Product Spotlight: Beds/ sleep surfaces

Avrilmai

This week's spotlight is on beds/sleep surfaces: cribs, travel cribs, pack n play, bassinets, sheets, etc. 

There are so many options for safe sleep so tell us What worked for you and your family? What is your home set up (different sleep spaces if you have a different levels, etc.)? what did you like/dislike?

As a reminder sleep and sleep surfaces can be a hot topic and the current recommendations can be found here: 
The American Academy of Pediatrics has these recommendations for safe sleep  Canadian Safe sleep recommendations 

Prior and upcoming product spotlights

aloha_mama

We used a pack-n-play in our room until DD was 6 months old, then we transferred her to her own crib in her room. Co-sleeping worked the best for us as a breastfeeding family. We also used a Mamaroo which was excellent, DH and I got so used to the white noise machine it has built into it that we now (6 years later) can’t sleep without one. For this baby I’m looking at getting a sidecar sleeper of some sort, although they seem to be so expensive! I absolutely love the idea of co-bedding but want to make sure we’re doing it safely.

bluecampanula

We used a pack n play for DS8 and then a crib after a couple months. He was such a difficult sleeper that when DS6 entered the scene I decided not want to mess with moving DS8 from where he was sleeping happily and so DS6 was exclusively a pack n play baby until he transitioned to a toddler bed. 

Which was incidentally at the same time. DS8 never tried to climb out of his crib until he was 3 1/2 (at which point moving to a toddler bed was super easy. He stayed put). But then he taught DS6 to climb out too, who was only 18 months. That was a rougher transition lol. 

We used a cushier but still firm mattress insert in our pack n play since we were using it full time. (We did the same thing with DS4 as DS6) There are fancier ones out there, but our pack n play is the bare bones $40 one. (ETA apparently the cheapest graco ones might not come with the ability to raise the mattress anymore? Ours does do that)

There’s part of me that’s tempted to get a cradle/bassinet this time, but it also seems just… not necessary. Our master room is a tight space, but I’m not sure how much a bassinet saves compared to a pack n play, and a pack n play is handy for travel for a much longer age range. 

Blondesweety444

We had a bit of a unique situation since DS5 was in the NICU for 90 days and came home on a very tight schedule of feeding every 3 hours no matter what. We put our pack n play in the living room and split the night. DH took 8pm-12am and then I did 12am-onward. Whomever was on duty would just sleep on the couch. This worked for us because I was EP and DH was working so we each got a good stretch of sleep and DH is a night owl anyways. 

I’m hoping to BF this time so I don’t know if that will work as well. But hoping at least to be able to have DH take a chunk of time in the evening while I sleep in the guest room. I realize this is probably wishful thinking 😂

We will transition baby to crib in his room at 6 months like we did with DS5. Momma needs her room back 😬

kiwi2628

DS3 slept in the lotus travel crib in our room for the first 8 weeks. He had MASSIVE adenoids though and slept like a pug all night long so we got no sleep, even when he was sleeping so we moved him at 8 weeks to his crib in his room. 

DD was in a crib in her room starting day 4 of life. 

I didn’t have a pack and play in the traditional sense- if baby was going to sleep outside of their crib like downstairs they were either on me, in a stroller or just on a blanket in the floor. We did have the lotus travel pack and play since we traveled a lot with DS3 (grandparents house, weekend trips etc) and I loved it

doxiemoxie212

We used the Halo basinest when we were in NYC with DD3, the kind that can swivel onto the bed. We ended up needing to put it at the foot of our bed, though, so that she and I could sleep. We moved in with my mom in CA while we house hunted when DD3 was 5mo, so she went into a mini crib at that point, and we had to room share. She DEFINITELY would have preferred to have her own room - she went on a sleep strike for a while at 6mo unless DH and I slept on the couch. Finally after a month she let us sleep in the same room with her. She was absolutely thrilled to have her own room when we finally found our house when she was 12mo. 

I really liked the halo overall, though, and we plan to use it again here for at least the first couple months. We had the one that vibrated and did the heartbeat sound, and she liked that a lot. 

