Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

So my LO will be born in December. My bedroom will be just across the hall from the nursery.

I am trying to decide if I should have the baby in a bassinet in my room in the beginning or go straight to the crib.

Can you tell me what worked for you and if you would have prefered it the other way.

TIA

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

Are you planning to BF, if you are, you want baby as close to you as possible for at least the first 3m, while they are needing to feed every 2-3 hours day and night.

I BF for 2m, starting to slow down by 3m. DS's crib is on wheels and was in our bedroom till he was 3m, then at 3m moved him to his own room, when he was sleeping 10 hours at night.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

We had DD in the pnp in our room next to our bed until 5 months old. She was EBF and although she STTN early on around 8 weeks old, I just wanted her as close to me as possible (without being in the bed with us) for as long as possible. She outgrew the pnp and transitioned to her crib with no problem.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

I used to think she woudl go right in the crib from day one.
Then she came screaming into our lives!
Trust me- when they are waking up for night feedings or just general fussing and cranking at night- you will want them close by.
If I had to get up and go to another room every time she needed a feeding or just need some soothing, I'd never get any sleep.

My tune changed the minute she came home.

I vote for the baby in the room- for YOUR sanity more than anything else.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

Keep in mind that we did not have anything close to a complete nursery for either one of our kids when they were born - mainly due to Jewish superstition with Abby but pure laziness and pure chaos with Jeremy.

When we had Abby we were in an apartment. She had her own room but no furniture had arrived. We used the bassinet of her pack n play for 2 weeks until the furniture got in and was set up. I DID BF Abby for almost 3 months and it did not make a darn bit of difference whether I was in the room with her or not. Once I got up to get her out of the bassinet, I had to pee so I peed first. What would have been the difference if I went back into her room or mine? At least this way, DH got to sleep and one of us was functional in the morning as opposed to neither one of us.

With Jeremy, we had a different issue. We recently moved and did not have enough time to transition Abby into a toddler bed before Jeremy came home from the hospital. We also did not want to oust her from the crib and have Jeremy take it over - she had enough changes and so we gave her time to make the transition. Jeremy is not/was not breastfed and he's been in the room with us because his room hadn't been ready and because we wanted to be sure Abby was fully transitioned. She is 2 and territorial. He is one month and doesn't know the difference.

The long and the short of it all? I'd still put a baby in its own crib ASAP regardless of bottle or breast feeding. It worked best for us and our sanity that way.

Message edited 10/11/2010 3:17:19 PM.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

I like to have them next to me in the beginning for many reasons. One - comfort. Two - convenience. You get up multiple times a night and it's so much easier. I never had a problem transitioning them to their rooms.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

i had the boys in the PNP in our room for the first 3 months.. i loved it that way just to keep checking on them.. etc.. easier to get up and feed them with them right there.
and they had an easy adjustment when they went in their cribs!

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

We've done both. DD#1 went right into her crib from the second day home. She was a loud sleeper so it was nice having her in her own room.

DD#2 went into a bassinet in our room for 3 months b/c she was sharing a room with DD#1 and we wanted to wait until she was sleeping better. She was a good sleeper so it wasn't bad at all her sleeping in our room.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

For first DS, we put him in his crib in his own room for the first night he was home from the hospital. For BFing, I just went into his room, nursed him in the rocker, then put him back in his crib. We were fortunate to have a full-sized bed in his room as well, so on rough nights I actually slept there and nursed him lying down when needed. He STTN at 8 wks, so it worked well.

For 2nd DS, we had a bassinet next our bed in the MBR and he stayed there until ~8wks. Then he outgrew the bassinet and we put him in his crib in his own room, but he didn't STTN until about 8 mos.

Now that they both STTN (one is 2.5yo and one is 11 mos), they're in the same bedroom without any troubles. While the younger one CIO, the older one tunes him out and vice versa....(that was my biggest fear -- one waking the other one).

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

When I brought DD home I was BF-ing so we thought it would be convenient to have her close. Well she had other plans. She slept in the bassinet the first night home. The second night she wouldn't sleep in the bassinet, at one point I found DH sleeping on the boppy pillow on the floor of DD's room while she was sound asleep in the crib. (He didn't want to leave her alone. It was adorable.)

But like Goldi said above, when I woke up to feed her in the middle of the night I still had to pee first. It didn't matter if she was right next to me or across the hall.

She's been sleeping in the crib since the second day home and sleeping through the night since 8 weeks.

Message edited 10/11/2010 3:55:48 PM.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

Sean was in the crib from Day 1 -

He was comfortable, we were comfortable - and it was one less transition for everyone to have to deal w/.

Also, whether your BFing or FFing you have to get up to feed the baby in the middle of the night -
When the baby is in the room w/ you, I think it's more difficult for you or DH to sleep (whoever is not up w/ the baby) and I didn't see any reason for everyone to be up multiple times - So, I got up, got the bottle, sat in the glider and fed him - he went back in his crib, I went back in my bed -

ETA: I was also never comfortable feeding Sean in bed. I had to be in the glider or on the couch or something ........so there was really no benefit to him being in our room

Message edited 10/11/2010 4:05:36 PM.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

DD was in a crib from day one-worked great.


DS was in the PNP next to our bed from day one and transitioned to a crib in his room around 3 months-that worked great too.

No rhyme or reason for the change, just felt differently each time.

Go with what you feel best about, you can't go wrong

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

Message edited 10/11/2010 4:11:23 PM.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

Thanks so much for all the replies, I guess I will just see what works best for us when baby comes

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

DS was in his bassinet for the first almost 4 months. We would have switched him sooner but since we were having company at christmas and he would have to move out of his room for that, I didn't want to chance a difficult transition 2 times.

It didn't really make it any easier for me. I tried to BF but it didn't work and even when one of us would get up with DS, the other really couldn't sleep much - the house isn't that big. We also would first take DS to the nursery, change him, get the bottle and feed him in the glider in there. So, it didn't save any time - but I did like having him there...they grow up so fast.

DS had no problem with the transition though.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

i say bassinette! DSs room is next to ours (our doors basically touch and I still preferred him in our room. I just wanted to be able to check on him as much as I wanted without getting out of bed.

DS is 4 months and we just transitioned him to his crib last week.

Re: Looking for advice from BTDT moms on sleeping arrangements

I feel so strongly about DD not being in our bedroom that her bassinet is in the living room! LOL (we are in a one bedroom)

If I had the choice (another bedroom) she would be in the crib from day one in her nursery. She is the LOUDEST sleeper in the whole world. I don't even use a monitor with her b/c I wouldn't get a minute of sleep. And she was STTN since week one so no reason why i shouldnt be able to sleep if she is!