Cam a Two Week Old Baby Sleep in a Pack N Play

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If you've heard the expression "slumber when the infant sleeps" right earlier or after having a newborn, you might still have one lingering question: If your baby hates sleeping in their crib, where else can they slumber?

Unfortunately, there aren't many alternatives to a crib or bassinet when it comes to giving your infant a safe sleep environment, merely the good news is that yous tin can add a pack 'northward play to the list. When used safely, pack 'n plays (sometimes called play yards/playards or playpens), are by and large a condom option for sleeping babies of many ages, weights, and sizes.

Whatever your reason for needing an alternative to a crib, here's what you should know about using a pack 'n play for babe sleep.

Using a Pack 'North Play for Sleep

You might accept added a pack 'n play to your baby registry because, well, anybody does! It'due south overnice to take a secure identify to put your baby when you need to exist hands-gratis (or just need a interruption). A pack 'n play keeps a baby independent in ane expanse—no worries about itch out of sight or getting into trouble before you lot've baby proofed the house—and helps teach them how to entertain themselves when y'all tin can't be right by their side.

But a pack 'n play doesn't have to merely be a daytime distraction zone; some parents employ a pack 'n play for extended sleeping, whether information technology's naps or fifty-fifty nighttime sleep.

Pack 'n plays take upwardly way less space than a full-size crib, so if y'all alive in an apartment, take multiple kids sharing one bedchamber, or simply don't want to devote an entire wall to a massive crib, a pack 'northward play tin can be a great space-saving culling.

Additionally, if your baby will be sleeping at some other house while you or your partner go to work, it might exist easier to accept a pack 'n play serve as a temporary crib when your baby is there. It's the perfect way to give your baby a consistent and familiar sleep environment away from home without asking other caretakers to permanently keep a crib in their home.

Pack 'north plays also work well if y'all need something packable and portable for travel. These products are meant to be folded up compactly and serve as a simple, lightweight way to let your babe catch some zzzs wherever the wind happens to take you (whether that's to a hotel while on holiday or just your local park on a nice solar day).

Some babies also prefers sleeping there. Lots of babies struggle to sleep in their cribs in the early on months, because the environment is so dramatically unlike from what they're used to. (They spent 9 months all curled upwards in a warm, snug niggling sac, remember?) For babies who adopt to feel tucked in, a pack 'due north play can seem less empty than a crib—and some babies truly adopt sleeping in ane.

Safe Guidelines

Unlike many "Is this rubber?" questions that new parents find themselves wondering, this one is actually a yes!

"A pack and play is more often than not a rubber place for an babe to sleep if yous follow specific recommendations," says pediatric hospitalist Charnetta Colton-Poole, M.D., FAAPS.

What kinds of recommendations? We'll become to that more in a bit, just for the most part, if you're using the pack 'north play as it was intended by the manufacturer and following the directions for correct use, you're good to become every bit far as putting your infant down for a nap or fifty-fifty to bed in in that location.

The U.South. Consumer Product Safety Committee outlines several metrics designed to keep infants and young children safe when playing or sleeping inside a pack 'northward play.

These include mesh sides for breathability, latching mechanism testing (and so information technology doesn't accidentally fold up when a child is inside), floor forcefulness, and accompaniment testing (such every bit decorative mobiles or removable bassinet attachments, for example).

Best Ages for Sleep in a Pack 'N Play

The other slice of expert news hither is that there aren't actually historic period limitations for when a baby can safely slumber in a pack 'north play. Rather than historic period, it'due south better to consider whether or non your infant still fits in it (and hasn't exceeded whatever height or weight restrictions laid out by the manufacturer).

"Information technology's non age, only size," says Gary Kramer, MD, a individual practice pediatrician in Miami, FL. "Typically, this means upwards to about 30 pounds and 35 inches, which will probably take you well by the first year of life [with your baby]."

Newborns can definitely slumber in a pack 'n play and so can older babies, bold they haven't physically outgrown the space yet.

How to Make a Pack 'N Play a Rubber Sleep Environment

For the near part, a pack 'northward play comes ready-made equally a safe sleeping place for your baby. You likely don't need to make any adjustments to plow it into a prophylactic surroundings, since it already is one.

"As long equally it meets the latest consumer production prophylactic ratings, I'm okay with it [for sleep]," says Dr. Kramer.

Dr. Colton says information technology'due south all the things we parents might be tempted to add together to the pack 'northward play that tin reduce its safety for sleeping.

"A parent should NOT change the mattress that comes with the pack 'northward play to something more soft and 'comfy,'" she explains. "Safe beats condolement any day—the mattress should exist business firm and sheets should be tight plumbing fixtures."

On top of that, you should go along to follow the American University of Pediatrics recommendations for safe sleeping in cribs for your child's pack 'n play. In other words, you should not add whatever stuffed toys, pillows, or blankets, as these pose a suffocation hazard and can increase the take a chance of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Always lay your infant down lonely on their back and keep the sleeping surface clear, flat, and firm. Make certain y'all e'er follow any instructions for care, utilise, and cleaning that come with your specific product; this helps ensure you lot'll be using it safely.

I last thing to note: If your pack 'northward play comes with a bassinet attachment, every bit many of the current models do, it's okay to utilise information technology for diaper changes—but nada else, including sleep or unsupervised play time.

"Even though most babies don't coil over until 4 or vi months of life, an agile baby could roll over in the bassinet sooner," says Dr. Kramer.

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Source: https://www.verywellfamily.com/is-it-safe-for-a-baby-to-sleep-in-a-pack-n-play-5114112

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