andi ? @ bassinets and sids

[pertykitty]

ok i know not to use a bumper pad.  i have been seeing lots of cute bassinets, and those moses baskets.  they are basically the same as using a bumper pad, its a very closed area.  did your research show its a bad idea to use?  my baby will be born before xmas and my mil will come visit for a few weeks.  she will sleep in the baby's room and i wanted to keep the baby with me in my room, but i am trying to find a good way to keep the baby without stress or worry.  any ideas or suggestions?

[AndiJ78]

I found that it did not take long before CJ (the only one who ever used the bassinet) would scoot up and wegde his face in the top of the bassinet. I definitely would be watchful. I woulnd't have been able to let him sleep in it unattended. It freaked me out when I was sitting right there and looked down and in a matter of less than a minute he had done that.

One option is to buy a cradle rather than a bassinet. They are essentially just a smaller version of a crib, but they are portable and they glide side to side or rock depending on the type.

[pertykitty]

wow you are a speedy person, you must have felt my vibes wanting you lol.  i was looking on ebay and i found this interesting cradle, it looked like a coffin!!! i couldnt believe how ugly and horrid it was! anyway i really only need it for a few weeks.  my sis has a bassinet that i just need to get new coverings for, he didnt scoot in his first few weeks did he?  oh i thought the second i wouldnt worry as much but that seems to be completly out the window!!  i just want to make the wisest choice.  as soon as mil goes back home i want to get her used to her crib, or so i think at this point lol.

[pertykitty]

thanks for your help!

[AndiJ78]

It didn't seem to take long. He was also an early roller (he rolled by 3 weeks back to belly!!) so that had something to do with it as well. We Joneses make big strong babies I guess. And the worry never stops, remember CJ is my third and it is all still worrisome at times!

Just as Peek responds to the sound of a box of wine being tapped, I sense a woman in need : )

[pertykitty]

rolling at 3 weeks!! that boy has had a mission since birth hasnt he lol.  well this girl is a dainty thing i believe, her movements so far are very soft and girly hehe.  watch her come out with a strong passion.

[AnnieBrooke]

You might try looking up the Arms Reach bassinet.  We have one of the Mini Co-Sleepers and it is great.   It is nice because it connects to your bed and drops its bed side, so you can reach out and pick up the baby in the night to nurse, without getting up (just like co-sleeping except no worries about rolling on the baby in your sleep).

[pertykitty]

thanks annie i thought of that, i do plan on nursing and after a c section it would be easier.  are there certain stores to find them?  

[AnnieBrooke]

I got mine at Babies R Us but you can also get them online from Arms Reach and they ship to you.  I think but am not sure that someone once told me she saw them at Target too.  The Mini goes up to 23 lbs. and folds down for travel and has a couple of wheels for easy movement (and of course we don't travel with it and don't move it, it's strapped to the bed) and my son is still in his at 7 months.  They have a model that converts to a little loveseat when the baby is bigger for only thirty bucks more.

[pertykitty]

thanks annie that looks like the perfect idea, my bed sits rather high do the extenders come with it?  they have them at target and babies r us, same price.  its always better to hear how well it works (or not) from someone than to buy it and be disappointed.  you had a c section didnt you? was it easy to pick the baby up? i suppose i could put it on dh side if i cant life for a few days.  god knows he would love that, he is always the baby hog lol.  

[AndiJ78]

Dang, I freecycled mine before we bought the house, otherwise i could have shipped it to you!! I never used it, but bought mine off of eBay when I was pg with T. I heard wonderful things about it, but I ended up continuing co-sleeping (of course following all the best safety practices and being a light sleeper made it easier) but had all the best intentions of using it.

I would still try and get a bassinet, it makes life a lot easier. I just wouldn't feel safe using it at night after what CJ did.

[babyprayers]

when I had my DD I had a cradle, but opted to use her car seat. I was so paranoid about sids, etc.. that I felt I wanted her in a semi-upright position, next to my bed.. just a thought

[Me2mommy2b]

They say that car seats are even more dangerous when it comes to breathing.  B/c of the position the baby sits in the car seat, it's very easy to cut of the circulation if the baby's been in it for long periods of time.  I have a bassinett that has breathable material on the sides.  DD loved to stick her nose against it and I freaked out a few times but then realized that it's easy to breathe even with the nose pressed against it (I tested it myself).

