Where should a newborn baby sleep?
I wanted to get your opinion on where the baby should sleep, and why.
I feel like the baby should sleep in his/her room, with a baby monitor, so he/she grows accustom to it. Sure, it probably is a pain to get up and walk down the hall a few times a night. But doesn't it promote better sleeping habits?
My boyfriend thinks he/she should sleep in the room with us, in a bassinet, so he/she is close to us for safety and convenience. Won't the baby eventually expect to sleep in the room with us?
In your room.. in a bassinet or a co-sleeper. My son hated his bassinet so we got him the Snuggle Nest adult bed co-sleeper that is placed right inside your bed.. he loved it and slept there until he was 3 months. He had no problem transitioning into his crib either. He likes his crib. I am not into the Pack N Play choice for a place to sleep at night.. it is meant to be packing for playing or for a quick nap, not to be used as a bed. It's uncomfortable in my opinion. Best Wishes.
I have 3 kids, when they were babies they slept in my room.
In the bedroom in a bassinet, or in your bed with a co-sleeper.
You're not going to 'warp' them, when they're this young, into bad sleeping habits.
I agree with you the baby should be in the crib in their own room with a monitor so you can hear them. I have done this with both my boys.
With you in your bed, in a bassinett next your bed, in a crib in your room, in a crib in their own room. Beauty of parenthood is that you get to make the decisions for your child, until old enough to make their own. Try a few options and do what you think works best! Congrats!
One thing to keep in mind, the quicker you are able to get to a waking baby and meet their needs, the easier it is for them to fall back asleep….so keeping baby close for easy access is a plus.
I wont give any links to back me up, just my opinion.
I think a baby should sleep RIGHT next to his/her mom.
I think it is so much more important than people realise.
And i think putting a baby in a cot, against their will (ie, they scream as soon as you leave their sight) is just plain wrong.
I felt that my newborn baby should sleep in her bassinet next to me until she was unable to fit in it anymore. Then i put her crib up in my room for a while. Eventually i moved her into her own room and we never had a problem with her not wanting to be in there. I bought her a fish tank to keep her company when she awoke in the middle of the night just to look around though. She loves fish. You do what you feel best. Either way, she'll grow up fine.
Although, my pediatrican told me that when baby sleeps close to momma, they pick up her breathing patterns and it reminds them to breathe in there sleep.
Honestly, you are going to get answers from both sides. Each situation is different. My son slept in his own room from day 1. This was a decision my husband and I made because of my husband's work (he is a police officer and works various hours). We didn't want our son's sleep to be disturbed in any way, so that why he went in his room. He is 15 months old now and we have no problems getting him down at night. In fact (and I think this is cute and funny) he sometimes walks into his room at bedtime and points to his crib as if saying "Mommy, I'm sleepy!".
both of my kids slept in their bassinet in my room next to my bed until they were too big for the bassinet. my oldest slept in bed with me and my husband until he was almost 2. he made the transition to his room very well. the first night he was cranky about it but the second night he was excited because he was a 'big boy' and got his very own 'big' (toddler) bed!
the baby should sleep in his/her own crib. but you should be in the same room untill they feel comfortable,and can be more safe.
With both of my boys they slept in a bassinet next to our bed until they were about 4 months old. Their too young to know where their sleeping and its easier to get to them when they start to fuss. My youngest is 9 months and since 4 months old hes been in his crib and thats the only place he will sleep. He knows it his bed and thats where he sleeps.
I agree that it will definitely be harder later to get them to sleep on their own.
I'm going to have my 2nd baby sleep in their own room with a monitor just as you suggested. Why? My 4 year old son slept with me for SOOOOO long. Seriously, even now I can't just tuck him in, he 'needs' me to lay down with him. I was a single mother for a long time and didn't like him sleeping alone (or me either!!) so that's how all that got started. But its definitely going to make things difficult when I have this baby and still need to tend to my son's attachments.
