Babies don't need a Crib?

[Skippy123]

I saw this article and I thought I would just put it out there, since the Montessori way is not to have a crib. I thought about it and it makes a lot of sense (we never tried it though); maybe if I saw this earlier we wouldn't have bought 2 cribs?! just an fyi if anyone wants to read.
http://www.babycheapskate.com/2012/01/05/who-needs-a-crib-the-nursery-montessori-style/

 

[monarch64]

That would be ok in a pet-free home, I think! Our dog would be jumping all over the baby if it weren't in a crib, though!

 

[Skippy123]

That would be ok in a pet-free home, I think! Our dog would be jumping all over the baby if it weren't in a crib, though!

Oh Monnie! that made me laugh the baby would be kissed! oh and jumping, not good!

 

[Puppmom]

This would make sense if your nursery was completely bare. My little guy would get into all sorts of shenanigans if he wasn't trapped in the crib!

 

[Pandora II]

I have a beautiful Stokke Sleepi crib that Daisy has never spent more than 2 hours in...

We co-sleep and so she's never actually needed one. It has been great for storing the ironing in though.

The mattress on the floor idea isn't a bad one - D did fall out of our bed a couple of times until I bought bed bars, and it would save having to have the little steps we have had for the last 18 months so she can get up and down.

 

[Maisie]

I have a beautiful Stokke Sleepi crib that Daisy has never spent more than 2 hours in...

We co-sleep and so she's never actually needed one. It has been great for storing the ironing in though.

The mattress on the floor idea isn't a bad one - D did fall out of our bed a couple of times until I bought bed bars, and it would save having to have the little steps we have had for the last 18 months so she can get up and down.

I laughed when I saw your comment about the ironing. Its like my exercise bike that became a clothes drier

If you co-sleep when do you get mummy/daddy time?

 

[amc80]

If you co-sleep when do you get mummy/daddy time?

I've always wondered that...

As for the mattress on the floor thing, I don't think I like it. I'd be pi$$ed if someone put a mattress on the floor for me and said "here's your bed." I know a baby doesn't know or care, but it just seems wrong.

 

[KimberlyH]

It would be a mattress in a completely empty room in our house, and little miss would still find a way to get herself into a tangle.

We don't cosleep, but to answer the question you'd just have to get creative. Sneak away after baby goes to sleep, nap time, etc.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

This would make sense if your nursery was completely bare. My little guy would get into all sorts of shenanigans if he wasn't trapped in the crib!

Mine too! We do have a crib, but it's a cheap IKEA one.

Unrelated to Montessori sleeping, in Korea, they traditionally sleep on the floor, because it was heated. When my daughter lived in Korea, she slept on the floor with her foster family.

 

[Dreamer_D]

The crib is for mommy and daddy, not baby Life wa soooo much easier when our oldest was contained! And became easier when our youngest transitioned into his crb too.

 

[Puppmom]

It would be a mattress in a completely empty room in our house, and little miss would still find a way to get herself into a tangle.

We don't cosleep, but to answer the question you'd just have to get creative. Sneak away after baby goes to sleep, nap time, etc.

You're right! I'm not giving my boy enough credit! He would find a way to get in trouble.

 

[monarch64]

If you co-sleep when do you get mummy/daddy time?

I've always wondered that...

As for the mattress on the floor thing, I don't think I like it. I'd be pi$$ed if someone put a mattress on the floor for me and said "here's your bed." I know a baby doesn't know or care, but it just seems wrong.

People didn't start sleeping in separate rooms until the late 19th century.

We don't plan to co-sleep but I know a ton of people who have done so and have more than 1 kid, so obviously they found other places to have mommy/daddy time. God knows the bed gets boring after you've been together any length of time, anyway!

 

[Lottie]

The mattress on the floor looks fine in principle but I imagine most babies would spend the majority of the night asleep on the floor which isn't ideal, mine move all around the cot or bed during sleep and if the bars were not on his cot Henry would definately be straight off the sides.

 

[Pandora II]

We didn't plan to co-sleep either, but it has worked well for us, we enjoy it (nice warm snuggly hot waterbottle that doesn't get cold) and if we were to have another then we would co-sleep from the start. I was very paranoid about SIDS and having her in bed with me meant that I always knew that she was fine and breathing etc, she also didn't wake up at night - just rolled over to feed and rolled back again afterwards.

