Product Spotlight: Early sleep solutions (travel cribs, bassinets, co-sleepers, etc)

mamanbebe · December 2018

Let's talk about early sleep solutions for your new roommate

Travel Cribs
Bassinets
Co-sleepers
Moses Baskets
And more!

Panaceia · December 2018

I think I'm leaning towards a Halo bassinet this time as the side pushes down and I'll be recovering from a RCS so do not want to get out of my bed to feed in the MOTN.

mamanbebe · December 2018

These are the things I would love reviews of if anyone has used them:

Moba Moses Basket (https://mobausa.com)

Guava Family Lotus Crib w/ Bassinet Conversion (https://www.guavafamily.com)

Image: https://www.smartertravel.com/uploads/2014/06/product-lotuscrib.jpeg

Nuna Sena Aire Mini Travel Crib (https://www.nuna.eu/sena-aire-mini)

snootles · December 2018

We had a Bed Nest co sleeper with our son and will use again. But we mostly bed shared to be honest.

indulgentgypsy · December 2018

Love this thread!!!

With my boys we had a bassinet next to the bed. They started off each night in the bassinet, and after night nursing ended up in bed between my husband and I. I have always wanted one of those co-sleepers that attach to the bed, but never had the money to get one. Our solution will either be a bassinet or co-sleeper for the early days as we currently live in a single-wide 2 bedroom trailer. Hope to move before the mouse arrives, but who knows.

mamanbebe · December 2018

With my son I had the original 4moms Breeze playard w/ bassinet attachment. I used that to have him sleep in the room with us for the first few week and later, because it's so large and sturdy, I used it as his crib when we got rid of all the nursery furniture. It was great in that respects but it is SO HEAVY. Not travel-friendly at all because of size and weight.

nolemomma14 · December 2018

With my first son we just used a pack n play in our room until we moved him to the crib in his nursery. He was about 8 weeks when we transitioned to his crib.

With my second we used the rock n play in our room until we transferred to the crib around 3 months. My second took longer to transition to the crib than my first. Not sure if it’s because we used the RnP and it has the incline, or just coincidence.

The RnP is super easy to move around the house though, and I loved just moving it wherever I was going to be. We will probably use a combination of the RnP and PnP for this one

ameliabedelia-2 · December 2018

I'm one of those rule breakers who had my LO in a rock n'play for the first 2 months or so. After at, we moved to an arms reach co-sleeper which I really liked as well. I like the idea of the halo, but from what I hear they have a lower weight limit, is that correct? I'd hate to spend that much money and only get a few months out of it.

nerdtoyourmother · December 2018

I hadn't done my research and let the first one sleep in a RNP for a LONG time... (don't shame me, I know better now!) For the second, we bought a Chicco Lullago off of FB Marketplace, and I loved it!!!! It doesn't take up as much room as a pnp, and it was super easy to take apart for travel. We will definitely be using that again!

Bear14+ · December 2018

I'm also guilty of using a R&P and have zero hesitation to use one again! I usually camp out on the couch with a R&P for a while before transitioning to the crib... From the swaddle I go to the Merlin Magic Sleepsuit...

We sleep with the TV on and my husband gets home late, so it makes it really hard to sleep with a baby in our bedroom. I like no TV and white noise to teach baby when to sleep.... so it's just easier...

I had a queen bed in DD's room and that made things amazingly easier, I slept in there so many nights...especially after MOTN feeding.

ameliabedelia-2 · December 2018

@Bear14+ , Merlin's magic sleepsuit.....

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/5z/9jrdjexqmz8l.png

ketomommy · December 2018

We used one of the co-sleepers that attached to the bed with our first. I might use that again or a pack and play.

frenchbaby18 · December 2018

We used the Baby Bjorn bassenet for the first 4 ish months in our room. It was super light and easy to move which was great. I chose it because it looked nice (not sure that’s the right way to choose things

and at the time we had a open loft apartment so you could see everything! Definitely not cost efficient though for big babies - a friend used mine after I was done and her son grew out of it in his first month!

Panaceia · December 2018

I had DD in her crib for the first 6 months. Until her crib became the devil. We've been bedsharing ever since. I will likely bedshare with the new baby too but I want to try to keep the new baby in a bassinet/crib for as long as possible because DD still bed shares with me and I want to make sure it's safe for baby before introducing baby into the bed. We sleep in DD's room and have a king sized bed so there will be lots of room for the 3 of us eventually. SO gets our room all to himself.

