FTM - Nursery Questions

[lindiwe]

@reekypear Crib - Just switched my baby to a crib at six months. Maybe be had a 20 lb weight limit and he hasn’t rolled front to back yet. How long baby is in it depends on the size+weight limit, and if they roll or sit up early. I imagine you are room sharing regardless though.. in which case go straight to crib.if it fits. The point is the bassinet is smaller, and can fit next to your bed.

Change table- You can change baby anywhere. But at least a couple times your newborn will pee or poop mid change and that ooop can spray pretty far. Choose location accordingly. I had a c section and there was no way I was getting down on the floor. I needed the higher surface. I did get my change table for like $30 second hand. One option is to pick one up cheap, and get rid of it when you no longer need it. It does store a lot of his stuff.

Nursing chair - My baby puked and we dribbled lots of milk all over my nursing chair. It’s also relatively firm and supportive (vs couch is lower, which is harder to get up off of holding a baby, recovering from childbirth or a c section) Comfort is important. So is not ruining a new live seat with baby puke and dribbled milk

Stroller- you need one that lays flat. You do not have to have a bassinet attachment if it reclines enough to lay flat for a newborn. The bassinet is nice, but not necessary. My city select city mini lays flat and works with my Graco car seat.

 

[boomstheory]

@reekypear I used our bassinet to keep bub right next to me where ever I was hanging out in the house, if y’all are in such a cramped space you can see the crib anywhere? I guess that’s fine. Do not not have a dedicated changing space, atleast get a nice changing mat, you’re gonna want something you can wash, like take a Lysol wipe to wash you can find them on Amazon for not a lot, bub will piss and shit the MOMENT you free them from the diaper, no blanket is gonna protect your bed from the demon inside that child xD the changing table I have has some drawers and a open space for her hamper, I love it and it’s worth it, especially cause trying to change her on our bed after her bath is literally destroying my back, don’t let people talk you into just using your bed, those are bad people, they want you to suffer, don’t fall for it.

In such a small area if you just wanna use your own lazy boy chair that’s fine you don’t neeeed a special one, my grandma got me my glider for our nursery and I use it but our place is 1600sqft not less 500

Yeah you need the infant seat for your stroller it’s what bub will live in outside the house, it’s their safe space and napping spot. Whether you have one at home is up to you, with a place that small I get wanting to conserve space, hell you can use the seat from the stroller in the house xD

 

[crystalturquoise]

@reekypear What about something like this as a crib, changing table, and storage option? There’s a lot of similar and less expensive options out there too. My back would be a mess trying to change my baby on the floor all the time, so I do recommend setting up an actual table height changing station whatever you do. It’ll make it easier to keep things organized too. Your apartment is so small that it might be nice to keep diapering things together in one spot. All the baby stuff starts feeling cluttered fast. I personally like things to “have a home” so I don’t get overwhelmed by things everywhere.

 

[themrs1965]

@reekypear I got this crib specifically because it grows with my LO and works amazingly the only thing you'd need to buy is a mattress for the child but it goes from infant to pre-teen and is a huge money saver. Tbh all the other stuff like a changing table or bassinet are kinda useless. I don't have any of that stuff and have done extremely well for myself and my baby. Here's the link to the crib if you wanna take a look

Dream On Me Synergy 5-In-1 Convertible Crib In White, Greenguard Gold Certified https://a.co/d/abPMeKq

 

[themrs1965]

Also a all in one stroller would be a life saver as well, especially since, as I stated above, you waste too much money going from stroller to stroller so just buying an all in one is amazing. As for the couch I wouldn't know much considering my child gagged because my entire nipple swelled to the point where my child couldn't latch properly. I think the easiest spot would be on a couch especially if you're sleep deprived because when breast feeding your child gives you the happy hormones and that usually puts breast feeding mothers to sleep. My grandmother told me I almost died because my mom accidently fell asleep while feeding me. Also if you breast feed look into getting lume as an all natural deodorant because your milk ducts go all the way up into your arm pits and anything you apply there has a chance of getting into your milk supply. Also if your baby just refuses to latch that's also perfectly okay! You can always pump and give them breast milk that way! Don't freak out if you aren't producing a lot as well! Your first time pump isn't going to give you a lot which I'd why I suggest feeding/pumping as much as humanly possible because your milk comes in more with the need for more milk! Sorry I went on bit of a rant there I just know as a FTM myself those where things I used to have mental breakdowns about when I first started out but now I'm chilling

 

[autumn1123]

@reekypear For stroller, we got a stroller we loved and an adapter that allowed us to attach our infant car seat. We used the infant carseat on the stroller for the first three months. Our baby slept in a crib from the start and had no trouble with it.

 

[bordogamesdev]

@reekypear Such thoughtful questions! A+ momma already!!!

I lived in 300 square feet for two years once upon a time, so I get the limitations you have. Honestly I miss it

I’d say the bassinet you linked to is even a bit much! So yes, I’d say go straight to just a crib.

You can absolutely change your baby on your own bed, just buy a set of say 10 cheap towels to use for this specific purpose. A diaper caddy will also be helpful for this.

I had no need to recline OR rock. I just breastfeed wherever is comfortable. So yep, keep it simple

Finally, I definitely did not need a bassinet with the stroller. I’m not sure why anyone would.

