Co-sleeper Vs. Vibrating, Musical, Etc. Bassinett, Vs. Crib

I have my 6 week old in a baby amby. It's a hammock that hangs from metal frame. When the baby moves, the whole bed moves. She loves it.

I had a crib but I never used it. I wish I would have gotten a co-sleeper, the one that goes right next to the bed. It would have been useful while I was breastfeeding. I had also bought one of thoses beds that go in the middle of your bed for the baby to sleep in but that didnt work either. I would suggest going with your own instincts. I never liked the crib and didnt use it at all. My son slept with me until he was 6-8months old and then he went right into a twin size bed. Its a little tykes car bed with the big plastic sides. The like $400 new and we got it for $40 at a yard sale and it was used twice. We proofed it with blankets so he wouldnt get stuck or hurt himself on the walls. Thats whats worked for us. Hope I could help. T.

There is no right answer. Sleep is a very personal ever changing thing for a baby.

For us we had a cosleeper which my son stayed in until he was 4 or 5 months old. At which time I expected to move him into his crib. He's out grown his crib now and still never spent a night in it. Cosleeping was the best thing for us. It allowed us to continue our breastfeeding relationship and get the close time we both wanted.

I've yet to read it, but I've heard great reviews for Sleepless in America.

Hi. I am a mom of four. With my last child, at my baby shower, I received a bassinet that could be made into one that fit up to the bed with the side down. I never felt comfortable doing that, so I left it the way that it was. My last baby (he just turned 4!!) cried at night if he didn't have something around him all the time, so we wound up actually placing him in his infant carrier "inside" the bassinet. Worked like a charm. Kept him upright a little bit which I think kept the colic down some. Only way he would not cry all night. Having him beside the bed made breastfeeding at night much easier. God bless you and your new baby on the way!

I agree with another mother, you have to figure out what works best for your family. My husband and I toss and turn horribly at night, so having my son in the bed with us didn't really work for us. It made me to nervous. However, since the nursery was all the way across the house, I wasn't ready to immediately put him in the crib. What worked for us was buying the smaller (mini) pack 'n play with the bassinet. We put it by the bed and my son slept in the bassinet at night until he was about 4 months old. We used the crib in the nursery for naptimes and eventually moved him in there at night. You just have to figure out what you are most comfortable. If you get one of the pack 'n play/bassinet combos then even if he doesn't sleep in it for long, you can still us it for other things. Just my opinion. Good luck and congrats!

Dear D.,

I first recommend a vibrating bassinet with rolling base. This ended up being such a help. I borrowed one from my sister-in-law. It was one of the only ways I could get my son to sleep. The bassinet can be placed right next to your bed and can be rolled anywhere in your house also. I could also detach the bed part and bring it with me places. I initially thought I wanted a co-sleeper because I planned on breastfeeding etc, but my son was a very noisy sleeper and I would wake at every little peep or grunt. I eventually at 3 weeks of age decided he needed to sleep in another room while I was trying to sleep. I then moved my son to a crib. A pack and play serves all of these needs as well if it has the bassinet feature. Good luck. Try not to get overwhelmed with choices. K.

Oh sweetie..this is a big question that is going to get many different answers...You will find out real quick what works for one does not work for the other. Just about everyone has a different method. Here is what I did, but you will see it's different/yet some what similar to the first post. Try not to worry too much over it...the baby tends to adjust to what ever you have (most of the time :). My first baby I put in a pack & Play with a bassinett next to our bed....two weeks later I put him in his crib because I couldn't sleep due to all the noise he made while he was asleep. You will find that your hearing becomes super sensitive and you wake up with every little grunt. The second one I put in the crib as soon as we brought her home. I swaddled her really tight to make her feel like she was in the womb as the crib is a big space for such a small baby that just came out of a small space. The second post skipped the crib,You could do that if you want. I read a montessori book that just puts the matteress on the floor and there is nothing else in the room (so they don't get hurt). Nothing wrong with that. We did that when our son started crawling out of the crib. We took the crib down and put his matteress on the floor so you don't have to worry about them falling out of bed. Once you see that they are staying on the matteress then you can get a bed. We never needed bed rails. You can put a safety gate up at the door way so the baby does not wander through the house. Lots of options, lots of advice....don't worry though, what ever you choose to do will work. GOOD LUCK!!!