Panaceia · December 2018

@ameliabedelia-2 I heard a lot of people are not fans of the Halo but I only need it for the first few months and I like the design so I'm going to give it a try anyways. There is a maximum weight limit of 30 lbs and you can't use it once baby starts to be able to pull up or sit unassisted. They recommend using it only up to about 5 months.

asupernovablizzardstorm · December 2018

Our bedroom is huge and half of it is empty so we'll be doing the full crib in our room. Pretty much like a nursery in the master room.

smoochiemama16 · December 2018

I really disliked the halo bassinet. The base is HUGE and I always stubbed my toes on it in the middle of the night. My daughter was also a super light sleeper, so if I needed to get out of bed for any reason, I had to swing the bassinet away from the bed and she would wake up. It’s got all of the bells and whistles but sometimes I think simpler is better. With this baby we will do the pack n play or borrow a friends sidecar sleeper.

Panaceia · December 2018

@smoochiemama16 I'm planning on getting the basic one. No sound or movement or anything...just the bassinet. Other than the base and her waking up, how was the function? I only need it get through the CS recovery. After that I'll be doing the full crib beside my bed. Or I could do the full crib right from the start...

ameliabedelia-2 · December 2018

@Panaceia, we used the arms reach co-sleeper and loved it. It worked until 6 months or so when we move LO to his room. They are really easy to find used, I got mine in perfect condition for $30.

Panaceia · December 2018

@ameliabedelia-2 I was looking at this before but didn't realize you can pull the side down too! I'll have to go back and take another look. I can't remember why I took it off my list before....I think it had something to do with our safety regulations in Canada.

cindler · December 2018

FTM here. Am I crazy for not wanting baby in my room at all? Is it possible to put baby in his/her crib in the nursery from day 1? I know I'll have to get up in the middle of the night, but our room and our bed are pretty sacred for DH and I.

ameliabedelia-2 · December 2018

@cindler, for both of mine, middle of the night nursing was so much easier in bed. By the early morning, baby slept on my chest while I snoozed, neither would go back in their bassinet after 4 in the morning. They also say that sleeping in the same room as your baby reduces the risk of SIDS.

mamanbebe · December 2018

@cindler it’s totally preference! I can’t speak for anyone else but I was so tired I appreciated the close proximity but also paranoid and wanted to keep a close watch. I bed shared over the first week or two, then bassinet on the playard and moved my son to his room around a month because he was/is such a loud sleeper.

frenchbaby18 · December 2018

@cindler In France before you check out of the hospital someone comes to give you sleep guidelines that say baby in the parents room for at least 6 months on a separate surface with nothing around it etc. We lasted 4

the reason we stopped though was that she started being able to pull up in her bassinet so we needed to put her in her crib which definitely didn’t fit in our room!

The midwives at the birthing center also gave us co-sleeping guidelines separately because, as many other moms on here can attest to, it is bound to happen if breast feeding, even if you say you definitely will never do it! I was glad to learn how to do it safely.

erynpdx · December 2018

@mamanbebe we used the Nuna Sena pnp with our first and loved it. The full size though- I think we got almost 2yrs out of it. that didn’t really kick in for a good bit though- I think we did a month in the RnP and then were pretty much co-sleepers- at least for most of the night.
This time I’m thinking about the dockatot to help facilitate that.
Also kind of dreaming of a Snoo after a couple friends have just raved- I highly doubt I’m going to find it in the budget, but maybe their babies will outgrow theirs by July??? 😂

Bear14+ · December 2018

@cindler I've always hated my kids in my room...it was just never comfortable and we sleep with the TV on and my husband gets home late (12-1am most nights) and it was always just an awkward and disruptive thing

DD had a queen bed in her room that I decided to keep because I no longer had a guest room after #2. It was a lifesaver. The first few months I spent a lot of time *not* sleeping in my bed, but I eventually made it back there.

nopegoat · December 2018

We only have a regular crib. For the first 4 months or so we bedshare though, then for the next few months we transition to the crib in our room, then eventually to the crib in their own room.

I know many are not comfortable with bedsharing, but I highly recommend reading up on safe bedsharing just in case you have a desperate night. Shit happens, those first few months can be rough and when it comes to parenting you never say never!

