What is your baby sleeping in at first?

VioletandRose · March 2015

I'd like for the baby to sleep in our room for at least a few months. I've thought of getting a co-sleeper, but it seems silly to spend almost $200 on something the baby will only sleep in for a short time. We live in a 100-year-old brownstone, so space is limited. I don't think a full size pack n' play will fit next to the bed. My thoughts were to buy a travel bassinet (Chicco makes a nice one, and so do Delta and Fisher Price) or to have the baby sleep in a rock n' play (which I will purchase anyway). Where is your baby sleeping for the first few months?

aah1013 · March 2015

We used a Rock n Play and it worked great. Will plan to use it again with this one.

naka92 · March 2015

I'm thinking of buying a co-sleeper as well. We dont have the space issue but I just like the idea of having baby close for the first few months. They are a bit expensive yes, but you could always see if you can find a good 2nd hand one! Id imagine a lot of parents sell theirs when their LO starts sleeping in their own room

Second hand stuff is a great way to save some money.

Lexie Marie · March 2015

We will use our PnP (raised up) butted up next to my side of the bed. Acts just like a bassinet but bigger! I did this for the first two and plan to with #3 as well. Worked out fine until we were ready to move to there own room at 6 months.

ASalsgiver2010 · March 2015

My DD slept in her rock n play for 4 months

JaqiDec04 · March 2015

A co sleeper never worked for DD. I couldn't get out of bed because of my CS. The only way is to roll.

We did the RnP with DD, but it made it impossible to get her to sleep in her crib or pack n play because it was flat.

So with this one, we are putting the crib in our bedroom, and a pack n play in our living room.

ravenbird007 · March 2015

A friend of ours is giving us a bassinet, so we plan on either having the baby sleep with us, or in that. My boyfriend doesn't like the idea of having the baby in the same room just in case of extracurricular activities, but I'm sure he'd prefer moving to the spare room for the rare occasion rather than waking up every couple of hours, and going to the nursery to check on the baby.

on_the_move · March 2015

I've heard great things about the rock and play, but we have so many things to put a baby in that I don't think I could convince DH to get something else. I always thought the baby would sleep in our room for a while, but both of my kids slept better in their own room. I hear them move or moan just a bit in their sleep and that wakes me which wakes them up. Just know it is a possibility that you may want to just put the baby in it's own crib very soon.

rue:D · March 2015

We are having twins so I plan on using a pack n play for the first few months in our room. The babies' room is a very long walk down the hall!

kimberlygo · March 2015

My son slept in a crib in his room from day 1. We didn't have to deal with any transition issues later on.

eat111315 · March 2015

We used a rnp for the first two and an on it for this one two. It does make for a transition to sleeping flat but we started doing that with naps around two months so by around for months they could sleep flat at night too. It worked well when traveling when they were little too.

smlowe9311 · March 2015

It will be cramped but lo will be in our room in the pack n play just like dd was. It's just so much easier with having to go back to work after 6 weeks and getting up multiple times to breastfeed. Op could you looking into a bedsharing pillow? I'm not sure how expensive they run but as for space that might help.

allielouu · March 2015

My daughter slept all night from being a newborn till about 5 months in a rock and play! It was absolutely amazing! However, transitioning her to sleep without it was horrible! Needless to say she now sleeps with us in out bed.. I will honestly probably use the rock and play again, but I will alternate between that and the pack and play so she doesn't get used to one thing to bad.

CocoR04 · March 2015

We had trouble transitioning DS from the inclined Rock n play to the crib, but he had reflux and it really helped, so no regrets. With new baby, we will try the crib in our room and move to the rock n play if it doesn't work or if reflux is bad. Nice to have options!

Littlehummingbird · March 2015

I'm struggling with this too! I did find a co-sleeper that doubles as a pack and play, which makes me feel a little more justified in spending the money.

https://www.armsreach.com/shop/co-sleeper_bassinets/mini-arc-convertible

I want to measure it out in our bedroom to make sure it won't be too cramped. We are getting a rock and play from my sister and so many people I know swear by those for sleeping! I don't know what to do!

VioletandRose · March 2015

Littlehummingbird said:
I'm struggling with this too! I did find a co-sleeper that doubles as a pack and play, which makes me feel a little more justified in spending the money.

https://www.armsreach.com/shop/co-sleeper_bassinets/mini-arc-convertible

I want to measure it out in our bedroom to make sure it won't be too cramped. We are getting a rock and play from my sister and so many people I know swear by those for sleeping! I don't know what to do!

