Question about baby sleeping in room with you

[Anonymous]

The first hour home from the hospital I discovered how much easier it was to nurse lying down. Then, I discovered how much more sleep I got if I brought baby into bed to nurse at night, then if I just kept him there until morning . . . we never used the crib at night until 3 months. (We had a packnplay setup in our room where we'd keep him until his first waking.)

[Anonymous]

Our son slept in his bedroom from day 1. We had a monitor on, too, but even the soundest sleeper could hear him when he cried. I was trying to eliminate noise and also keep our room quiet/dark so DH didn't wake up every single time I nursed the baby. Somebody might as well get some sleep!

As for what he slept in, we borrowed a bassinet from friends that he used for about the first 4 weeks. Then he moved into his swing . . . and finally into the crib. This time around, I'll either skip the bassinet entirely and put #2 right into the crib with a sleep positioner or I'll use the pack n play bassinet for a while. Crib itself seems to make more sense -- baby gets used to one thing and that's that.

[Anonymous]

Like a lot of people, we did the whole range-- co-sleeping in our bed for a couple months, then in our room in the pack-n-play, then transition to the crib in another room at 4 months or so. You really do get SO much more sleep if you're breastfeeding and the baby is nearby.

For your situation, dare I suggest that you don't need to buy anything to have the baby in the room with you? My parents put me in a bureau drawer for a week or so, til the crib could be delivered and assembled. A laundry basket would keep the baby contained and cozy. I know it seems shocking, but really, what difference is there between a $80 moses basket and a $10 laundry basket with a $5 piece of foam in it? The baby-industrial-complex will play on every bit of guilt you're capable of (laundry baskets aren't AAP-approved!!) but if your real objection is the purchase of crap you'll never use again, and the space concern, it might work for you. And if not, craigslist craigslist craigslist.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for all the good advice and suggestions. I especially like the laundry basket idea since I have a laundry basket in my closet that we never use!

[Anonymous]

For the people that co-slept, did you manage in a queen size bed?

Also, if the crib can fit in the bedroom, why would one do the bassinet/basket instead of the crib?

[Anonymous]

boutros10va wrote:For those of you that used a Moses basket in your room, did you just put it on the floor? That seems like the most stable/logical place to me but maybe I am missing something.

I have a moses basket, though it's sturdier than most I've seen, more like a bassinet without the base. My neighbors gave it to us for free after their son grew out of it. I have it on top of a trunk that is next to my bed. I'd be afraid to inadvertently step into it while getting out of bed in the middle of the night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the people that co-slept, did you manage in a queen size bed?

Also, if the crib can fit in the bedroom, why would one do the bassinet/basket instead of the crib?

We co-sleep in a queen sized bed. Both my husband and I are thin people, and I am constantly on the verge of falling out of the bed. It is very uncomfortable, but I do it anyway because 1) I love having the baby in bed with us and 2) I get more sleep with him in our bed - bad sleep is better than no sleep.