A little background first.... My almost 3 yr old's crib was recalled last year, right after he moved into a big boy bed. At the time I was pregnant with baby #3, and I knew we were moving so I never bought another one. Then we moved into a VERY small place as it was supposed to be temporary so I still didnt buy another one. He's almost 6 months old and he sleeps in our room in a pack n play, due to lack of space. We are going to be moving in about 3 months to a much bigger place, but Im wondering should I even buy a crib? My 3 yr old was out of his crib by age 2, and we put him in a full size bed and its been great for him. He slept in his pack n play for the first year or longer.
So Im wondering should I just not get a crib, and save the money. Or do you mamas think its neceesary when they are in that 1-2 yr old stage? The 3 and 6 mo old will be sharing a room in the new house.
I don't think you should go and buy one when he is arealdy confortable and will be out of it vers soon.
Unless a friend or family member is willing to let you borrow one, or you can find one on freecycle or craigslist for next to nothing, I would probably just keep him in the pack n play for as long as possible.
I say save your money...keep him in the P&P until he is ready for the big kid bed...If you buy a crib, he may have an adjustment period because its a different space...why put anyone through the disruption.
I wouldn't get a crib. i say save your money. I don't think theres anything wrong with a pack n play. If your son sleeps fine in a pack n play then I wouldn't bother with a crib.
How long can he stay in a pack and play? What would he do between age 1 and 2? I would check out consignment stores for a used crib. Just because your 3 yo was out of the crib by age 2 and did well in a bed does not mean that this child will do the same. It would be great if he did, but you never know. We forced my daughter out of the crib at 2 1/2 and she stayed put in her bed and never got out without being given permission. My son on the other had refused to sleep in a bed until he was almost 4 (he slept on the floor) and my nephew is still clinging to the crib at almost 4. You just never know. Especially if children that young will be sharing a room.
I'd borrow a crib. The advice "crib til 3 unless climbing out" is great advice!
Nah...The pack n play will be fine until you move him to a toddler bed!
I had an expensive crib and it barely got used. We had a bassinet for the first few months, and we co-slept a lot. By 14 months, she was sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor (the only way she'd sleep) for awhile, and then in a real bed.
skip it. Bed's fine - just keep the matress it close to the floor for less distance to fall.
I'd skip it! Just keep doing what you are since it's obviously working!
sounds like there's no need. you will need the extra $ for the move. my son slept in a pack n play at my moms (every other weekend or so) until he was big enough for the toddler bed. no biggie! i can't imagine any reason it would be necessary.
Skip the crib. You can put all three children to sleep together once he is old enough for a toddler bed. Go to Asia you will see tiny beds for infants that have a hole in the middle for the urine and poop. Babies don't stay in them very long.
I never used my crib. I take that back. I used it as storage. I had extra blankets, ababy clothes, and diapers piled up in it! Kind of the way people use thier treadmill as a clothes hanger!
My first child: we got pregnant while living in a 1 bedroom apartment and we were still paying off debt and saving for a house. We had NO room! We handmade a beautiful, custom cradle for him and when he was a little bigger and able to turn over, we put him in a portable crib I got off craigslist for $80 (crib, mattress, and 3 sheets). It is smaller, in length/width, but did the job just fine. In the daytime, I would roll the crib into the bedroom for his naps and at night I would roll the crib to the living room so we could sleep in our own room. It worked just fine for everyone. We finally got into our house and he had his own room, when he was 17 months old. I bought a cute car bed and painted, hung valences, decorated his room with transportation stuff, had a new toybox and a train table, etc. I didn't know if he'd like the car bed or if it'd be too much, so I kept the portable crib in there for a couple days "just in case". He LOVED the new room and bed. It was a toddler size, low to the ground, and he never had an issue with it. So he never really had a real crib.
For our second son: he had the wooden cradle in the guest room, then the same portable crib, because the guest room was lovely and I didn't want to get rid of the "real" furniture in there...so again, no room for a real crib. We got transferred out of state for a great job promotion, but with such short notice we had to stay in a 2 bedroom apartment (free thank goodness) for 4 months while finding a house and getting situated. Well, that 4 months he was in his pack and play because we packed pretty light (movers came and took all our stuff to storage and we just had what we really needed until we bought a house for them to unpack our stuff to). He's now 15 months old, loves his room. He sleeps in the pack and play now but keeps eyeing his 4 year old brother's car bed. He sneaks in there and climbs up on it often. So even though he's pretty young, we're planning to set up his room with race car stuff, including the car bed. Big brother is happy with that because he wants a cowboy room with bunk beds for friends to sleep over when he gets "big" in school.
When pregnant, both times, I did fantasize about what the nursery would or should look like. It didn't happen either time. But they are just fine, and have great "big boy rooms" instead. If I'd had the room and space, I would have bought one of those lifetime cribs that turns into a full size bed later. Very nice idea! It just didn't happen. And that's just fine. And no, little kids don't REALLY need a crib. A toddler bed works just fine.
I love having a crib, I can put him down for a nap or bedtime and know that he is in a safe enviroment. Although pack n plays are nice, they don't always seem to be the sturdiest of things.. I say the crib is worth the money!
When my daughter's was recalled, I submitted for the certificate and put that towards a 3-1 crib/toddler/full size. If you are going to do something you should do it soon. The certificates are only good for about a year.
M.
Such a tough one, everyone seems to have different feelings. My kids loved their cribs and were in them until about age 3. We never did a toddler bed, crib to single bed. My youngest was in his crib until he was 4. He LOVED his crib, and we could have stayed in, except we were moving his sister into a double bed, and wanted him to have the single bed. Since we had a 2 story house, I didn't wnat to move the single bed to the basement and back up in a few months.I think it is necessary for my sanity to have them in a crib for longer, fewer sleep issues and easier for nightime potty training, no worries about leaking onto a mattress. For you, it might not be worth the money, although keep it mind, you can always sell it later and get back about half the price.
If you know you probably don't need it...I wouldn't waste the money.
We bought one for babe #1 and she didn't spend one single night in it. It was something hubby thought we had to have, I didn't feel the same.
Didn't even bother setting it up for babe #2.
Sounds like you know you can get by w/o it. :)
I think that if you can borrow one or get one for cheap (used) then I would do that. I don't think you need to buy a new crib at this point, unless you plan on having more kids, then go for it. I agree with Amanda that I like the safety of the crib and feel like it's harder to climb out of, etc., but that might not be an issue.
I don't see why you can't just use a pack n play. Thats what I originally wanted, but my MIL got a crib for us instead. If you're looking to save money but still want a crib you can check out IKEA's cribs.
My friend loved her's.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20203332
You can do a 4-in-1. Starts as a crib, then toddler bed to daybed. Finally, regular bed. You will just need to change the mattress to full or twin (whatever size the instructions state). They are less expensive than buying multiple beds as they grow. That has worked for us.
