Should I buy a crib?

[soymilk]

I'm currently co-sleeping and BF my 7 week old and it's working out very well. Wondering should I buy a crib as there is a great sale on one along with a mattress. The cost is not an issue as I have a gift certificate. Part of me is thinking that I don't need it as I can cosleep until she is 2-3 years old and then she can transition into a toddler bed or a twin bed.

- Is a crib useful as she gets a few months older and I need to place her for naps? Can I just continue using our queen bed?

The only reason I might be interested is if I sidecar the crib when she is 18 months or older?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

[Icehockey18]

Ds is 12 mo and we haven't used his crib once. We did use the bassinet a few times when he was smaller, but that's it. It does become a 'big' bed (the front and back become a head board and foot board) so I'm sure we will use that some day.... Our bed is difficult to side car because it is a platform bed, so I'm afraid the gap would be too big.... But ideally I would like ds to have his own sleeping surface in the next year (he's a bedhog ) My friend just made a 'nest' for their lo in their room, so we might try that....
So to answer your ?, if you get a crib to sidecar then it might be worth it, but otherwise I would just wait and get a 'big kid'/ toddler bed, IMO. Our crib is just nice decoration for now

[LindsC]

Our crib is a decorative catch all too. It is sidecared to the bed, but DD still refused to sleep there. When we moved her from our bed, it was straight to a full size mattress on her bedroom floor. The only nice thing about the crib is that it converts to a full size bed frame, so when she is a little older, we can get the mattress off the floor and up onto the frame.

Like PP said, if you get the crib to sidecar, it might be worth it, but otherwise not so much.

[lisalu100]

At 10 months, I love that DD is in her sidecarred crib most of the time. I need the space to sleep! She does crawl out when she wakes from naps, even with a pillow wall. I have to run fast, but last week she was on the floor behind the door. If she would sleep in a crib, I would definitely put her there for naps, and to start the night until I went to bed.

[texaspeach]

I like having it available for naps. I worry about ds falling off the bed if he is in it alone. you could just as easily use a pack and play though.

[Mom2M]

I co sleep with DD1 and use the crib for her naps which has worked great for us. With DD2, her crib is sidecarred and I like having that space (DD1 is still co sleeping at night)
She also sleeps in the crib for naps.

[Nicole730]

I didn't use the crib for DS until he was about 8 months old for naps. And then around 10 months to start out the night 7pm-10pm. At 14 months I couldn't handle his nonstop nursing all night long (lost supply b/c of pregnancy), so into the crib he went. He is still there at 2 and I am really liking that it keeps him contained.

[Otterella]

I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 16 month old, and we are planning on two more kids. I have never owned a crib and don't intend to. What we do have is a little twin sized futon, low to the ground, that we transitioned my DS to at around 17-18 months or so, and are transitioning DD to now. I may get flamed for this, but I don't think falling out of bed is the big deal people make it out to be. As long as your floor isn't stone or concrete or something super hard, and your bed isn't insanely high, I think falling out of bed when they are learning to be mobile is good for teaching them boundaries when asleep. I'm not talking about little tiny newborns, mind you, but babies around 6-7 months and up. Just line the floor and any nightstands with pillows just in case. When they start crawling, teach them to crawl backwards off the bed to land on their feet.

[karika]

I had a crib when dd1 was born and I did not use it for her. I did end up putting it side car to the bed in order to hold supplies I needed. We do EC, so the crib held replacement nighttime pads made of receiving blankets, boobie cloths for my leaky boobies, our BBLP with a heating pad on it so it wouldn't be cold on her tushie, my book and magazines I was reading, tv remotes.... etc. When dd1 became mobile, when she began to roll and crawl, we put the mattress on the floor anyway. Naptimes I was always with her, so that wasn't much of an issue, but if I had to leave the bed to pee or whatever, I put pillows all along the floor on the open edge in case she rolled off. I was also the super attentive mom, so if I went anywhere where she wasn't in my sight while she was napping, I had the monitor on high and wasn't gone for more than 5 minutes... that crib was dismantled and did not get one for dd2

[Anastasiya]

We have a mini crib, which for us was the compromise between having a full size crib and not having a crib at all. It's the size of a pack n play.