I think the bassinet in your room idea is good for naps and such, but bedtime should be spent in their room.
your boyfriend is soooo right!!!
babies are meant to be close their parents!……what you have going on in your head is purely western concept on controlling babies….and it's sick
think about this….westernized humans are the ONLY mammals that have the idea to force their infants to sleep alone…..when in fact your baby is biologically hardwired to near his mother otherwise he may freeze to death, starve or be eatin by a wild animal
ALL mammals are biologically hardwired to have instant access to the breast and hear their mother's heartbeat and breathing patterns
please don't make your life harder than it has to be….having your infant near you at all times makes your life easier, happier and makes your baby much happier
do you really want to look back on your baby's younger years with resentment/sleep deprivation because you just felt the silly need to force baby to be on their own??
or would you rather look back with good peaceful memories of the family bed/family room with baby on your breast as you layed in bed and got your much needed sleep???
i co-sleep with my babies and it's been wonderful and really easy……my husband and i love having our babies in our bed
It depends on how old your baby is. I kept my baby in my room (next to my bed in a bassinet) until she was 3 months old. She is now 4 months old and has been in the nursery every night since, except for 2 nights when she was sick (I wanted her close then). The baby monitor has worked great and I wake up at every grunt or cry. I do hate walking down the hall in the middle of the night, though. I did add a super comfy rocker-recliner to her nursery so I could feed and soothe her comfortably at night. So, I would suggest that your baby stays with you (not in your bed, though) until he/she is ~ 3 months or so, and then off to the nursery. Good luck!
My daughter slept in our room in a bassinet for the first two months. I just felt safer with her beside me. When she was a little over two months I had sleep in her room. I think if you just do it for a little while when she is young she will never know the difference.
Our son slept in the room with us for one week in his pack and play. Everytime he made even the slightest noise we got up and started our feeding routine. We decided to put him in his room with a monitor after the first week and it was honestly the best thing we could have done for all of us. He was in his room so we didn't hear every sound he made. This allowed for us to get a lot more sleep. He also got a lot more sleep because we weren't getting him up every 2 hours bc he was making noise. This worked best for us!!
a newborn baby they say should be in your room with you until 6 months old – i did this with my daughter, when she was really young i would not have felt at ease with her in another room. We moved her into her own room at 6 months with no hassle
All 5 of mine slept in the room with us when they were little. I never had a problem with them expecting to sleep with us once they had graduated to a crib and no longer needed constant night feedings.
Trust me when I say that those few extra minutes of sleep you save by keeping them in the room with you are a precious commodity in the newborn days.
My smart alec first response to this question was "Wherever you can get them to!"
My son slept in his crib, in our room untill he was 3 months.
It's early to worry about sleeping habits. My baby sleeps in a bassinette beside my bed and I plan to keep her in my room until she's about 6 months. Right now she sleeps in my room at night but naps in her nursery in her crib during the day so that when I make the transition it won't be a shock. You're boyfriend is right.
I have a 14 week old and my baby sleeps in her bassinet right next to our bed…..I even let her sleep with us sometimes….I really think that a newborn should be sleeping in your room next to you……co sleeping is great and it can be safe if you let her sleep in her bassinet……my baby has been sleeping through the night since she was about 11 weeks old…..it is a routine that promotes a good sleep habit….
Have you had your baby yet????Because if you haven't you will probaly feel differently about this when your baby is here
All of my children were co-sleepers at some point during their lives and with the exception of the baby (who is 3 months old) they all sleep well by themselves. I nursed the children and just liked having them close at night.
You're going to have opinions on both sides here. Find something that you and your boyfriend can both agree on.
When they are little, it is easier to have them in your room. Friends of mine still have their son in the same room and he's almost 3 …of course they started building onto their house about 8 months ago to add an extra bedroom for him so in a few weeks when it's finally finished, he'll be moving into his own room
They also let their daughter stay in thier room until she was about 3
My daughter slept on my chest, my husbands chest, or under my arm in bed with both of us. We slept in the same room until 3 months…when I trialed her in her crib and she slept really well…I figured to go that route.
