so he always slept and napped in our room. We also had the changing table set up in our room b/c I didn't want to go to a different room in the middle of the night. But I think there's probably merit to the idea that napping in their own room might make the eventual transition easier. This go around we will (hopefully) have the nursery set up when baby is born, so we might try and do naps in the nursery. 

pirateduck

Thanks for that @shamrocandroll shattering my dreams of an infant actually napping sometime!    But this is why I ask, to learn the reality!  I don't plan on daycare anytime soon, so I like to think that naps in a crib at home will happen sometime, fingers crossed, maybe, eventually...

jhysmath

I had to have a crib and it had to be set up when I was about 8 months pregnant (became a huge fight). We liven in a house where the nursery was on the opposite side of the house so she never slept in her crib. When we moved mh refused to disassemble it because DD never used it. We live in an apartment now and she uses it for the first half of the night now that it's set up as a toddler bed. 

For her first month she slept in a bassinet that has been handed down in my family for 73 years and each of my grandmothers 7 children, 17 grandchildren, and most of the 15 great grandchildren have slept in it. After her first month we went to our house in NY for the summer and MH purchased a crib and set up said crib when he was out there during our last school break. She slept in that for the summer as I was petrified that one of us would roll over on her because our mattress there rolled to the middle. When we got back in the fall I had her in the pack and play bassinet (she was 4 months and rolling into the  walls of the bassinet). Around 6 months she started pulling up on the sides of the bassinet and ended up in bed with us from then on. This past summer we bought a new king sized bed so I had her in bed with us then. This fall at about 16 months I built her crib with one side missing for the toddler bed, and because she's right next to our room she sleeps there for the first half of the night and then comes to bed with us. As we're running out of room now she's getting bigger and sleeping in weird positions I put a twin next to our queen and often find myself sleeping in there and her on my side of the bed taking up the whole space. 

I think I'd like a side car type co sleeper this time around, but I don't think MH would be up for it because baby will just end up in bed with us again. But Mama's gotta sleep and it's hard to sleep when your kid needs/wants to nurse every 2 hours until she was about 16 months old. It got old real quick. 

ruby696

@pirateduck I loved having both of my babies sleep on me and didn't start teaching them to nap in their crib until they were 4ish months old. I wouldn't call it a mistake because I don't regret those hours of newborn cuddles, but it definitely made it harder to transition. Same with bottles. Both my babies were breastfed and I waited too long to start them on bottles to get ready for daycare. One was less stubborn than the other, but there were a few weeks with DS where he refused to eat anything all day and I'd have to nurse in the car. Turns out he liked his bottles crazy warm/hot, but refusing the bottle didn't help the adjustment for either of us.

shamrocandroll

@pirateduck Haha, no problem.  I'm definitely not saying it's impossible.  I just didn't put much effort into it and secretly kind of loved it.  I chose to focus heavily on nigh sleep, and naps were just kind of whatever/whenever.  Although I'm betting with #2 I'll have to put him down for some naps to deal with DS1.  

mamaj1220

@pirateduck DS usually napped in his swing but was never a big nap kid. He slept for 8 hours at night from 2 weeks (when he had surpassed his birth weight and with the exceptions of growth spurts) but his naps were cat naps, like 30-45 minutes. We did keep him in his PNP at that point for naps when he wasn’t in his swing since that was in our room at that point.

rox7777

Hahahahahaha. NAPS?!? DS2 only slept on the boob. For 2.5 years. FML if that happens again. 

soprano19

I’m sure I will get flamed for this, but DD slept exclusively in the Rock & Play for the first 3 months. Once she learned how to roll, we switched her to a cradle that had been handed down through my family for two generations now. At 6 months we moved her to the crib in her own room and she’s been there ever since (she turned 2 last month). When we travel, which is 4-5 times a year, she sleeps in the Pack & Play. She also sleeps in a P&P whenever she spends the night at one of our parents’ houses.

For this baby, we plan to have them in our room for the first 6 months again, but this time I registered for this Evenflo bassinet (and I think my mom already bought it): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQYWJD8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_w6m1Db8B9XN5H. We will still use the R&P, but only when we need to put the baby down for a minute and not for sleeping.

catem07

@soprano19 if people are going to flame you they’re flaming half the moms I know who did the same thing. My daughter hated the R&P but who knows what I’d have done if she didn’t. I still have mine and if this baby likes it as a place to hang out I would use it supervised for non-sleep times. 

queenklau

I feel you all on naps! Newborns are the best (cuz they sleep all the time) and the worst (cuz it doesn’t last long) nappers. For the first 2 months my LO napped on me or she would nap briefly in swing or bouncer (we had a floor one and the one that comes with the PnP). We also tried having her nap in the bassinet, crib, PnP during the day, but no cigar.

We planned for her to sleep in our room at night on the Halo bassinet, that lasted a whole 6 weeks. She was such a good night sleeper that  the pedi recommended we move her to her crib so that we wouldn’t bother her. So I spent a fortune on that bassinet to be used a whole 6 weeks. Thankfully, we can use it for this next LO, we plan for DD2 to sleep in our room for the first 3-6 months (we will see how far we get...). DD1 is sleeping now on the toddler bed version of the same crib. She loves her crib/toddler bed..so I am not sure when/how we will switch her to a big girl bed. I am not planning that far. I have the bassinet for now, we will figure it out.

shamrocandroll

@soprano19 Solidarity.  I've been there!  DS would literally not sleep anywhere else, unless we were holding him.  When it came to either not sleeping or risking falling asleep while holding him, or letting him sleep in the RnP right next to us, we decided the risks that come from sleep deprivation was greater than the risk of having him sleep in there.  I had horrible mom guilt for it, and even confessed to the pediatrician, who told me sometimes survival is the first priority.  It was for a relatively brief time, but I try to be honest about it because I guarantee some of us here will find ourselves in a similar scenario and desperate for anything that works.  We tried a lot of things (tucking rolled swaddle blankets under the fitted sheet, for example) and had him see a pediatric chiropractor, and finally got him sleeping on flat surfaces around 3 months, but it was a long road to get there.  Thankfully he's loved sleeping ever since he figured out how to roll onto his tummy.

rox7777

Y’all have made me rethink my whole baby plan. I wanted a nursery this time but now I’m thinking about how my kids never napped and only slept in my arms or on my chest. PNP in the bedroom it is. I just cut my to buy list in half. 😂

sunshinesea22

I know it’s recommended to room-share for the first 6-12 months or whatever timeframe, but is it really that unsafe to put baby in the nursery across the hallway from our room with the baby monitor? MH is a respiratory therapist and he sees kids die or almost die from SIDS and co-sleeping and we both feel strongly against it. Also we will be formula feeding, so no matter what someone will have to get up to make bottle and feed baby, so the “convenience” factor of even a side sleeper is a moot point. We’ve heard a lot from people who slept near baby, has anyone NOT shared a room? How was that experience?
Edit: wrong word

m6agua

@sunshinesea22 DD was in the crib from day 1 and was also formula fed from 8 days old and on. The nursery is just five steps from our room door to door. We had a video monitor as well. For us it worked amazing it was nice because the other person could still get some sleep in our own room. We had a rocker/glider in the nursery for feedings and eventually changed it to a rocker/recliner around 2 years old. I wish we would have done it sooner, basically when she was really sick, she would need to sleep inclined and on us and she wouldn't really sleep in our bed, she would just want to play. So the recliner allows us to still get some comfortable sleep. We plan on doing the same with this baby.