Different options for sleeping

When it's time to think about all the things that your baby will need, we can have two categories: things for the Outside -a stroller to explore the city and the world, to enojy sunny days and nature, and a car seat to travel together and have fun- and things for the Inside -items for the house, to eat, play and rest, like baby bouncers, highchair, cot...- Today we are going to focus on sleeping time items.

Did you know that a newborn baby can spend 20 hours of his life sleeping? At first he won't difference day from night, as his biological clock is not developed, so his life reduces to sleeping and eating. As time goes by, his sleeping hours and its distribution will change, but they will still be a lot. You will be worried about if your baby is getting enough sleep, or if he sleeps too much. You should solve all these doubts talking to your pediatrician, who will give you some tips for a better sleep for your baby.

We can also help you by showing you the different options you can choose from for your baby to sleep in. The main question that lots of moms and dads ask themselves is: cot, minicot, both, or bassinet?

Let's see the features and differences in all of them.

-CO-SLEEPING MINI COT and COT: It's the most common choice. You can use a co-sleeping mini cot for the first months of your baby's life, and after that change him to sleep in a cot, either in the parent's room or in his own room. The most common question about cots is: How long will my baby be using it?

The answer does not only depend on the baby's size but also on whether if he is able to sit up on his own, whether he stays seated, whether he has enough strength to support himself and get up... Maybe the time that your baby will be using the mini cot seems to be too short, but it has a lot of advantages: the baby rests better because he feels closer to the parents, strengthening of emotional ties, easiness for breastfeeding and bottle feeding...

Once you decide to change your baby from the mini cot to the cot, he can still be sleeping in your room or not. That's something that also requires a bit of analisis: having more intimacy with your partner, having brothers/sisters or not, where is his bedroom, how many times the baby eats during the night or if he sleeps all night. We are sure that either choice you pick will be the best one for you!

-Only a COT for sleeping: There are a lot of parents that prefer to buy only one cot for economical reasons, or because the house is small. This option is a good choice but you must be aware of two things: first, you can't co-sleep properly in a 60x120cm cot. In Spain, these cots don't complain with the regulations to be sold as "co-sleeping cots", so you will end up buying a regular cot with an extra co-sleeping kit that doesn't comply with the regulations. If you really want to co-sleep with your baby, you should buy a mini cot and enjoy all its advantages. The second thing to have in mind when buying a cot is the mattress quality. It is better to buy a cheap cot with a good mattress than a better and more fashionable cot with a bad mattress.

If you chose only the cot for sleeping, there is a very useful item that reduces the space where your baby is sleeping, so that he feels more comfortable and cozy. This product is called "nest" and is a very economical choice for your baby's first weeks.

There are also other options, more uncommon, but practical and comfortable as well:

-Co-sleep with your baby directly on the adult's bed and change him to the cot after.

- Having the baby sleep in the carrycot is an option that a lot of midwives recommend. It's also a way to make the carrycot more useful. After the carrycot, change your baby to the cot.

- Even though is uncommon, there are families that have the baby sleep in the mini cot for a longer time (the mini cot must be big enough) and then change the baby to sleep in his own bed, using bed barriers so he doesn't fall. We will talk about bed barriers in another post.

In the end, the only thing that matters is your and your baby's rest. Keep in mind all the options and, whatever you choose, here you have the ASALVO team to help you with whatever you need.