Newborn question...

[KimberleyDawn]

When did your baby sleep in his/ her crib? Newborns sleep all the time, so were do you have them sleep during the day? I'm not sure when the baby should be in the crib sleeping vs sleeping in the playpen, bouncy seat, swing... downstairs with me. I know this must seem like a silly question but I'm worried that if the baby is always around me for sleeping that he will never be comfortable sleeping in his room.

Kim

[mamahill]

Ainsleigh slept in her crib from 2 months on, but generally only at night. She had a gas/reflux problem that was only made better by sleeping her at an incline. She slept in her infant seat at night, and in either that, or her bouncy seat or swing during the day. Some people criticize extended periods in the infant seat or swing, but for us, it was the only way she would sleep - and I was willing to make the trade!

We did a "cold turkey" transition one night from infant seat to crib, and it didn't even phase her. That might have been helped because we swaddled her (and by swaddled, I mean TIGHT - well, not breath-restricting, but she was snug). I think early on they're still transitioning from the womb, so having the baby close isn't a bad thing. A gradual "weaning" from you is probably a good thing. Just my thoughts...

[egoldber]

In general, newborns sleep well anywhere. This is probably true until 3-4 months. So by that time, I would try to have your baby sleeping where you would like them to sleep most of the time. Before then, I would do what is mainly convenient for you.

At night, we had Sarah sleep in her crib in our bedroom. At 4 months, we moved the crib to the nursery and it didn't phase her a bit. This worked really well for us, since DH and I did not sleep well with her in our bed, but she was still close and convenient for night nursing.

During the day for the first few weeks, she slept in the bassinet of the PackNPlay. After she was about 4 weeks or so, she stopped sleeping very well in it, so I moved her to her crib for naps as well.

HTH,

[KimberleyDawn]

Thanks for the advice! With the birth so close I have so many worries about once the baby comes home!!
Kim

[brubeck]

I know I am in the minority here, but what worked well for both of my kids was having them in the crib in their own rooms from Day 1. Okay, Day 3, the first 2 nights were in the hospital. :-)

Basically I subscribe to the theory that if you make the crib a restful place and don't put the child in except at night, then they will come to associate it with sleeping. This has worked with both my kids. Even my 7 week old son who isn't completely sleeping through the night (although he slept from 10 pm to 4 am last night, yeah!) will sleep much more readily and for MUCH longer stretches in the crib at night than anywhere/anytime else.

During the day my son sleeps on his Gymini, his blanket on the floor, or on me/in my arms. He will also sleep in the Baby Bjorn for up to 3 hours at a time if I let him. My daughter did the same thing when she was that age.

Even if I wanted to have the baby in our room I couldn't. I am a terribly light sleeper and babies make so many noises with their associated grunts and squeals and sighs and little cries that I would be awake all night long listening to it all.

[mamahill]

I hear you on the noises - that was one reason Ainsleigh NEVER slept in our room. Even when she was in her infant seat, she was in HER room. I even had to turn the monitor off bc the noises kept me awake. Of course, her room is right next to ours, so I can hear when she wakes up through the vent pretty well! But I just wanted to agree that we couldn't have her sleep in our room, for my own sanity.

[egoldber]

I just wanted to add that I didn't have anything against Sarah sleeping in her own room. I was personally just too lazy to walk down the hall two or three times a night to feed her. :)
I must say I did enjoy having her in our bedroom for those first few months, but I wasn't sorry to move her to the nursery. And she almost always slept better in the crib than anywhere else.

[sweetbasil]

I remember my mom vacuuming the living room, while Kellen slept there in his bassinet (I was relaxing, post c-section). NOTHING phased him. Am hoping the same will be true for this baby, with his/her big brother running around playing all day! Best wishes....

[Momof3Labs]

Newborns sleep all the time?

Newborns will sleep anywhere?

Not my newborn!! Colin actually had a fair amount of alert time from the beginning, and he would only nap in our arms or laying on us (or in the car seat, but only if it was in motion). That lasted for close to two months! But we had him sleeping in his crib at night by 4 weeks, about the time that he started sleeping longer stretches at night. He still does great at night in his crib, we can even put him down awake. Before the crib, he slept in a Moses basket in our room.

During the day, there was a short period when he would sleep in the swing, so we went with it. He hated the bouncy seat, so that was out. We started insisting on naps in the crib around 2.5 months. That's still where he naps - when he naps. *sigh* But that's another story for another day.

I think that, for the most part, you will end up going with whatever works. You can certainly come up with a plan now, but don't spend a lot of time worrying about it - babies seem to prefer to make up their own plans!

Lori & Colin 9/28/02

[atlbaby]

Same here with the noises issue! I tried having Arielle in our room (in a bassinet) when DH was oncall at the hospital a few times those first few weeks. Didn't sleep for one second (ME that is!)...every breath, shudder, etc and I was sure she was waking up! (which she wasn't...) So she slept in her bassinet in her room, and then to the crib at 4 months for naps/bedtime.

Whenever #2 comes though, s/he will have to sleep in a bassinet in our room and then graduate to the pack-n-play in Arielle's room (2 bedroom apt)...that will be tough--on us--I think! Better that one baby wakes up at night then baby&toddler, right?

-Rachel
Mom to Arielle Jill, 10/30/01

[Rachels]

I agree! Do whatever works. If we had tried to stick Abigail in her crib, we would have had a lot less sleep. She was a great sleeper for the first three months, in part because I could soothe her quickly and easily if she roused. There's no right answer to this. You just have to learn the little person that comes to you and make whatever choices are best for your particular family. Here we have a TON of different parenting styles and priorities, but we all seem to have healthy, happy, well-adjusted kids. There are a lot of right ways to do things!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[egoldber]

I did say "in general". ;)