Product spotlight: cribs/travel cribs/sleeping surfaces

carrotsandpeas3 · April 2020

Think we are behind on our product spotlight schedule, so thought I would start the next one. Let's try to be respectful of opinions on safe sleeping surfaces--this can be a touchy subject!

carrotsandpeas3 · April 2020

So I struggled with figuring out what to have my first kid sleep in at the beginning. At the start, had a graco pack n play with a bassinet insert down in our living room, rock n play in our bedroom (this was pre-recall), and crib in the nursery. Only place kid successfully slept for the first two weeks was the pack n play bassinet in living room. Then, we just transitioned to the crib in the nursery at 2 weeks with monitor turned up super loud because the living room was too cold for her. It was a bit of a shit show, I will be honest, but she slept okay in the crib at that point (well, as good as I expect a newborn to sleep). I am planning on getting a smaller bassinet for our room because I would like to keep this baby next to me for longer (and sleeping on the couch for 2 weeks postpartum was not ideal last time). Will keep pack n play downstairs in living room bc convenient for diaper changes and the short naps outside of my arms that we do manage to get every now and then.

Would love suggestions on a bassinet. I can't understand the price of the halo ones. I know you can pull it up to the bed easily, but I can't nurse in bed anyway. Too uncomfortable for me early on and too nervous I would fall asleep. Looking at the fisher price soothing motions bassinet since it does have motion and vibration, but also considering something more basic like the MiClassic.

Kurtni · April 2020

I used an arms reach cosleeper for a bassinet with my first. I liked it, it takes up less space than a pack n play, secures to your bed, adjustable height. It’s also flat and firm like a crib mattress so I think that made the transition to crib easier. I purposefully won’t get a bassinet with all the features like vibration because the crib won’t do those things.

It was not a great choice for csection recovery the first few weeks. If I have a planned csection, I’ll replace it with a (hopefully used) Halo I think.

Our crib is the Sundvik from IKEA. Still in great shape after my first, transitions to a toddler bed.

We have a basic pack n play, no bassinet but there is a higher platform to put the mattress on for little babies.

westslopemama · April 2020

My son was such a terrible sleeper up until around 2 months. He would only sleep well in our arms or co-sleeping. I’d like to avoid co-sleeping this time around because my husband didn’t feel comfortable with it, but I was desperate! We practiced the safest co-sleeping, but I’m hoping we can be more prepared this time and avoid it altogether. So I’m thinking of getting a bassinet that attaches to the bed or something like that.

I’m also wondering about people’s experience/opinions on the dock a tot or snuggle me organic for naps during the day. We held my son for most of his naps or used a baby carrier, but I know that won’t be as easy with a toddler running around.

babyodo · April 2020

We purchased our crib from Target on 4/20 (expected arrival on 4/24) and it still isn't here yet. I'm blaming FedEx on this one. Anyway, we decided to go with the Storkcraft Portofino 4-in-1 with the attached changing table in Espresso. I like that the baby lays in front of you head-to-foot instead of you changing the baby from the side. That was one of my requirements, because I learned the hard way with my nieces and nephews how hard that can be. We'll see how it goes since it's not here, yet.

We registered for a pack n' play with bassinet to keep downstairs in the living room, and the Fisher-Price soothing motions bassinet for our bedroom. I had read that it's much lighter than the Halo, and I like that it comes with music & movement - that would even put me to sleep, can we get one in my size? LOL Plus, I'm not sure I can justify spending that kind of money on something that 1) we don't know that she'll like, and 2) that she'll only use for 4 months, tops.

carrotsandpeas3 · April 2020

@babyodo sounds like we have basically the same set up!

babyodo · April 2020

carrotsandpeas3 said:

@babyodo sounds like we have basically the same set up!

