Is it a bassinet really necessary for a newborn?
We are expecting our first in a bit less than half a year. We have been asked if we want to use the family heirloom bassinet, and we really can't decide what to do, and lack of experience doesn't help. The problem is that my sister-in-law is expecting her second one only three months before us, and will use the bassinet for at least the first three months, depending on whether or not we want it too. It feels like snatching it from her, even though she kindly offered it to us.
We were originally thinking about going straight to a full-sized baby bed, partly because we don't have much space and we'd like to cut back on anything that isn't essential; however, my mother-in-law told me that a bassinet would be more suitable for a newborn as it fits snugly around the baby.
Is this true, does a newborn really sleep better in a bassinet?
The other thing we're wondering about is where the baby would sleep, and this might also influence the question if we need the bassinet, as our bedroom is so small that a baby bed won't fit, but a bassinet will. Our bedroom is one floor above the rest of the apartment incl. baby room, and the spiral stairs are pretty narrow. This makes me anxious about having to go downstairs 3x or more every night for feeding. If the baby room had been right next to ours, I would probably let the baby sleep in the baby room pretty quickly, but as it is with the stairs, I am strongly considering keeping it in our room for at least the first few months. On the other hand, I know that many baby sleep experts do not recommend this, and I'm really hoping we can get our baby to sleep well once it's a few months old.
What are your experiences, will keeping the baby in our bedroom for the first few months affect it's sleeping pattern beyond a few days/weeks? In a scenario as ours, will keeping the baby in our bedroom vs going downstairs be a big difference?