Any point in a bedside crib if we have no intentions of cosleeping?

[FlyingSoap]

I was wondering if we could just use a Moses basket, but we already have one for downstairs and everyone raves about these next to me cribs. I would never want the side down as a permanent sleeping arrangement as we really don’t want to cosleep, think it’s too risky. Because of this I’m not sure if there’s any point in a crib where the side comes down, especially if they only use it for 6 months?

What’s your thoughts?

I cosleep because my baby can tell the difference between the next to me and the bed even though it's a smidge further away - however it was handy in convincing him that he didn't need to cosleep any more at 3 months (mostly).

As PP says, it's really the baby who decides if you cosleep or not!

Some babies out grow Moses baskets within a couple of months so you don't always get much use.
I just had a regular normal cot next to the bed. Baby could see me, hear me and sometimes put her arm through the bars to hold my hand (aww.... memories 🙂).

Our moses basket lasted 3 months before DS grew out of it. We bought a next to me which is at the end of our bed as they're much longer than a moses, but we got a £50 from Smyth's, seems to do the job pretty well, DS sleeps pretty soundly in it.

I loved ours. I had no intention of co-sleeping with a baby and I mostly didn't, but the next to me allowed me to put my arm out to soothe him when he stirred, making him feel safe and cuddled while still being safely in his own space and allowing me to sleep more.

We used it until around 7 months, then into cot in his own room.

Honestly, you'll do/pay anything for a bit more sleep.

Virtually exactly the same. Mine were 10lb babies so a Moses basket was no good from the start. I was breast feeding so being able to get them easily and quickly to do night feeds was great too before they got all riled up.

Honestly, I don't think you'll know what you need until you have your baby. We didn't think we'd need one, and ended up with two! Baby just would not settle in a Moses basket for love nor money. He was a big baby and was just too cramped in there. On day 3 of no sleep for us, and him only sleeping when he was on us or touching us, we went out and got a crib and had the side down and I slept right next to him, safely. He could smell me, feel me (he held my finger with his hand when he slept) and we got a bit of sleep. We ended up with a second downstairs that a friend kindly gave to us brand new! But yeh, I didn't think we'd need one. My intention has been Moses basket straight into a cot but it didn't work out.

Mine were both 9.5lbs - didn't even bother buying a Moses basket.

Best bit of advice I ever got... Babies can't read the parenting books.
Also... we live in a world where most things are easy to acquire online within a few days.

So you can always get a crib later on if you need one.

Re cosleeping.. Read up on the safest way to do so now. Not because you want to do it... but because its easier to do so now rather than when you've barely slept in days, your baby will only sleep on you and you are at risk of falling asleep dangerously. That doesn't happen to everyone, but it does happen to many. Its better to be prepared and not need to know how to do it than to take that risk.

I'd not have slept without one.

Look up the research and be evidence informed about cosleeping. You may need to cosleep if you have a clingy baby and you don't want to be researching on no sleep.

Are you currently pregnant with your first baby?

If yes, my advice would be to never say never.

A next to me isn't for co-sleeping, it's to make your life easier at night when you're going doolally from exhaustion. Especially if you breastfeed.

PP has it bang on anyway: parenthood will slap all your previous rigidly held ideas right out your head.

You don't yet know what will work for your family. Be open to all sorts and never say never.

We never needed one. We just had a normal size cot in our bedroom. She slept there the first night we came home from hospital, and still sleeps in it aged 2. No moses basket either. Had a cs and breastfed (am still breastfeeding).

I bought a next to me because it was a comfy looking crib, never took the side off it had it attached because I used a breathing monitor and they don’t work if you attach crib to bed. Dd was very happy in it. Only took her out if it when she was pulling herself up to sitting. You def need something more substantial than a Moses basket but smaller than a cot

FYI though it’s safer to plan to co sleep and set everything up ready and safely than to end up doing it accidentally because you’re so exhausted

I do feel a little like a sales rep for this product because I'm always banging on about it to everyone I know irl...

But if you're not totally sure what you want to do crib-wise and don't want to spend money on products that you won't use, have you looked at the Chicco Next To Me Forever?

The 'forever' version is a bedside crib that's much bigger than the normal ones - it can be used in various ways until age 4. It's a bedside crib, a stand-alone cot, and then can be turned into a toddler floor bed.

I honestly think it's ace, and I'm confused as to why any other type of cot needs to exist. I don't get why more companies aren't making them like this either.

Anyway, thus ends my voluntary unpaid sales pitch

Because of this I’m not sure if there’s any point in a crib where the side comes down, especially if they only use it for 6 months?

^ until 3 and a half years old (due to weight limit) mine was regularly in the side car cot when they couldn't sleep/woke in the night for the umpteenth time and we're all at work at 7am. Not sure where you've got six months from. It's about length and weight more than age. Always useful to have a range of bed options in your home for toddlers too.

I was told by several professionals the side needed to be put up for safety reasons once baby is able to roll, certainly in a proper cot once can pull themselves up as it's dangerous as they can fall out as sides not high enough.

You might have no intention of bed sharing, but when you are so so so tired it can happen, so it's best to have baby in a safe spot than in your bed/under covers (unless you have prepped for safe cosleeping)

We got a bedside crib specifically because we didn't plan on co-sleeping? It worked for us as they are close but have their own space, and you can reach them without getting up. There's loads going on Facebook market place.

I was absolutely dead set against cosleeping due to the risks and it was very easy not to do that once the baby arrived! Bedside cot was very handy, if only not to have to bend down to pick her up in the middle of the night. Fed her and popped her back in. She didn't move into our bed ever. At 5 months, we moved the whole bedside cot into her room with the side up and I think this made the transition to own room much easier on us all.

Neither of mine would ever sleep in a moses basket. In fact, we sold it very early on with dc2 as couldn't be asked anymore with trying to force it. We had a bedside cot, attached to our bed, but no side.

Personally, yes, I think a bedside cot where baby can be close to you without you having to sit up to soothe them is a lifesaver. And it's much safer than the alternative, which is sitting up holding baby trying to get them to sleep, when you are exhausted yourself and likely to fall asleep. I think nearly every parent has had a falling asleep with the baby moment at some point. If you have a space set up that offers alternatives, you're much less likely to do that.

Everyone has ideas of how they will parent before they have a baby. But we have biological needs for sleep and babies have biological needs to be close to their parents. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do before you lose your mind with exhaustion or do something genuinely unsafe.