Crib or Moses Basket? Or both!?

[Clarabell78]

Can anyone advise please? Ideally i'd like to only have to buy one or the other but a few people have said that the crib was too big initially or that going for a moses basket direct to a cot is too big a jump! Gaaahh! What to do?

[NotSoNervous]

I had both and my DD wouldn't go in her crib only her Moses. Se was to small in it when she was born and could fit in her Moses until 6m old, when I tried the crib she screamed all night. It would take 2 hours to get her asleep in it and then she'd sleep for an hour before waking up and starting the process again. I eventually gave up and moved her into her Moses in her room in her cot for a few days then into the cot and it was relatively easy and no where near as bad as the crib

[Seeline]

I had to borrow a crib for DS as he hated the cot which I had intended to use from the start. I bought a moses basket for DD which was great. I liked it better than the crib - it was much easier to move round the house so she could go down for a sleep anywhere. With a toddler I found it easier to have her downstairs in the morning, so put it on the dining table, and upstairs in the afternoon. I had a stand for it in our room for nighttime. I gradullay started putting the basket in the cot as she got bigger and she got used to being in that so the transistion to cot only worked well.

[TobyLerone]

Moses baskets annoy the hell out of me because I've never seen one where the handles don't flop down inside it. I don't know why they're so badly designed.

[Foodylicious]

just read this on someone else thread, though its early for me to be planning this!
afrogatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/the-co-sleeping-arrangement/
think i will have one of these and a use the moses basket carrier that comes with push chair. we have very little space!. will look at getting a cot further down the line.

[Springforward]

Cot bed in our bedroom, travel cot in lounge is our plan this time.

Had a Moses basket last time which was useless after about 9 weeks and DS slept much better in a gro bag, in starfish style, bless him.

[2Labradors]

We had Moses baskets with both our DC and they both didn't really take to them. They were 'spread out in bed' babies and kept hitting their hands on the sides and then waking themselves up.

Saying that though, I love Moses baskets, I think they're so lovely and I will be getting one again for this baby as it might work out this time (here's hoping)

We've never had a crib though. Both babies went in the cot at an early age next to my bed. Will do this again probably.

Can't actually believe I'm going to do it all again

[JustABitDotty]

I would say a moses basket, cribs are not worth the money for the amount of time they are used.

When making the transition put the moses into the cot for your baby to get used it. I also used to lay dd in her big cotwith a few toys during the day while I was pottering upstairs which got her used to it.

[AlohaMama]

I used moses basket then straight from that to cot. Put moses basket in the cot for a little while as previous poster said. DS didn't seem to mind the cot, but he was still swaddled so probably felt quite contained. He grew out of the moses basket in a few months but I'm still using one for #2 as invaluable for those first few weeks being able to carry the moses basket around the house.

[KatAndKit]

I liked having a crib because when it was next to my bed, DS could see me through the bars and he couldn't see out if he was in a Moses basket. If there is a next time I'll buy a co-sleeping crib that attaches to the side of the bed at first and has a side you can put up if you want to gradually move it away from your bed.

[BabyHMummy]

I am planning to just have the cot as don't really have space for anything else. Just hoping she likes it when she arrives

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

Cot bed in bedroom, carrycot from pram as nap bed. DD was a very very tiny baby, 2.52kg when born (between 5-6lbs). She never find the cotbed too big. She's still in her cotbed now at 2.1yo, and I think she'll stay in it at least until school as it's the same size as a toddler bed. There's no need to waste money on cribs and mosses baskets until you see you needed one.

[frissonpink]

DD was swaddled in a moses until she was 12 weeks, and then stayed quite happily in the moses until she was 5 months.

So they're not always a waste. Was a godsend for us. We put her moses into her cot at 4 months, so she got used to being in the cot (but not actually in it if that makes sense!) and in her room. So when we finally made the transition, she barely noticed!

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

Oh and my bedroom is very narrow so I couldn't put a crib on the side of our bed. The cotbed was at the foot of our bed. If I do have the space for a crib next to my side, then I'd definitely get a crib. (Obviously if you can fit a cot or cotbed next to you, it's even better). It would be so handy to be able to reassure them through the bars while you lie comfortably in bed!

