Product Spotlight: Cribs, Travel Cribs, Sleeping Surfaces

inthewoods23 · February 2022

Let's talk about cribs and other sleeping surfaces!

inthewoods23 · February 2022

I definitely want to ask the question - what is a reasonable price for a crib?

I believe our hope is to have at least 2 kids so what we buy this pregnancy would be reused for future babies. Is a $200-300 crib going to hold up for 2+ kids? We were originally liking a Carter's by Da Vinci brand crib but I think I would prefer something from Babyletto just based on style, but the Babyletto is slightly more expensive (around $400).

jellie603 · February 2022

My two cents on cribs: I, personally, feel like the convertible or "4-in-1" cribs aren't worth it. By the time DS was ready to be out of his crib we just opted for a full sized bed - one that will carry him through till his teenage years. We had the convertible crib with the changer/drawers attached and it was bulky.

PNPs (pack n plays): I thought these were so useful! We had 2 at home - one for outside use/travel like to the lake house and one for inside containment. Each set of grandparents had their own and DS slept in them for sleep overs until he was 3.

@inthewoods23 like I said above - we had a convertible crib with the changer/drawers attached to it for our first. If I remember correctly, that ran about $400-$500 and there is no doubt in my mind that it would hold up for a second baby. We were planning on just using that one but we are doing 2 mini cribs instead (yay BOGO baby). For reference, that kid was in his crib until he was 3 because we were moving and just upgraded when we got to the new house - so he was a biiiiig kid and the crib was still great.

My question: has anyone used mini cribs? If so, how long did your kids last in them before they were too big? I'm not confident 2 regular sized cribs can fit in the twins' room but I'm afraid they'll outgrow by like 18 months and be too little for big kid beds (read: bunk beds).

inthewoods23 · February 2022

@jellie603 I was super interested in the 4-in-1 cribs until I realized it converts to a full sized bed. I always thought they converted to twin beds which is likely what we would want to start with or like you say, get them a full sized bed that goes with them as they get older. I didn't have a full sized mattress until I was 16!! And like I was saying, I'll probably want to reuse the crib for baby #2+ so it wouldn't get converted beyond a toddler or daybed anyway once baby #2 comes along.

I also just noticed on Babyletto's website that the price INCLUDES the toddler conversion kit which is great. Makes way more sense to just include it than to have to buy it separately. Looking back at the other crib we were originally interested it, the crib itself is $200, the conversion kit is $79, and then there's another conversion kit for $79 to make it a twin/full bed. So basically they're nearly the same price if we were to make the one crib a full bed.

We'll probably use a PNP if DH and I stick with being mentors for the high school robotics team. We have 1 (or 2 if we make it to the championship) events that we travel to so a PNP for the hotel room would be excellent. Isn't a PNP essentially what hotels offer anyway when you ask for a crib in your room?

New Q: Did anyone find that the extra bassinet and/or changing table/pad that can go on top of the PNPs was worthwhile? I know my sister just used the folding changing pad that came with her diaper bag and used the floor and that was pretty much my plan for when we're traveling/elsewhere that's not home.

runnergirl2018 · February 2022

I'm going to slightly disagree with @jellie603 we did a 4 in 1 for my son from Child Craft and it's so sturdy - we have it as a full bed now for our 3 year old and I see that thing lasting until he moves out. The only sort of weird thing is they didn't provide stoppers or things for the headboard where there are holes for attaching the crib sides and nothing when its a full bed, but I don't really notice it much. Our crib was $400 and we used 20% off at Buy Buy Baby. If you DO get a convertible bed, buy allllll the convertible pieces needed at the same time, because otherwise you might not be able to get them - so toddler rail and full sized rails. We did 2 toddler rails because it was short and we did one on either side of the bed
Keep in mind that those were 2018 prices and furniture price are much higher now. Thankfully my MIL has a crib she is letting us use since she had it for grand babies there but doesn't feel comfortable carrying babies up and down the stairs anymore. Then we'll need to get a full sized bed later.
For furniture price references - we got our kid a solid wood good quality dresser - originally $500 and on sale for $400 in 2018, and just recently shopping around found nothing close, everything for similar quality is $900+

