I think most new parents (or parents in general) are told from the get go, “Oh you don’t need to worry about the nursery, baby will be sleeping in your room for several months at least”, “You can wait on the crib, just get a bassinet”…etc etc.
I definitely feel like a good majority of parents roomshare for multiple reasons. Some of which being they like having their newborn in their room to monitor and just be close to them, it helps with their quality of sleep, and can be more convenient. My husband and I were definitely of the same mind having our newborn sleep in our room. I think it also helps ease anxiety of being a new parent as well. Anyone else constantly watch their baby’s chest to make sure they were breathing??
My baby ended up having to be “evicted” around 5 months old due to a horrible sleep regression. (Insert a laugh/cry emoji) When I tell you we were at our wit’s end, we were. Turns out constant sleep consistency was the solution…but that’s a talk for another time.
But of course it should be said that with any parenting one size does not fit all. I have a friend who told me days after they had their baby their quality of sleep was actually worse, as she woke up with every little noise the baby made. She would rather get out of bed and go to the baby’s room to tend to her needs. So if roomsharing isn’t for you, that’s ok! But if it is, here are my personal tips on what my husband and I did and the products we used!
Bassinet
This one kind of goes without saying. (Absolutely no judgement to any moms who bedshare. I know this is a controversial subject, but I’m also a mom who knows what it’s like to have a screaming newborn who is either sick or won’t settle and needs you to comfort them. To keep sanity you do what you have to do.)
The bassinet we used was the Halo! I personally loved it. My cousin gifted it to us as they no longer needed it and it was so nice to have. I know they can be costly, so I’m so glad to get secondhand pieces when I can.
The one we were gifted was the Halo Innovations, it swivels and the side lowers for easy access. The side can also lock and stay up. It has a light and music buttons on the front but we rarely used it. This one is definitely pricier at $300, but the same brand has options for $100. And there are also so many more options and brands out there! Not to mention secondhand options, either from relatives, friends or a thrift store if you’re ballin on a budget! (me)
Noise Machine
Trust me. White noise of some kind will save you. It does not have to be the Hatch (I was gifted this and I actually love it and want one for my room). But white noise will be great not only to imitate the noise from the womb, but to also help with noises that are loud and obnoxious in the home. Yes I know we need to let the baby get used to sounds and all which is a good thing. BUT some noises are just annoying, and if you have a fresh newborn you want to hold on to sleep when you can, either for you or for baby!! Also I strongly believe it helped with my husband and I’s sleep, drowning out any newborn whimpers or refrigerator noises from the kitchen.
Loved the Hatch like I mentioned before, it has an app you can control from your phone along with a nightlight and color options to choose from. I don’t know if it helped, but I had heard the color red can promote peaceful sleep, so that’s what I did. There’s also so many noise machines to choose from if you want a cheaper option. After our baby moved to his room, we still loved having a white noise so we ended up using our Echo Dot! We use “Pink Noise” if anyone is curious in trying.
Diaper Caddy
We had the nursery all set up, the whole shebang. A lot of people always told me how useless a changing table was but let me tell you, we have used it the whole 7 months. Especially for poopy diapers, I like bringing out the big guns for those. But we also definitely change him anywhere too, just depends on what’s more convenient.
What was convenient when we were roomsharing was changing him in our room, on the bed or the bassinet, wherever. A diaper caddy really helped with this. I got mine on Amazon for about $20. It fit a good amount of diapers, wipes, pacis, diaper cream, lotion, nail trimming supplies, snot suckers and nipple cream. It fit so much, and we definitely used it every day. I know some people used a 3 tier tray with wheels, this is such a good idea as well. Especially if you are breastfeeding or pumping, you can add your supplies to a section of this. Also snacks, that’s literally such a good idea. Snacks are always a good idea.
Extra Clothes
It was very helpful having extra sets of clothes, burp cloths, socks etc in our room! We would stock up the pockets of the bassinet or the diaper caddy if there was room. Believe me, 7 pound babies sure are messy, so you will need some clothes on hand close by. Also extra swaddles!
Mini Fridge
Ok ok, I did not have one of these. BUT BOY do I wish I had one! This applies to any parent. Breastfeeding? Here’s some cold snacks and drinks. Pumping? Go ahead mama put your milk in here from bed and forget till morning. Formula? Here’s a ready-made bottle. Baby didn’t drink it all? You literally have a fridge in your room, how rad, stick the bottle back in there.
PSA, the snacks definitely apply to any parent as well.
Night Light
This is super helpful during the night. You don’t want to turn on bright lights when taking care of baby during sleepy hours, it’s beneficial to keep the lights dim to help promote baby to regulate day and night time. It also helps me personally go back to sleep if I haven’t been around bright lights. Get you some small night lights you can control or sleep with on. This doesn’t even have to be nightlights, just a dim light of some kind! Bright enough where you can take care of baby safely and function.
Do you have any tips or tricks for roomsharing with baby? I’d love to hear!