Baby Extravaganza: Sleeping Arrangements

 

image via Dwell Studio

This post is going the be the first in a series of baby-related posts that I'll be compiling and adding to. I plan to go back and add old posts that are relevent, and everything will be kept under the Baby Extravaganza tab, at left. It's an attempt to keep all the little tips and tricks and things I've learned in one place, so I'll remember them the next time around. Hopefully this can also help a few people as well, or at least get you thinking. As always, the way I do things isn't the Right Way, or the Only Way, it's just the right way for me. That is, until I discover a NEW right way. But that's the best part about this journey, I'm always learning new things.

One of the major decisions you make as a new parent is sleeping arrangements, and all the lovely little stuff that goes with it.

For the first few weeks to few months, most parents have the baby sleep in their room with them, so technically, you don't NEED a crib right away, but I know that to the nesting mother-to-be, being prepared is of utmost importance. The crib that we chose was on back order (along with nearly everything else we chose to buy) and for a long time it looked like it wasn't going to come before the baby arrived. While I knew he'd be sleeping in our room, it still made me nervous. It doesn't make sense, but then, nothing does when you're pregnant.

There are a few choices you have regarding actual sleeping arrangements, you've got a bassinet / cradle, a co-sleeper (attaches to your bed), and then there's always, in your bed.

We weren't fans of co-sleeping, I'd vowed to never sleep with my baby for safety reasons (never say never...it happened a handful of times) and were lucky enough to have access to a cradle that Caleb's family passes around, so we didn't need to purchase anything. To be honest, I wasn't planning on buying one, I'd actually always assumed my baby would sleep in his crib in his room. Then I got pregnant and the thought of my baby in an entirely different room was almost too much to bear - so I was extremely grateful for the cradle. 

That said, if for some reason we don't have the cradle for our next baby, I'm not going to buy one.

Most pack 'n' plays now come with an attachment that brings your baby up high, the exact same way a bassinet or cradle does, and you're probably going to be purchasing one anyway. (We love our Graco.) Unless you never plan to ever go anywhere. (You should plan to go SOMEWHERE, trust me.) This way, you only have to buy one item, and you'll use it often, and the baby will be used to sleeping in it. We use ours at HOME, just to keep him corralled, and it was a lifesaver before we got a rug in our living room.

Which crib you choose is entirely up to you. We had to pick a few items that we'd "splurge" on, and which ones we go cheap on. We chose to splurge on our crib and rocking chair since we want to use these for all of our kids. The rest of the furniture in the room we got at Ikea, not knowing how long we'd need them for.

One item I hemmed and hawed over was the changing table. The crib we purchased had an attachment you could buy that went across the top of half of the crib. I liked that idea, and seriously considered it. After talking with my mom however, I chose not to get any kind of changing table. It's really going to depend on your circumstances though. If you're not breastfeeding and plan to switch off who gets up to feed and change the baby, you might want a separate table in the baby's room so that the person who gets to sleep, can. Or maybe you are breastfeeding, but your husband is a super light sleeper and needs his sleep for work. In that case, I've heard of several people putting an actual bed in the baby's room so that the mom can sleep in there. No sense in getting up and walking into another room, is there?

I was exclusively breastfeeding, but Caleb is the world's deepest sleeper (first story), so I fed and changed him right in my bed. By the time he was sleeping in his own crib, I wasn't changing his diaper at night anyway, so we never needed a separate table.

If this is the route you choose, all you'll need is:

* a little mat (I purchased a Circo changing mat from Target, but can't find the link - it's cloth and thin and you'll probably buy one to put underneath the sheets in your crib anyway) to place under neath them. You will need this, trust me. In fact, get two. Babies like to wait until they're naked to poop and pee. We learned. Several times.

*I also HIGHLY recommend a dimmer lamp for beside your bed to keep it just light enough to see what you're doing, but not bright enough to wake your sleepy baby. I grabbed one from Ikea. 

*a little bin to hold diapers, wipes, diaper cream, powder, a toy or two, lotion, Mylicon, baby Tylenol....you get the idea. I picked up one for cheap from Bed Bath & Beyond, but I know they have actual diaper caddies you can buy with special places for everything. This would probably be lovely, but my OCD tendencies have overlooked it. I don't mind that everything is all crammed in there. We use this bin still, and have taken it on our car rides to Utah. It's so nice to have everything you need in one place, especially when you're not at home. If you plan to fly alot and don't want to stuff a huge bin into your luggage, Ikea makes bins that unzip to lie flat - perfect.

*Maybe this is a no brainer, but those infant gowns are REALLY NICE for night time changes - no buttons, no zipper, just quietly pull it up and pull it down. The more sleep you both get, the better. Plus, you can adequately get to their bare legs to tickle and keep them awake so that they eat something.

Happy sleeping! 

As always, comments, questions, and suggestions are more than welcome!

Comments

[La Petite Chic]

I loved this post! So many great tips! I will definitely need to bookmark it for once I have a little one.

[Liv]

I want to be a mom like you someday.

[Jessica]

Bless you, for compiling such a helpful guide for clueless first-time moms, such as myself. My in-laws are donating a twin bed for the baby's room, which I imagine will become mine once she gets here. Where did you get your rocker? That's looking to be our next big purchase, now that we have the crib out of the way. I'm also clueless when it comes to bedding. Any suggestions?

[Jess]

I could cry I'm so happy you're doing this. And in my delicate, preganant state I might.

I'll be taking notes!

[Kimba]

Jess, I got the rocker (cradle, right?) from Caleb's family. If you're going to buy one, I'd totally recommend not spending a whole lot. KSl, Craigslist, borrowing, etc. etc. You'll only use it for a couple months. It looks sort of like this one.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=6490596&cat=391&lpid=

[Lynn in Australia.]

Kimba, my husband and I went to Ikea today and bought the lamp, after looking at all the dimmable lamps on offer. Thanks for the tip (and your wonderful blog!).

[matt john]

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