In most of the world, co-sleeping is the norm and has been for hundreds of thousands of years. We in the West are somewhat abnormal in aiming for independent sleeping. Interestingly, countries where co-sleeping is the norm also have the lowest rates of SIDS and as countries tend towards independent sleeping, so the numbers rise.

Mummy and Daddy time need not always involve a double bed!

 

[Echidna]

she also didn't wake up at night - just rolled over to feed and rolled back again afterwards.

This is probably a very naive question (no children here!), but how do nappy changes work with co-sleeping? Just wait until morning? Or is that what happens regardless of sleeping arrangements?

 

[Pandora II]

she also didn't wake up at night - just rolled over to feed and rolled back again afterwards.

This is probably a very naive question (no children here!), but how do nappy changes work with co-sleeping? Just wait until morning? Or is that what happens regardless of sleeping arrangements?

I don't know about other people, but I found that within 3 days I could pretty much change a nappy in the dark with my eyes shut!

You very quickly get used to changing babies on your knee rather than on a changing mat - often if you are out, public bathrooms don't have changing areas and sitting on the loo with the baby on your knee is the only option.

So, I just used to sit up in bed and change her on my knee, I'd have nappies, wipes and nappy sacks next to the bed so very easy to do. I don't recall ever having an accident. Possibly because I would have 'heard' a potentially disasterous nappy and would have it off and changed before disaster struck - unlike some of the tales I have heard about poop covered cribs and babies!

Once they are past the very early weeks you don't always need to change them at night anyway.

 

[Lottie]

What I don't understand is why its so beneficial and enlightening for the baby to be on the floor on a mattress or a pad? by the time you have taken out any potential hazards - toys, low level furniture, anything chokeable or obvious distractions you have really only got things on the wall to look at which are perfectly easy to view through cot bars.

I can clearly see the benefits of co sleeping although it wasn't for me (far too neurotic as a new mum to co sleep, I used to dream that she was buried in the covers despite the fact that she was next to me in a moses basket), and I can clearly see the benefits of baby being in a crib/cot. But I just don't get why they have to be inspired when they should be going to sleep?

I'm not trying to be overly negative about it, I just don't understand the concept - it doesn't fit with my common sense. I'm off to look into Montessori a bit more.

 

[ChinaCat]

I don't have a problem with the concept, but I had to laugh at some the comments under that article. So if it's just how you prefer it, or don't want a crib, etc., sounds fine to me.

But not sure I buy the theory that a crib is not "inspiring" and that not being in a crib encourages curiousity and cogntive development. For the rest of the 12 hours that my son was not sleeping, he was plenty curious and crawling and exploring his surroundings. I want him to sleep at bedtime and naptime, not explore his room. There are tons of studies that show that more/better sleep leads to an increase in IQ, etc etc and it's more important to me that he get good sleep.

Btw, my son's preschool doesn't have cribs and they lie on mats on the floor. Ummm, none of the kids sleep as they are too busy exploring. He comes home cranky and napless, so no thank you! I pick him up early and he explores his surroundings at home until naptime, at which point he naps.

Now I suppose if you had a toddler or baby that clearly understood naptime/bedtime and stayed on the mattress, that would be ok. That would NOT be my toddler, he's too "curious" and more interested in his cogntive development and pulling things off shelves rather than lying quietly on a bed.

I wonder if they mean putting them in a crib at other times than naptime/bedtime? I suppose if someone used a crib like a playpen, then perhaps I could see their point.

Btw, the no crib thing in the article is a bit different to me than co-sleeping.

 

[TravelingGal]

Heh? I didn't want anything in the crib or around it to be inspiring. I wanted it to be boring. I wanted the kid to sleep in the damn thing!

 

[missrachelk]

I read a blog where the family has this kind of setup for their baby (over a year, I can't remember how old she is right now) and it seems very interesting. They also do EC (elimination communication) some of the time and have taught her baby sign language. All of these things are grand, but I think tehy wouldn't be possible without having a SAHM who is really into doing stuff with the kid 24/7.

But check it out if anyone is looking for a real life perspective.

The site is: www dot joyfulabode dot com

I get the impression that it's a lot about teaching the kid to put themself to sleep really early and to be able to go lay down if they feel sleepy. Sure they'll end up on the floor sometimes but will that really hurt them? Montessori overall is about independence and letting the kid do things their wn way so it makes sense in that way.