I'm not big on full time co-sleeping, but that it because I like my space and often toss and turn. My husband is also a VERY sound sleeper so I worried that he would roll on the baby and never even realize it...with my first child we had a one bedroom apt so he was in our room from the beginning until about 18 months old. We started with a bassinet, which he hated!!!!! and within a week moved to the crib....that was right next to our bed. And at 18 months when we moved into our house he went staright into a twin bed and never looked back....his brother was born 2 months later and slept in our room in the bassinet for about 5 weeks, he didn't care where he slept so long as he was swaddled tightly, once he was sleeping consistently 6-7 hours at night at about 5 weeks we moved him into the nursery... our bassinet did have a vibrating feature, which only worked the first go round-but like I said our first hated it, and it didnt work the second time and we didnt need it. I will say that while they were little and still waking thru the night that after the last breast or bottle feeding anytime between 4-6am.....they would stay in the bed with me till we woke up again...just a lazy habit I think....like many others have said it is really all in what you prefer and what your baby prefers, and most babies will ajust to what you choose....except my oldest lol-i honestly think it was because he felt closed in b/c as soon as we switched to the crib he slept like a champ.....but really try not to stress over it and go with your gut!

Hi D.,
I would suggest going with either a bassinet or just a regular old crib. When my daughter was born (she's 16 months now), we had her sleeping in the bassinet next to our bed for the first 8 weeks or so and then just put her in her crib at night and nap times. If you don't want to spend the extra money on a bassinet and a crib, then I would just go with a crib because you can buy attachments for the crib that will make it vibrate or play music or sound like your heartbeat that will soothe the baby. I would never had spent the money for both if I knew that I would only be using the bassinet for 8 weeks. It took up a lot of space and was a waste of time. But, some mothers think it's the greatest thing. That's just my opinion. Good luck with your pregnancy. I hope everything goes well for you!

L.

I would recommend the bassinet when you first come home from the hospital. Baby will feel safe and sound being in a small space after coming from the womb. I always "swaddled" my babies and they liked that. Also you will want to keep the bassinet close by, possibly right in your bedroom.

After baby is big enough to move out of the bassinet, then go to the regular crib (in baby's own room). Size is important for baby to feel cozy.

I am not a proporter of the "family bed" as it is difficult to get the kids out of the bed, once you let them in. They need to feel secure in their own bed and bedroom environment. Also mommy and daddy need to have private time and sleep time in their own bed. This is my opion on the "family bed". However, the idea appeals to me on an emotional level as it keeps mommy close to the baby (and mommies tend to want to be close to their babies all the time), but on a practical level, no.

I don't know what a cosleeper is so I won't comment on that.

Here is my take on the vibrating, musical, etc thing: When you provide them with all this extra stimulation then you may take away from what is most important and that is mommy's loving arms rocking baby to sleep. An extrasensory defice such as a vibrating mattress for a baby just seems a bit too much in my mind. The idea probably sounds good to some, but I still believe a mother's loving touch and feeding the baby in your arms is always best.

Good luck.

Especially if you're breastfeeding, you'll want to keep your infant next to your bed for the first several months for convenience and the least amount of disruption for nighttime feedings -- in which case either a bassinet or cosleeper comes in handy. However, babies outgrow bassinets very quickly (a few months) so you definitely need a crib too. I had a bassinet and crib although I would have loved to have a cosleeper. My daughter ended up sleeping in my bed for almost two years! It's best to avoid that scenario if you don't want to chase your husband out of the room. Best wishes!