As some of you know, or may not know actually, I’m pregnant with my first child and I’m due beginning of June 2023.
I’m currently creating my baby registry and here comes the big question: what do I want for my baby girl? Do I want a bassinet? Do I want a crib in our room or directly in her room?
I know for sure I don’t want her in our bed, I love my space and my sleep and I’ll be too scared anyway! I’m not a huge fan of bed-sharing and that’s not what I would recommend to my clients.
But anyways, after thinking about it for a couple of days, I’ve decided to go for a bassinet for the gain of space + easy to bring with us. I know for sure I’d want her in our room for the first few months. I’ll do a review on what I chose and why did I choose that one.
Everyone needs their own space.
My number one recommendation for a safe sleep environment is that everyone needs their own bed! Like I said I’m not recommending bed-sharing (I’m not judging it though!) but I like room sharing the first few months. The AAP recommends room sharing for the first 6 months of life.
Just a quick vocabulary memo :
Bed-sharing/co sleeping = baby is sleeping in your bed, with you
Room sharing = baby sleeps in the same room as you are, but different bed!
Empty crib/bassinet
Your baby’s sleep environment needs to be EMPTY. Say bye to the blanket, pillows, stuffed animals, crib bumpers, braided bumpers etc.
Your baby doesn’t need all of this. Yes, it is cute and aesthetic but it also creates a danger for your baby (=suffocation).
Instead, your baby needs a firm and flat mattress with a well fitted sheets and that’s it!
Also, if you have a baby monitor next to the crib/bassinet, please make sure the cord is out of reach and would not cause any harm to your baby!
Sound machine
Sound machines are so powerful for babies! It reminds them the sound they used to hear in the womb, but also helps covering the outside noises. So if your little ones windows are next to a busy street, your neighbors are really loud, or you have people over and you want to enjoy your time with them without being worried about the noise, invest in a sound machine that will be on during the whole time your child is sleeping.
Talking about sound machine, I highly recommend choosing a steady noise like a white noise for example. If you choose a noise that sounds like the ocean, where it comes and goes it may or may not work.
I’ve seen it with one of my clients and the fact that it was loud and quiet and loud again disturbed the child’s sleep. So I would highly recommend a steady noise!
Black environment
PITCH BLACK! The room needs to be dark! Your baby doesn’t need a night light, your baby is not afraid of the dark (do you think baby had a nightlight in your belly? NO lol).
Actually babies cannot be afraid of the dark because they didn’t develop their imaginations yet! Imaginations make us afraid of the dark, because we think we saw something or a shape made us scared of something BECAUSE our brain created those thoughts. You’ll see that behavior during the toddler stage, when they start playing pretend, when their imagination is blooming.
The reason why we want a dark room is because the light will disturb your child’s sleep cycle. It’s their indicator of it’s time to play and be active.
If you need a night light for night feedings for example, choose a red tint night light that will preserve sleep..
Cool room
Temperature 68-72F is great! Make sure the room is cool and air is flowing around baby. If you have a ceiling fan, keep it on the whole time. Dress baby accordingly to where you live.
Did you learn anything new today? Do you have any questions about this post or suggestions about the next blog post? Let us know in the comments!
We would love to hear from you! You might not agree with everything I say, but this why we are all so different from each other and it’s a great thing!
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