If you're looking for a travel pnp type thing, I definitely recommend the Guava one. 

minnie_yoga_mama

We’re planning to get the IKEA Snigular crib and put it on the tallest level with one side down using the toddler crib conversion to create our own side sleeper. Hubby’s planning to safely attach it to the bed to ensure it’s sturdy with no separation. This is what we were thinking:

Has anything tried using the same crib from birth? From what I understand it should be safe for them until they outgrow the space.

doxiemoxie212

@minnie_yoga_mama that's the crib DD3 slept in until Tuesday lol but we never used it attached to the bed like that. Newborns can be so noisy when they sleep you might want to consider alternatives or the ability to shift it to be attached to the foot of your bed so both you and baby can get more sleep if needed.

zamoraspin

@minnie_yoga_mama We didn’t use that crib but DS2 has been in the same crib since he was born. We have a crib we got at a local furniture store because it went with the good quality dresser we got (why are all dressers crap, idk, this one is tongue and groove and soft close drawers). 

This is what we did in case it’s an option for anyone - in our old house there were two bedrooms upstairs, the master and our guest room. The guest room was quite big and was the only option for the nursery. We kept the queen sized bed in there and set-up DS2’s room with the crib, dresser (which is changing height), and glider). There was still room to get around easily and one of us slept in his room until he hit about six months (spoiler, as a BFing mom it was almost always me with him). Then we just stopped sleeping in there. We also had a pack and play on the main floor we used for naps and for the changing attachment, as well as just a safe place to put him down. I also made sure to have him nap  twice a day in his crib. 

This is the crib mattress we have, he still sleeps on it. At the time I was convinced he would suffocate if he didn’t have this very expensive mattress. I’ve since read that there’s not much evidence they are better than other high qualify mattresses. I will say consider avoiding water proof sheets until they get out of early newborn phase as they might not be as breathable as desirable. In the early days I liked the Alex and Ani sheets because they were very breathable.

https://smile.amazon.com/Newton-Breathable-Suffocation-Hypoallergenic-Non-Toxic/dp/B00WR958TA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=breathable+mattress+crib&qid=1633655119&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFGSDgzRFJVT0NTQjkmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA3NDcyMTgxVUdEUlY3NEUwWVJGJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAwMjAxMTEyOUVKSVlLMFNWVTlSJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

zamoraspin

Also wanted to add, when I said “I just stopped sleeping in there” I had to basically sleep train myself because I was SO ANXIOUS to sleep away from DS2. He didn’t miss me at all. Having my bed across the room with white noise made it so we could both sleep when I was in there. 

Also, I have tried a million times to figure out what side is the newborn side and what side is the toddler side of that fancy mattress. I still cannot tell, they’re both quite firm.

monstera13

When DS 3 was born, he had a crib in his room that he used for naps, but he slept in a PNP in our room during the night for the first couple months. We later transitioned to sleeping in the crib at night too, but he became a very difficult sleeper so we ended up splitting the nights and co-sleeping with him. I’d go to bed at 7 or 8 with him, breastfeed when he woke up in the middle of the night, then DH would sleep with him for the second part. 

His crib was one of the fully convertible ones, so he transitioned to a toddler bed at 1.5 and then to a full size bed at 3. When this baby comes, we’ll get him a new full-size bed frame and put the crib back together for the baby. 

Ivorytower2

Both my previous kids slept in the rock and play until they were 4/5 months and it was glorious. I’m already feeling super stressed about not having that weapon this time around. I would seriously consider springing for the snoo if anyone has any positive experiences to share. Otherwise maybe the Halo? I just loved the R&P because it was slightly angled which was so awesome with reflux, gas, etc. 

zamoraspin

@Ivorytower2 We tried the Snoo with DS2 and ended up sending ours back. He seemed to sleep better just plain swaddled in his crib. But he was not a motion junkie at all. We had a swing that he didn’t care for at all until he was like 10 weeks. I will say there are many people who love the Snoo and I believe they’ve never had a single infant death in the Snoo, it’s very safe as long as properly used. They also have a 30 day return policy (or did when we had DS2) so I had everything refunded except for some extra sacks and sheets I bought. They also have pretty good resale value and a rental program as well. If we had a baby who seemed to like motion I would try it again. There are also some brands that have made motion bassinets lately, although I’d look carefully at safety (I think 4 moms and Fischer Price have products out now, I don’t think they involve strapping the baby down though).

