Newborn Coming Soon

There is an 8 year gap between my last 2 brothers and my mom had gotten rid of all baby things before the last was concieved. She didn't want a crib and so he slept almost 2 years in the pack n play! They even make matresses to fit in the bottom! I think that is definatly the was to go.

Both of my girls slept in a pack and play next to my bed until they were 1 year old. I loved having them there and it worked great. However, if I were to do it again I would have put them in their crib in their own room at 6 months so they wouldn't have gotten so attached to being in my room. I have a 9 month old foster son who went to a crib at 6 months and he has slept through the night ever since. Much easier for everyone.
Congrats on the new baby,
J.

My boys are 15 months apart I was lucky my 15 month old decided he wanted to sleep on a twin size bed that we had sitting on the floor so it wasnt very high up otherwise I also used the bassinet part of a pack and play. Also if you are interested My daughter just moved into a big girl bed so I have a crib and mattress if you would like it. The mattress has a rip in the bottom of it because it has lived through a few kids but we just put a sheet on it to cover the bottom rip and then one of the top for the baby to sleep on. If you interested let me know ____@____.com

i think that is a fine idea as my sis lived with me for 6 months and her son slepted in the pak n play in my daughters room.. my son slept in a pak n play for the frist year also as i couldnt afford a crib and then someone bought me one that went into a crib toddler bed etc.. good luck... and congrats on new baby

I'm due with boy #2 in a few weeks, and my son is 19 months. We found a used crib with mattress at a garage sale for $40.00. I suggest watching craigslist.org and also spring garage sales. I found ours at the Roseville School ECFE Stuff sale. There are lots of group sales in the spring that have kids stuff only.

I also used a pack and play for our son for the first 5 months, as we were living in a 1 bedroom apartment in Washington D.C. (my husband had a 1 year job transfer and our son was born there) and we didn't have a crib until we came back to MN. The pack and play was fine for the first few months.

Our boys will also share a room. I currently have two cribs set up so that my son can get used to having the second crib in his room before baby comes in a few weeks.

Hope this helps.
Jess

Hi,
My son was 17 months old when I had my daughter and this is what we did.... Because my son could get out of his crib and that worried me (falling), we put him in a "big boy" bed. The crib stayed in his room and my daughter stayed in our room for 2 months. I was worried about putting them together so soon, but he wanted his baby in his room, so we tried it. He never woke to her crying at night and it all worked out fine. We did use the pak-n-play for nap time out in the living room so he wouldn't bother her when it was nap time. Well I hope this gives you an option, it is what worked for us.
S.

I have a one year old and am expecting our second in February and plan on keeping our older son in his crib and putting the baby in the Pak n Play. I don't see why there would be a problem with that.

The pack n play idea sounds like that would work best to me. My cousin moves her babies to toddler beds and takes the bottle away at one years old and that seems like your rushing them to me.

If you search twincitiesfreemarket.org often people are always giving away free cribs that would be a option too.

I think having the baby sleep in your room for a while would be fine until your other child is old enough/ready to move to a toddler bed! That way if you want some privacy you can just move the pack in play into another room for a few hours=)

Our daughter was 21 mo. old when she began the toddler bed. We made the transition some time before her brother was born to allow for adjustment. One thing one told me was when this takes place, get the crib out of the room (and out of their site). That way they won't miss the crib as much since they are not seeing it.

As we only have two bedrooms upstairs as well, we put the newborn in our room (in the crib she was out of) for a couple months (when he was not waking up in the middle of the night on a consistent basis). I was nervous for them to share a room (what if one wakes the other...) but so far it has gone well. I believe they find comfort from each other sleeping. It is so sweet to see them sleeping in the same room.... :)

My kids are very close in age also & I think that having the baby in your room is just fine. I put my daughter in a toddler bed around 20 months & that was ok for her.

Hi J.! Have you thought about Once Upon A Child? I always see cribs there that are reasonable. If it were me, I'd do the pack n play or bassinet. Congrats!

