Bed for Newborns

Jennifer – we kept our son in a dresser drawer for his first couple of months! We had his crib all set up in the upstairs bedroom, but then I had a nasty labor and C-section that left me unable to climb stairs, so we had to improvise. The drawer worked well – line it and pad the sides with baby blankets and it’s just the right size! - but for our second we have been using a co-sleeper. It’s like a sidecar that attaches to your bed, so the baby is sleeping right next to you. This is great because when she cries I just roll over and bring her into the bed to nurse. Tom hardly woke up for night feedings! It’s not the most attractive thing, and a little big for newborns, but on the whole it’s nice. She’s 5 months old now, and I think we’ll move her out of our room to her own crib in another month or so… so you do end up buying a big crib that you only use for a while, but it converts into a playyard for older babies.

I love your names!

Kaaren

Jennifer – we kept our son in a dresser drawer for his first couple of months! We had his crib all set up in the upstairs bedroom, but then I had a nasty labor and C-section that left me unable to climb stairs, so we had to improvise. The drawer worked well – line it and pad the sides with baby blankets and it’s just the right size! - but for our second we have been using a co-sleeper. It’s like a sidecar that attaches to your bed, so the baby is sleeping right next to you. This is great because when she cries I just roll over and bring her into the bed to nurse. Tom hardly woke up for night feedings! It’s not the most attractive thing, and a little big for newborns, but on the whole it’s nice. She’s 5 months old now, and I think we’ll move her out of our room to her own crib in another month or so… so you do end up buying a big crib that you only use for a while, but it converts into a playyard for older babies.

I love your names!

Kaaren

Jennifer – we kept our son in a dresser drawer for his first couple of months! We had his crib all set up in the upstairs bedroom, but then I had a nasty labor and C-section that left me unable to climb stairs, so we had to improvise. The drawer worked well – line it and pad the sides with baby blankets and it’s just the right size! - but for our second we have been using a co-sleeper. It’s like a sidecar that attaches to your bed, so the baby is sleeping right next to you. This is great because when she cries I just roll over and bring her into the bed to nurse. Tom hardly woke up for night feedings! It’s not the most attractive thing, and a little big for newborns, but on the whole it’s nice. She’s 5 months old now, and I think we’ll move her out of our room to her own crib in another month or so… so you do end up buying a big crib that you only use for a while, but it converts into a playyard for older babies.

I love your names!

Kaaren

Hi there! We used a Graco playpen with a raised bassinette level for our twins for the first five months... I was living with my mom on and off while my husband studied his brains out for his board exams (taken when the girls were five months old), so it made a great portable crib. When we were home with my husband, they slept in the same crib in their room (our bedroom was so small that there was literally NO room for even a playpen!



In the beginning, I had them both in the playpen with the higher platform, facing each other. They fit sideways! When they slept in their crib, they slept together in the same crib until 5 months. At that point, they started rolling around and waking each other up, scratching each other, so I put them into separate cribs.



If I were having a single baby, I would likely use the same thing, but put it next to our bed (we have a bigger bedroom now!). Either that, or I would buy the sidecar that Kaaren describes. The thing I like about the playpen is that it's multi use. You can use it as a playpen, a travel crib, or as a second crib downstairs when the baby naps and you are doing other things. Also, when someone comes to visit with a baby, it's an instant bed. So I'll never get rid of it.



Betcha can't wait for your ultrasound!

Hi there! We used a Graco playpen with a raised bassinette level for our twins for the first five months... I was living with my mom on and off while my husband studied his brains out for his board exams (taken when the girls were five months old), so it made a great portable crib. When we were home with my husband, they slept in the same crib in their room (our bedroom was so small that there was literally NO room for even a playpen!



In the beginning, I had them both in the playpen with the higher platform, facing each other. They fit sideways! When they slept in their crib, they slept together in the same crib until 5 months. At that point, they started rolling around and waking each other up, scratching each other, so I put them into separate cribs.



If I were having a single baby, I would likely use the same thing, but put it next to our bed (we have a bigger bedroom now!). Either that, or I would buy the sidecar that Kaaren describes. The thing I like about the playpen is that it's multi use. You can use it as a playpen, a travel crib, or as a second crib downstairs when the baby naps and you are doing other things. Also, when someone comes to visit with a baby, it's an instant bed. So I'll never get rid of it.



