Have baby sleep in crib from night one?

javagrl

Has anyone had the baby sleep in their crib right away?  Our nursery is right next to our bedroom so I was contemplating doing this, however I am just having a really hard time thinking about my baby sleeping in general.  Let me preface the rest by saying that I lost my first daughter (not to SIDS- she was born at 20 weeks due to incompetent cervix) but I am very scared of losing another child and am super paranoid about SIDS. 

Besides having baby sleep in his crib from night one, we have a few other options.  We do have a PNP with bassinet attachment but it is already set up downstairs, and it is bigger and not as portable as I thought it would be.  We also have a RnP.  We could get a bassinet from a friend, but I am just not sure if we would use it when the weight limit is so low anyway.  

One of my best friends is on the SIDS prevention state board and she said that they don't recommend babies sleep in RnPs or PNPs and that cribs, cradles, or bassinets are safest for baby.  However I don't really like bassinets due to all the padding around them and she said she doesn't either.   She said she thinks putting him in his crib from night one is a good idea because there isn't that transition later and it is safer than most sleeping places for baby anyway.  I am just wondering what other new moms are doing.

Sorry so long and I am sure you are all thinking I am super paranoid- which I admit I am!  TIA for your help and advice!

persephonerose

We put the crib in our room and baby sleeps there most of the time. We have a pnp set up downstairs for naps or when we are doing other things. You could try an Armsreach cosleeper but they are a little pricey. But it is about half the size of a PnP. 

MRSJFH

I put my little guy in the crib right away. His room is right accross from ours. My sister bought the Angel Care monitor system that helps detect SIDS. She knew I would be paranoid as well. It definately eases my mind having that system. Plus, I love that I don't have to transition him later.

anonsouthernbell

It's actually recommended by AAP and other organizations that you co-sleep (same room) until at least 6 months for SIDS prevention.  BFing also decreases SIDS risk.

tortuga47

We had him in the porta crib for two nights but then transitioned him to the crib on night 3 home. He does very well.

Vegasbb

We love our RnP, but I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a crib from day 1. We BF and LO is up 2x a night to eat still (2 and a half months). I keep saying we will move him to the nursery, but honestly I'm in no rush to move him until he starts sleeping better. I would feel comfortable with him being in his crib but I'm way too lazy to leave my cozy bed to feed him in his nursery at night. As is, the RnP is right next to my bed so I just grab him, feed him, and put him right back - so easy! 

lillypots

I read somewhere a while ago that it is rec'd to have the baby sleep in the same room as you for the first few months because it helps to regulate their breathing patterns (presumably because they can hear you breathing).  I just found this:  In his years of research on co-sleeping, Harvard psychiatrist Michael Commons has discovered that babies who sleep alone are at increased risk for SIDS and stress disorders. Co-sleeping babies sleep in physiological harmony with their mothers. The proximity of the mother and infant actually regulates the infant's breathing, sleep state, arousal patterns, heart rates and body temperature. Babies who are left to cry alone experience elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes damage to the developing brain. "It makes you more prone to the effects of stress, more prone to illness, including mental illness and makes it harder to recover from illness," explains Commons.

The switch to a crib isn't that big a deal - you are going to be weaning your kid off of so many things in its young life (Bottles, Paci's, pureed food, naps etc.) - whats one more! 

Mom2Mack1

tortuga47:

We had him in the porta crib for two nights but then transitioned him to the crib on night 3 home. He does very well.

This is what we did, except he was in a PNP in our room for two nights.  His room is right across the hall from ours.  DD was in our room for the first 8 weeks in the bassinet part of the PNP.

juliane2004

We put our youngest in her crib right away. I think it's a great idea.

laraashleyt

We have had our twins in RnPs since birth, in our room. We each have one baby next to our side of the bed. It was just easier when trying to feed every 3 hours in the middle of the night. Now, they are sleeping 7+ hours, but I'm in no rush yet to move them to their cribs. I love the RnPs because when I have slept at my parents house, we've just brought the RnPs and they have no problems at night. It is also great for reflux babies since its at an incline. 

beh3e

Yeah I'm kind of with all the PPs, how are RnPs and PnPs any less safe for baby than a crib?  Especially the PnP, which is basically a crib with mesh siding.  It just seems weird to me.  But I second all the others that said them sleeping in your room is suppose to help prevent SIDS.

Also, you could look into the AngelCare monitor, which is a sensor that goes under the mattress to detect movement (breathing) and there's also a Snuza (which is what I have) which is a sensor that clips onto the front of their diaper and detects breathing as well.  I know mine gave me a great piece of mind.

CarolynTheRed

We've got the crib in our room (Our GP and what I've read suggest keeping the baby in the same room for SIDS prevention, so we went with our gut on it) and it's been the primary sleep space from day one (with a little unintentional sleeping on mom's lap after very sleepy feeds when I drop off, so we bought warm pyjamas and have no blankets on the bed).