@inthewoods23 see above as well. I think a $200-300 crib would be fine for 2 babies but then also consider when you'll have the 2nd kid and if' you'll need to get a toddler and/or full sized better later for 1 or 2 of them
For us, it made sense to do a convertible and have a bedroom set that all matched, getting everything at the same time for each kiddo - our last house the rooms were small so each kid would have had their own room. Our current house is bigger so kids could share a room but do not need to, since we have a guest room in the basement. For me i liked the idea of just getting things once and not needing to get stuff again for that kid . we will eventually need to get a full bed for kid 2 since we are getting a hand me down crib, so we just picked a white dresser and will deal with finding a coordinating bed and nightstands later on, hopefully when the furniture market is less nutty
Also some people keep their kids in their cribs until like 3 years old. my kid HATED the crib. Obviously he couldn't communicate verbally but i'm pretty sure he felt trapped in that thing. we switched to a toddler bed function at 18 months and it was a night and day difference. Everyone will probalby tell you that was far too early , but it was just right for us. No tears at bedtime, would fall asleep in it by himself, didn't get out and mess around at all, slept way better at night. But keep in mind all babies and families are different when taking into account if you'll use the same thing for both kids, depending on how close/far apart they are

Other sleeping surface stuff - I really liked having a bassinet up next to the bed for the first few months, that was easily moveable so i could push it to get out of bed carefully post c-section. my baby only lasted in there 3ish months before exceeding weight criteria, so keep that in mind for those because most have low weight limits, then we did a PNP in our room until 6 months and only used it occasionally after. We got a PNP from a nieghbor and it had been well loved and was annoying to open/close so we gave it away before we moved. a friend is giving us her used one this time and I don't know anything about it, but i know with our space as it is now, it'll be more useful. we had a 1 story, no basement, to now having a 2 story with a basement

Also, be cautious of baby loungers - they post cute pictures of babies sleeping in them in advertisement while also acknowledging that they are not safe sleep surfaces. I do like our Snuggle Me - didn't get until we needed the toddler sized with our first and i got an infant sized with our 2nd for supervised lounging times. I will likely let my baby sleep in it if it happens only if they are supervised closely, but just know that it's techically not approved even for that as a safe sleep space

sunshineandlemons · February 2022

We actually bought our convertible crib used and it’s lasting us through our three kids. That said, if you do that, make sure you do your research and make sure there are no recalls on it and it’s in good condition. We did buy the mattress new and it has held up well with a waterproof mattress pad on it.

We used a rock n play with my oldest- they weren’t recalled at that time- so with my second, we got a bassinet to keep by the bed for MOTN feedings. When both grew out of those things, we moved them to a pack n play in our room and then to the crib in their own room. The bassinet we got was foldable so it was great for traveling and easy to move to different rooms.

And similar to what @runnergirl2018 said, I don’t know about all swings but those generally aren’t safe for sleep either (which, both my daughters have fallen asleep in the mamaroo and I’ve let them stay sleeping, but I watched them very closely 😬 It’s almost more nerve-wracking constantly watching them than just briefly waking and moving them).

stardustskies · February 2022

@inthewoods23 A good quality crib is definitely a solid investment. I got a hand-me-down crib from my sister which went through her 2 kids, used it for my son, and it will be now used for this next baby. Still in great condition.

stardustskies · February 2022

I found a good priced Halo bassinet on marketplace that I'm gonna try for the newborn stage, and got the newborn insert that fits in it. Hoping it will work out well. I mostly used the rock n play for my oldest in his newborn stage and now those things are recalled so basically starting from scratch here lol.

oli9 · February 2022

Nstardustskies said:

I found a good priced Halo bassinet on marketplace that I'm gonna try for the newborn stage, and got the newborn insert that fits in it. Hoping it will work out well. I mostly used the rock n play for my oldest in his newborn stage and now those things are recalled so basically starting from scratch here lol.

