Newborn sleep receptacle

[cornflakegirl]

This might be a really stupid question, but please make allowances for first-time-mum naivete...

I've been reading Gina Ford (please don't curse me!) and am planning to try to follow her methods when baby arrives in June.

She seems to suggest that daytime naps should be in the cot in the baby's room, so baby doesn't have to acclimatise later. But she says that during the night, baby can sleep in our room - which is what I want to do.

However, I'm not sure what baby is supposed to be sleeping in in our room - lugging the cot around doesn't seem a great idea! Any suggestions for what would be best?

[NameChangingMancMidlander]

Moses basket or carrycot from your pram (must have a suitable mattress, though).

[Nimme]

A small crib or perhaps a moses basket?? Moses baskets not too expensive (although they outgrown them quickly) and you can lug around to friend's houses etc. But if you're really doing Gina Ford you and baby will be tied to routine and only ever allowed out of house when Gina says!

I actually think Gina is fab and speaks lots of common sense. I only managed to stick to basic timings for food and sleep but we went from exhausted mummy and screaming child - to something resembling sanity!

[NameChangingMancMidlander]

If you are buying a 3 in 1 type pram with a proper carrycot then you can use that for night-time sleeps. You must make sure that you have a mattress suitable/designed for long periods of sleep and not just napping (the mattresses provided with them often are just nap-time ones).

If you're going for an alternative sort of pram/buggy etc then just buy a mid-priced moses basket and stand.

FWIW, I had both of the above and DD hated then equally ! She slept with us in our bed for the 1st 10 weeks and then went straight into ther cot in her own bedroom with no fuss at all.

[nailpolish]

can you borrow a moses basket?

they are expensive to buy and only last about 8-10 wks but are handy, and cosy for baby

one word of advice - do what is easy for you and your family, not what Gina says!

sometimes baby will sleep in the cot, sometimes the couch, sometimes on your bed, sometimes their own bed. dont make it a rule that baby only sleeps in thier own bed during the day, or you will be tied to the house. if you are out and about baby will sleep in the pram/buggy/carseat/your mums couch/whatever.

when they are v small they dont care/notice where they are anyway.

good luck for the baby in june! x

[PrettyCandles]

We GFd, more-or-less, with both babies, and the both slept in the cot in our room day and night until they were moved into their own room, in the same cot. No problems whatsoever acclimatising to either room or cot. Once I was no longer feeding at night I moved the cot away from the side of our bed. Dd stayed in our room for much longer that ds, so I ended up pegging a blanket to the side of her cot so that she couldn't see us.

[cornflakegirl]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Don't really fancy a moses basket - doesn't seem worth it for 3ish months when the cot death advice is to have baby in your room for 6 months (although I know the high risk period is over earlier).

PrettyCandles - cot in our room seems a good plan - especially since the curtains are better, so vv dark - thanks for the tip

[gingernut]

cornflakegirl - I suggest you get blackout blind/better curtains for baby's room anyway. You may find that you want to move him/her out of your room earlier than you think (we moved ds1 out after 2 nights because he was so noisy we couldn't sleep!).

[cornflakegirl]

oooh! point taken