I figured why introduce anything we'll have to get rid of? (barring major issues - if we'd got the kid who screams all night, we'd have probably tried something else) So far, well, we're sleep deprived. But R is one month old.

javagrl

Thanks everyone for the advice- I have heard that about baby sleeping in the same room as the parents but we could never fit the crib in our room and I am just not sure other sleeping arrangements are safe other than maybe a cradle.  The reason the RnP and PNP are not as safe as a crib according to everything I have read and my friend on the SIDS board is because with the RnP is not a flat sleep surface and the PNP mattress is not as safe as a crib mattress and increases the baby's chances of rebreathing the same air twice which is a big problem with SIDS.  I know people say that babies don't like sleeping flat but with the RnP their airways are not as open because they aren't flat.  I know many people use them for sleep and I don't judge people who do by any means, but I am just not sure if I would feel safe with that.  I wish I could come up with a good solution!

persephonerose

javagrl:

Thanks everyone for the advice- I have heard that about baby sleeping in the same room as the parents but we could never fit the crib in our room and I am just not sure other sleeping arrangements are safe other than maybe a cradle.  The reason the RnP and PNP are not as safe as a crib according to everything I have read and my friend on the SIDS board is because with the RnP is not a flat sleep surface and the PNP mattress is not as safe as a crib mattress and increases the baby's chances of rebreathing the same air twice which is a big problem with SIDS.  I know people say that babies don't like sleeping flat but with the RnP their airways are not as open because they aren't flat.  I know many people use them for sleep and I don't judge people who do by any means, but I am just not sure if I would feel safe with that.  I wish I could come up with a good solution!

We use a crib from Ikea, it is smaller than most cribs and about the same size as a PNP so if you are set on using a crib you could try one of those since space is an issue.  

HappyMama30

All three of my children went in their cribs from night one.  The nursery is just down the hall and I could hear them immediately. 

HappyMama30

lillypots:

I read somewhere a while ago that it is rec'd to have the baby sleep in the same room as you for the first few months because it helps to regulate their breathing patterns (presumably because they can hear you breathing).  I just found this:  In his years of research on co-sleeping, Harvard psychiatrist Michael Commons has discovered that babies who sleep alone are at increased risk for SIDS and stress disorders. Co-sleeping babies sleep in physiological harmony with their mothers. The proximity of the mother and infant actually regulates the infant's breathing, sleep state, arousal patterns, heart rates and body temperature. Babies who are left to cry alone experience elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes damage to the developing brain. "It makes you more prone to the effects of stress, more prone to illness, including mental illness and makes it harder to recover from illness," explains Commons.

The switch to a crib isn't that big a deal - you are going to be weaning your kid off of so many things in its young life (Bottles, Paci's, pureed food, naps etc.) - whats one more! 

 

Leaving your newborn to cry in their crib is a whole other story and doesn't have anything to do with being in a crib in their own room. Right? Right.

abbp23

We do both the crib and RnP. We put LO in his room at about 3 weeks because we weren't sleeping because LO is a noisy sleeper. You have to do what works for you. Have you thought about a video monitor? We use one and love it. I can hear him breath and see if he spits up. Its fantastic and I sleep better knowing I can roll over and still see him! 

pb_bride

I know in advance that I want DS to be in our bedroom for the first 6 months (AAP recommendation), so we set up his crib in our bedroom  We also had a RnP in our room.  We did put DS in the crib from day 1... we would start the night w/him in the RnP as it was easier for him to fall asleep in, then we would move him into his crib after the 1st MOTN feed.  We weaned him off the RnP completely by 5w; DS has been sleeping in his crib the entire night since.

rcbuko

All three of my kids have slept in their crib from day one home. I too was paranoid as I have also had losses and use the Baby Sense Monitor to help with my paranoia. Two of my three kids have been wonderful sleepers and there is no way I would have been able to sleep through the night in the early months without the monitor. I am so sorry for your loss.

Stephorse

We tried to put our baby in his crib right away and he would not sleep in there. Where he wound up sleeping was in his swing for the first month and then we were able to finally transition him into his crib. I would say if you can get him in his crib right away then that would be great! Otherwise maybe something small in your room for the first month may work out better too. That is where we kept the swing at night for him to sleep in.

groundedwife

We did the crib from day 1 and couldn't be happier. You will find lots of posts on this board about how difficult or stressful the transition to crib is. Why do that to you and your baby? The less changes for you baby the better, IMO. 

javagrl

HappyMama30:

lillypots:

I read somewhere a while ago that it is rec'd to have the baby sleep in the same room as you for the first few months because it helps to regulate their breathing patterns (presumably because they can hear you breathing).  I just found this:  In his years of research on co-sleeping, Harvard psychiatrist Michael Commons has discovered that babies who sleep alone are at increased risk for SIDS and stress disorders. Co-sleeping babies sleep in physiological harmony with their mothers. The proximity of the mother and infant actually regulates the infant's breathing, sleep state, arousal patterns, heart rates and body temperature. Babies who are left to cry alone experience elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes damage to the developing brain. "It makes you more prone to the effects of stress, more prone to illness, including mental illness and makes it harder to recover from illness," explains Commons.

The switch to a crib isn't that big a deal - you are going to be weaning your kid off of so many things in its young life (Bottles, Paci's, pureed food, naps etc.) - whats one more! 

 

Leaving your newborn to cry in their crib is a whole other story and doesn't have anything to do with being in a crib in their own room. Right? Right.

 

Yes, thank you- I would never ever leave him to cry in his crib!  As I said, his room is right next to ours.  I could hear him without a monitor but I will definitely be getting an angel care or something similar just to be extra safe.  As soon as he cries, I will be there!