Here is an article from Kelly Mom (also an AMAZING resource for all things breastfeeding).

https://kellymom.com/parenting/nighttime/cosleeping/

And another article from La Leche.

https://www.laleche.org.uk/safe-sleep-the-breastfed-baby/

mamanbebe · December 2018

@erynpdx Thanks for the review! I really like the setup style and stability of the Sena. The only thing that still has me still thinking about the Lotus is the weight and travel-friendliness plus that the bassinet conversion has rocking capabilities, but I'm not sure that's a necessity.

tsa208 · December 2018

@cindler I planned to use the crib but wound up with a bedside bassinet and cosleeping the first 6 months. However I know plenty of moms that went crib from day one with no issues. As with everything, just be prepared for anything!

babyginjuly · December 2018

I'm also having a hard time deciding if I want to first set up the crib directly in our room for baby, then eventually move it to the nursery or start with a halo bassinet or rock n play. It seems like everyone does it differently. The one thing I know is we won't be co-sleeping because hubby refuses even our dog in our bed and the little guy is 10 lbs. and sleeps at your feet and doesn't move and hubby still worries about crushing him.

Panaceia · December 2018

@babyginjuly I have never bed shared in our bed. SO moves constantly so there's no way I'd put a baby in there with him. And he is impossible to wake up. I always bed shared with DD in her room. She has never slept in our room. From day 1 I slept in a bed in her room. Now at almost 5 she has never even thought about trying to sleep in our bed. She knows her room is where she sleeps.

rgn12 · December 2018

I’m loving all these product ideas! I’m a FTM and hadn’t even thought of it until my in-laws said they wanted to get a gift for Christmas, like a bassinet or something. Luckily they got something else because I couldn’t decide. Our master bedroom is tiny... we’re running into stuff just going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I’m leaning towards a bassinet that is up against the bed or just a separate bassinet, until we switch to their own bedroom. Hubby is a super heavy sleeper and would probably squish them, so it makes me nervous with co sleeping.

Is six months pretty standard for keeping baby in bedroom? I have no idea what to expect. I’m sure it’ll be crazy! 😳

nolemomma14 · December 2018

@rgn12 it’ll be different for everyone, but 6 months is probably pretty close to average. My first was in our room for 8 weeks, and my second was in our room for 12 weeks. My first was a unicorn sleeper, and was only waking once a night at 8 weeks, so I didn’t mind going to his room once a night at that point. My second wasn’t a great sleeper, but every little toss or turn that DH and I made woke him up so we decided to move him. We will play it be ear with this one.

rgn12 · December 2018

@nolemomma14 thanks! Our nursery will be upstairs (our room is downstairs) so I’m thinking for convenience I’ll probably keep him/her with us for a while.

snootles · December 2018

For those worried about co sleeping with their partner I always slept the baby beside me with me in the middle and partner on my other side.

frenchbaby18 · December 2018

As @snootles said, when they taught me how to cosleep at the hospital, they recommended pushing the bassinet up against my side of the bed and putting my pregnancy pillow along the edge of the bed. Then baby would sleep between me and that (with no blankets or pillows anywhere near her). They recommended against having the baby on the DH side especially in the beginning because everyone is so over exhausted and Dad’s don’t have the same automatic sense of where baby is as mom’s do (apparently...). As lots of others have said though, I have many friends that had DH move to the guest room for a bit at the beginning.

mamanbebe · March 2019

Has anyone started buying bassinets, cribs, etc now that we're creeping to the end of second tri?

It looks like I might be ending up with two cool options for LO. A friend of mine offered to lend me her Nuna Sena Aire mini for however long, which is awesome. And then last night I found one of these Snuzpod bassinets for cheap and am going to go check it out tomorrow morning:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/f4/2tsj0q6xgb21.jpg

indulgentgypsy · March 2019

Well, my aunt bought my bassinet off my registry last week, so it should be here in a few week. I went for simple though - really no bells or whistles, just something that would be light to move, and fit in the very limited space of my bedroom. With purple frills cuz... well because I wanted it

Bear14+ · March 2019

I'm team rock n' play for the first little bit (I know, I know). Then I'll move the baby to the crib. I ditch the swaddle around 3 months and use the Merlin Magic Sleepsuit... because it really is magic!

greeneyedgirl12 · March 2019

Since I've heard babies have love/hate relationships with early sleeping stuff and then the moving chair things the most, I think we're going to try the bassinet that comes with the Vista first and take a view from there...

Panaceia · March 2019

I bought the Halo swivel bassinet. The one with no fancy features. I'll transition her to the crib once she can no longer safely be in the Halo.

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Product Spotlight: Early sleep solutions (travel cribs, bassinets, co-sleepers, etc)

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