Pack n play vs Crib?

[ryan14]

Me and my wife are going to use a (Graco) Pack n Play for the first 6 months of our daughters life and then move on to a crib. Anyone here do the same thing or have gone through the same process and ended up cribbing the whole way through?

 

[nolz]

@ryan14 We did Pack N Play in our bedroom for the first six months and then moved our son into his crib and it worked well for us. I think you have a solid plan.

 

[dme]

@ryan14 That's a solid plan but just be fluid if you find something that works better. I graduated 6 weeks ago and had the same plan as you but just this last week we moved our son into the nursery and one of us sleeps in there with him (we switch off when he wakes up to eat around 3 a.m. Sleeping with both of us in the room meant we both were missing out on sleep so by taking turns we can get a solid 4-5 hours sleep without watching the baby. Also, my son sleeps better in his crib as the mattress is more comfortable I imagine.

 

[practicingchristianity]

@ryan14 We're doing the same thing, too. Baby's going to sleep in our room for a few months, then we'll just put the pack and play in the Baby's room. Honestly, we're doing it party due to space constraints. Most of our friends in smaller urban apartments (Chicago) have done the same thing and say it works well for the first 6-9 months, depending on the kid.

Worst case is that cribs are plentiful and can be bought quickly if we end up needing one. That's kind of been our philosophy on a bunch of stuff.

Edit: I've heard some folks say their kinds loved sleeping in them and others that hated them. So, I'll add that we're also going this route to try it and see how it works before investing too much in a crib right away.

Cheers!

 

[icandoallthings1]

@ryan14 We’ve cribbed the whole way. We found it easier at night for night time changings to have everything at our disposal. I, selfishly, also don’t want to get her in a habit of sleeping with us.

 

[theprodigaldaughter]

@ryan14 We did. It's fine.

If you want the baby on an incline for reflux though it's a bit easier in a crib.

 

[maxpaul]

@ryan14 We did the same, but she only lasted about 3, 3 1/2 months in the PnP because she was a loud sleeper as a newborn. My wife was sleeping in the guest room while I was sleeping in the bedroom with the baby. So as soon as she outgrew the bassinet attachment of the PnP, she slept for one week in the PnP with the high mattress level as a transition, then went into the crib.

 

[katrina2017]

@ryan14 We did roughly the same but the PnP lasted until almost a year old because we were never in a position to properly sleep train until then. We switched to a crib when we switched him to his own room.

 

[ewoksrule]

@ryan14 IKEA convertible crib for around $200. Guava Lotus travel basinet/playpen. You're set for the first 5 years.

 

[mary1]

@ryan14 My daughter won't sleep in her crib or pack n play. We got a rock and play for the shower but it didn't auto rock so when we found out she falls asleep ASAP in that we got the auto rock one and loves it. Shell be switching to the crib once she outgrows the rock and play.

 

[jesusismyhero101]

@ryan14 We did the same thing, and I thought it worked pretty well. At around 6 months we:

• Moved him to crib
• Unswaddled him
• Sleep trained (Ferber)

A couple of weeks before, we started putting him down in the crib for naps during the day (we were still rocking/bouncing him to sleep at the time), which I think helped the transition.

Note: our little guy had reflux, and we had to use some blankets to wedge under his mattress to give him a bit of incline to help him sleep. Some parents use rock-n-play for this purpose, but he didn't like it. Different things work for different kids, so you may have to experiment a bit.

 

[shilohmark]

@ryan14 My little one is currently 2 weeks today and we started with the crib and found it to be exhausting to get up at night to feed/change her.
Luckily we’d gotten a Graco pack-play as a gift and we got the one that comes with a little bassinet/changing bed and OMG it made nights so much easier!!
We placed the pack and play next to the bed and I place our LO there.
I also use the inside (where LO would go once she’s bigger) as a kind of a nightstand for when I can’t be bothered to get up and put her bottles away and my snacks of course lol
Best of luck to you guys hope this helps

 

[katrina2017]

@ryan14 Yes, this is what we did for both of ours.

On the second one she made me move the entire crib into the bedroom. We both forgot that we had a pack n play could've just used that. I can now assemble and disassemble a crib in record time.

 

[morganfj]

@ryan14 We did a pack and play in our room for the first few months, then a crib after.

 

[maccabeus]

@ryan14 It depends on your setup. With the first kid, we used a crib for overnight sleeping and naps in his room starting a couple days after bringing him home, but had the pack and play set up in the living room for quick lay downs, playing, and naps. We tried having him in our room, but that ended after two days. Within a few weeks, he was sleeping a solid 5 hours at night. That was luxurious.

 

[bulldogbrian]

@ryan14 We did the rock n play in our room for 3 months and then moved our son to his crib and used a Dock a tot in it until he was rolling over. He absolutely loves his crib now too.

 

[jeanvh]

@ryan14 I wanted a pack n play, but I got shut down by my SO and her mom. We'll be cribbing it the whole way through.