To buy a crib or not?

[Wishx]

So i am almost 14w5d pregnant and i keep coming back to this crib debate!
My sister inlaw says i can just use the pack and play i got or put the baby in a bassinet for the first 3 months so at night you're not constantly up and down..

My question is - When did you buy a crib? Did the baby sleep in the crib right away?

I love the idea of the Halo swivel bassinet but for the price you might aswell just get a crib. I know my pack and play says its only good for up to 15 pounds on the infant level insert.
I'm trying to make a list as to what to buy/when to buy them and im feeling lost with this debate!

 

[MEPride]

I am pretty lucky and have inherited a crib from a friend recently. But I don't plan on putting it together any time soon. I have a cradle (also inherited) and plan on getting a co-sleeper attachment for my bed for the baby to sleep in when he/she arrives. The thought of getting in/out of bed every 2 hours (or so) to nurse sounds awful to me. And the bed attachment thing sounds perfect for nighttime... pack and play or cradle for day time.

 

[krissie328]

We used the pack n play until 6 weeks. I think the shakiness woke ds up. At 6 weeks he moved into his crib. For us it was definitely worth it.

 

[wrapunzel]

Depends on your plans. I suggest a convertible/combo crib if you are buying new

As for us: Babies are supposed to regulate their breathing with an adult. So we co-slept until 6 months, had nothing to help us make that safer last time but planning to get a Dock-A-Tot type thing this time. Then we used a crib mattress on the floor (Montessori floor bed) because being trapped in the crib was.... not conducive to sleep. She started sleeping alone on the floor bed for at least 4-6 hrs a night by 9 months old. At 15 months, we have her her own room and re-assembled the crib as a toddler bed with rail, took the rail off at 28 months or so

 

[DobbyForever]

I agree it depends on space and plans. This is my first and only, so I have no issue spending a bit more for convenience. Thankfully, SO and I both work and make good money and he also believs in spending more for convenience. My mom has called dibs on buying the crib from day one and insists she can get some of her loaded friends to buy other big ticket items. But even if she didn't, I was looking at:
1) A crib for the nursery
2) 2 pack and plays - one for my house and one for my mom's
3) 1 bassinet/changer for my room - would have been two but I decided not to stay at my mom's after birth anymore.
*I buy a lot of doubles because I used to cart my dogs' crap with me to and from my mo's house and buying crates and beds and bowls to just store at my mom's was the best decision I ever made.

Even though we won't be using the crib for a while since it'll be in the other room, I can't imagine not getting it. The way I justified it was I'm getting a convertible crib. The one I want was somewhere in the $100-200 range including toddler rails and the queen conversion kit is an additional $75. So sure it's like $300 upfront BUT this is going to be my kid's bed for life.

Now if I COULD get away with having a crib in my master, I would and just move it later when baby graduates to sleeping in a room by himself. But even though it's a spacious room I have two dog crates, two dressers, two night stands, and a queen sized bed. It just wouldn't work.

If anything, the debate for me is whether the pack and plays are worth it. I was going to use the one at my house as a place to stash baby when I just can't sling him and save myself walking up the stairs to put him down. Now as I say that I realize it is worth it hahah

 

[Scout]

It will all depend on your individual situation and so hard to say before baby comes. I had a bassinet, crib, pack and play, newborn napper and the only thing I ended up using was the pack and play, and that wasn't until she got older and I needed a safe place to plop her while I went to the bathroom or something. She cried continuously in the bassinet and never went in the crib. I used it to store clothes LOL We ended up cosleeping; best thing ever! I did convert the crib to a full size bed when she was 18 months, and she still uses it now at 3, so it wasn't a complete waste.

It's not something you need right away though since baby should stay in with you for the first year. If i had it to do again, I'd get a co sleeper that attaches to the bed. Even though I followed the safe co sleeping guidelines, I'd feel even better with a co sleeper made to attach to the bed to give the baby their own space.

 

[Wishx]

I have enough room in our bedroom to put a crib, i was going to grab a convertible one (roughly $250 here) and keep it semi close to our bed. I'm not sure i'm comfortable with co sleeping, my OH and i move around a lot in our sleep so id be too nervous. I havent seen anywhere that sells the attachments.
My pack and play easily folds up so you can take it with you, my inlaws already have a crib at their home but id bring the pack and play just incase its needed.
I dont hate the idea of a bassinet i just can't justify spending $150-$200 on one when a crib is $250.

 

[DobbyForever]

Yeah and tbh I read it's not always easy to transition from bassinet/pnp to crib sleeping so I'd rather start crib and stay in crib each night from first night home but like I said no space.