Right? LOL

It just makes the most sense. My mom is currently raising my niece (6yo) and nephew (7yo) and when we were first putting together our registry she tried talking me out of the bedside bassinet because "it's a waste of money, and all I ever needed was the pack n' play with the bassinet". I had to remind her that she had a 1 story house, and I refuse to drag that thing up & down the stairs every day. Yeah, no thanks.

baseballismyfavoriteseason · April 2020

With our first baby, he did most of his sleeping in my arms. 😞 It sucked. I got hardly any sleep for the first two months. Then someone told me about the rock n play and it was magical. Then those got recalled, but by that time we were ready to put him in the pack n play with the insert that raised it up higher so I didn’t have to lean in to pick him up. We did, with the approval and guidance of his pediatrician, put a couple thin books under to tilt it just the slightest, as he just had a little bit of a reflux problem. Once he hit six months it was into his own room in his own crib with sleep training, and it was more of a relief than I like to admit.

This time around we have a much smaller bedroom and I don’t know that the pack n play will fit next to our bed anymore, so I’m considering a used Halo. I love the idea of it but can’t justify the price for a brand new one. And I figure it’s one of those things that’s used for such a short period of time that I should be able to find a used one in good condition.

Let me just say, it REALLY sucks that all the things babies are not supposed to sleep in are the ones they sleep best in. 😭

carrotsandpeas3 · April 2020

@baseballismyfavoriteseason if it makes you feel any better DD didn't sleep worth crap in the rock n play so I think every kid is different. The fisher price soothing motions bassinet does rock and vibrate but is flat, so I'm thinking about trying that out. Cheaper than the halo too.

baseballismyfavoriteseason · April 2020

@carrotsandpeas3 Ooh I’ll look into that one, thanks!

babycakesday · April 2020

We love our Halo BassiNest so much. I had an emergency cs and it was a life saver for me. I loved that I could swing it out of the way whenever I needed to get out of bed and that I could adjust the height so the baby was eye level with me. It definitely is super pricey. I figured it was worth the money for us for our future kids. Since DD used it, three other friends have borrowed it for their kiddos so ours definitely is getting a ton of use.

We had kinda given up on having a second baby since it wasn’t happening and donated a lot of DD baby stuff. So we’re looking for a new crib now. I have zero idea what we want.

mizztexmex131 · April 2020

I used a bassinet with the boys for the first 2 months then transitioned to the full sized crib. I also kept a pack n play With a bassinet feature in the living room. This time around I have a cosleeper that I plan to use then transition to a mini crib. Different house now, I’ll keep a pack n play with bassinet feature for the first floor. Don’t know what I’m having yet.

morethanamama · April 2020

We had a Snoo for the newborn stage because we got it from H's company as a benefit. It was rented and it was awesome. I never used the intense rocking as I think that's nuts. Just the very gentle rocking and the white noise. We had absolutely no issues transitioning to a crib.

I will say I think it's not the best for a C section as it's really high. It looks beautiful if you are into "mid century modern" decor. But I do wish it sat lower at bed height. We are eligible to get it again so we will, and if this baby hates it we will go for the arm's reach or the Halo. It will also depend on whether I have a C section or not! In any case, I would NEVER spend the ridiculous amount of money to buy it unless I was desperate and literally nothing else worked.

Our crib is a Babyletto and I love it. My son did chew on it a bit but I don't care and I'll 💯 use it for #2. Hoping to transition him to a toddler bed before baby goes in the crib. Last time we transitioned at 5.5 months and until then he was in the room with us.

Regarding Dockatot or Snuggle me...I kinda want one for supervised naps. This time I have a one level home so I honestly hope to put baby down in the bassinet as much as possible after the first 4-5 weeks. My first was held A LOT in the beginning and that's ok! But he could have napped better during the day, he was always overtired in the afternoon. Anyways, I think the Snuggle me or Dockatot would be nice to have baby nap in on the couch while I'm there. We had one from Etsy last time and it wasn't great. But he did like to lounge in it in the morning when we'd bring him into bed.

In general those pillows are not safe for sleep but I wouldn't use them at night or for long naps, mostly for supervised living room naps

I can't believe my first took most of his naps upstairs in the ROCK AND PLAY😱 that is one thing I do want to get rid of.

coldbrew · May 2020

With our first we did the PnP with bassinet attachment until she outgrew it. With the second we had the Halo Bassinest and loved it! It had a vibrating feature which helped her to stay asleep when fussing and could be pulled close next to me in bed.

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Product spotlight: cribs/travel cribs/sleeping surfaces

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