Am I a "Bad Mom" if I use a Pack N Play instead of a crib?

[firemomma1]

my hubby is so funny about family advice, when one of his many sisters offers unsolicited advice he looks at them with an astonished look and says "oh thank you, you're right, it's amazing i haven't killed them yet?!?" this ususally quiets the offender (for a while at any rate). we are especially amused with medical advice as i am a pediatric nurse and hubby is a paramedic.

in answer to your question...you are a thrifty mommy (which i think is great!) a PNP may or may not work in the long term for you. as far as it's saftey, i don't see why not. the flattening of the head issue had become more prominent as kids are always on thier backs to reduce SIDS/ this may have nothing to do with PNP use. i would run it by your pediatrician on a routine visit if you are really concerned. (i am against having a baby sleep in the bed next to you...the SIDS statistics are scary...but sometimes you do what you gotta do)

as an infant i was in a regular bed by about a year (or really under it). i walked early, and climbed out of my crib as soon as i could. my parents bought me a twin bed (an i think toddler beds are silly, personally)...i climbed out of the twin and slept under it on the floor until i was ~3. my mom gave up putting me in it multiple times a night after ~6 months.

[my3littlextras]

I have 3 kids and I thought that a baby need a crib to sleep in, oh they're so safe and my baby won't get hurt!! Well I learn how wrong that was with my 1st child!! I don't know how many times I had a heart attack cause she climbed out of the crib (wood floor in her room), got her head or arm stuck in the bars (they build the rails farther apart now), shook it so much it moved (was on wheels) and couldn't hang anything from it, not mobile or music box for fear she might pull it down or off. So 2nd time around I still had the same crib, but my pack and play was heaven!! I could set it up anywhere in the house and let my son sleep and keep an eye on him. When he did start to get more active I would let him get out. When he did start learning how to climb out of it I only used it when he was sleeping supervised. I would also take to the sitter so it was so convenient!! So do what feels best. Cribs have their downfall just as well as pack n plays.

Oh and by the way check thrift stores, freecycle, craiglists or second time around babyshops (baby only thrift store). You can find great deals on gently used items and not worry about the costly price of a new crib. Just make sure that you do your research many baby items have recalls on them.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by momaskew2 Oh my, HCW mommas are so good with words!! :-) You will learn pretty soon whose advice to listen to and whose not to, just based on your parenting styles if nothing else. IMHO, I'd wait on the crib to see what the baby is like! I was all set for my DS to be a scheduled napper who slept in his own bed, and we ended up co sleeping. PnPs make wonderful laundry bins!! In the words of Dr Suess "A person is a person, no matter how small." They have feelings and preferences all their own, and they're not shy about making them known either! You, dh and baby will figure out what will work best together. I wish you and your growing family all the best!!

What a sweet post. I love the Suess quote. DS1 hated both the crib and the PNP too and insisted on cosleeping. He pretty much woke up (and screamed) instantly when you placed him in either one no matter how careful you did it. DS2 slept in the crib a lot more (he transfers easier). DH and I joke that when he's really sleeping good you could drop him on the bed from as high as you could lift him and he wouldn't flinch (he's almost for and has slept in a regular bed since about 2 1/2.
I ended up giving away the PNP before DS2 was even born. We just coslept or put DS's on the floor on a clean blanket (which works okay as long as there aren't a lot of pets around).

[cintinative]

My second son spent his first three months or so sleeping in the bassinet in his PNP before we moved him to a crib. My experience with getting older kids to sleep in a pack and play hasn't been terribly great so I'm a bad judge on that. I can say that I have a friend who like you had financial issues and had their 2 year old in a pack in play in their living room and she said that it was so noisy with him rolling over and moving, etc. that they had to get a crib in the end anyway.

We bought the crib we used for my first at Kmart for $99 so not too expensive. You would have to get a mattress too, but you can use it for a toddler bed later so it's not a total loss. The crib we used for my second we got from a friend for free. I would seriously consider asking around--you may know someone who is holding on to theirs hoping to find someone to give it to. In any event, you have at least a few months to worry about it after the baby is born. Don't stress out trying to get it done before the baby comes, but if you have time and energy, you could shop some garage sales.