 

[truthseeker316]

@reekypear Glider/recliner: I researched a lot while I was pregnant. I read some comments warning about recliners as you may be more likely to fall asleep with the baby while reclined, so it can be dangerous. My nursery isn't that big so I also felt I didn't have the room to get a recliner. I opted to get a swivel/glider. I honestly regret it (I'm 3 months pp); I haven't used the chair to feed in at least a month. I primarily nurse in the cradle position and now my baby is too long to comfortably nurse in the chair. His legs stick out and hit the sides of the chair, and he isn't comfortable. When he isn't comfortable, he won't nurse efficiently. So i now either nurse on the couch during the day or my bed at night. Just want to share that despite all the research I did, I ended up buying something I didn't really need. But fwiw, I couldn't have predicted this!

 

[faroshee7]

@reekypear I haven't read though all the comments so maybe this has been said but you can totally just go straight to a crib if you want and I'm with you - I'm all for less things in life so I'm gonna combine this with my stroller recommendation. A travel stroller where a car seat clicks in is great but have you seen strollers that have sleep safe bassinets that detach? Note: not all stroller bassinets are rated for overnight sleep, so it really can just be an extra item with the wrong stroller. We have the Uppababy Vista and have absolutely loved using its bassinet as a bed for our baby in the first 3 months. We will eventually trade out to use a pack n play in our room like you posted and we also have a crib in his room for naps and for later when he get to move out of our room. The vista bassinet is great for strolls and in the first few weeks we used it a lot to keep the baby near us wherever we were. In the kitchen, living room or anywhere. It was so easy to click it out of the stand and take it over to another room. Plus, if he was already asleep in it, we could just click him into the stroller and go for a walk. Of course YMMV but my baby is 3 months and still fits in the bassinet well and should for at least another month or two or until he starts getting up on his hands and knees so it's not actually been a super short term thing.

Also, I'll insert my controversial car seat opinion, I have used a convertible car seat from birth. One that stays in the car. I like not having to buy another car seat or having an extra piece laying around the house when not in use. Infant car seats typically have a short life span (sometimes less than a year if you have a big baby) so I'd rather not have to flex my brain to try to find a new car seat. Convertible is one and done and doesnt take up space in my apartment.

Now on the glider/recliner it really is personal preference. I love being able to recline when I nurse. We have a glider that also reclines. The ability to rock is nice if we need a break for being up and about rocking. We typically get our baby to sleep by bouncing on a yoga ball and then move to the rocker once he's asleep to give us a break until he's completely out and able to be put down.

 

[darkish]

@reekypear I live in a tiny apartment (45sqm) and we have a 3 week old baby. So far it's working well for us to have just a crib which we use as half his sleeping part and half as his changing part with one of those waterproof changing mats. We'll work out where to change him later when he gets too big for the sleeping part

 

[epitome]

@reekypear Go for the crib. If we had space at the time this is what I would’ve done I think. My son got out of his next to me when he was three months old which is a right pain!

We basically got a dresser and then added a changing mat on the top of it, and he still uses it even now at 19 months.

I also definitely encourage the bassinet attachment on the stroller, we got great use out of it when he was little!

 

[lorilu05]

@reekypear So I'd skip the bassinet unless you want a bedside one for cosleeping. I highly recommend this as your baby will likely want to be next to you at night. Cosleeping is also very conducive to breastfeeding. We went for a stokke sleepi which converts from mini crib, to crib, to toddler bed. But we ended up bedsharing but we hope to eventually use it...at some point.

You don't need a glider to breastfeed. I breastfeed everywhere...propped up in bed with pillows, on the couch, at the dining table as I'm trying to eat...you get the idea. The glider is nice for rocking the baby to sleep, but you certainly don't need it for breastfeeding.

The pram bassinet is not safe for unsupervised sleep, that's why people only use them on strollers. The combo you linked looks great, but don't use the carseat as stroller for longer than 2 hours, that's the safety reco. Not sure how much space you have but we ended up splashing out on an expensive travel stroller I can use around the city and a separate bassinet stroller for like $50 from FB marketplace. The bassinet you only use for such a short time - 3-6 months tops. Good luck!

 

[reekypear]

@lorilu05 Do you mind sharing the link for the stokke sleepi convertible? I’m on the website and didn’t see it bundled as on. Thank you!

 

[lorilu05]

@reekypear I'm in Canada, so we may have different availabilities, but it's the Stokke Sleepi Mini + extension kit.

https://www.stokke.com/en-ca/nursery/stokke-sleepi/6006.html

 

[lorilu05]

@reekypear I forgot to mention I got mine from FB marketplace, so it was a lot cheaper than brand new.

 

[mwinga]

@reekypear Consider a slumberpod. This may seem odd because you’re sticking to the essentials but if you end up with a baby who’s temperament is super sensitive to light, as in needs total black out but your living quarters are tight and you want to also live your life not in an FBI sleeper cell environment/total black out, you can just pop this pod over the crib and safely create a night cozy dark sleep space for the babe.

Also, I did the nestig convertible crib and 10/10 would recommend a convertible crib that goes from mini to crib to toddler bed

 

[reekypear]

@mwinga I saw the nestig convertible crib too. To convert it from bassinet to crib, does it already come with all the parts attached or would that be an extra purchase?

 

[mwinga]

@reekypear Comes with everything you need. The only additional thing you have to buy is the full sized crib mattress.

 

[foundwandering]

@mwinga And one thing to note: the Nestig mini crib mattress that comes with it is a custom size which meant I could only buy Nestig sheets. They’re gorgeous don’t get me wrong but I found this to be slightly annoying bc they were more money than I wanted to spend and the mini crib only lasts a few months. I use them as covers for the Keekaroo now.

 

[mwinga]

@foundwandering This is an excellent point. And I’m pretty sure there are other convertible cribs out there with traditional mini crib dimensions!