I was thinking the co-sleeper would be good for that reason (transitions to a PnP), but watched a video on how to install and collapse it, etc. Seems like a huge pain! You actually have to strap the co-sleeper to your bed mattress (lift off the whole mattress). So using it to travel to grandparent's, etc, doesn't seem very practical. But if you plan on using it as a PnP after the child has already transitioned to their crib, then it would be more practical.

ClaireBear90 · March 2015

Both babies were in their crib within a week or two. The first week is rough and until my milk comes in, it's easier to have them right next to me in a bassinet so that I can feed them frequently. I didn't expect to even use a crib (I wanted to co-sleep!) but we all slept much better in our own beds. I couldn't sleep deeply even with a bassinet because I would wake up with every squeak/grunt/sigh and newborns make a LOT of noise! Whether in bassinet or crib, swaddling is a sanity saver for us to help them stay asleep longer.

Whatever you decide, hold onto your plans lightly and be flexible to changing to meet your needs and baby's needs.

I prefer to have as few room/sleeping arrangement transitions as possible because they're stressful for everyone. Neither of my babies has liked sleeping in a pack n play, so I only use that when I have to on trips.

ETA: To save money, we borrowed a bassinet from friends for our first baby and bought a used one for $10 for our second.

AshleyEH1 · March 2015

What do you guys think about a Snuggle Nest? (https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/baby-delight-reg-snuggle-nest-reg-surround-portable-infant-sleeper-in-grey-white/1040323169?Keyword=co-sleeper)

We have a king-size bed, so ample room in the bed, but also have a really old house with small rooms (i.e., not much space at all around the bed).

Littlehummingbird · March 2015

@VioletandRose that's really good to know, thanks!!! That seems like a pain!

jamielynne1533 · March 2015

Used a pack n play with my son. Will be doing the same this time around. It was much easier for me to pick him up after my c-section. I slept on the couch with the pack n play next to me by the end. Our bed is too high and hated rolling out so the couch and pnp worked best for me. Also, I could watch TV in the middle of the night while breastfeeding and not wake the hubs who had to go back to work right away.

mishala12 · March 2015

There is a really cool diy on hpw to turn a $60 ikea crib into a cosleeper

jenhaug · March 2015

Keep in mind that any type of bouncer or swing isn't best for all night sleep being as their chin rests on their chest and they won't breath as well, if they have a bad cold maybe but not for the whole night.

hashtagblessed · March 2015

Rock n' Play is the best money you will ever spend. DS was in it for the first couple months, even after we moved him to the nursery, and he napped in it even longer. It was amazing.

erinboehme · March 2015

I have a bassinet that rocks and vibrates. It's amazing. I can roll over and push the vibrate button in the middle of the night and is kind of like a snooze button for babies!

sweet+cheeks · March 2015

We used a co-sleeper for DD and will again for this LO. DD stayed in our room until 5 months. I found I slept better if the co sleeper was on DH's side of the bed. I was waking up too much for every little groan and snort. When she was on the other side of the bed DH would check on her frequently and only wake me when I was needed for BFing. He would pick her up and hand her to me which really helped since my abs were shot to hell in the beginning and I had a hard time lifting her out of the co sleeper while in bed. It also shared the load a bit with the night time waking which I really appreciated. I wasn't the only one having to get up repeatedly.

aah1013 · March 2015

JaqiDec04 said:
A co sleeper never worked for DD. I couldn't get out of bed because of my CS. The only way is to roll.

We did the RnP with DD, but it made it impossible to get her to sleep in her crib or pack n play because it was flat.

So with this one, we are putting the crib in our bedroom, and a pack n play in our living room.

We used a reflux pillow/wedge under the crib mattress when we transitioned our daughter from r&p to crib. It seemed to work well.

JustHyr · March 2015

DD slept in a RnP for a LONG time. Like 5-6 months. She slept like a rock right from the start in that thing. It was kind of a PITA to get her transitioned into the crib after that though... so I'm considering doing a PNP instead. Haven't decided yet.

ChariZae · March 2015

We were gifted a co-sleeper and used it for both DDs for about the first 6 mos. I LOVED it, as I nursed them, and it was so easy to feed them and place them back in the sleeper in the middle of the night. We also have a pack and play, but we honestly didn't use it much for sleeping unless we traveled. We plan to use the co-sleeper for this little one as well.