[pumpkinsweetie]

I always had Moses baskets for my first 3 dc, but had a crib and a basket for dd4 and I found this easier. No carrying Moses basket up the stairs, and the crib lasts longer than the Moses basket. I used my crib for six months and basket for 4.5 months.
So didn't have the need for a large cot for a while and baby was more snug

[Lorelei353]

We're planning on just getting a small crib for our bedroom.

That said, stupid first-timer question from me: during the day when you're putting baby down for naps, in the really early days, it's fine to just put them down in the crib in the bedroom and leave them there right? We live in a flat so they won't be on a different floor or anything. I just hear people talking about using Moses baskets so that baby's always in the room with them but don't know why.

[Twinklestarstwinklestars]

I had Moses baskets for both ds' and have one for dc3 due in July, never had a problem with either ds moving to a cot.

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

Lorelei the current advice is that your baby should be asleep in the same room as you. The latest research believes that SID is prevented by either 1) our breathing regulates theirs or 2) we prevent them falling too deep into sleep. The misconception is that you need to hear them to prevent SID. And so a good baby monitor will do. But the truth is that they need to hear you.

But if it's a small flat, they could probably hear you if you keep the door open. We can't see your flat layout so we can't tell you if it's really still 'in the same room', iyswim.

I just put baby down in the carry cot during the day when I was downstairs. My downstairs is one room and very small anyway. But I can move her around if I needed it.

[AWimbaWay]

I had a bed nest They're expensive new but you can usually find them on ebay, I bought mine new but sold it easily on ebay afterwards which got half my money back. They collapse down flat into a bag for if you go away, you can take it off the stand to carry downstairs. It was great for night feeds.

[Lorelei353]

Thanks formthe advice. We've bought a Bugaboo Chameleon so they can always sleep in that, when its in the pram setup in the living room during the day, if that's where I am. Does anyone know if you need to buy an extra mattress for them ir if the mattress that's in them is okay? I'm such a baby-dummy.

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

lorelei I have the same pram. I didn't buy a special mattress for use during the day, but put a pillow case over the 'mattress' so it's easier to wash. Both the carry cot and travel cots have much thinnier mattresses than a cot mattress. (Not sure about mosses basket mattress). I'm not sure if you are ok with that? Also, it's less 'airy' inside the carry cot so make sure you don't put too much clothing on when they sleep indoors inside the carry cot. You can zip the cover off too when indoors. (It took me a while to work out I could snap off the carry cot handle. It was very hard to put baby inside before I worked it out ).

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

I mean the mattress is inside the pillow case, and the extra fabric is tugged underneath the mattress. It'll make more sense if you try it out.

[ilovepowerhoop]

I had a crib for upstairs use and then used the pram bit of the travel system for downstairs daytime sleeps.

[Lorelei353]

Thanks. I'll check it out when we unpack all the boxes this stuff has come in! We also have a travel cot so I could put that up in the living room. Might be more airy.

[LittleBells]

We had a moses basket in our room for the first 4 weeks then moved onto a crib. also in our room. Most babies generally outgrow the moses basket by 6 weeks. There wasn't room for a cot in our bedroom so the crib was perfect as it's bigger than a moses basket but smaller than a cot. Baby was in crib up to 6 months then transferred to own room and the cot. It worked really well for us. So I recommend both

It's handy to have a moses basket downstairs too for the early weeks, as a safe place to pop the baby when napping or you need your hands free for something. If you have a moses basket attachment on the pram that's great, although bear in mind that if you are planning on having the pram set up, you will also possibly have muddy/dirty wheels in the living room too. if it rains you will be wheeling in dirty marks no matter how clean the pavements are. I know it's hard to imagine your pristine pram getting muddy wheels... but it will (not to mention lurking dog-poo which you don't always spot because it's too late). This is why a lot of people keep the buggy in the hallway/porch. If you do find this, you can just put the moses basket bit safely on the floor on its own.

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

I'm assuming yours will be a summer baby that's why I mention it might get hot. But then judging from our current weather, we might not get any summer anyway