Easy folds getting two dogs and a baby on the same car at the same time means nothing for me haha. Space and effort wise lol my dogs are crazy high energy getting in and out

 

[Wishx]

That's what i'm worried about - transition. With the space i have it would be a quick step out of bed to pick the baby up so its not too bad.
I have a large dog aswell thats almost a year old so gladly we have an SUV that we can easily fit them both If we had a car it wouldnt happen...
I'm interested to see how the cats will take to a crib...they were in and out of the pack and play quite a bit so i took it down. I think they might be afraid to go near the baby for a while.

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

get all of them and see what baby prefers.

 

[DobbyForever]

Ooo yeah cats are interesting creatures with those.

The dealer wants me to get an SUV but I can't lol crossover is as far as I will go. But my Prius is not gonna cut it anymore so had that car since I was 18

 

[xdxxtx]

I BF my babies, but I'm a heavy sleeper, so I find it pertinent to have a cosleeper (the kind that's a bassinet that attaches to the side of my bed). Once my little one is no longer needing to nurse every 2-4 hours throughout the night, I turn it into just a bassinet because I'm able to get more sleep and just feed baby once a night and put them back down more easily. At 4-6 months old, all of my babies were ready to leave my room (sleeping through the night most of the time), so I put them in the nursery in a crib. I do think a baby needs a crib to sleep in at around 6 months old, but that's my opinion.

 

[WrinklyMummy]

What's a pack'n'play? Is it like a travel cot?

We were going to get a co-sleeper bassinet as I want to be able to slide baby into bed with me without getting up / out (post-caesarean), but they're soooo expensive and only last around 6 months, so I've now decided to get a normal cot with a base that starts off higher up (around bed height) so I can remove one side and push it up against the bed and make my own co-sleeper!

 

[Wishx]

That's a great idea
A pack and play is something your new born can sleep in and some come with a changer. Once your baby is older and can stand to play on its own it's a safe spot to put them. They fold up small so you can take it with you! A lot of them have an infant level insert aswell

 

[Symphony7]

I have a crib and a bassinet. I will not co sleep because I do not have a safe mattress (4 inch super soft foam) and I don't like having anything in my bed (like, my dogs sleeping on the bed bothers me). I have the bassinet to keep her in the room with me for a while but I have a feeling I will transition her to her own room sooner rather than later. I am up all night to pee, I have a bladder condition. We have three dogs sleeping in with us...it's kind of disruptive. I don't know, we will see. I may get a pack and play at the consignment sale in a few weeks just to have it. I managed to get most of this stuff second hand so was cheap and if I don't use it it's not a huge loss.

 

[WrinklyMummy]

Just Googled these pack 'n' plays and they look awesome! Great prices, too. The napper station looks quite small though so I'm guesing up to around 3 months? How long would you let a baby sleep in the top flat area (the raised level large rectangular area)?

 

[Pitbullmom29]

I am planning on having a pack n play in my room and having the baby sleep there for around 3 months. I am not comfortable with co sleeping as me and my husband tend to roll a lot and we have a dog that sleeps with us. I then plan to transition to a crib. I am only able to take up to 12 weeks of maternity leave and when I go back to work the baby will be in the daycare where they sleep in cribs. So ideally I would like my child to be used to a crib. It might be worth it to get a crib just so you have one just in case.

 

[Savasanna]

We did a bassinet in our room until she was approximately 3 months. At that point our movement was starting to wake her up so we moved her to the crib. There was zero problem with transition and, in fact, I actually think she preferred the crib as she's an active sleeper and there was a lot more room for her to move around. Now she sleeps and naps in her crib.

My sister, on the other hand, co-slept and literally never used her gorgeous crib once. So it totally depends on your plans.

 

[Wishx]

I have a queen size bed but i feel like there wouldnt be enough room to co sleep. We're active sleepers so id be terrified of squishing her or something.
I believe with the pack and play level inserts its good up to 15 pounds? I might have to double check on that. With the change table attachment i only plan on using it for the first 3 months if its up. I'm completely fine with just using a changing pad on the bed unless i cave and get the changing foam part to go on my dresser.

I think i'll probably just use a crib for sleeping unless i find a really good priced bassinet. I'm not sure how i feel about buying things second hand..i worry too much about germs and where its coming from lol

 

[arturia]

You'll need a crib eventually so just getting one to start is the cheapest option. If you want to have baby have sleep options around the house/room share temporarily with you, you can get a bassinet/pack 'n play. The pack 'n play sounds useful to me regardless so I'm considering just getting one myself. (used though)