Betcha can't wait for your ultrasound!

Hi there! We used a Graco playpen with a raised bassinette level for our twins for the first five months... I was living with my mom on and off while my husband studied his brains out for his board exams (taken when the girls were five months old), so it made a great portable crib. When we were home with my husband, they slept in the same crib in their room (our bedroom was so small that there was literally NO room for even a playpen!



In the beginning, I had them both in the playpen with the higher platform, facing each other. They fit sideways! When they slept in their crib, they slept together in the same crib until 5 months. At that point, they started rolling around and waking each other up, scratching each other, so I put them into separate cribs.



If I were having a single baby, I would likely use the same thing, but put it next to our bed (we have a bigger bedroom now!). Either that, or I would buy the sidecar that Kaaren describes. The thing I like about the playpen is that it's multi use. You can use it as a playpen, a travel crib, or as a second crib downstairs when the baby naps and you are doing other things. Also, when someone comes to visit with a baby, it's an instant bed. So I'll never get rid of it.



Betcha can't wait for your ultrasound!

[Phoebe]

I am just curious. What type of bed did you put your newborn in for their first few months? Traditionally, it seems like bassinets are most commonly used. Did anyone of you try the "Moses" baskets? A friend of mine said she knew someone who used a dresser drawer.



How old were your kids when they started sleeping in their crib?



By the way Kristen, you asked what names we were thinking of. For a boy we are pretty settled on Chase Alexander. For a girl, we have quite a few that we like. I am partial to Avery right now. My husband likes Madeline Grace. We have an ultrasound in three weeks where I plan to find out the sex of the baby.



Jennifer

[Phoebe]

I am just curious. What type of bed did you put your newborn in for their first few months? Traditionally, it seems like bassinets are most commonly used. Did anyone of you try the "Moses" baskets? A friend of mine said she knew someone who used a dresser drawer.



How old were your kids when they started sleeping in their crib?



By the way Kristen, you asked what names we were thinking of. For a boy we are pretty settled on Chase Alexander. For a girl, we have quite a few that we like. I am partial to Avery right now. My husband likes Madeline Grace. We have an ultrasound in three weeks where I plan to find out the sex of the baby.



Jennifer

[Phoebe]

I am just curious. What type of bed did you put your newborn in for their first few months? Traditionally, it seems like bassinets are most commonly used. Did anyone of you try the "Moses" baskets? A friend of mine said she knew someone who used a dresser drawer.



How old were your kids when they started sleeping in their crib?



By the way Kristen, you asked what names we were thinking of. For a boy we are pretty settled on Chase Alexander. For a girl, we have quite a few that we like. I am partial to Avery right now. My husband likes Madeline Grace. We have an ultrasound in three weeks where I plan to find out the sex of the baby.



Jennifer

what a fun topic! please allow me to join in the fun for a bit! and add my totally inexperienced opinion!



jennifer, my mom LOVES the moses baskets. i think i am thinking of the right one -- the basket that pottery barn kids has in the catalog? i'll ask her how they worked out b/c i'm almost sure she used them with us. plus, they are just so high on the cuteness factor! ha - am i a slave to consumerism and marketing or what? at least i'm aware of it.



thanks for the kudos to the name claudia! beware - i posed some serious resistance as a young angst-ridden teen because my name was too different! but after i graduated from high school, i loved it. i love the names charlotte and savannah for girls - i think we'll be naming our future kids after cities! i also love sofie but he isn't sold on that one. i LOVE grace. it's so peaceful. say it: grace.

don't you feel better?



all right, i'll excuse myself now! thanks for letting me have a little fun!!



i can't wait to hear the results, jenn!!

what a fun topic! please allow me to join in the fun for a bit! and add my totally inexperienced opinion!



jennifer, my mom LOVES the moses baskets. i think i am thinking of the right one -- the basket that pottery barn kids has in the catalog? i'll ask her how they worked out b/c i'm almost sure she used them with us. plus, they are just so high on the cuteness factor! ha - am i a slave to consumerism and marketing or what? at least i'm aware of it.



