We are expecting our first child due in the next few months or even sooner. I'm wanting to have him sleep in the crib from the day we bring him home from the hospital. Our house is very small and his room is right across the hall from us. We also have a monitor that will help. Has anyone done this or recommend this? Also, does anyone recommend any books that I can read that talk about the baby sleeping in the crib from day one?
Thanks for your help!
I have 6 children. All of them slept in their own room when they came home from the hospital. I love my children, but I think that they should realise from an early age that mummy and daddy are entitled to their privacy and some alone time. It has always worked well for us, and I would recommend it to any new parent.
All the best, hope you have an easy labor :)
My hubby and I bought the bassinet attachment for the Pack 'n Play and never used it. DD slept better in her crib from day one. She's 21 months now and has always been a great sleeper. We never used a monitor since we have a small house and could hear her from everywhere. I love that we never had to deal with a transition to the crib.
YES, I did with both of mine and they are GREAT sleepers! And we never had to struggle later with getting them out of our bed and into their own. Just read all the tons of questions mamas post, desperate for tips on getting their kids to sleep in their own beds. Why start a bad habit that you're going to one day have to break? Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend!
Actually, starting your baby in the crib is easier, as the baby has no idea how big or small the bed is, and doesn't care, and there is no hard transition later. Both my babies slept in the crib from day one, and slept fine; well, for 2 or 3 hours anyway :). Some newborns love to be swaddled, which helps calm them, and there are special swaddling blankets you can buy, or have a nurse in the hospital show you how with a receiving blanket. You just want to be sure the baby is swaddled correctly so that the blanket is not too loose. Best wishes for you and your new little one!
I think you are making the best choice by not letting your new baby co-sleep with you but in his own crib. I did the same with my daughter and never regretted it. You'll thank yourself later since you won't have to wean him off it later and your baby will be a lot more "independent". I don't think a book can help much, you'll simply have to get up at night for the feedings, but make a point in putting your baby back in its crib and not let him fall asleep while he is nursing. Enjoy the baby time!
My sister did this for a similar reason and Jordyn has done fine :) She put her vertical on one end to make it feel smaller at first and swaddled her real tight. Now that she is 3m she puts her in the center because it's"her bed" now. Good Luck and Congratulations :)
DS slept in his crib in his own room from the first night he came home. We had some great nurses on the newborn floor who really helped us. They just put him down after he was fed and changed and voila - he would go to sleep. We did the same at home - same result. We never tried to rock him until he was asleep or anything like that - when it was time to sleep - he was perfectly able to go to sleep. (of course he spent lots of time being held, carried, read to, fed, etc - we just didn't associate these things with sleeping). Unless your house is huge, you will not really need to monitor - babies come with the ability to make themselves heard
Best of luck
While the intention of having them sleep in their crib from day 1 is AWESOME (I had that also)... I found that with all 4 of mine Mommy slept better if they were in arms reach for a bit... We kept them in their cradle (big wooden one) until they could roll over... Then it was crib from then on... As a nursing mom it made mid night feedings easier... We never had a problem with them then sleeping in their own crib since I would put them down for naps in it so they knew it was for sleeping...
Start in the crib but I would recommend that you stay flexible on this... You will get a lot more sleep if your not up walking the halls 3 or 4 times a night.:-) A night here or there in a playpen in your room isn't going to make baby forget where they sleep...
Rest up and Congrats on the baby!
I recommend BabyWise . . . we put both our sons in the crib from day one. The baby room was next to ours but I'm a sound sleeper so we also used a monitor - it was really nice to be able to sleep comfortably in bed without worrying about baby in bed with us. Also, you need that time alone with your husband - a baby is a wonderful little miracle gift but you still need your time. Even now if our kids are sick, etc we get in bed with them - they are not allowed in our bed (although they both crawl in bed with us early in the morning - 7ish - and we all snuggle until we're ready to get up . . . they just aren't allowed to sleep with us). Also, and trust me on this one, stay consistent - if you allow it once it can become a habit and then you'll be asking how to get your bed back . . .
