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Our infant FD is needing to move out of the arm's reach co-sleeper as she's beginning to roll over in it. It won't be long before she's pushing herself up, so we have to make the change very soon.
We also are expecting her sibling who will be born in the fall to come stay with us. So I will be needing 2 cribs eventually.
We're starting from scratch on baby gear as I had given everything away thinking we were done with babies. (HA!) So the cost of buying 2 cribs is a hard one to swallow. I'm considering purchasing 2 pack n play's instead. More affordable and portable as well, which is a plus. But I am wondering if there are any rules about FC sleeping in them permanently. I would plan to buy the 3" mattress inserts for them. They are basically a crib mattress.
Any thoughts for or against?
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We cannot use pack n play's for anyone more than a very temporary solution and are really expected to have cribs available if that is the age range we are accepting. Have you tried craigslist? My husband and I got 2 cribs off of there that meet current government guidelines for under $100 total ($45 for one $50 for the other). Mattresses can be purchased at Wal-Mart for $38 each. You can always upgrade to new/better later if you'd like.
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Definitely ask your coordinator or social worker what your state guidelines are. We have three pack and plays that we use but we do not have any long term children so we get away with it. I believe in Wisconsin the phrasing is "no child may be kept on a regular basis in a portable crib". However, we are an emergency home so it is not considered a "regular basis". If we ever had a permanent baby placement we would have to purchase a crib.
We can use them, but they don't count as a bed. Meaning that if you use it, you still have to have a crib somewhere. We used one for our current FS for 3 weeks until his screaming fits at night stopped and he could go into our sons room in a crib. DHS was okay with that, as we had the crib ready for him, he just wasn't ready to be sharing a room yet.
I am going to guess that varies by agencies. I am not allowed to use the pack-and-play, or even the co-sleeper that you are using. I can use the PnP when traveling, but there has to be a standard crib in the bedroom. I think you should shop around. I saw some pretty basic cribs on sale for 100$ before, which is cheaper than most P&Ps. You can also find some on Craigslist, even though you aren't supposed to buy used cribs, make sure it isn't a drop side, which have been pretty much outlawed everywhere, and that it hasn't been recalled. That is what I did. I got Chubbs' crib for 25$ and it is in excellent shape, not recalled, no issues. Most thrift stores won't take cribs anymore because of the recall issues.
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TemporaryMom
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Most thrift stores won't take cribs anymore because of the recall issues.
We can use them as a bassinet or for short stays but they are not for babies to sleep in full time.
It's my feeling that pack and plays are great for travel and emergancys but babies need support and stability that cribs offer.
I would hate to have to sleep on that hard mat for every sleep! They need good support for backs and bones too....JMHO.
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Thanks for the input. In response to one of the PP's, IF i were to use a pack n' play, I would definitely buy a mattress to put inside it. I wouldn't want my babies sleeping on the hard bottom regularly either. Not very comfortable.
But it sounds like I'm probably out of luck for this solution to work out. I did ask our CW, but she had no idea. I don't know if that response means there isn't any rules against it, or if she's just unaware of the rules. I'll have to wait for her to get back to me sometime next week.
I am about 3 hours away from our closest Ikea, but I'm always looking for a reason to make the trek! This may be the perfect excuse! :eyebrows:
I went to walmart when the twins and the baby came (we had to buy 2 cribs and 3 mattresses in 48 hours!). They have them for about 75 there, and you can usually get the crib mattresses in good shape off of craigslist.
If you buy the crib, make sure it has the safety certificate from 2011.
In ID, we can use P&P all the time and it counts as a bed. I love it because we started it out in our room, then moved it to the second bedroom when she started sleeping through the night. And, we can take it when we travel. Our Baby Girl has had many early life interruptions (4 moms in her 1st 3 months), and she finds it comforting to always have the same bed. We folded a fleece blanket and tucked it under the pad. She loves it because it really smells like her (and will sleep on it even if she isn't in the bed) and we like it because it's more portable than a mattress.We're getting a second P&P for baby #2. I love having the option of moving it.
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After all the postings against being able to use a P&P, my caseworker emailed me back (so promptly! I was VERY impressed! ;) ) And she said that P&P's are allowed as are mattress inserts as long as they are tight fitting and don't have gaps. Hooray! Saw a cute one for $49 at Walmart. Still thinking about it, but I may buy 2!