Anyone planning not to room w/baby for first few mos?

lovelyTX

Hi all! We are currently debating what to do when baby arrives. I would love for her to be used to her crib right away and not wake my husband with the constant feedings, since he'll be needing to get up and go to work. I plan on breastfeeding anyway, so it makes sense for just one of us to take on the night duty. We have a guest room next door to the nursery that may serve as a temporary place I can go with her at night sometimes if I'm too exhausted to rock her. Obviously, we'd have a monitor in our room since her nursery is down the hall. Did anyone else successfully go straight to crib, or is anyone planning to? It seems like rooming with a bassinet is the most popular way to go the first few months.

gymnst1013

We will not be having the baby in our room at all.  He will go straight to his crib.  Even if we wanted him in there, there is no room for a bassinet.

ikissedthecook

I'm still undecided as well, but I'm leaning towards not. We do have room for a bassinet, but it would be pretty cramped. the nursery is the room adjacent to ours, so I'm not sure if its neccessary. I also plan to BF and would prefer not to wake DH up with the constant feedings as well. However, my mom made a good point. She said she was so terrified that I would stop breathing in the middle of the night (and I actually did once to the point I turned blue) that having me in her room was a huge comfort for her. So I don't know. I'm really curious what other people will have to say.

LauraOTR

I'm glad you asked this, I'll be interested in hearing what others say. We will be keeping our guest bed in the nursery for the first 6 months to a year, before moving it to our basement bedroom. I am thinking I'd like to start baby in the crib, for the same reasons you mentioned. No reason DH should have to constantly wake up all night since he'll be returning to work. If needed, I can always crash on the guest bed between feedings.

tarmar81

H and I want to put the baby straight in the crib, but everyone keeps telling me a bassinet at least for the first 6 weeks is the way to go so I can just grab the baby and nurse in bed. 

As soon as my baby has gotten the hang of breast-feeding (so we avoid nipple confusion), I will be pumping more so that H and I can trade off between me nursing and him bottle feeding at night.  By that point the baby will probably be solely in its crib.

susieandmarty

it depends - right now - we have still not found a house, so the baby may be in with us.  that said, i expect to have her with me int he room for about 1 week max and then in her room with a  monitor - DH will need to get a lot of sleep - he will not be off more then a few days

salk72788

We are having our baby in the room for  the first couple of months.  But i plan to use the crib all the time during the day so they get used to it.  I just think i will be a little nervous at night for a while bc of reasons the PP mentioned (like constantly checking if my baby is breathing! haha) but i do know many moms that had their baby in the crib right away and its totally fine!! i think it will just come down to personal preference.  you have to do what will be best for you guys:)

JaqiDec04

This is our plan. We may even get a twin bed to go in the nursery with the baby. When she gets older, she'll already have a bed. DH works, I'm a SAHM who plans to breastfeed.

The first week, we'll both be new, I'd like his help. But after that, DH has to go back to work. Everyone tells me I'm crazy, and its so much easier when the baby sleeps with us. But I REALLY don't want that.

So I'm going to try, and see how it goes.

Good luck. 

Telly21182

I was originally planning on putting the baby straight in to his/her crib but DH always assumed we'd have a bassinet in our room for a month-ish.  I didn't have strong feelings one way or another however DH did so I just conceded.  

However, after thinking about it more - I do like the idea of being with the baby in the evenings while we're brand new parents because I have never been around a newborn before. 

missisue

We're fortunate that DH has four weeks paternity leave, so I'm not concerned about waking him up in the early days. We plan to have the crib in our bedroom with us.

The Consumer Reports baby book helped us make the decision. Because there are no safety standards for bassinets or co-sleepers, the safest place for a baby to sleep is in its crib. Plus, the Pediatrics Association recommends the baby sleep in the same room as the parents for 6 months. We plan to follow those recommendations as best we can. 

DuckDuckGoose123

We don't plan on having the baby sleep in our room at all.  I'd rather start with one routine and stick with it rather than switching.  And for breastfeeding, I don't want to be waking up DH, he's a super light sleeper.

hatshepsut72

We're planning on using the crib right away. The baby room is right next door. Either way one of us has to get up even if the baby is in our room. so it's just easier for us to use the crib right away. we'll have a rocker in the baby room for nursing too.

PinkyFloyd73

At first I was planning to have the baby in our room in a cradle, but our room is SO tiny. Even though the cradle would fit, (barely), there would be nowhere to keep diapers, etc. We would have to go to Baby's room to change diapers, anyway. I also like the idea of having LO in their crib from the beginning. That being said, I agree with some PP that it would be nice to have the baby right there with you, at least for the first week or two.... I think we'll plan for both, and figure out what we're comfortable with when LO gets here.

LaRue86

Baby will sleep in his/her room from the get go. My closest friends have all done this and swear by it. It makes everyone happier and then you dont have to worry about the transition later on, which tends to be more difficult on the parent than the child.  We could easily fit the crib in our room, but it is not even a consideration. I plan to breastfeed, but the plan is to pump some so DH can take one of the middle of the night feedings, so I can get my rest as well. My DH is wonderful and feels that even though I will breastfeed that a child is both parents responsibility even though he will only be off for one week and I will be home for 12, that I should be able to get some rest as well. I know there is concern with nipple confusion, but my friends have said start both from the beginning. All of their kids are breastfed and are able to go back and forth without a problem.

 

Amaya84

With my first I had to wake up and check on her every hour or two or I would freak out. I had to physically make sure she was warm, breathing, and looked content.

So I know there will be no point in trying a different room with this LO.

mari_gold

We didn't have the baby in our room the first time and it was fine. This one will start out in her own room, in her crib, too. I'll spend the first month on the bed in her room to make things easier on everyone.

LIa0909

I already know I will have to have a c-section so baby will be in our room atleast during the time that I am recovering from surgery.From there, we will probably move LO pretty quick to their own crib, but atleast during the early days of my recovery and us both having to figure out what we do with the squish, we both think this will be easiest.

waterfall11

We are planning for the baby to start in the crib from the time we get home from the hospital.  My friends whose kids are the best sleepers started in their cribs from the beginning. 

helenejr

i'm big on developing sound sleeping patterns early on for LO - which includes sleeping at all times during the night in their own room and having a very business like approah to feeding during the night - i've read that a good routine from early on will help the baby settle and sleep through much earlier.....