We had our first child in her crib on day 2 from the hospital. We just put her to bed in it and she slept. The nursery was right next to our room so we never even used a monitor. I highly recommend it! Mommy ears are very sensitive and every little noise they make will wake you up - and babies make a lot of little noises when they sleep. You need as much sleep as possible. There's really nothing to read or do - just put the baby down to sleep there!
We now have 8 month old twins which we attempted the same thing, but they never would sleep in their cribs. Maybe it was being used to being cramped inside of me and the crib seemed so big. We still had them sleeping in the nursery, but they slept in their car seats until they were 5 months old. Then they started wanting to turn and sleep on their stomachs and the car seat didn't work anymore, so then we moved them to the crib, which is where they sleep just fine now!
The crib is the way to go. You both start a routine and all is fine. My son came to us at five weeks old but he was in his crib across the hall from our bedroom and we could hear him just fine. Our daughter had the bed part of the carriage system in our room for about three months. This stayed on the floor on the side of the bed near me and I could breastfed her and put her back to sleep without a problem. Occasionally she did sleep in the bed with us because we all fell asleep and she was fine. After she reached four months she went into the crib and slept.
It is nice to have your children near you but it is also nice to be able to sleep without interruption for every little turn and squirm or squeal. Kids know when mom and dad are happy and they are happy and can sleep peacefully. I didn't swaddle them and they were fine. I just made sure that they were comfortablee and cozy and they went to sleep.
Children are now grown and have never had a problem sleeping by themselves.
The other S.
Having the baby in his own room is probably how most of our parents did it. My kids started in my room but I moved them out relatively quickly. Books that support teaching your child to fall asleep on their own include Babywise and 12 hours Sleep by 12 Weeks Old. Good luck!
I had my kids in the pack and play in my room until they slept through the night, but that was more for my convenience than for any need of the baby. Do what you feel is right. As long as you can hear the baby, I wouldn't worry.
After the 1st night home from the hospital my daughter slept in her crib. Her room was very close to ours so I always heard her and had no worries. I felt it was better for me cause on the occasion she did lay down with me for a nap or early in the mornings I never really slept cause you are always still kind of aware of your child.
Both of mine slept in their cribs from day one. The first was and still is an awesome sleeper at 5. The second one not so much but he goes down easily we occasionally still have to go in his room to comfort him at 16 months. But swaddling will be your best bet no matter what...my husband was a great swaddler I cheated with the kiddopatamus swaddlers.
All three of my children never slept with us and started out in the crib then a baby bed. No problems ever. Those that let their children start sleeping in their bed end up having problems changing the situation and may tend to regret the sleeping arrangement and have trouble getting the child to sleep alone.
the book called Baby Wise is great! as far as where your baby sleeps do what is best for you, I had three boys and they were all different, but they all started out in a bassinet in my room because the babys room was so far away and I was nursing every 2-3 hours. but i did transition them to their own rooms very easily. but the "baby wise" saved me a lot of sleepless nights. I got the book after my first was 2 months old and not sleeping very well at all!!!
We did that, but the crib was in the room right beside our bed for the first three months. This was just easier because you're feeding every three hours. If the baby wasn't in the crib, he was sleeping in the swing, the bouncer or sleeping in our laps - so precious!
My kids slept in bassinets at first which I think they liked because its a smaller space.
However, the thing that worked the best was swaddling them. At the hospital, learn how to swaddle. Have the nurses show you how to do it and practice until you get it right. If you do it too loose, they thrash out of it and it doesnt do any good.
The best baby sleep book I read was Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby - which some people HATE because its has a reputation for being a cry it out book. However, it has some good information on sleep stages babies go through and I thought it was very useful.
With my first child, I was very concerned about doing everything "right" and tried to have rules and procedures for everything. I nursed him on schedule, tried to make him sleep on a schedule, etc.
With my daughter, I just did whatever felt right to me. I nurse on demand and if I feel like bringing her in bed with me, I do.
So far, they are nearly identical in weight gain and sleep patterns. The point of me writing all of this is to say, try not to stress too much about it. You and your baby will do great regardless of where he sleeps.