Hi J.,

A paknplay works good or a bassinet works better as it's higher up...easier on your back. Probably could pick one up at a 2nd hand shop even. As a mother of ten, even a padded dresser drawer works when they are so little. My daughter has let her three-month old granddaughter sleep with them so far....easier for night time nursing, etc.

B. in Eau Claire, WI

I think the pack and play is just fine as well. When my daughter was born we were living in a one bedroom appartment and did not have room for the crib to be set up yet. She slept in a pack n play in our dinning room for the first 3 months of her life until we moved to where she had her own room. The pack n play that I have has an attachment that hooks on the rail for smaller babies. You dont have to reach all the way to the bottom then and it sits level with your bed so that you can reach them easier if needed too. CONGRATS!!

My son was 17 mo when my twins were born. We knew we needed another crib for the twins but we could not get one just yet. We also moved before they were born so I put up the crib and twin bed when we got to our new place and told him that the twin bed was for him and the babies would sleep together in the crib till I could get another crib. He was fine with that and has never had a problem. Now that they are 4 and almost 3 they will chose to sleep together some nights. I would not worry too much about it if you are planning on having the baby with you for the first 4-6 mo, he will be old enough by then and if you prepare him I am sure it will work out just fine. Good luck and remember to have fun, I know it is hard but...

My younger two boys are 19 months apart. I also did not want another crib for such a short period of time (knowing the baby would be in our room for awhile anyway), so we co-slept for a few wks, then he moved to the PnP in our room. When he was 3 months old he was sleeping about the same schedule as my then 22 month old, so we moved my toddler to a toddler bed. He was ready and it worked perfectly, if not I was ready to keep the baby in the PnP for longer. They also share a room, so we waited a few wks to move the baby to the crib so that my toddler didn't feel that the baby was stealing his crib, but we didn't have any issues with that.

get a used bassinet as the baby can sleep there for at least 3 months. using a pack n play for the older child is just fine. in fact we used it for our daughter for a transition into a bigger bed for about one year.

My 3 girls are all close in age (18.5 months apart and 21 months apart), so we ran into this problem too. We did get a toddler bed and started the transition when my oldest was 16 mos., so she would be adjusted to the toddler bed before the new baby came into the crib. Both kids adjusted to the toddler bed really well, and in fact moved on to twin beds not too long after that. A lot of people also suggested to me just skipping the toddler bed and putting a twin mattress on the floor, which would probably work just as well.

Having said all that, I think having the baby in with you for awhile, until the big brother is adjusted to a big bed is a good idea, because we started out with my first two kids sharing a room, and I was always worried that my 18 mos. old would throw things in the crib or that they would wake each other up - so the baby ended up in our room most of the time too. I would think that a pack n' play would work just fine as a temp crib if you are not comfortable moving into a toddler bed quite yet.

my daughter was twenty two months when my son was born for the first 2 months he slept in the basinet that we already had then he slept in our playpen till she was ready for the bed witch wasen't very long so if you can't aford it don't go by a new crib it's not worth it for just a couple of months.

alittle about me: working mother of two ages four and two.

My son was born when my daughter was 22 months. She was already in her toddler bed. But, I think she was ready for this before most kids. I think using the pack 'n' play or a bassinet would be a good idea until your older one is ready for a toddler bed. I'm pretty sure that your son will be ready for a "big boy bed" by the time number two out grows the temporary arrangement.

Was very involved in the selection of her bed and "helped" daddy put it together. I think helped her feel like it was hers , so the transition was easier.

