I know its way too early for me to be asking these questions. But as I was looking at nursery designs a thought came to my mind, when is it that you really sleep your baby in a crib?I googled and found mixed messages. Do you need all there- bassinet,cradle and a crib? or do you use one thing before and transition to crib later? what did you use and if you used more than one of these when and how did you transition.
Also our bedroom is big enough to hold an bassinet or cradle but not big enough for a crib. DH feels it would be silly to walk across the hall to the nursery multiple times in the night. but I tend to disagree with having a crib in the bedroom ,the noise getting in and out or gettign ready in the morning will be a distraction to a sleeping baby.
What are your thoughts?
Re: bassinet/cradle/crib
We bought a bassinet, used it for 3 days and then sold it.
We started using our crib at about 2-3 weeks. There was a period of time when G slept on us (in a Moby carrier) for a few days. We slept in the gliding chair.
I never had a cradle, but we did have a swing. THAT was a blessing, and helped us many a nights. I'd say swing/crib are the most important.
Photo by Zemya Photography
We kept J in a bassinet in our room for about 1 month. Mainly due to the fact that our crib was backordered and did not arrive until she was a bit over a month old.
That being said, having her in a bassinet until then was fine, but she was a "noisy" sleeper. Grunting and what not, so as soon as the crib arrived, she went into a crib in her own room. Granted, she slept well at night by 7 weeks she was sleeping 7-8 hours at a clip so multiple trips to her room next door were not that much of an issue.
I suspect that a bassinet and crib would suffice.
For us, we ended up keeping Elizabeth in our room in a pack-and-play (bassinet insert) until she was 6 months old. Then we moved her to the crib in her room. We never had a cradle or standing bassinet.
Before she was born, I always said that we'd keep her in our room 4-6 weeks and then move her. Ha! I just wasn't ready. So you might find that your plans change even once the baby is here.
We used the Graco Pack n play bassinet for the first 4-6 weeks in our room and then switched him to a crib in his room. We used the bassinet downstairs in the living room after that for several months - well passed the weight limit. It's still in the living room now (without the bassinet) and we use it to put him in there if we need to leave the room for a moment and can't watch him.
Congrats!
we used a moses basket in a wooden rocker frame. I LOVE it. still sits out.
Ava was a noisy baby, and I slept better when she was out of the room. She moved to her crib at one month old.
I don't think I am going to get either a bassinet or cradle. From reading on here and talking to my gf who all have kids they say they are kind of useless and you REALLY don't want the baby sleeping in your room.
Now that being said, I may totally change my mind once the baby is here! But will prob just use a pack and play for a few months like the others suggested and then switch to the crib
This is such a personal decision and one that is hard to forecast really because you don't really know what you'll want until the baby is here. We had a cradle in our room and I happily planned on having DD sleep in the cradle next to our bed. And she did, but mostly she slept with us in the bed. Then we realized she was noisy and we were noisy (well DH is, he snores like a freight train) so we moved her to her crib. Voila! she STTN. Wonderful. Then she started teething at 4 months old and woke constantly and I was, coincidentally, on my way back to work...I needed sleep. Back in our bed she goes so she can comfort nurse, nurse nurse, whatever just so long as I can rest...and oh ya, she's ridiculously tall so she outgrew the cradle my Dad made her in about 8 weeks....
FWIW I think it's a good idea to have an option that allows baby to sleep in your room just in case. Whether that's a bassinet or a cradle or an arm's reach co-sleeper or a pack n play or a moses basket or a portable swing etc...you just don't know how you'll feel about having that baby anywhere but right next to you at night. And then there's the fact that frankly, the baby may decide where and when and how he/she sleeps.