As for the hassle of installing/breaking down, we originally used the strap under the mattress, but when we moved we honestly forgot about the strap and I hadn't thought about it until I saw this thread (and that was 2 years and 2 children ago!). We have a carpeted bedroom, so it didn't move at all and we transitioned both girls to cribs as soon as they started trying to pull up on their own. It was never an issue for us. And since we had a pack and play as well, we didn't break down the co-sleeper until we were finished using it.

LiveNLove44 · March 2015

My best friend swore by a Rock 'n' Play, so I bought one for my brother and SIL when their son was born. They confirmed how great it was. DH and I bought one and used it until DD was able to roll over and then transitioned her to the crib. It all happened in perfect time. She was in our room in the RNP for long enough that she was sleeping longer periods of time by the time she was in the crib (which made night feedings less inconvenient since she was in a different room). She transitioned well and we all slept better when she was in the other room, but the first weeks were best with her in our room in the RNP!

VallieS86 · March 2015

One of hubby's coworkers has 2kids and is done with babies so they wanted to get rid of their bassinet and bouncer so we bought both from them for 60 bucks. I don't mind that it's gently used and we can save a little money and spend it on other baby things

sugarplum513 · March 2015

The Rock and Play sleeper worked great for us with DD, we will do the same for this LO.

VioletandRose · March 2015

Do you guys do anything to sanitize/clean the used items you buy? I'm not too proud to buy used things, especially for myself (I've already been buying consignment maternity clothes), but I worry about used items for the baby. It's one thing if it comes from someone I know, but buying it on ebay or craigslist from a stranger concerns me. FTM and am just paranoid about everything. But most likely this will be my only child (BF has a special needs daughter from a previous marriage) and buying used just seems like the practical thing to do. Thanks

nbear618 · March 2015

Because of our space issues, we'll have the baby's crib in our room up until we move. The baby will be roughly 4 months when we move.

ljburrelli · March 2015

We used a rock n play for roughly 5 months with DS. It was perfect for me since I nursed and also a little elevated which helped with reflux/gas. I play on using it again for baby #2.

bntfroggie · March 2015

We have enough room to put the crib in our bedroom. So we will have baby with us in the bedroom for first 3 months then move the crib down the hall.

MamaOwl15 · March 2015

My son slept a couple months in his bouncy seat then a couple months in a borrowed cosleeper then in his crib at the end of our bed. I've heard that room-sharing for the first few months helps lower the risk of SIDS.

This time, I'm not sure. We have very little space around our bed now, too little to fit the pack'n'play or the crib (even at the end of the bed). My son had reflux, and a rock'n'play would have been great the first couple months so maybe I'll look for one of those. Otherwise, I'll consider just putting the baby in the room with him from day 1.

Maybe we'll put the pack'n'play in the living room and I'll sleep on the recliner the first few weeks.

dlynn484 · March 2015

We have a bassinet that was given to us to use. With my son, he grew out of it and then I moved him to the Pack N Play. If we didn't have the option of a bassinet, I would just use the Pack N Play.

1stComesLove421 · March 2015

Both my bed and a pack n play. But mostly with me for the first few months.

deanna1313 · March 2015

Rock and play! Did it with my son and will do it with this one.

Pack and play is too big in the bedroom, co-sleeper is another pricey item and is used for such a small amount of time.
The rock and play isn't used long either, but it is much more affordable.

My son didn't like laying flat for a while and the rock and play is kind of like a sling/hammock thing. It cradles the baby in a nice position. My son loved it!

mamasnowwhite · March 2015

Already rearranged our room so that a pack n play will fit bedside. We have a pretty small apartment so it doesn't make sense for us to have a bassinet in addition to PnP. Planning on transitioning to crib, hopefully will be "easy"

pocogirl89 · March 2015

Check out the Bloom Alma Mini crib! It's tiny and foldable, perfect if you have limited space like we do but want baby in your room, and baby can sleep in it up to 2 years (although it's small!) i imagine we will use it up to 18mos... We'll see! I also kind of prefer it than a co sleeper because I am a wild sleeper and need like 4 pillows and am afraid with a regular cosleeper that is open to my bed that I'll suffocate my baby with all my blankets and pillows flying around although I'm sure I'll be sleeping with one eye open once the baby is here

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