3 ms·
Yes, you'll get staunch supporters on all sides of every aspect of parenting. For us, we didn't want the kids in the bed with us to ensure their safety and our
by pedoh 16y ago
Yes, you'll get staunch supporters on all sides of every aspect of parenting. For us, we didn't want the kids in the bed with us to ensure their safety and our ability to sleep as much as possible, but still make it convenient to get her and feed her. I'm an advocate for getting them into their own room and crib as soon as possible, but when they're up every two hours, having them far away just hasn't made sense.
The cosleeper is essentially a pack 'n play with the bottom raised up. With the first two kids, we just used a crib but had them next to the bed. The cosleeper means we don't have to get out of bed to do a feeding, although if she needs changing, we still have to get up, as the changing table is across the room.
Another tip I'll pass along is not to insist in absolute quiet and darkness when the baby is sleeping. I think the sooner they get used to sleeping with normal house noises, the better. If they get too used to quiet and absolute darkness, then when you need to get them to sleep in a different environment, it'll be tough.
Oh, and travelling when they're really young is easier than you'd think. It's when they want to be mobile that it gets harder. But when they're really tiny, they're just going to sleep anyway!
- tnorthcutt 16y agoAhh, I thought a cosleeper was something to have them actually in the bed with you. That makes sense - we're getting a pack 'n play that includes a raised bassinet and plan to have him sleep in that next to our bed at first, to avoid having to get up in order to feed him as you mentioned. I've often thought the same thing w/regard to noise and light when sleeping - good to hear confirmation of that. Any guess as to how long we should expect to wait before taking a ~5 hour trip and being gone 3-5 days? What you said regarding sleeping while traveling makes sense, but I'm guessing you don't want to travel too early.
- pedoh 16y agoIt's going to vary so much from child to child. This is your first, so you've got a lot to get used to. I think you don't want to travel too early. Sleep is going to be at a premium. Establish your rhythms. Give it six weeks or two months and see what your bodies are telling you. On the other hand, if you have an ailing grandparent who cannot come and see you ... go. I am so glad that my two older children got to meet their paternal grandmother before she passed away. Circumstances will sometimes drive you the way you need to go. Oh, and we haven't talked about cloth vs. disposables, either, right? I had never changed a diaper before our first, and yet I changed all of her diapers in the hospital, and then we used cloth diapers once the umbilical cord had dropped off. I never would have guessed I'd ever be rinsing off cloth diapers in the toilet ... it's another area where I'm sure you can find data about the environmental effects on either side of the fence. One thing I'm convinced of, though, is that when it came time to potty train, the cloth diapers helped, because they don't do as "good" a job at keeping liquid away from the body, so there was a desire on our kids' part to potty train sooner rather than later.
- mildavw 16y agoto ensure their safety and our ability to sleep as much as possible, but still make it convenient to get her and feed her Yes. As a co-sleeper I also agree that you want to find a way to get as much sleep as possible, and make feeding as convenient as possible (breast feeding, for us). Having sleep deprived, frustrated parents is worse than co-sleeping or not, and breast-feeding or not.