Bassinet vs. Rocker vs. Pack & Play for sleeping with us

bellaitalia80 · June 2015

Hi I am a FTM looking for somebadvice. I started my registry last night and found that bassinets are not so popular for newborn sleeping anymore. The store only had 2 bassinets and said that most parents are using infant rockers instead now. I did some research on the Fisher Price sleep and play rocker, this is the one I was interested in. I found that the baby does not sleep flat and its more like a chair than a bassinet in that way. I kept reading about safe sleep and it says babies are supposed to be in a firm surface and laying flat to prevent SIDS. I am wondering if anyone has advice from experience on this topic? I am not sure if I could sleep the baby in the pack and play when he comes home or if I should just buy a bassinet even though it can't be used for that long. Any advice would be appreciated

Elsa1984 · June 2015

My daughter slept in a Pack'n'Play for the first 5 weeks. I know some people are against this, but we had no plans to let her stay in our room very long, and we didn't want to deal with purchasing multiple pieces of equipment for short term use (the P'n'P was something we would be using for travel and grandparents house anyway). The Rock'n'Play things came out around the time that she was born, and I didn't bother getting one because I didn't see the point. HOWEVER, had I known she was going to have tummy problems and be a projectile spitter-upper, I would have gotten the R'n'P...even if it was just for the first few weeks. Even though we held her upright for 30-45min after feedings and burped her really good, there were many times we would wake up to her with spit up all over her face and she was choking in it. Eventually, we had to figure out ways of trying to prop her up while she was sleeping, which led to many nights in her Fisher Price Snuggabunny bouncy chair, just so her spit up would run down her face and she wouldn't be choking on it.

My husband and I have agreed that if #2 ends up having the same issue as #1 did, we will be purchasing a R'n'P.

dogperson11 · June 2015

I was adamant that my daughter would sleep in her crib or a flat basinette from day 1. She had other plans. She wouldn't sleep anywhere but on our chests the first 3 weeks of her life. Screamed if we put her on her back. It was so bad our pediatrician did an ultrasound of her back to make sure nothing was physically wrong. Long story short, I went to target at 9pm one night desperate and came home with a Rock n Play. She slept in it right away and stayed in it until she was 5 months old. We then transitioned her to her flat crib.

Sugarplum0217 · June 2015

My LO slept in the pack n play bassinet for the first week and then the r n p until now at 12 weeks. We will transition her back into the pack n play and then her crib in the next week or so. I absolutely love the rock n play, especially since I could have it right next to me in bed and rock her to sleep while laying in bed. I got it on a great sale for $30.

WillyBean · June 2015

Yes, it is recommended for babies to sleep on a flat surface and on their backs. However, some babies do better in a rock n play style bassinet due to reflux and other things. And then some babies do just fine on a flat surface right away. Maybe give yourself options to start off with and return the one you don't end up using? Our pack n play (nuna sena) has a bassinet type feature where it raises and can be used longer than a typical bassinet. I think 4moms has one like that too and there are probably more brands out there. good luck!!