Did anyone sleep in the nursery/other room when baby arrived?

[brigmaman]

Again, not the most articulate way to ask my question. ;) What I'm wondering is...did anyone sleep in a bed in the nursery or use the guest bedroom when dc arrived for whatever reason. Or...did dh ever sleep in the guest room? I have to admit a year ago this would have sounded ridiculous to me but things have changed.
Last week when Brig was sick and up at night I had dh sleep in Brig's room and Brig slept (as always) with me in my bed. It was SO MUCH less stressful than in the past when he's been sick and we've all been up at night. I think dh and I feed off each other's worry when we are up in the middle of the night. Plus, I'm always worried about him not being well-rested enough for the next day. If he's up past 3, it's impossible for him to go back to sleep for some reason. Plus...he's essentially no help in the middle of the night because he doesn't fully wake up and with the new baby I'll be nursing, so he doesn't do nighttime feedings.
So...I'm wondering if I should camp out in the nursery for a while, or have dh camp out in another room for a while. Am I crazy?

[sbjf]

We did this. When dh had to go back to work when John was still a newborn and waking often I had dh sleep in the guest bedroom to ensure that he got a full night's sleep. Otherwise he was dragging and useless to me!

Unfortunately now we are doing it again because John has not been sleeping through the night lately. He'll wake every 2 hours or so for some insane reason (teething??). So on the nights when dh has to work the next day he sleeps in the guest room. Then on the nights when he doesn't have to work the next day (usually 3 days a week luckily) I sleep in the other room and he takes night duty. This way we are each getting a solid night's sleep at least a few times a week. It makes the bad nights a little more bearable know that in a day or two it's my night to sleep.

I don't like the fact that we can't cuddle and spoon like we usually do, but we just have to be practical. Sleep is important :-)

[cmo]

When DD was about 6 weeks old, DH came down with a horrible hacking cough that lasted all day and night. DD and I relocated to the nursery, where I slept on a small couch. I think it actually helped her adjust well to sleeping in her crib, while easing my mind at the same time that she was OK. It also helped us establish a good BF schedule. The cough lasted about 2 weeks, after which I went back to my bedroom, and DD stayed in the nursery. I knew she was OK in there and everyone slept better after that!

[drsweetie]

We did this for a couple of months after DD was born. DH is better at staying up late than I, so he would stay in her room from bedtime until her middle-of-the-night feeding while I slept in our room. When she awoke for her feeding he would come get me and I'd take "second shift" while he went and slept in our room. It worked out pretty well, but I'm glad we're not doing it anymore.

Ellen

[crayonblue]

When Lauren was a newborn, I slept in the guest room for the first week because every little noise woke me up. DH could sleep better with the little newborn noises and would bring her to me when she woke up hungry. A few months later when Lauren was in her own room, DH spent a week in there. Lauren was waking up every hour and when she saw me, she wanted to nurse. So, DH spent a week bringing her to me when she was actually hungry and getting her back to sleep the other bizillion times.

When Lauren was in our room in a bassinet, DH slept in the guest room a few times so that one of us could get some sleep!

[nwaddellr]

I still sleep in DS's room in the mornings. By four or five am, I'm tired of getting up with the baby, so I'd bring him to bed with us. Well, DH didn't sleep well once I did that, so either he'd lay in bed and toss and turn or he'd go out to the couch. That was until I had the brilliant idea to sleep in the single bed in DS's room. Now, everyone gets better morning sleep, but I still get to snuggle with DH most of the night.

[nwaddellr]

I still sleep in DS's room in the mornings. By four or five am, I'm tired of getting up with the baby, so I'd bring him to bed with us. Well, DH didn't sleep well once I did that, so either he'd lay in bed and toss and turn or he'd go out to the couch. That was until I had the brilliant idea to sleep in the single bed in DS's room. Now, everyone gets better morning sleep, but I still get to snuggle with DH most of the night.

[bnme]

ds is 2 months and i am still sleeping on the couch! we don't have an extra room or room in the nursery for a bed, so for now, the couch it is.

i have done this to avoid waking the oldest in the middle of the night. he rarely naps but is a wonderful nighttime sleeper and i don't want to mess with it. the boys rooms are just too close for comfort and the little ones is furthest from our room. i set up camp each night and have the bassinette in there with me-and every thing else- pnp for diaper changes, right near kitchen for bottles etc. dh camped out with me for about the 1st month. but now just on weekends.
:)

the only catch is that now i want back in my bed but i am scared of the transition. its working so well right now. i am just getting the baby used to the crib for naps because he only has another 4-6 weeks max before he outgrows the bassinette. right now my dh is working on installing new moldings in our room and it has become a dumping ground due to lack of use, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks that'll all be resolved and i will try moving back in. but if you have a bed right in the nursery that is great!

good luck. do whatever works best, theres nothing ridiculous about that!

(pls xcuse typing, holding baby)

[babymama]

Hven't read the other replies yet, but your situation sounds alot like mine when my DS arrived. In my case, I sent DH to another room. On the rare occassion (like when I was terribly sick), DH would sleep in the baby's room w/ the baby and let me sleep all night. I don't think we started sleeping in the same bed again until DS was about 4 months. We occassionally will still sleep in separate rooms, so one of us can get better sleep. I think its easier on me to deal w/ just the baby instead of dealing with DH's complaining + the baby. I won't usually give up my place in our bed. I think when the baby was brand new, though, I would sometimes sleep on the couch w/ DS just because I was exhausted and fell asleep there accidentally.

Edit: Went back to read the other replies, and I remembered that we would sometimess do the "shift" thing too.

Good luck to you!

Lydia
Mama to Santiago, born 11/16/03