I got a HALO Bassinet from Goodwill for $15. Major score. I didn’t know they made a newborn insert for them though. This is my first time using the HALO. I’ve gotta look that up now and see what it is.

sjb2215 · February 2022

We got a matching crib, dresser (with changing table top) and end table matching from target with our first. They are just shy of 2 years apart and our oldest was in a good spot to transition a full bed before 2nd needed crib. So while we have a convertible crib, we haven't used it yet, but likely will for this babe. If going straight to a full bed, for us a platform bed worked well- without the box springs it's lower to the ground.

I like the top insert to our pack n play- used it as a portable changing space/supervised napper in the early days.

sunshineandlemons · February 2022

@oli9 wow! That’s a steal! Even on marketplace around here they’re like $75+! Our hospital used the hospital grade kind and they were wonderful!

caymanmel · February 2022

TTM, when I had my first i had everything planned out just so. However it seemed every plan went out the window for some reason or another when he was born. Part of it was moving internationally twice before he was 6 months.
Anyway, it got me to be a go with the wind mom and realize I really didn't need much. We have a crib now from our 2nd. But I doubt I'll even put it up. Never owned a changing table. Changing mat and floor work just fine for us. Never planned on being a co-sleeper but I love it.
Not trying to discourage anyone, but if things to go as planned; it will be ok. Hugs.

jellie603 · February 2022

@inthewoods23 in regards to the bassinets and changing pads on the top of PNPs: We actually used that as our bassinet when our oldest was brand new and it worked really well. We didn't use the changing pad side though, it always seemed too flimsy. We were in a smaller space and we couldn't justify spending the $$$ on a bassinet - but we were pleasantly surprised. We will be doing the same for the twins because two of everything is really starting to add up. As for travel, we used the bassinet part a couple of times but mostly just plopped him in the PNP set higher. We also did what your sister did and just change him on the floor/bed/wherever while traveling. We were also "young" back then and the first of anyone we knew who had babies so we didn't know anything about anything and just went with the best of the cheapest options haha.

feather_heather · February 2022

Bassinet: We started off with a hand-me-down Arm's Reach bassinet and ended up ordering the Snoo out of desperation when DD was 4 weeks old. The Snoo was a LIFESAVER for our colicky baby that needed constant movement in order to sleep. (We had a rough start with DD... she would nurse for 45-60 mins, then we would have to walk around rocking her for at least another 45 mins before we could put her down (otherwise she'd wake up screaming right away) and then I'd get one hour to sleep before I had to wake up and do it all over again. The snoo cut down on the amount of time we needed to rock her and allowed me to get a bit more sleep in between feedings). We had no issues weaning her from it either, it was like a switch flipped at 4 months old and the movement was keeping her awake - so we moved her over to her crib and she slept great there!

Crib: @inthewoods23 - We bought DD the Davinci Jenny Lind Crib for $250 and it still looks brand new and I can see it lasting for years and years. We plan on buying the conversion kit and making into a toddler bed sometime this summer.

Mattress: We have the Newton mattress and love it. I know all baby mattresses are safe for sleep, but DD is a stomach sleeper (like face smushed into the mattress all night long) and it gives us a lot of peace of mind knowing it's completely breathable. I already bought a second one for this baby (make sure you find a blogger code for $50 off if you do order it - don't pay full price)!

Pack N Play: We use a pack n play in our camper for DD and we did end up buying an actual mattress for it because she wasn't sleeping well in it once she got bigger/heavier (the thin mattress is not very comfortable for them if they are sleeping in it fairly regularly). @jellie603 - I'm not sure how the size compares, but we had a mini pack n play in our camper at first and she outgrew it by 9 months

@inthewoods23 - We used the changing pad on top of the pack n play for the first few months as a changing station in our living room - but it is not travel friendly and I would definitely not pack it for trips (just use the changing pad on the bed or floor). I ended up getting a changing table topper and putting a changing table right on my tv console in my living room (doesn't take up anymore space in the room and lets me always have an organized place to change her).

