crib or bassinet?

Question

Hello everyone, I'm 31 wks pregnant and was just wondering, in your opinion, what is the best to have for our little boy when he comes into the world a crib or a bassinet? Also, we are moving into our new house next thursday, how do you suggest we decorate the nursery? Do those diaper genie (diaper pales) really work? Should we wait until the baby shower next month and decorate after that? Or should we get started next week when we move in? Also, when did you "baby proof" your house/apartment? I was thinking about getting it done way ahead of time. Sorry about asking so many questions!

Answer 1

first off.. CONGRATS!!! This is such an exciting time in your life, enjoy it!

we have a bassinet, and baby slept in on for the first 2 months.. with us in our bed room...then we switched him over to his crib... i'm so glad we had the bassinet(it was a gift)

i would start decorating now...you wont have much time (if any) after baby is born...we did a Noah's Arc theme...and painted a mural on the wall of the Arc, and Noah, animals etc...soooo many themes to choose from.. animals, sports,dinasores...etc... what are you and your hubby into?I have a friend who's hubby is really into nascar so the baby has a nascar room...

Diaper genie is a life saver!
our little boy is only 11 weeks old... but we have animals so we put up baby gates already... and aside from cleaning the C@#P outta the house thats all we'll do till he's crawling...

Good Luck!

Answer 2

I would not redomend spending the extra money on the bassinet. I much better investment is a play pen with a bassinet top. Some of these even have changing stations attached. This way you can still put it close to you while in bed, but you will be able to use it much longer and for other uses. Also, the sides are mesh so you don't have the worry of baby getting too close to the solid bassinet side a suffocating.

As far as the diaper pails, I got one for my shower, and only ended up using it a few times. It was more of a hastle then it was worth. I just took the extra 30 seconds and put it in the regular trash, which wouls save me time in the long run from having to empty the pail, do the new liner, and so on. Plus the liners are quite expensive and do not help that much with the odor. I found it much more plesant to just toss it away then let it sit in the pail in the bedroom.

I would wait to see what all you will get at the shower before starting much decorating. If you know what color the room will be, you could get the painting out of the way, and even set up the bigger furnature (brib, dresser, changing talbe if you want one) But as far as the little things, I would wait.

For baby proofing, you could do that right away while the house is empty. This way you can see all the plugs and other things of this nature that may be hidden once you move in from your view, but I bet baby will find them. It is not really necessary untill they start to become mobile, but this can happen so fast, that it is better to do it ahead of time then be too late.

Don't worry about the list of questions. That is why we are here. Ask what ever you can come up with, and we will be here to help!

Answer 3

Save your money on the diaper genie and hope you get one at the shower. I had one and didn't like it. Better to just put them in small garbage can lined with a wal-mart bag and toss out daily. As far as bassinet verses crib I used a bassinet for a few months (3 or 4 can't remember for sure) cause she looked so lost in that big crib and just looked a little cozier in the bassinet. Plus you can keep that in your room to make those late night feedings easier. It took a couple of nights for her to get use to the crib but after that she was fine. If you have a theme for your nursery you could started doing a little at a time, just tell the person doing your shower what it is and put it on your registery. You can take in mind about baby proofing when you move in but that is not really going to be a worry till little bit starts being mobile.

Answer 4

Both crib AND bassinet-you'll want the bassinet in your room for at least a month. I personally loved the sailor motif @ Babysrus, very simple and cute, would also wait until after ur shower. Yes the diaper pales work, but after having the original Diaper Genie, I would get the Diaper Genie II because you don't waste the bags as much-saves money (don't know if anyone else had that prob.).Baby proofing is all up to you, but your baby will probably not move around until about 6 months, so you could hold off if you wanted to. Congrats and good luck.

Answer 5

Don't waste your money on a bassinet. Just buy a crib and have him sleep in there. We've done that with all 3 of our kids - they're fine.
Decorate the nursery with whatever you want to. Everyone's taste is different. Don't do it in baby theme. Give him something that he can grow into.
Don't mess with a diaper genie. Just a waste of time and money. Just throw them in the normal trash.
I would wait til after the baby shower to start decorating. That way you can see what you get and what you need to buy.
Start baby proofing your house when the baby is on the move - usually around 6 months or so.