thanks for the kudos to the name claudia! beware - i posed some serious resistance as a young angst-ridden teen because my name was too different! but after i graduated from high school, i loved it. i love the names charlotte and savannah for girls - i think we'll be naming our future kids after cities! i also love sofie but he isn't sold on that one. i LOVE grace. it's so peaceful. say it: grace.

don't you feel better?



all right, i'll excuse myself now! thanks for letting me have a little fun!!



i can't wait to hear the results, jenn!!

what a fun topic! please allow me to join in the fun for a bit! and add my totally inexperienced opinion!



jennifer, my mom LOVES the moses baskets. i think i am thinking of the right one -- the basket that pottery barn kids has in the catalog? i'll ask her how they worked out b/c i'm almost sure she used them with us. plus, they are just so high on the cuteness factor! ha - am i a slave to consumerism and marketing or what? at least i'm aware of it.



thanks for the kudos to the name claudia! beware - i posed some serious resistance as a young angst-ridden teen because my name was too different! but after i graduated from high school, i loved it. i love the names charlotte and savannah for girls - i think we'll be naming our future kids after cities! i also love sofie but he isn't sold on that one. i LOVE grace. it's so peaceful. say it: grace.

don't you feel better?



all right, i'll excuse myself now! thanks for letting me have a little fun!!



i can't wait to hear the results, jenn!!

For what it's worth Kris, I admire those who can do the family bed. With two five pound, floppy twins (premature), we just didn't. We thought they were too fragile and, honestly, we were AFRAID of their fragility. So, get my tall, big husband who rolls over onto ME all the time into a bed with them? Forget it! But I admire you! I did bring them into our bed in the middle of the night when they were older, but my husband complained that they interrupted his sleep. SO that was that. William Sears, author of the best seller "The Baby Book" (I lived by that book Jenn, buy it!!!) is a big supporter of the family bed. My mom slept with our youngest two siblings, and it was great for them.



Also, Claudia, I love your name too! And I was lobbying for the names Charlotte and Grace for our twins, but my husband didn't want the political mess of naming only one twin after a grandmother (my mom's name is Charlotte). So we ended up with Grace and Natalie. Which I am now happy we did. Natalie couldn't be anything but Natalie! And likewise with Gracie! They are now two years old and such fun!



Jenn, you have so many fun decisions ahead!

For what it's worth Kris, I admire those who can do the family bed. With two five pound, floppy twins (premature), we just didn't. We thought they were too fragile and, honestly, we were AFRAID of their fragility. So, get my tall, big husband who rolls over onto ME all the time into a bed with them? Forget it! But I admire you! I did bring them into our bed in the middle of the night when they were older, but my husband complained that they interrupted his sleep. SO that was that. William Sears, author of the best seller "The Baby Book" (I lived by that book Jenn, buy it!!!) is a big supporter of the family bed. My mom slept with our youngest two siblings, and it was great for them.



Also, Claudia, I love your name too! And I was lobbying for the names Charlotte and Grace for our twins, but my husband didn't want the political mess of naming only one twin after a grandmother (my mom's name is Charlotte). So we ended up with Grace and Natalie. Which I am now happy we did. Natalie couldn't be anything but Natalie! And likewise with Gracie! They are now two years old and such fun!



Jenn, you have so many fun decisions ahead!

For what it's worth Kris, I admire those who can do the family bed. With two five pound, floppy twins (premature), we just didn't. We thought they were too fragile and, honestly, we were AFRAID of their fragility. So, get my tall, big husband who rolls over onto ME all the time into a bed with them? Forget it! But I admire you! I did bring them into our bed in the middle of the night when they were older, but my husband complained that they interrupted his sleep. SO that was that. William Sears, author of the best seller "The Baby Book" (I lived by that book Jenn, buy it!!!) is a big supporter of the family bed. My mom slept with our youngest two siblings, and it was great for them.



Also, Claudia, I love your name too! And I was lobbying for the names Charlotte and Grace for our twins, but my husband didn't want the political mess of naming only one twin after a grandmother (my mom's name is Charlotte). So we ended up with Grace and Natalie. Which I am now happy we did. Natalie couldn't be anything but Natalie! And likewise with Gracie! They are now two years old and such fun!



Jenn, you have so many fun decisions ahead!