Best newborn sleeping options

[JKD1982]

Hi guys

First time mum here and wondering if I can ask for opinions on newborn sleeping options.

I’ve been given a Moses basket but my friend said her boy didn’t like it. what the view on next to you cribs, sleepyhead or Moses basket? I don’t know which is best and would like some opinions.

I’d usually just pop into a shop and ask but obviously not possible at the moment.

Thanks

Congrats on your pregnancy.

IME the more sleep gadgets etc you use at the beginning, the harder it is to get them to settle later on.

DD was a horrendous sleeper as a newborn - she never slept longer than 2 hours and one a few occasions, didnt sleep at all, all night! I'm not exaggerating!

After trying white noise, light up toys, etc, we ditched the lot. Just a dark quiet room. Within a week or two she was dropping off quicker and sleeping for longer, she has slept through at least 8 hours since she was 4 months old and often falls asleep calmly within seconds, naps included.

I guess I'm saying dont bother with sleep pillows, moses baskets etc. Just buy a good quality cot with a suitable mattress and when baby drops off or yawns, pop them down and draw the curtains.

Baby sleeping bags are brilliant, you dont have to worry about rearranging bedding and tucking sheets in etc. Buy a few in different togs, it will be the best money you spent!

If you need to bring baby downstairs to nap, you could always pop them in the pram in the corner.

Honestly it all sounds confusing but my best advice is keep it simple. If all the new inventions worked, babies would all be super relaxed, but they're as hard work as they ever were! Keeping things simple, calm and familiar is key. Good luck!

Next2Me cribs are great. We had a dark room with a proper white noise machine which runs all night long (not the gimmicky toys).

I highly recommend Love To Dream arms up swaddles. Easy to zip on, natural arms up position, single thin layer to avoid overheating.

Sleepyheads are contentious. Many mums swear by them but they are contrary to the Lullaby Trust safe sleep guidelines so I wouldn’t use one personally.

We used moses basket downstairs and a next2me in our bedroom, as well as his own cot for short naps from about 3 months.

I personally wouldn't use a sleepyhead based on safe sleeping information.

We used the pram carrycot last time (it was a completely lie flat one and no different to a Moses basket) and have bought a Moses basket this time, we didn’t have one last time because I thought it was a waste of money, turns out our baby hated the swing crib we bought (swinging or locked) so the carry cot worked brilliantly. We didn’t use any sleep aids though, still don’t, our 2 1/2 year old has absolutely nothing in her room but her toddler bed. No toys, no spare blankets, no night lights. We tried to keep bedtime as simple as possible and went with her cues rather than a routine that we force her into. No bath, no stories, no ritual. We believe this is the reason she’s always been such a good sleeper, it’s down, goodnight, shut door, whenever she looks tired. She’s slept through 12+ hours straight since she was 8 weeks old, no regressions. Right now her bedtime can be 6:30, it could also be 8:30 or any time in between. If she wants a nap she has one if she doesn’t we don’t force one on her. She never wakes up earlier than 8am. I’ve also NEVER woken her up, not even at birth, if a baby wants something they definitely let you know about it!

We are going to use the same technique on this one (currently 32 weeks) and hopefully a similar scenario occurs! The reason I think it works Is because if you think about yourself, if you try to go to sleep before you’re tired it doesn’t work, you end up with a worse nights sleep, I think it’s the same for babies!

We have a Moses basket and move it around although for DC2 we picked up a sleepy head at a bargain price when mothercare was closing down so we will see how we go with that!

DC1 was tiny and happy in her Moses basket and we used grosnugs and grobags for her 😊

Sleepy head will only be for day time sleeping when the toddler is rampaging around*