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Day 200 of 280 · 28 weeks + 4 days

Where will the baby sleep

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 9 sources · Plain-text version

Twenty-eight weeks and four days. Crib, bassinet, or play yard: today you decide where your baby will sleep, and what goes in it (almost nothing).

Size this week
about the size of an aubergine
Length this week
around 37.6 cm from head to heel
A couple in a small bedroom corner measuring a gap beside their bed with a tape measure, her full bump under a striped t-shirt, an empty bare crib frame nearby, daylight.

Twenty-eight weeks and four days, and day 200. Deciding where your baby will sleep is on the NHS's list for this week (NHS). It's one decision with a short set of rules, and today you make it.

Your baby

A single glossy aubergine on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around 37.6cm from head to heel, about the size of an aubergine (NHS). Your baby already has a sleep pattern of sorts: by 24 weeks a fetus sleeps and wakes on a regular schedule (NICHD). That pattern won't match your nights after birth for a while, which is all the more reason to have the sleep space ready before then.

Your body

Your back is under strain from the extra weight and looser joints (NHS), and a flat-pack crib box is heavy. At work, MedlinePlus says most pregnant women are advised to lift only objects under 20 pounds (9 kilograms) (MedlinePlus). Use the same rule at home: someone else carries the box and builds the crib.

The rules for the space itself are short. The CPSC says to use a product made for sleep, meaning a crib, bassinet, play yard, or bedside sleeper that meets federal requirements, and that "Bare is Best": nothing in it but a fitted sheet (CPSC). Your baby always goes down on their back, and inclined products over 10 degrees, such as rockers, gliders, and swings, should never be used for sleep (CPSC). For a crib, the AAP adds: slats no more than 2 3/8 inches apart, a very firm mattress that fits snugly, no drop rails, no bumper pads, and no pillows, bulky comforters, or heavy blankets (AAP).

Try today

  1. The sleep-space decision

    Time: 20 minutes · Safe sleep, every sleep in the guide

    1. Choose the product: a crib, bassinet, play yard, or bedside sleeper made for infant sleep (CPSC).

    2. Choose the spot, away from windows and radiators, with blind and curtain cords out of reach (AAP).

    3. If it's a crib, check the slats, the mattress fit, and the sides against the AAP list above.

    4. Look up the exact model on SaferProducts.gov for recalls, especially if it's borrowed or second-hand (CPSC).

    Make it work:

    The shopping list for inside the crib is one fitted sheet. Gifts of bumpers, pillows, or sleep positioners can go back to the shop.

Watch for

  • Normal

    eyes that feel tired at the end of the day.

    Call your provider

    for vision changes or blind spots (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    some itchiness; about 20 percent of pregnant women feel itchy, and it typically goes away after delivery (OWH).

    Call your provider

    about itching that won't stop with no rash, which MedlinePlus says may be a sign of cholestasis (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    being tired.

    Call your provider

    for overwhelming tiredness, which the CDC lists as an urgent warning sign (CDC).

For you

The baby-product aisle will offer you a lot of things for the crib. The AAP's answer to nearly all of them is no (AAP). That's money and decisions saved.

If you're the partner: building the crib, checking the recall, and saying no to the bumper gift are all yours.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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