runnergirl2018 · February 2022

@feather_heather that's amazing to hear about the SNOO. If this babe is antying like the last, we might invest it one because I really could have written the same thing. I wouldn't have described him as colicky but he just really liked being held and movement and I was lucky to sleep in 1 hour intervals between feeding him and getting him back to sleep before he woke up to nurse again for months

One last thing - we had a changing table topper for our dresser, rather than a separate one, and it was perfect. my MIL is giving us a changing station that she has and we'll probably put it in our bedroom when baby is in there and then either put it in our obnoxiously ginormous bathroom upstairs with the kids rooms or sell it and give her the money for it (I'll have to post pictures of said bathroom sometime) but with kid 1 we just put a changing mat thing on top of our dresser and it was fine. with having a c-section I can't imagine having done changes on the floor for quite a while

MAttress wise - I don't even remember what we have but it was some "green" or "organic" mattress that flipped for an infant side and newborn side, although they seemed pretty much the same to me. I will say i feel like the one we had was softer than some others and while I trust it as safe for sleep, we had some sheets (primarily Burts Bees brand) that were so tight fitting that it squished the mattress, so in that case that was not awesome and I had to like stretch the sheets out while they were wet so they didn't do that. I'm actually hoping my MIL gives us the more firm mattres she has with the crib
Re: the newton one. they advertise it as washable, and that's great and all, but also just put a water proof mattress cover over the mattress and it's just fine. My kid had no blow outs and rarely leaked overnight - maybe it's because we use cloth, but I never thought to myself, "oh, i really wish I could wash this mattress"

oli9 · February 2022

@sunshineandlemons

for our last baby we had the Baby Bjorn bassinet but I really didn’t like how low it was. I’ve seen the HALO around in stores but since I thought I’d never have another baby, I didn’t pay too much mind to it. So with this surprise baby when I saw that bassinet at Goodwill, I figured oh I’ve seen this one in stores, it’s pretty cool.. and when I got home with it I Googled it and I was shocked at the price. I definitely feel like I found a treasure. I had no idea hospitals use them now. That’s awesome!

Now I’m trying to figure out which portable sleeper to buy. The Doc A Tot or The Snuggle Me Organic. My sister in law has a Doc a Tot she swears by but I’m kinda leaning towards the Snuggle Me Organic because of its “hugging” action.

bumblebee0210 · February 2022

@oli9 Just FYI all of the pillow-type things like dock-a-tot are not safe for unsupervised sleep. Same SIDS risk as any pillows/bumpers/etc.

rubyrose_0919 · February 2022

@caymanmel 😂😂 same!!

My first REFUSED to sleep anywhere but next to me and has never slept a single second in the fancy ass crib that was gifted to him. Wasn't planning to co-sleep but in a state of full on exhaustion/desperation I kicked my husband to the couch and threw our adult mattress on the floor. It was the first time everyone in our house had slept at the same time in weeks and we've been co-sleeping on the floor ever since.

Take a little time while you are pregnant to read the safe co-sleeping guidelines just in case you find yourself in that place. I wish i had!

tuxielove93 · February 2022

My first son would not sleep without touching me. I was getting maybe 20 minutes of sleep between him waking Most of the time it wasn't even that long. He woke up every 45 minutes most nights.
When he was 6 weeks old, after falling asleep with him in bed nursing multiple times, I brought him into bed with me permanently. Admittedly I decided this at 3AM, but once I had finally actually gotten a night of sleep, I realized that bedsharing safely was better than accidentally falling asleep with him unsafely.

You don't have to plan to bedshare, but 61% of parents (self-reported, so the number is probably actually higher) end up bedsharing at some point. It is biologically normal for babies to need to be held to sleep. It is normal for babies to not sleep through the night. They are supposed to be waking up and eating. You are not a bad parent if you don't have a "good" sleeper. Sleep is developmental, and every kid develops the ability to sleep through the night and nap on their own at their own pace. So knowing the sleep safe rules now (versus at 3AM) is always a good thing to read up on.

https://www.llli.org/the-safe-sleep-seven/#:~:text=By the time the baby,as any other sleep arrangement.

