Graco Contour with Bassinet

On offer these go for about £80-90 which is what we paid. My options were this or a bedside cot as we did not have much space for the cotbed in our bedroom. The bedside cots I've seen even on the best offer cost more than this plus this can convert into a playpen and fold down when you are done with it all. The wheels on one end make it easy to wheel up and down the bedroom which means even though the cot is quite wide and takes up most of my aisle, I can push it out of the way when I need to access the cupboard etc.

I thank the previous users for suggesting it as the baby's sleeping place for the first six months. It took us a good two months before it became his main sleeping place as DS is quite a sicky baby and as a newborn used to posset all over the sheets every night when sleeping flat. Even now, I have an adult pillow under the sheets to make the sleeping surface on a slight incline.

The pillow has the added bonus of making the sleeping surface sofer as the main 'mattress' (if you can call it that) is quite hard. I found it difficult to find the right size of mattress to go in here as I don't think Graco do one and many of the guides I've read warn against digits/ limbs being caught in the gaps of ill-fitting mattresses. Instead I have piled on several layers of blankets and bedlinen on the mattress but obviously make sure this is all tucked away under a fitted travel cot sheet to prevent accidental covering of faces etc.

I personally love the changing table even though some other reviewers see it as a useless extra. It has deep sides which makes it still safe for my wriggling five-month old. I normally line the base with a muslin square as the plastic can be cold against a bare bottom on the middle of winter!

All of this fold down and away into the travel case as mine came packed in the travel case so just remember how it all fits back in. The changing table takes a bit of practice to get used to taking apart/ putting together but if you have space if your car, it might be worth taking it whole.

Our hanging mobile is a boring cream colour so I have take off some of their toys and draped an Ikea mobile over the bar. It comes down so DS can bat at the fishes but not pull at them. Hopefully this will last till 6 months when he will be in his nursery in a proper cotbed where the mobile can be hung at the 'right' height.

We found the music maker useful for when he was newborn though I thought the nightlight was a bit dim. He was not particularly fussed about the vibrate feature but that is part of the reason why the bassinet has free hanging sides (or else it will rock the whole unit). I like that it is hanging coz that means if DS is particularly unsettled I can gently rock the bassinet which sends him to sleep.

The net sides are fab for air circulation which you don't appreciate until a particularly hot day. The main cot has 4 sides of netting but the bassinet bit only has 2. The head and foot of the bassinet are pieces of cloth so on a hot day, if you want to give them a bit of a breeze, get the fan to blow on the sides of the bassinet. The left and right sides are netting which give you the air circulation as otherwise it is hard to get a fan (unless ceiling or wall-mounted) to reach the baby.

Brilliant!!! A bit on the heavy side but excellent cot. But recommended another mattress be purchased to go along with the vibrating mattress provided. a bit on the pricey side. But all in all great deal.

We bought this instead of Moses basket and used from birth to 40days when our baby son finally moved to his cotbed in his own room.

It was bought for £99 which is quite expensive but we will be using this again as a travel cot. We will take with us in a cottage in Wales this week, and next week it will travel to Greece with us. Although heavy, it is practically stored in its carry bag. I don't think the change table fits in the carry bag though.

It was some tasteful music including Debussy's Clair de lune, it stays on for 15 minutes or so then turns off automatically. I found that my son would wake up as soon as the music was turned off or when the vibrations were turned off. As it is quite big for a newborn, I swaddled which made him feel more cosy in there.

Finally I agree with other reviewers about the change table. It adds fantastic value and you do not have to bend at all, it's big and soft, great!

I genuinely believe the Contour/ Contour Electra is good value for money and would recommend it to new parents.

We bought the deluxe model to use for our son to sleep in every night until he is old enough to go into his own room. We don't have the room for a 'proper' cot in our room and this one can be moved around easily. His first night in it he didn't wake as much as he had the room to spread out. It has a vibrating bassinet and plays either music or wave / bird sounds which can get him off to sleep easily. He is now just over 4 months old and will be moving into his own room soon, the travel cot will go to his grandmas and be used again and again there.

I would recommend getting a good mattress for it many websites will make them to fit travel cots. We have used the mattress with the bassinet.

Although we have never actually travelled anywhere with this its used as a spare at grandparents house, it is an excellent buy.

We used it instead of a moses basket when our daughter was born in our bedroom, the bassinet saves having to bend down and the changing table on the top is a godsend was gutted when our daughter was too big to use it anymore.

Also the light is excellent for night time feeds and use as a night light.

Only downside is it takes us ages to put in up, seems a bit overly complicated, maybe its just me?

over all very good value for money.