August 2011 Moms
Themetastic
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? for 2nd time moms - putting baby in crib right away
Themetastic
member
We cannot decide what we want to do about the sleeping situation during the first 6 weeks. I want to attempt to put the baby in his/her crib right away so that he/she doesn't get too used to be out of their room. We are getting a handed down bassinet, so we will have that on stand-by in case this is an epic fail.. but how do I know when to give up?
I would love to hear stories from moms who have done this and what it was like. Any tips and suggestions are also welcome.
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Re: ? for 2nd time moms - putting baby in crib right away
For me, if I'm being honest, the baby in my room for the first 6 months was more out of convenience for ME. DS woke every 3 hours to eat every night for the first 9 months. So, keeping him in my room was all about me not having to schlep down the hallway, into his room, feed him and put him back to sleep.
I wouldn't worry about what having him/her near or far will do to your LO.
This baby is going straight to their crib in their room when they come home. DD was in our room the first year and it was a year of no sleep for all of us. So this baby we are going straight to crib. I say don't give up if you want baby in their room stay strong and keep doing it or you will end up like me at 1 year and they are in your bed hogging it. When we finally switched Ellie to her crib she actually started sleeping 9 to 10 hours straight at night. She loves her room too she prefers her bed for all naps and bedtime now.
My sister had my nephew in her room for 2 nights and then said this is not going to work and put him in his crib from then on. She said it coould be a pain getting up and walking to his room half asleep those first few weeks but well worth the sleep she got from having him in his own room.
We have an arms reach cosleeper, and the baby will be in there for the first few months. Like PP said, it was way more convenient for me when we had DD, I could just roll over, pick her up and feed her, and plop her right back in there.
We did naps in her room, so she was familiar with the crib that way.
The best advice I have regarding sleep is do what you have to do to get the most sleep possible. Don't worry about starting "bad habits," those can be changed. When your current situation doesn't work anymore, just find a way to get everyone back on track.
Ditto this. Seriously the best advice you can take.
We co-slept and DD would nap/sleep in her crib - they are babies, they can adjust pretty easily
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I'd say this'll be something you'll ultimately decide on when your LO arrives. It will depend a lot on your LO's temperament and how you end up preferring to handle the nighttime wakings.
This is what I loved about having a Pack 'n' Play in addition to my crib, because I ended up wanting DD next to me for, like, 6 months. I could NOT sleep at all unless she was right next to me. If I put her in her crib, I'd be up every five minutes checking on her breathing, and then again when she woke up for a feeding. At least, with her in the P'n'P by my bed, I could just reach in and feel her chest rising and falling, and only had to really get up to BF or get her a bottle. She ended up being just fine when I transitioned her to her crib - she didn't even bat an eyelash. But then, I may have just been lucky, lol. Lots of other parents have had much different experiences and preferred different ways of handling it. GL making your decision!
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i think you'll probably figure it out when LO comes.
But with LO #1 she was in her crib from day 1. I had planned it this way and it worked out. Now I ebf and my husband NEVER got up once with the baby so I figured why wake him up by having the baby in our room (plus Idont think I would've slept with the baby in our room because I was very in tune to any sound she would make). Yes the first couple weeks it was a pain to walk down the hall (especially with the stitches) and a couple nights I slept in the glider in the nursery, but I also have a baby who loves her crib. If she wakes up early in the morning or from a nap, she'll babble and play in her crib just fine. I love that and I love that I never had to transition her to the crib. Just what worked for me.
I had a bassinet in our room right next to our bed. I had to have my baby near me. The funny thing is I was adamantly against bed sharing with my DD, before she was born, I swore she would always be in her bassinet beside our bed, we didn't even make it the first night home. She would only sleep on me for the first 3-4 weeks of life, then after that, she would start out in her bassinet, but always ended up in bed with me to nurse and then we would just fall asleep like that. I put her in her crib at 6 months, but still got up to nurse her until she was 11.5 months old, those were the longest 11.5 months of my life!
Just do what works for you and your baby and re-evaluate when it stops working for you.
DD slept in her crib from day one and we didnt have any problems with it. DD#2 will also sleep in her crib in her room from day one.
I honestly didnt mind walking to her room to get her to feed during the night. A few times DH brought her to me to feed in our bed and then put her back in her crib afterwards. every time i ended up jumping up in the middle of the night & tearing the sheets off because i thought i'd fallen asleep with her in the bed with me. so i preferred going to get her, walking to the family room & feeding, putting her back in bed and then me going to bed.
I thought we would put DS in his room from the beginning so that we wouldn't have to have him adjust. But after getting up 6 or 7 times the first night home, he was moved to our room. Keeping him in your room is more for you than the baby. All you have to do is pick him up and climb back in bed to feed then lay him back down and go right back to sleep. I personally wouldn't want to be walking around the house multiple times in the middle of the night.
That being said, if your preference is to start out in the crib and walk back and forth between your room and the baby's room several times a night, go for it. Most moms keep the baby in their room for the simple convenience.
Agreed!! You will probably want to keep them in your room at first... I think almost all moms do. I did. However, I wasnt getting any sleep and that ='s a mommy monster.... so I ended up moving my son at about 3-4 wks into his crib. Still didnt get a lot of sleep- but i was more relaxed. Just used a monitor and everythign was great.
Good luck!
We kept DD #1 in our room in a bassinet for about 3 months. It was really more out of convenience for me during night feeds, it was nice to just have her in the room. Around 3 months we put the bassinet basket inside her crib for a week, then took the canopy down for a week, then just started putting her to bed inside her crib. The gradual transition worked really nicely and she slept without complaint. I think we'll be doing the same thing this time around.
Honestly, once the baby arrives you'll know what you want to do. Do whatever you feel is best for you and your family, and don't let other people dictate what you "should" or "should not" be doing.