 

[monarch64]

I read a blog where the family has this kind of setup for their baby (over a year, I can't remember how old she is right now) and it seems very interesting. They also do EC (elimination communication) some of the time and have taught her baby sign language. All of these things are grand, but I think tehy wouldn't be possible without having a SAHM who is really into doing stuff with the kid 24/7.

But check it out if anyone is looking for a real life perspective.

The site is: www dot joyfulabode dot com

I get the impression that it's a lot about teaching the kid to put themself to sleep really early and to be able to go lay down if they feel sleepy. Sure they'll end up on the floor sometimes but will that really hurt them? Montessori overall is about independence and letting the kid do things their wn way so it makes sense in that way.

Thanks for the blog recommendation, I am going to check it out.

 

[Echidna]

she also didn't wake up at night - just rolled over to feed and rolled back again afterwards.

This is probably a very naive question (no children here!), but how do nappy changes work with co-sleeping? Just wait until morning? Or is that what happens regardless of sleeping arrangements?

So, I just used to sit up in bed and change her on my knee, I'd have nappies, wipes and nappy sacks next to the bed so very easy to do.

Once they are past the very early weeks you don't always need to change them at night anyway.

Awesome. Thanks for the clarification, Pandora.

 

[Laila619]

This would make sense if your nursery was completely bare. My little guy would get into all sorts of shenanigans if he wasn't trapped in the crib!

Oy, tell me about it!

I just feel much safer with my baby/toddler in a crib. Plus I feel like if he weren't in a crib, he would be too busy to sleep since he'd be playing and getting into stuff. When he goes in the crib, he knows it's time to sleep.

 

[tiffanytwisted]

My babies are in cribs and they are still plenty curious and inspired, especially right now in the middle of the night. I hate to think what they would do if they weren't contained.

 

[mrs taylor]

This would make sense if your nursery was completely bare. My little guy would get into all sorts of shenanigans if he wasn't trapped in the crib!

Oy, tell me about it!

I just feel much safer with my baby/toddler in a crib. Plus I feel like if he weren't in a crib, he would be too busy to sleep since he'd be playing and getting into stuff. When he goes in the crib, he knows it's time to sleep.

I have three and we co-slept with all of them. I never actually had a crib. And similarly to yours, when they went in the bed they knew it was time to sleep. There was never any playing or getting in to anything with any of them.

 

[Laila619]

This would make sense if your nursery was completely bare. My little guy would get into all sorts of shenanigans if he wasn't trapped in the crib!

Oy, tell me about it!

I just feel much safer with my baby/toddler in a crib. Plus I feel like if he weren't in a crib, he would be too busy to sleep since he'd be playing and getting into stuff. When he goes in the crib, he knows it's time to sleep.

I have three and we co-slept with all of them. I never actually had a crib. And similarly to yours, when they went in the bed they knew it was time to sleep. There was never any playing or getting in to anything with any of them.

How did you train them to stay in the bed? When my little guy goes in our bed, he just tries to roll off or climb down.

 

[mrs taylor]

I didn't really have to train them. I also nursed so I would lay down for about 10 minutes and nurse them and then they were out. As they got older I'd shorten the nursing times so they got used to falling asleep withOUT the breast. By the time they were 1 or so I would be able to tell them "night night" and leave and they would sleep. Each one also had something-a lovey of some sort- that they'd sort of hold or stroke or snuggle also.

I'm honestly not sure it would have worked as well without the nursing component. But they were able to go down by themselves after being used to the routine. I'm a big advocate of routines!

 

[beesha77]

Heh? I didn't want anything in the crib or around it to be inspiring. I wanted it to be boring. I wanted the kid to sleep in the damn thing!

I'm with you! There's no way this would've worked with my guys! They would've never slept!

 

[Dreamer_D]

My three year old is in a bed now, and he basically rolls around in the bed so much he covers the entire queen size bed in the night and STILL falls out a couple times a week despite the rails we attached! In fact, we just went up and found him sleeping on the floor! I share this mostly because it is funny to me, not becuase it is relevant

 

[Skippy123]

Heh? I didn't want anything in the crib or around it to be inspiring. I wanted it to be boring. I wanted the kid to sleep in the damn thing!

I'm with you! There's no way this would've worked with my guys! They would've never slept!

beesha, I know you have twins too and I doubt it would work for my boys! They squeal when they see each other and roll to each other so I know they would be partying at night if we didn't have cribs for them! LOL silly little twins!


eta: I just found the topic interesting and made me wonder if it came down to it, do we really need a crib? just interesting to see that some people don't have cribs where I never thought otherwise.