Also, because it is so small it doesn't feel like this looming, wasteful purchase when we have babies who like to cosleep instead, and is a wonderful necessity for those babies who hated cosleeping. Either way, it stays in our room and fits nicely.

Great for naps, too.

Plus, it's cute and unusual.

[PotreroHill]

I vote no on the crib. I bought one during pregnancy and I never use it. I moved a month ago and I haven't bothered to put it together cause I know it will just be a place to store laundry.

[Lauren31]

our crib has only been used by out of town guests with children . That said, our queen bed is kinda small so I would invest in a KING. hahaha Seriously though, I do put a pack n play with a bassinet/changing table snug up to our bed as sorta a side rail and place to put her when I don't want her alone in our bed.

[akind1]

We have a beautiful, handmade (by my dad) crib. Which means I can't get rid of it DS uses it for naps. In talking with DH, we are in no hurry to move him out of our room, for us, room-sharing, more than bed-sharing, is the way. right now he is in the co-sleeper (the bottom, pack-n-play part) but I think I will move to some sort of lower bed, or "nest" on the floor of our room instead soon.

To answer your question though, only invest in a crib if you think you might want to side car it, or have it in your room someway, as an extra space. For us, we need a spot for DS to rest sometimes that is not our bed, because sometimes we would like to have it to ourselves. I wish we didn't have a crib, tbh.

[SilverFish]

we have a crib and use it a lot. of course, we have a very independent-minded 4 month old, so i'm not sure if it would get any use otherwise. anyway, it's in the other room (we have a small apartment, it's in the office/nursery) and we use it for naps and sometimes while we eat dinner/do chores, it's a safe, comfy space for her to be while we're busy. i expect she'll use it less as she can sit up independently and can join us in a highchair.

the other thing we use it for is quite unexpected... i started putting her in there to start the night before i went to bed, since i like to work in the bedroom, and much to our suprise, she slept much longer and more soundly in there than in our bed. i like having the extra space, at least to start the night, so we will definitely continue to use it for that.

in conclusion, i love our crib and use it much more than i thought we ever would, but if i had a baby who never wanted to be put down/ wouldn't sleep on her own, it would never ever get used.

[Lit Chick]

We have a crib and it worked out well for us. DS co-slept with us (except naps) until he was about 1, and then he preferred the crib. He went from being a swaddled, skin-loving kid to needing his space. We suffered through lots of bad sleep until we caught on, and realized he switched on us and wanted room. The first night in his crib it was so funny - he was totally spread-eagled, taking up as much space as possible.
We used the crib up until a few months ago, when we transitioned into a low twin-sized in prep for the new baby. DS still sometimes wants his crib.

It's kind of hard to tell if you will use it a lot or not. If you have space, and a coupon, it might be a good thing to get. When the baby starts rolling around, you will need a secure spot for napping.

[1blueheron]

Originally Posted by lisalu100

If she would sleep in a crib, I would definitely put her there for naps, and to start the night until I went to bed.

This is what we do with our 4 month old. Just started a month ago.

[pottergirl]

We started out with our little girl in the bed, and I never thought I would want her to leave but she started moving around a lot and none of us were getting a very good sleep. At three months, I started giving her naps in her crib in her own room and found she slept great there. She now sleeps there through most of the night and comes into our bed early in the morning, around 5 a.m. This works great for us since we like to have our bed to ourselves and get the majority of our night for good sleep with mornings for cuddling. I would say it depends on whether you want your babe out of your bed or not. Happy sleeping...

[mnagi]

Like some others who've replied, we co-sleep at night and are now using a crib for naps (we bought it when he was abt 3 months). We're working on having all his daytime naps and the first part of his nighttime sleep in there. I'm happier not leaving him alone in our bed now that he's getting more
mobile and I want him to be able to sleep on his own as well as with me/us. It's a process but we're getting there and I'm glad we're trying, it's what works for us.

[Aufilia]

We cosleep, and we usually lay down on our bed to nurse to sleep, but I don't feel comfortable leaving DS there unattended. Until recently he actually napped in his swing, but he's getting too big for it (especially with fluffy cloth diapers on) so I now place him in the crib when he's fallen asleep. At 7.5 months, he can roll over in the blink of an eye and scoot around and spin on his belly. I'm sure he'll fall right off given half a chance.

[hartfelt]

get a pack n play!!!!!!! NAK