[rubyolivia]

Hey Perty! I was wondering about you! You must be a busy girl lately...don't see ya on here as much! :)

We plan to use our Pack N Play in our room with Max for awhile. The bassinett part doees have the padding around it, so we bought a sleep positioner to use with him. It has vents through the whole thing so if baby should squirm to the point where he's got his face in the positioner, he can still get plenty of air. I can't remember the brand of it, but they have it at babies r us! :)

[kris123]

I sleep with my son.  I read something is the hospital when I had him that said sleeping with your infant reduces sids.  I wake up everything he moves and everything.  I think sleeping with your child is very bonding.  Everyone thinks something different.  Good luck.  

[pertykitty]

ladies you have given great info.  this is what i read last night (couldnt sleep) from different sids sites.  sleeping in a car seat is bad, or propped up on a boppy.  sleeping in the parents rooms can make a big difference.  i do have my sons (he is 9 now!) pack and play thing with a newborn thing that attaches, you get my things and stuffs right ? lol.   oh the choices!  so far im leaning towards the cosleeper.   kris i have seen the cosleepers that go in your bed.  its like a little mini bed they sleep in.  they say not to have your baby sleep in your bed with you, my son did, but i think i want her to have her own little space.  
ruby my mom had  a hysterectomy and i was at her house taking care of her for a few days.  they did it laproscopy (sp) and she never had much pain! went home an hour or two later, amazing.  

[kris123]

Yes, I have read that infants should not sleep with you.  It is one of those things that have pros and cons.  It is the only way we can sleep.  He sleeps in crib during the day. It is very hard to decide, I know.  I put Ryan next to me and he falls asleep and every time he moves I wake up.  Some babies like their own space.  Ryan is just a baby that cries and likes to be held.  I wish you luck and you'll find something that will work for both you and your baby.  I am just waiting for the day Ryan stops cring all day and night :-)  I love him so much and hate to see him cry.

[AndiJ78]

I co-slept with all three and am still co-sleeping with CJ. There is a long list of safety guidelines to follow (firm mattress, no covers, no pillows, no drinking or medications that can make you sleepy, I am an ultraslight sleeper, cool room, etc), but we have met those and have been very successful. In fact, we came up with another idea with CJ that has been helpful all the way around. He actually has his own twin bed next to our bed, I can slide down and nurse him and when he is full I slide back up into our bed. He is then able to sing himself back to sleep and have his own space. And my dh can sleep in the same bed with his wife ; )

My in-laws spent over $500 on a beautiful crib when we had our first and it has never had a baby sleep in it overnight, CJ has never even seen it as it has remained unassembled ; )

[nikkicole827]

I am using a portable crib/playyard for my baby when she first arrives.  It has a built in bassinet that is for babies up to 25 lbs and then will convert to a playyard after she is older.  I found it was a very practical thing to use as the bedroom bed.  She has a crib in the nursery but I plan to have her in our room for the first few months so that I can bf in bed and hear her every cry (I'm sucha light sleeper I'll probably hear the baby next door cry but hey, you can never be too careful).  I also plan to use a backsleeper to keep her wedged and on her back until she outgrows it.  

[pertykitty]

i was so lucky my son was the best sleeper as a baby.  he slept with us for a bit then off to his crib (his fathers doing) but he did well and slept all night.  but then id miss him and sneak down the hall and grab him up and keep him with us in our bed :)    it seems if you shouldnt use a bumper and you shouldnt use blankets and blah blah blah, then it would be the same as if they slept with you and used you as bumpers and used your blankets.  i did it and i cant say she wont end up next to me:) it just seems the same.  oh its just too much work! i kept a friends puppy overnight a bit ago when they went out of town and i swear i was up checking on that darn thing constantly lol.  

[AnnieBrooke]

Yes, I did have a c-section, and it was not hard to pick up the baby.  I don't know if the extenders come with the Arms Reach or have to be bought separately, since I didn't use them.  (For all I know, they are somewhere inside the legs and I just haven't seen them.)  The only trouble with the bassinet add-on to our playyard is that it is not as strong, it sort of sags in the middle.  The co-sleeper goes up to 23 lbs.  I do like it very well, as it gives the baby the notion of having his own bed (valuable at nap time especially) and yet all that contact with mom and dad at night.  Augie sleeps the most soundly when dh and I are there talking to each other.  I think he likes the secure feeling of knowing we're both there and everything is routine enough for us to just be chatting.

[AndiJ78]

Again, I didn't use a blanket when co-sleeping in the same bed with my kids. I used a light sheet and kept it off of the baby. I don't sleep against the baby, I get close enough to nurse and then roll away leaving at minimum 2 feet area between baby and I. Keeps the fear of those closed pockets of air forming or the risk of rolling over at bay.