ETA: Found a good article from an anthropologist explaining talking about biologically normal sleep and the advantages of bedsharing

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_cosleeping_can_help_you_and_your_baby#:~:text=Most parents have a natural,least some of the time.

When my babies are itty bitty (pre-rolling so around 4 months depending on the baby) I sleep without a shirt on, baby dressed lightly, pillow tucked behind my head, baby on the outside of the bed, and the blanket tucked around my waist, under the baby. It's a bit of overkill, but it makes me feel better. I slowly undo that as they become more capable of getting themselves out of dangerous positions. My husband is still in bed with me, but he doesn't sleep next to our young babies.

For naps, I have my baby carriers. From birth to like 3 months, my babies live in their carriers except for their regular tummy time. I can get things done, and they nap peacefully as much as they want.

So at this point, I don't have any bassinets or cribs or swings or anything like that. You definitely want baby to at least be in your room and close to your bed at first, especially if you are breastfeeding. When you are sleep-deprived, getting out of bed and going to a different room is a huge burden. My personal suggestion is to get a bedside bassinet and wait on the crib. Parents move baby out of their bedroom at all different times, but the AAP recommends having baby in your room for at least the first 6 months and ideally for the first year.

Most of all, just be kind to yourself. Sleep deprivation is not a joke.

creativesoul63 · February 2022

We have a Graco convertible crib for DD, which at 22 months she still sleeps in and is showing no signs of needing to move to a toddler bed anytime soon. Either way we’ll need to get something new, either get a new toddler bed and give the convertible crib to this new LO, or just buy a new convertible crib. I guess it just depends on what DD is ready for by the time new LO is 4 months (which is when we had to kick DD out of our room for sanity’s sake).

Our original plan when DD was a newborn was for her to sleep in her PNP at the high “bassinet” setting (btw the small napper/bassinet attachment is NOT safe for unsupervised sleep) but she would not sleep in it at all, so we coslept using the safe 7 rules until she started napping regularly in her crib (vs. on me). Even though it sucked to have to get up and walk to her room at night, we all slept better once she was in her crib in her own room. The PNP was useful for having a changing station that we could have on the main level (vs upstairs in the nursery) in the early days. DD didn’t like the napper. We still use the PNP a lot for travel, but DD never stood for being contained in it to play.

A friend gave us a Halo bassinet so I hope this new LO likes it better than DD liked the PNP so we don’t wind up cosleeping again. I still don’t think it’s worth it to drop $$ on a bassinet that they use for such a short amount of time, unless you are desperate for sleep.

jellie603 · February 2022

@tuxielove93

They are supposed to be waking up and eating. You are not a bad parent if you don't have a "good" sleeper. Sleep is developmental, and every kid develops the ability to sleep through the night and nap on their own at their own pace.

Yes! thank you for saying this! While I definitely believe that schedule is so important (same bedtime roughly, same bedtime routine etc.etc.) the whole thing can be a crap shoot. Our oldest, who will be 5 in a couple of weeks, wasn't always the best sleeper at nighttime when he was little. We realized that he was an "11 hour of sleep a day" kid. Which means he cut down to 1 nap at 1yo and was done naps all together at 2yo. He's been sleeping through the night, 11 hours +, consistently since then. It is all trial and error.

tuxielove93 · February 2022

@jellie603 Nothing proved to me more that every kid is just gonna sleep the way they are gonna sleep than my two. First was an absolute nightmare. Literally woke up every 45 minutes. Basically didn't sleep at all during the 4 month sleep regression. Did not even once sleep through the night until his brother was born (he was 2). Second baby slept through the night at the freaking hospital after he was born. He always slept for at least 5-6 hours straight every single night. Did I do anything different? No. No I did not.