Answer 6

Congratts!!!!
Get a Pack-N-Play. They are the thing these days, and your baby can use it for a long, long, time. Also, get a crib you will definately need it. Don't know much about the Diaper Genie, didn't use one. It just sounds like an expensive way to throw a diaper away to me. Don't be in a hurry to decorate the baby's room, you've got plenty of time, even if you wait till he gets here. Do what has to be done now, worry about that stuff later, you're moving and pregnant, don't do toooo much! Baby proof when he starts sitting up alone. Good luck!!

Answer 7

I nursed my daughter, so we had her in a bassinet in our bedroom. She moved to her crib (in her own room) when she was about six months old. I think when you move them out of the bassinet depends on their weight and height.

Here's the scoop on the diaper genie---plastic absorbs odor. It will stink. The point of these is to cut down on as much exposure to air as possible for your comfort. The diaper genie is a pain because you have to buy their trash bags. The diaper gets wrapped up in the bag like a sausage. When the pail is full, you pull out a long string of diapers. I have the diaper champ. I can use regular trash bags and it cuts down on the amount of air that is let out. They still need to be bleached and cleaned because, like I said, plastic absorbs odor.

Sounds like you haven't picked a theme for your nusery. I found out what I was having, and fell in love with a bedroom set called "gossamer wings" from BabiesRUs. It has several different colors for me to work with; it wasn't all pink. We chose to use a gender neutral wall color---light green. This way, if we have a boy next time, it won't be too hard to change the decor. I don't care for "borders" so we didn't use one. My artistic father-in-law made us some butterflies to hang all the way that can be moved out of the nursery and to the big girl room when we need to.

If you know what you want, I would decorate as soon as you can. Life doesn't always happen the way you plan, so why not plan ahead? I got preeclampsia at the end of my pregnancy and was put on bedrest, which meant I couldn't do the final preparations to the nursery.

As for baby proofing, you could go ahead and do things like attach your top heavy furniture to the wall to secure it from tipping. I wouldn't do the drawer latches until later just because they are so annoying to use.

I hope this helps! Congrats on the baby and have a great move!

Answer 8

A bassinet is nice b/c you can put it right by your bed, BUT they're pricey for how long you can use them. I would put a pack & play or crib in your room if you have the space.

I had a diaper genie and it worked ok, but I stopped using it after awhile b/c it was a hassle & always had to buy refills. I just threw it in a plastic grocery bag and set it on the step in my garage so it wouldn't stink up my house. When hubby got home he'd go throw them in the trash.

I would wait for the baby shower to see what you get, but you could register for how you want to decorate... The possibilites are really endless here and then do it asap, baby could come early.

I baby proofed early on, glad I did b/c it came so fast.

Answer 9

Bassinet for the first 3-6 months depending on his weight, should be up to 15 pounds, plus it's easier for you when he wakes up for night feedings, you can leave the bassient in your room until he's ready for crib. As for the diaper pale it does work to keep the odor trapped in, but we found insects and eggs all inside the pale it was nasty, so i don't use that anymore. I would start baby proofing when your little one starts crawling, because as an infant they really don't move, decorate the nursery at your discretion, blue, or neutral colors, there is always disney charactors or pooh. good luck with your bundles of joy

Answer 10

We got a really nice hand me down bassinet.. So we used that and transitioned to crib.. .A pack n play with bassenet works too... I like multifunctional items that take up less space..!!

Get the diaper genie type thingie that doesn't take refills they take standard kitchen bags.. They didn't have that one when I had my children... So, I have to buy refills... They have it at babies r us....

You might want to start putting together the main things you will need for the nursery before you need them..Crib, any furnture etc.. It's always good to child proof your house and get used to using "safety" items... Especially, if it's a clean slate... That way you can tie up any loose home entertainment cords as you go.. I like to use those plastic one way ties... to bunch cords from cd/dvd/vcr/stereo/tv etc.... It's cheap and easy... I also plug all that stuff into a surge protector w/ an on/off switch to save electric at night.....

Also, I keep a roll of masking tape in my diaper bag for if we go somewhere where it's not childproof I can cover outlets with tape.. To hide from little fingers....

good luck