Our 1st baby is due in just under a month and I am concerned about our 2 cats ability to stay out of the crib. The crib we purchased does not allow for the mesh zippered top designed to keep them out. Shutting the bedroom door is not an option, does anyone know of a tall (4 or 5 foot) "baby gate" that I could put in the doorway to keep the cats out?

How about some sort of folding screen? Something easy for you to move but still sturdy enough the cats won't knock it over.

Have you tried placing a sheet of crumpled aluminum foil or packing bubbles in the crib? The packing bubbles drove my cat crazy.
We were worried that he would jump into the crib, too. But he only paced back and forth protectively.

Help! Need gift ideas for a 12 year old relative. He's going through a surly, noncommunicative phase right now, and not even his parents know what he's into or what he wants, except a Wii (cannot afford). He's sort of into football, so I was thinking maybe a jersey? I like to give books, in general, but I have no idea what he's reading these days, if anything. He used to be a voracious reader (H. Potter, Redwall, etc) but seems to have suddenly stopped reading. He's super smart and has always been a science geek, until very recently when he became surly. (Side note, are all 12 year olds like this? It's kind of freaking me out.) Any ideas appreciated!!

I just went through a similar scenario at Christmas and ended up going with an Itunes gift card which went over really well. Gift cards were invented for a noncommunicative teenager. (As much as I think gift cards can be impersonal sometimes, I think giving one in this situation acknowledges that his tastes and interests are changing, and that you support him figuring out exactly what he's into.) I remember a lot about being twelve... this is what I would have wanted from my cool aunt: Give him a gift card but don't make a big deal about it, and then take him out for pizza, just the two of you, and let him talk about anything he wants.

Aspenchick - How about putting a screen door on the nursery? This way the door is "open" so you can see and hear the baby, but the cats won't be able to go in there. You should be able to find nice wooden screen doors which would look much more attractive than an aluminum one.

Aspenchick, I think this is the one we got and the cat makes no attempt to jump over it and I don't think she could:
http://www.target.com/Dream-Swinging-Security-Extensions-White/dp/B000EI8L0O/sr=1-13/qid=1202957314/ref=sr_1_13/601-0699438-3551367?ie=UTF8&index=target&field-browse=1038590&rh=k%3Agate&page=1

Sorry, just checked and the gate is actually by Summer but I'm not seeing it on the Target site anymore.

I haven't tried it yet, but I registered for this one at Babies R Us.
https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2632196&fromRegistryNumber=70643202&product_skn=865138

I hope it helps us, as we're in a similar situation!

Just out of curiosity, are cats in cribs really a significant problem? Or is this more of an urban-myth/new-mama-fear thing? Or does it depend entirely on the habits of your particular cats?

Our cats don't seem to have much interest in sleeping with either of our kids. We co-sleep during babyhood, and the cats end up at the grownups' feet (also where they slept pre-baby) but when the baby's napping, they might go sleep on the bed with her, but I don't think they ever touch her. They leave my sleeping son alone too. They don't really like baby's attention, overall, and prefer to be left alone. *Maybe* a corner of a back touches her feet sometimes, but that's about it.

If the crib's in your room, I wouldn't worry about it. Just pay attention in the beginning to your cat's habits. You'll be watching your child sleep constantly in the beginning anyway, out of generalized paranoia, and you'll soon find out if this is something you need to worry about.

Come to think of it, we do use a basinette to start the baby off in most nights, and I have literally never seen a cat in there, even when baby's not in it. So I repeat: cats not necessarily something to worry about.

oh sorry, I can see that the crib is in a separate room. but I still think you probably don't have to worry about it that much. but just to make you crazy: i do think my cats could jump almost any gate. but maybe that's just my own brand of paranoia talking. i kind of like the screen door idea if you have to do something, but then there is the whole running to the baby's room half asleep in the middle of the night and are the cats following you in or not thing to contend with.

am really overthinking this...