Maine Nesties
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Baby sleeping arrangements
DH and I have been trying to decide where to have the baby sleep. We have a bassinett and hopefully will have a crib soon (after our showers). I like the idea of the baby sleeping in our room, however the rocking chair and changing table will be in the baby's room anyways, so I'm just wondering why bother having him sleep in our room, if I'm just going to have to get up and walk him to the other side of the house to change him or rock him to sleep. Also I know sometimes people have a hard time transitioning their baby from the bassinett/pack n play, etc to their crib in their own room when they are a few months older. Just curious what you all do/did and why.
Re: Baby sleeping arrangements
James was in his room in his crib from night 1. Aside from our bedroom just plain being too small to have a single other piece of furniture in there, the stress of having to be quiet and disturbing DH's sleep when he had to get up, and having to go next door for changing, and not having the glider to lean back in while nursing... using the nursery from Day 1 was the way to go for me.
We did have a hard time getting him to sleep, even when swaddled, and I bet if we let him be in our bed it wouldn't have been a problem. And getting up every 20 minutes on those rough nights to go next door and stand by the crib (especially in winter) was no picnic. But if we are blessed with a 2nd- we'll do Day 1 crib time again.
LOTS of folks keep baby in their room though, so I think we're an exception. And there's a good chance you'll plan for one thing and then totally throw it out the window when little one arrives just so you can survive- whatever survival is for you both!
We had Nolan in a bassinette by our bed for the first 5 weeks. We have a bathroom right in our bedroom so we changed him on the counter in there, then I nursed him in bed; usually sitting leaning against my pillows, but sometimes lying down. I had to stand to bounce him to sleep or I bounced him on a stability ball. He didn't like rocking until he was about 3 months old. After 5 weeks, he was starting to wake only 2 times a night, made a lot of noise throughout the night, and we just wanted our room back (we have TV in there and it's usually where we spend out time together talking, hanging out, etc.) So we transitioned him to the crib and it was like nothing had ever been different. It was one thing he actually took really well to! We will definitely do it the same way at least in the beginning with number 2. It was really convenient with everything right there.
We had a pack n' play in our room, which we used to change him. He didn't like sleeping in it, so we ended up using a Rock n' Play next to the bed for sleeping. My experience was that he really just wanted to be as close to me as possible during the first three months, and he slept so much better in our room than his. I also enjoyed being able to nurse in bed and then put him down asleep, especially since it hurt to get up after my c/s.
Once he turned 3 months, he was perfectly happy to be in his crib, and the transition didn't go poorly at all. We just started with naps in the crib and then moved to overnight.
First night she was in her crib. Her room was next to ours and it wasn't that difficult. Everything was set up in there so it just made sense. Plus, DH had to work so even though he heard her cries, he could roll over and easily go to sleep. I think it set a good tone for us. I would have had to leave the room regardless to pump so I could turn on a light and read :)She has always loved her crib and we never had to deal with transitions etc. Although, it could just be because she's an independent baby.
Next baby, since we're in the new house, may sleep in the pack and play bassinet for a couple of weeks until we get things organized, but in reality they will probably go right upstairs too.
We also have CMan in a pnp, and I keep finding reasons not to have him move to his own room - mostly because it's comforting to me to know he's RIGHT there all night long. He STTN, so that's not even a reason to keep him close, but it is much easier at 5:30 or 6am when he gets up to just pull him into bed with me and nurse right there.
His room is just down the hall, but I'm not ready to have him there yet.
My Wedding Bio! Not updated in a LONG time!
Different strokes for different folks
I also loved being able to just look over and see him there...I really missed him when he moved to his crib finally!
The boys shared a PnP in our room for about 6 weeks while I was nursing and supplementing... then when I stopped nursing we switched it up and one would stay in the PnP in our room and the other downstairs in the PnP with DH until we headed to camp (they were about 3 months when we went to camp)... then they each stayed in a PnP in their own room in our cabin... when we got home from camp we were staying with the ILs and they stayed in their own cribs in their own room and have shared a room with each other since then.
This worked for us, but may not have worked for another family... its all about what works and helps you and baby sleep the best!
I still go in and check on the boys at 10 or 11 when I am heading to bed even though they have been sleeping for 3 hours, some people think I am silly for doing it... but it helps me sleep better to see them all nestled into bed and snoring away
Eli slept in our room in a Pack and Play for about 2 months (okay, I'll be honest, he slept in the swing for most of that time.) He never really took well to sleeping in the pack and play for some reason. When we switched to the crib around 2 months he did great at night, but naps were a struggle for a while. We think he slept better in his room because he wasn't being disturbed by our noise in the bedroom.
This time we plan to move to the crib as soon as possible. Although then we worry about Eli being woken up by the crying and ruckus in the middle of the night....so I don't know. Guess we will play it by ear! The tough part is that our bedroom is on the first floor and the kids rooms are upstairs. Although having an angel care monitor at first, then a video monitor made it easier for me.
I think it is definitely about doing what works for you and your baby and what helps you survive during those first few weeks/months. For example, we were worried about how much he slept in the swing, but just kept hearing over and over that you need to do what you need to do to get by. It was totally true because that was the best way for everyone to get sleep at that point and we were able to put in the time and patience to transition him to his crib later.