Crib, cradle, pack n play, or what in the beginning?

Art Teacher

I'm wondering what we should do...

We have one room that is set up as a nursery with a crib.  Our room is not very big - we have a queen size bed, two nightstands and a dresser - that's it.  There isn't much room left after that, although I could probably put a small cradle/bassinet next to the bed if necessary. 

I'm thinking ahead a bit...what would you do/did you do right after your baby was born?  Did you use the crib right away?  Did you use something smaller for a while and then move up to the crib?  Why?

Thanks!

come*on*baby

Here's what we have - crib, pack-n-play and bassinet

bassinet in our room, pack-n-play in the living room and crib, obviously in the nursery. 

Amy720

We used a pack-n-play next to the bed for the first 4-5 months.  It made it easier on me because I could just look over from the bed and see Ben.  Also, if he started waking up or lost his paci, but it wasn't feeding time, I could gently rock the PNP, rub his back or just reach over and put the paci back in his mouth to help him go back to sleep.  I've known people who use the crib from the beginning or a bassinet. It just whatever works best for you and the baby.

crystalpopcorn

We had a bassinet next to our bed for the first few months.  As you probably know, newborn babies eat every 2-3 hours around the clock.  It is much easier to lean over your bed and pick the baby up for a 3am feeding than it is to get out of bed, walk down the hall, feed the baby (which can take 30 minutes or so), get back in bed, and then start the process over again 90 minutes later.   Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the nursery was right next to your room, but this was my experience.

That said, babies can be very noisy sleepers.  You may find that you get even less sleep if the baby is in your room, because you will hear every single noise and grunt that little baby makes.  

I would recommend getting something for your room.  You can always return it if you decide that isn't the way to go.  If space is an issue, look into one of those co-sleeper / bassinet things that attaches to the side of your bed.  

HTH!

Temp206787500007404

We're planning on using a bassinet in our room for the first few months.  The bassinet is a family heirloom, my DH and all of his siblings slept in it, and all of his nieces/nephews have as well.  If we didn't have the bassinet, we'd do the PnP in our room.

We plan to have the baby sleeping in his/her crib in the nursery from 3 months going forward -- we made that decision based on what we've decided is our parenting style (and by reading Happiest Baby on the Block and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child).  We are doing something in between Sears (attachment parenting) and Ferber (cry it out).

That's the plan at least...we'll see how it goes when the baby actually gets here. 

kmkaull

Quinn has only been home for a few nights, but he's been in his crib.  I am a light sleeper and newborns make a lot of noise!  We have a monitor, and believe me, I hear every gurgle!  We do have PnP downstairs but haven't used it much at all.  I really believe naptime should be in baby's room.

 If you don't have a Miracle Blanket for swaddling, be sure to get one.   I also like The Baby Whisperer.

pinkwedding05

I am a HUGE fan of th arm's reach cosleeper.  She is about 3-4 inches lower than our bed so I can look over at her and my head never leaves the pillow.  When she wakes up I can just pull into bed with me to feed her and my feet never touch the floor.  It is perfect for us.  She is a noisy sleeper, but I just can't bear to put her in her crib yet.  We're practicing sleeping in her crib for naps, but we just started that this week. 

I don't really believe in "bad habits" when babies are this tiny.  They are pretty impressionable, and can change within a few days...that's been my experience anyway.  Survival is more important in the early days.  I had some rules (no cosleeping) prior to having her and I'm glad to say that I've stuck with them, but boy did I have to remind myself of why (we have a memory foam mattress).   

Our house is pretty small and we just stay on the 1st floor so we don't even have a pnp.  The cosleeper is much smaller than a pnp and fits in our small bedroom. 

Art Teacher

Thanks, everyone.  I have a feeling we'll either go with just the crib from the start or maybe I'll squeeze a bassinet (somehow!) in our room...

 Our nursery is right next door, though, so I know the baby would be close by no matter what.

Thanks again! 

jacksjerseygirl

I believe in starting 'good habits' (that we can maintain) from the beginning - Ididn't want to go through the whole ' how to transition them from cradle to crib' stage.

Also, G (and I think many new babies) are very loud when they sleep (between their breathing - which sounds congested but isn't and 'snoring' plus he grunts a lot in his sleep). In the very beginning you are getting very little sleep - people always said this to me and I didn't understand the 'weight' and 'seriousness' of that statement until confronted with severe sleep deprivation. His snoring/grunting/breathing would keep me awake. We actually have also had to stop using a monitor for the same reason. We can hear him just fine across a hall way lol

We tried the PNP in the hotel - he hated it .. it's too big I think and not comforting enough to a newborn even when swaddled. He liked the cradle swing for sleeping as well as contoured changing pad (on sofa and buckled in).

When we got home about two weeks later we immediate put him in the crib for naps and night time sleeping. And, it turns out about 2 weeks old he began to hate the cradle swing, we never even used the cradle that we bought for our bedroom, and he hates vibrating chairs.

I kind of feel like - the sleep you get has to be productive because you are getting so little of it. Having a baby sleeping with you - unless you are EBFing doesn't make a lot of since to me. But each to their own.

I am really glad now at 2 mo of age that we did crib from 'day one' at home. I see so many posts on 0-6 about how to transition or about how transitioning was hard, etc.

Every baby is going to be different. We have a basement full of baby 'crap' (lol like the swing, pnp, cradle and vibrating chair) that he either did not like or we did not end up needing. Maybe our next LO will like them or G will discover them.

Dr.Loretta

We're planning on crib and PnP. The crib will be about 5 steps from our bed, so I don't see a need for a bassinet in addition (at least right now--LOL!). The PnP will go downstaris in the living room.

come*on*baby

transitioning from the cradle/bassinet to the crib is typically a lot harder on the parents, than the child. My preemie baby had no problems going to sleep in her crib with her older brother in the same room when she was 5 months old.

i think it all depends on the parents as well. 

crystalpopcorn

come*on*baby:

transitioning from the cradle/bassinet to the crib is typically a lot harder on the parents, than the child. My preemie baby had no problems going to sleep in her crib with her older brother in the same room when she was 5 months old.

i think it all depends on the parents as well. 

 

Ditto exactly.  I know I already posted, but we had no problems making the transition.