When the time comes to make the list of things that the baby who is on the way will need, we can make two blocks: on the one hand, the walk, being on the street, taking him to see the world and for the world to know him, enjoying the sunny days, the countryside and nature, for which we will have to do a thorough analysis, for which we will help you in another post, what you should look for in the stroller or stroller, and in the car seat; and on the other hand, you have to buy everything your baby needs to be at home, with the family, in the place where he will spend the most hours in his first years of life: eating, playing, bathing, sleeping... We will accompany you in everything, but today we want to focus on what concerns bedtime.
Did you know that a newborn can spend 20 hours of their life sleeping? At first he does not distinguish day from night, his internal clock is not developed, and his life is reduced to sleeping and eating. As time goes by, the hours of sleep and their distribution will change, but there are still many. You, like many parents, are worried about whether your baby is getting enough sleep, or the opposite, and if you think that your baby is too restless and does not rest as much as he should. Consult your pediatrician if you have doubts about the hours of sleep, who will help you best, giving you guidelines for the time of sleep, which in the end is health and comfort. We, for our part, will help you by telling you the different options that you can consider when planning where your baby is going to sleep. There are many dads and moms like you, who ask themselves this question: crib, mini-crib, both, bassinet? Are we starting to see the different possibilities?
-Co-sleeping mini-crib and crib. It is the most common option that we propose. You can use a co-sleeping mini-crib for the first months of life, and later move your baby to the crib, either in the bedroom with the parents or in their own bedroom. The most common question you ask yourself when you go to the stores to see the mini crib How long will my baby be in it?
The answer is not at all obvious, and depends not only on the size of your baby but also on whether he is able to get up, to stay seated, to have enough strength to support himself and get up, and the fear that this gives you... Although it may seem to you that the use of the co-sleeping mini-crib is too short to make that expense, think about all its advantages: better rest when noticing the proximity to the parents, closer emotional ties, ease of breastfeeding and bottle feeding...Once Whether you decide to transfer your baby to the crib, it may or may not continue in your bedroom and to do so you must also analyze the circumstances: greater intimacy between the couple if there is any, whether or not there are other siblings, where the bedroom is, how often they eat during the night or if they sleep straight through. We are sure that the decision will be right!!!
- Only cot for sleeping. There are many parents who choose to buy only a crib for economic reasons, because they live in a small apartment...The option of a crib only is also a good option but you must take into account two aspects when you buy the crib: the first is that you do not buy it with co-sleeping in mind, because as we have told you on occasion, 60x120 cm co-sleeping cribs do not comply with the regulations in Spain to be sold as such, and in the end what you buy is a normal crib with a kit that they will sell you as co-sleeping, so you can assemble a crib without following the manufacturer's instructions. If you really want to practice co-sleeping, consider the previous option and all its advantages, which you will not have in a surface as large as that of the crib. The second aspect that you should take into account is the quality of the mattress: an economical crib with a good mattress is always a better option than the latest designer crib presented by a influencer with a mediocre mattress.
If you have opted for a crib only for sleeping, there is a very useful item that allows you to reduce the space in which the child sleeps, to feel more cocooned. They are called nests, an economical option for the first weeks.
There are other possibilities, less frequent, but which can also be the option you choose:
- Practice co-sleeping directly in the adult bed and later transfer it to the crib
- Having the child sleep in his carrycot for the first few weeks is an option that many midwives recommend. It is also a way to get more out of it. And later, to sleep in the crib!!!
- Although rare, there are also parents who extend the use of the mini-crib, if they have bought it of a considerable size, and transfer it directly to a bed in which they use the useful bed barriers, safety barriers, to which we will dedicate another post.
In the end, the important thing is your baby's rest, but also yours. Evaluate all the options and choose the option you choose, here you have the Asalvo team to help you with whatever you need