She just woke easily I think to any noise hubby or I made.
She sleeps great alone…in her crib..so those few months of sleeping together probably helped her feel more confident of sleeping alone?
I don't know…You will do what feels best when the time comes.
I was all about her sleeping in the crib from day 1, but everything flip flops around when you have them…
A newborn should sleep as close as possible to its Mother.
I let my daughter sleep with me in a bassinette in my room until she was a month then she was into her own room with a monitor and mobile. her pediatrician suggested it. i love this method. it works, she is 7 months now and still sleeps in her own bed in her room. i only let her sleep in my bed with me for naps on the weekend
I had my son in our room until a year. My daughter is almost 8 months and she is in our room as well and will be for a while. We have a crib in there for her. It is good in a lot of ways. When she gets up at night she never gets all the way awake because I hear her waking up…her breathing changes…and my hubby gets her a bottle right away. She never has the chance to cry to wake me up….by the time they cry they are pretty well awake. This means she goes right back to sleep which is great. Also I am paranoid so it is nice to hear her breathing at night!
Good luck either way. There is nothing wrong with a monitor in another room…just not for me! That was what we did when our Dylan turned a year.
I don't think there is any one answer to this question as everyones situation is different. Our oldest (now 22 mos.) slept in our room ~ in his own bed ~ until he was one. When he turned one we moved the crib to his room and he made the transition just fine (I cried for two nights!). With all the stress over SIDS my husband and I wanted him close by so we could peek at him on a regular basis throughout the night. We also have a "split plan" house which means his bedroom is way on the other side of the house. Our pediatrician said there was no problem at all with this arrangement as long as he was not in our bed (that's where the problems develop!). He slept great while in our room and still sleeps like a champ.
We have our 2nd child now and plan on the same routine for him.
While I agree our method may be a little much for some people, it has worked for us and our peace of mind. I do think that the baby should be by your side for at least 3-5 months. The risk of SIDS drops considerably after 5 mos.
Best of luck to you and congrats on your little one!
My daughter stayed in the bassinet in our room til the day she was 3 months old then she sleept in her crib. Its easier to have the baby in the room with you in the beginning because the feeding is usually every 2 1/2 hrs. My daughter started sleeping thru the night a few days before she was 3 months old and thats when we decided on her 3 month bday she would start sleeping in her crib.
When my son was younger he slept in our room for the first month or so after he was born. And then we slowly started moving him into his crib. When napping during the day he slept in a bassinet in the living room. I felt safer with him next to the bed in my room so I could look in on him.
They have studies showing that SIDS rates are lower when the baby is in your room. It is also more convenient, especially if you are breastfeeding.
SIDS guidance: Put crib in parents' room
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/parenting/10/10/preventing.sids.ap/
I had a c-section so getting up and moving around was painful. I actually put the baby between me and my husband on the bed at night. Then during the day I would put her in the crib for naps.
It took some time but now she does sleep in her crib, which is in our room, at night. It makes it easier for me to have her crib in the same room as me because I don't let her totally cry before I tend to her. That way it takes less time and effort to put her back to sleep.
My daughter and son both slept in my room in a bassinett. I was so worried about SIDS that I kept them close to me in my room so I could watch them. When my daughter turned 3 months, she slept in her crib with no problems. My son is 4 months old and sleeps in his crib just fine. It's really up to you and how you want to do things, b/c everyone does them differently! =) Your choice will be the best choice for you and your baby. Good Luck! =)
I understand both of your points of view, I personally would want the child to sleep in a crib or bassinet by themselves, but still in the same room for the first 3-6 months, but I wouldn't object to them sleeping in their own room, it just depends on the parents. I would NOT let them co-sleep because I am kind of a heavy sleeper, and I would be SO afraid of rolling over on a newborn. Some people SWEAR by it, but I'm not comfortable with it.