[reflect23]

You also might consider a portable crib. They usually aren't as expensive and take up less space than a normal crib. The downside might be finding sheets to fit but I just thought I would throw that out there. :)

[genx77]

I didn't read all the posts but here's my story. My dd is 15 mo and has slept in pretty much everything except for her crib. I had always planned to co-sleep and bought a crib from Ikea for naps and just in case. Long story short, co-sleeping works for us and the crib went back when dd was about 5 months because one of the bars had split. The only thing dd ever did in the crib was occasionally nap and learn how to pull herself up so that sucker went back to Ikea for a refund. When she started crawling we ended up using the playpen for her naps and in the evening. She slept fine. Now at 15 months she graduated to her twin mattress on the floor (baby gate at her door if I go to bed) until she wakes I get her but everyone lo is different. If she had a different temperament/personality I don’t know if we’d be out of the playpen at this point or not.

[nurseannette]

Originally Posted by firemomma1 my hubby is so funny about family advice, when one of his many sisters offers unsolicited advice he looks at them with an astonished look and says "oh thank you, you're right, it's amazing i haven't killed them yet?!?" this ususally quiets the offender (for a while at any rate). we are especially amused with medical advice as i am a pediatric nurse and hubby is a paramedic. in answer to your question...you are a thrifty mommy (which i think is great!) a PNP may or may not work in the long term for you. as far as it's saftey, i don't see why not. the flattening of the head issue had become more prominent as kids are always on thier backs to reduce SIDS/ this may have nothing to do with PNP use. i would run it by your pediatrician on a routine visit if you are really concerned. (i am against having a baby sleep in the bed next to you...the SIDS statistics are scary...but sometimes you do what you gotta do) as an infant i was in a regular bed by about a year (or really under it). i walked early, and climbed out of my crib as soon as i could. my parents bought me a twin bed (an i think toddler beds are silly, personally)...i climbed out of the twin and slept under it on the floor until i was ~3. my mom gave up putting me in it multiple times a night after ~6 months.

You're baby is much more likely to die from SIDS alone in a crib,
not cosleeping with a breastfeeding mom.

[Rynh]

I Have a two story home as well. For the first 2 mos I wanted my new born son close by me during the night so he slept in the pack and play right beside my bed but after the two month mark I moved him into a crib in the room next door and used the pack and play down stairs during the day for his naps.

I made the decision to move him to his room at that time for various reasons mostly because I learned from having two older sisters that once you sleep with your babies for a certain amount of time the older they get the harder it is to get them to sleep on their own. They get dependant on sleeping with someone.

Regarding your sister you are your own person and you should gently teach her about boundaries. It sounds as if she keeps drifting into your personal boundary by trying to make decisions for you. Just because you ask questions and have valid inquiries does not mean that you cannot be trusted with several hundreds of dollars. Parenting is definately trial and error in some areas. You learn what works for you and your family and some times that is different then what works for someone elses. Good luck and keep your chin up.

[prindcar]

You have plenty of time to decide. Get the pack n play you want it will probablly have the changing table part and the bassinet part which is where the baby will most likely sleep the first 3 mos then make your decision. I have to agree w/ previous posts that the pnp is just plain hard on the back as the baby gets older because u have to bend way down to get them (and if your short u almost end up inside w/ them:)
Something else to consider w/the crib is that many convert to a toddler bed and then a headboard for a regular bed later on so it is a long term investment if you plan on having more children and you can get some really good deals right now.
I used both for both of my boys. PNP upstairs in our bedroom then into their crib in their own room and I still use the PNP when traveling.
But u need to do what works for u. Where the baby sleeps doesn't make you a good or bad mother -- that will be the least of your worries in the long run.

[wvmom3320]

No you are not a bad mom. I think many people do use pack n plays. I believe it is recommended to upgrade the mattress if you do use it on a continuous basis. I will be getting a crib for home but I will also have two pack n plays - one for my inlaws (see no need to get a full crib as it will need to be in the living room there or possibly in one of the guest rooms which is already furnished I believe and we only visit there a couple times a month- I will leave it there to always have when we drive down for the weekend . also one for my office as baby will be coming to work with me.

So at home baby will sleep in crib, at work baby in pack n play, and at the inlaws about 4 nights per month and more over holiday months baby sleep in pnp.

I did buy one pack n play on clearance for 50.00 and was given a practically new one from a friend. Her son used it twice.