The moral of the story is, babies sleep how babies sleep and there probably isn't a whole lot you can do other than survive it. I'm ready for either extreme although another great sleeper would be nice lol.

runnergirl2018 · February 2022

@tuxielove93 yesyesyes! babies sleep how they are going to sleep. you can learn set up good sleep habits but every baby is different. this is what makes me so mad about "sleep training" in MOST cases you aren't "training" the baby to sleep, you are teaching parents how to ignore the baby
Babies are not "bad" and no parent is a bad parent if their kid wakes a lot at night

@oli9 we like the snuggle me - but note it is not safe for unsupervised sleep and is a SIDS/suffocation risk

I also agree on learning safe cosleeping information, even if you don't plan on using it. we ended uphaving to cosleep some later in my son's first year and then on and off for over a year every time he was teething - especially the stupid 1 yr and 2 yr molars - because if we weren't constantly next to him, he would just be up alllll night for 1-4 weeks at a time. I personally don't think I could have coslept sooner due to my own worry (and my hubby would have needed to be kicked out of hte room and i really relied on him for diaper changes and stuff while recovering from csection) but i'm sure we would have gotten more sleep if i hadn't been so anxous about it because my kid was a constant waker until like 3 months

oli9 · February 2022

@runnergirl2018

thank you! That’s the one we are leaning towards. I probably shouldn’t have asked that recommendation in this thread as we aren’t looking to use it as a sleeping device but a daytime lounger / mothers helper for when I will need to put her down to get things done.

stardustskies · February 2022

@oli9 This is the insert I got for the Halo.

https://mysnuggly.com/products/new-2020-mysnuggly-newborn-bassinet-insert-for-halo-bassinests

Halo makes one also, but after doing research on both I found that people recommend MySnuggly more because of the "hugging" action. I found one on Marketplace new for $30 but new from the website is $50. I felt justified spending that much since I got such a good deal on the bassinet itself.

gharmon412 · February 2022

We used the PnP bassinet top but quickly moved to bed sharing with a boppy newborn lounger(before they were also deemed dangerous for sleeping). Bed sharing was something I swore I would never do lol Oh how kids change you!
We have the cheap convertible crib from IKEA and it's been great for nearly 3 years. DD loves it so. We converted it to toddler bed in the summer and the only thing I don't love is that the convertible piece of wood is just as tall as the mattress so if you sit/push down on the mattress it goes below the wood. Maybe that just means i need a different mattress or to just go ahead and switch to a Montessori mattress on the floor so new DD can use the crib. 🤷🏻‍♀️

elsalee26 · February 2022

Has anyone used the guava lotus? We got the travel crib at a baby consignment store in town, trying to decide if we should get the bassinet conversion kit for that or just get a separate, cheaper bassinet.

We already know we’ll be traveling to 2 weddings while baby is under 3 months so a portable bassinet option seems like a good idea, but the guava one is kind of pricey ($125)

skilouise · February 2022

I wanted to share some evidence-based resources about sleep that were really helpful for me with my first. A lot of products marketed for infant sleep (DockATots and all other "loungers" or "nappers", anything with an incline, anything designed to go into an adult bed or otherwise related to bedsharing, sleep positioners, etc) are not safe for sleep and increase the risk for SIDS.

Safe Infant Sleep - Evidence-Based Support Group is a great Facebook group/ resource on safe sleep, and on how to get babies to sleep in a safe sleep environment.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SafeInfantSleep/?ref=share

Safety Conscious Parenting - An Evidence- Based Group is also a great resource on safe sleep and other child safety topics. It is run by a pediatric ER physician, who has personally seen in her ER the devastating affects of unsafe sleep, and so is very passionate about safe sleep.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/safetyconsciousparenting/?ref=share

skilouise · February 2022

@elsalee26

We have the Lotus Guava and really love it. We don't have the bassinet kit, but I'm thinking of getting it because we need a downstairs sleep space.

If you're only going to use the Lotus bassinet for a handful of trips, though, a cheaper travel bassinet might be a better option. I've heard great things about the Fisher Price Dome. That would likely be easier to travel with and set up than the full Lotus system, and could also be useful for shorter trips (e.g., a short visit to a friend's house).

elsalee26 · February 2022

Thank you @skilouise that’s super helpful!! And glad to know you like the Lotus!

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Product Spotlight: Cribs, Travel Cribs, Sleeping Surfaces

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