Ivorytower2

@zamoraspin2 thanks for the feedback. The motion thing also makes me a little nervous. If they get used to motion like a sleep prop, how do they then how do they transition to just sleeping still in a crib? 

zamoraspin

@Ivorytower2 It would probably be similar to whatever you did with the Rock N Play transition. Since DS2 didn’t like motion I didn’t deal with that but the Precious Little Sleep book actually addresses motion junkies specifically and how fo transition out. Also I was in a Snoo specific group for a while and parents shared ideas there but it seemed like most people had no trouble transitioning. 

doxiemoxie212

@Ivorytower2 the snoo has a built in weaning system, so don't worry about that - no matter what there's some kind of weaning process for sleep (pacifier, swaddle, boob, SOMETHING)

Blondesweety444

DS5 wasn't a motion junkie necessarily but he HATED being even slightly cold. Giving him a bath sent him into an inconsolable rage for 2 hours. (He's still hates being cold at 5yrs). So in order to get him to sleep in his crib we had to put a heating pad down on his bed to warm it up a bunch before we laid him down. That worked really well for a long time.

SmashJam

@minnie_yoga_mama DS6 slept in the same crib from birth until just before 3 years when DS3 came along-we only transitioned him to a toddler bed because we wanted him to be able to get out of bed for potty training. He was even in his own room! He was always a great sleeper. 

DS3 did not have his own room when he was born-he slept in our room in a bassinet until I gave up on nursing and then he went to his crib which was on the other side of a divider in our room-we only had one bedroom upstairs and weren't ready to trust DS6 with a baby in there with him, lol. 

Ivorytower2

@zamoraspin2 do you remember what the group was called? It would be great to get some additional stories and more info before making a decision.

zamoraspin

@Ivorytower2 I don’t remember for sure which one it was but there are a bunch, the one called “Snoo Parents” has 12k members so that could be a good one to try.

kgg2241

Lurking from March

@Ivorytower2 we used the Snoo with DD1 and loved it! We ended up selling it for close to what we paid for it because we thought it would be a lot longer until we had another baby and figured there would be a new model our by then. We are planning to rent or buy another one. No issues transitioning out of it at all. I am a member of the Snoo Parents FB group and it was super helpful. Lots of advice and tips/tricks. 

Ivorytower2

@kgg2241 thanks so much! I will check it out! Do you think it’s better to buy and resell or rent? 

kgg2241

@Ivorytower2 I think it depends on what they resell for in your area and if you can get it on sale on Black Friday. If they go for decent and your get it on sale, I would buy! 

boymom312

My 3 kids slept in a R&P at first next to me. It was recalled when DS3 came along, but it was so great with our other 2, we stuck with it. We transitioned to a PNP at about 3-4 months and their cribs at 6-7 months. I’m undecided on what we’ll do this time around. 

Avrilmai

DS-2 slept in the PnP in our room at night until he was 6 mo. The PnP had a bassinet feature.  We did all of his naps (when he was at home) in his crib, so the transition was easy. We have a convertible crib, but have not yet converted it and may just transition him to a regular bed and move the mattress back up for this baby. 

As for the mattress I was really picky when we were looking and I went with the babyletto pure core mattress. We've been happy with it so far. Like most mattresses it has an infant and toddler side. we got the one with a hybrid cover. 

Sheets for the crib, we have several Bert's Bees cotton sheets and they're so soft and have done well over the last 2 years of washing. 

queenklau

Both my girls did the first several weeks in the Halo bassinet next to my bed. My oldest quickly transitioned to her crib at 8 weeks (she preferred to sleep alone). My second stayed in the bassinet for 3 months and then transitioned to a PnP when she outgrew the bassinet. We had the PnP in our room for the next 3 months. She was 6 months when she moved to her own room in her crib. She started STTN right then. The only reason we waited that long was because we only had just moved into our new house. Both are great sleepers. I am hoping to do the same with our little boy and move him to his crib around 3-4 month mark. 

My first napped in the PnP and bouncer, she was a pretty terrible napper initially. My second napped only on her regular sleeping place (bassinet-> PnP -> crib) and it took some patience and consistency. Not sure what we will do with this baby.