You can just put the baby in a bassinet during that time, and by the time your baby outgrows the bassinet, your son will be about old enough for a toddler bed. They say that 15 months is actually the age, but I never would have done that with my son. I am a single mom, living with my dad, sharing a room with my 2 1/2 yr old. When he was little, I had a bassinet next to my bed. He ended up in my bed most the time anyway cause it was easiest to nurse him that way. When he started to crawl, I set up a pack-n-play for him to sleep in (I don't have room for a crib, and felt bad having my baby sleep in that, but it was the only choice), and he did fine in it. He eventually ended up back in my bed, and by 2 could easily climb out of a pack-n-play anyway, so it really didn't matter where he was. Now, since I have a queen bed to myself and no room for another one for him, he just sleeps with me. I will move him into his own bed when I am able to move and give him his own room, but for now, thats the way we have to do it, and it works fine for us! They will be fine. Most people I know with toddlers, the toddler climbs out of the bed and sleeps on the floor for a while anyway, and that won't hurt them either. As long as the bedroom is safe, he will be fine wherever you put him. Good luck with your new baby! :)

J.

I have the same issue right now. My daughter will be 20 months when my baby is born and she still sleeps in the crib at night. I have her sleeping in a twin sized bed on the floor for naps. Im hoping by transistioning her to the bed for naps and then eventually for bed it will help. The new baby will sleep in our room for a few months in a bassinet or pack-n-play until around 5-6 months and then eventually into our other daughters room. They will have to share a room also until our oldest daughter is big enough to move upstairs. Our 1 year old was in our room until she was 5-6 months and it worked out great.

My daughter was switched to a toddler bed at around 20 months and it was difficult and she is now at 26 months climbing willingly into her bed at night. She does come out in the am to sleep with us though. If you don't want to do the toddler bed thing then a full size or a travel lite pack n play will work. A friend of mine said that they had their baby sleep in the same room as them and it was difficult to get the child to sleep in his own room. My daughters are 25 months apart and the new baby is sleeping in a travel lite pack n play until she is not so fragile then they will share a room. I hope the transition will work fine but I don't trust new baby will the toddler. One more thing I worry all the time though of SIDS as my newborn sleeps in the upper most part of the pack n play. It's a softer mattress than a crib mattress.

Pack n Play worked great for us until about 6 mos. I think you have a good plan.
Congratulations!

Hi! Both of our kids slept in the bassinet of our pack and play until they were 3 months+ even though we had a crib ready for them both. It just worked better for us. I have an almost 18 month old boy and we are nowhere near ready to let him give up his crib. I plan to wait as long as I can! Good luck! (Our kids are 22 months apart and it is just wonderful! I am sure you will love it!)

Our first two were twenty two months apart and our oldest was still in a crib when we had our second. Everything we had ever read said the closer to three you can keep a child in a crib (safely) the easier the transition. Well, that is what we did, our oldest moved to a new bed the month before he turned three. We actually had some really nice friends that allowed us to use their crib so both of our boys were in a crib (in seperate bed rooms).
When our third baby came our second one was almost three so he just moved into a bed when it came time to move his brother out of the bassinette. The transition went smoothly there too.
Now, we are due in five weeks and our youngest will be 16 months old when she is born. We are planning to keep her in our room in the bassinette as long as we can but we do have another crib lined up to borrow when the time comes.
The way we see it if they are comfortable and not climbing in and out why not keep them there. The new baby is a huge enough transition why not let them keep a little bit of their comfort zone.
Good luck!
A.

My daughter was in a bassinet for awhile and then she moved into a pack and play until she was 3!! She spent a lot of time in our bed, too. it worked out fine. In fact, I had a crib set up in an upstairs bedroom with our other daughter (11 yrs apart) and she never once slept in it! It was easier for us all to have her downstairs in our room. Whatever works out best for your family will be best for her. ~~W.

my son was bout that age when he went in to a toddler bed we dont have our 2nd one here yet baby is due in april but my son is now 2 and he loves being in a toddler bed try a bassineet for the baby it would probly be better and safer.....just trying to help

My boys are 14 months apart so the youngest was in a pack and play for a while. It worked out just fine. A lot of nice ones have the option of putting the baby closer to the top and you can attach a mobile.