[AndiJ78]

CJ could sleep through a bomb going off!1 With two big brothers and a big dog, he is immune to noise when sleeping! JOhn and I frequently stay up chatting for a while after CJ goes to sleep, of course when CXJ hears JOhn's voice before falling asleep, he must then stand up and razz his daddy. Playtime at the Joneses!

[pertykitty]

andi you must be very thin or have a large bed lol.   by boobs alone could strangle a small army lol.  you know what is funny are the memories of camping when i was little.  my sis and i were to go to bed in the tent before my parents.   i would lay there and listen to my parents voices and drift off to sleep, i felt safe hearing them.  id like addison to be there in the beginning, but i also enjoy having my husband and me time if you get my drift, and i dont want to leave the  room for that.  my girlfriend and her husband would still have sex with the kid in the room, i couldnt do that.  what do you all do if you have kids in your bed?  

[AndiJ78]

Well, my older boys each have their own rooms, CJ has his own bed in our room. When we want "our time" we ususally put CJ down for a nap in the living room or if the mood strikes us later, we wait until he is asleep in our room and find a different location. I cannot have sex with a baby in the room, freaks me out.

Again, we have a queen bed for us and a twin next to our bed. CJ doesn't sleep in our bed and when I co-slept with T and Bub, John took the couch. This new set-up is great because I can snuggle my hubby at night and when he gets up to go to work in the morning, Cj can come up and snuggle, nurse his breakfast, go back to sleep, and then I get up with the other boys. Also remember my particular situation where one breast doesn't work, so I only have one mammoth breast ; )

If you are not comfortable with co-sleeping, please don't feel you need to do it. It is just something that worked well for my family and I changed the way I sleep to accomodate it. After the attack in 2000, I am the lightest sleeper in the world (with good reason) and I have used that to my advantage with my kids. The great thing is that my kids co-slept with me for over a year and didn't have any issues with transntiioning to their rooms when they weaned.

It is totally personal preference as long as you are safe about it.

[pertykitty]

no i want my little girl in there for a  month or so at least.  one mammoth breast huh? i dont remember reading about that, but maybe you can make some money off pictures lol just kidding :)
i need a king size bed!  im the biggest bed hog.  poor jeff will find he sleeps the same here as he is on the boat right now poor guy!! lol im not sure about the attack you are talking about but i dont want you to have to relive it again, but i can say if something happened in my house, id probably have the whole group in one room as well.  i cant wait for snuggle time! my 9 yr old will let me snuggle him still thank god!   his wife might not like it when i go over and snuggle him before bed hahaha.

[AndiJ78]

It's okay. John and I were married in June of 2000,but i still lived in TX and he was still stationed in the USAF in Spokane WA. In Sept 2000 I was the victim of a home invasion/sexual assault. I was alone, my dh was 2000 miles away and my dad and stepmom, who only lived about 20 minutes away, didn't even come to the hospital. Anyway, the man entered my home less than a minute after hanging up with my nightly call to John. He was never caught. Needless to say, i have been a light sleeper ever since then.

Now on to a lighter subject.I don't tend to move much when I sleep, John is a bed hog for sure. And the one mammoth boob is a sight to see for sure. My left breast is at least a DD, possibly bigger (hard to measure one breast) but my other is a full C at best.

And snuggle time is the best. During the day, if I am not nursing CJ, one of my boys is snuggling with me during our down time. I love snuggly kiddos. T wasn't a snuggly baby, he seemed to have things to do,lol! But now that he is older, he likes to snuggle, go figure!

[pertykitty]

andi ill come snuggle with you lol im pretty lonely most days and ill take what i can get :)
i love it when my nephew wakes from his nap, he will cuddle and just snuggle for the longest time!!
im sorry that happened to you.  your husband is out of the af now right?  my dh is retiring next year and freaked about after 20 years in the military finding a new job, working in the real world, and trying to make enough money i can stay home or work very part time around his schedule.  those darn lotto scratchers havent paid off yet!

[AndiJ78]

Yeah, my dh is out. 6 weeks before the attack I lost our honeymoon baby and 2 weeks after the attack dh underwent heart surgery. So given asll of that, the AF gave him a hardship d/c. He is now a civilian employee of the Navy.

It is really common for people to go through a HUGE adjustment period after retiring from the service. I would seriously recommend he utilize all of the resources offered for counseling and such. Many people don't realize how signiificant that change is and how hard it can be on our troops.

Anyway, email me sometime. just stick my username in front of @ msn.com