arm's reach co-sleeper

I have yet another question for all of you experienced parents. Where will we want the baby to sleep when he first comes home from the hospital? His room is right across the hall from our room. Will I want him there, or will I want him in the room with me? I plan to nurse. We have looked at the arm's reach co-sleeper (in lieu of the pack and play). Is that the way to go, or do we need a bassinet, or nothing at all. Thanks so much.

[mommax3]

If I were doing it over, I would go for the co-sleeper.....my friend who has four kids has had one from the beginning and loves it. It is a hard thing to know when you are a new parent.....you don't know until you try it! My first baby was a great little sleeper, but the next two spent plenty of time in our room, and a co-sleeper would have been GREAT to have.

Hope this helps!

Sally

I had the same set-up: DD's room was right across the hall from ours. I tried having her sleep in our room the first night because it seemed so strange to put her in a separate room...all by herself. But DH and I both hated it. I couldn't sleep because every time she moved I had to check on her (nervous first-time mommy). I could hear her breathe and thought it sounded stuffy/wheezy... And I was nursing. I thought it would have been wonderful to not get up to nurse, but I found it was much easier to go to her than bring her to me. I didn't have the hang of it yet, so I had to sit up and turn all the lights on to see what I was doing and get everything situated. This kept DH, who needed his sleep, awake for twenty minutes or so every two to three hours. Neither one of us was able to sleep. The next day I put a rocking chair in DD's room, put a table next to it, and stocked it with magazines, books, water bottles, and a little CD player. From then on, I almost looked forward to nursing time. It was a relaxing. And I liked that it eliminated any 'transisitions' to her own bed.
This was what worked for us, and I agree, you just don't know what you like until you try it.

[SueC]

For us, it differed by the baby. Our first spent 5 months in a bassinet right next to our bed--I really liked that arrangement. Our second spent a few months in the bassinet and then went straight to the crib. The third baby hated the bassinet and would sleep in his crib. All of them spent the first several weeks actually in my bed as I was too lazy to physically get up to nurse them. After that, they were moved to a different location *if* I had the energy. I don't think I would have liked the co-sleeper because at our house, it would have made it difficult for me to get in and out of bed. I hear it works for some, though.

I had the same question on my mind, Emilyann. The nursery will be on the opposite side of the house from our bedroom so I think the baby will need to be in our room for the first few months (it's a good thing DH can sleep through anything!) I've been stuck on deciding whether it's better to buy a bassinet or a cosleeper. The cosleepers just look so bulky and it seems like it would be hard to get in/out of bed....but I didn't know if they would be more functional than a bassinet.

[Flynn]

I feel pretty strongly that the best situation for us was our children sleeping in their crib from the beginning. I think whatever you do for the first month is fine -- you are in survival mode in my book. After a month though you should think about what is ideal for you and start making it happen. It is NOT too early to start putting your baby down sleepy but not asleep and let them fuss to sleep. It's a great way to get to know your child. Do they fuss for more or less than 15 minutes?

I am firmly against co-sleeping for us. The family bed to me is solving some problems in the short term while creating other problems most likely for the long term. We had too many friends do this and have nightmare situations in the long run. That's just my experience though.

I went so far with my second child to have him two floors away (keep in mind our house is TINY) because that was the only room available for him --so I went to him every night in the beginning. That kind of stunk but I could never sleep with him in our room or in our bed. It was a small sacrifice to make and of course we had a monitor.

Having your child across the hall is a good sitaution. You have your room and your baby is very close. I vote whole heartedly for having your baby be comfortable in his/her crib as soon as possible. You will thank yourself in the long run.

We got a beautiful bassinet as a gift and she's been sleeping in it every night. The first night at home she was in our room but it was hard for us to sleep so we moved her to her room and set up the monitors. It's worked well for us and it will make the transition to the crib much easier. It is hard to get up a few times a night and go to the other room but it's really not all that bad. I haven't been able to master the side-lying nursing position so being in bed with her isn't really an option, although I would like to learn it for the first feeding of the morning when I am still waking up. Good luck! You guys will figure out what's best for you.