Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To buy a cot bed for a newborn and not a cot,crib or mosses basket?

38 replies

itsnicetobeniceto · 13/11/2010 12:32

I want to get value for money as haven't much money to spare and this is my first baby. But I don't know if a cot bed suits a new born. They seem very big to put a newborn in. Has anyone experience of using a cot bed for newborn?

Already have this in parenting but not got many replies so hoping will get more here.
Thanks

OP posts:
sarah293 · 13/11/2010 12:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

greaseistheword · 13/11/2010 12:36

my dd1 went straight into a cot bed.then when she was to big for a cot we made it into a bed which she was in till i got pg with dd2 when she was 5. then it was a cot again for dd2.yanbu to buy one.it makes more financial sense.

TaurielTest · 13/11/2010 12:36

If you've got the room, don't see why not.
Or just get a cot and move LO straight into a single bed when s/he outgrows it?

BollocksToThis · 13/11/2010 12:37

I felt the same as you when DS was due - but we were given a moses basket too. He never slept anywhere that wasn't on me or in my bed so both were a waste of space initially!

Now DD's here the moses basket is quite useful because sometimes she lets me put her down there once she's asleep, so I can have her close during the day but be free to MN do housework Grin

There's also been the odd night when she's been asleep in it and we've been able to take her upstairs undisturbed, which was nice.

Maybe a carry cot/moses basket from eBay might be an idea?

bunnymother · 13/11/2010 12:37

It's fine. You can just move baby to the foot of the cot bed and put a divider or rolled up towel/ blanket next to them if you think they would like it cosier.

Original poster
itsnicetobeniceto · 13/11/2010 12:37

Riven, Did your baby sleep ok in the cot bed? Did you find it hard to put the baby in a good sleeping position with their feet at the bottom of the cotbed?

OP posts:
ApocalypseCheese · 13/11/2010 12:39

Cot bed is totally fine, just get a chairthingymecallitdunnowhatthey'recalledcosIneverhadone to put baby down in when your downstairs.

OpheliaBumps · 13/11/2010 12:40

I put the DTs straight into a cot bed. At first they slept side by side, but they disturbed each other, so I put one at each end with their heads in the middle iyswim.

They slept in it as well as they slept anyewhere else (saying they slept ok is a bit misleading as they weren't good sleepers at first), and it was easy to lay them with their feet to the foot of the cot (as recommended).

Original poster
itsnicetobeniceto · 13/11/2010 12:41

I think bunny mother just answered my question about the position. Thanks bunny mother.

Have gone off a mosses basket for downstairs as I think they are too flimsy for their cost. So prob will put baby downstairs in crib and upstairs in cot bed. Do you think everyone that would be ok ? Its just so I can save money in the long term.

OP posts:
pozzled · 13/11/2010 12:41

The only thing I would say is that I found it really useful to have DD in a moses basket, so I could be in the same room as her when she slept in the day. If you only have the cot bed, you might want to put your DC down to sleep on a blanket or something in the daytime. There's no way I would have been comfortable with DD in her own room while I went on MN pottered about doing housework etc.

That said, it does depend on your parenting style, you might want to have your DC in a sling or something anyway in the day time.

ApocalypseCheese · 13/11/2010 12:41

Also, has your pram got a carry cot which comes off ? You could use that if you really want, never saw the point in moses baskets meself

ApocalypseCheese · 13/11/2010 12:43

Eh, so you have a crib then ?

Is it a swinging jobby ?

NorkilyChallenged · 13/11/2010 12:49

I had moses basket for the first 2 dc and it is a waste of time really (esp for dd2 who was a biggish baby).

So I'm planning on using cot for the new baby (cot bed doesn't fit in our room but cot does) and will use the pram downstairs (either with as a whole pram or with the carry cot off). Works brilliantly.

Unfortunately this genius moneysaving solution was only reached by wasting lots of money on various sleeping things for my first two terrible sleepers Wink

Igglybuff · 13/11/2010 12:49

We started off with just a cot. Decided against a cot bed as plan to put DS into a single bed once he's outgrown the cot (and it's not far off given that he's 13 months!)

However ended up buying a Moses basket for about £30 and used it loads for day naps and evenings when DS slept downstairs with us until we went to bed. He never slept in it at night though, preferring to be on me Hmm This was the first couple of months.

Also as he got a bit older (2/3 months) he napped in the sling during the day or on me.

Meglet · 13/11/2010 12:51

yanbu. We have a cot bed and will get about 8 years use out of it in all. Totally worth the money. The moses basket was used for a couple of months each time and I was never that happy with it, always seemed a bit unstable on the stand, was glad to get the dc's safely in the cot after that.

Original poster
itsnicetobeniceto · 13/11/2010 12:58

Haven't got a crib for downstairs - actually have bought nothing.

Have kind of decided on a buggy though which a newborn can sleep in a recling position -so maybe I could do this as a sleeping option for downstairs or use one of those bouncer cradle things?

OP posts:
ApocalypseCheese · 13/11/2010 13:08

Yep, absolutely fine, much safer and sturdier imo, plus you can move it from room to room if needs be and a swinging seat for baby too, absolutely fine.

Good luck !!

fedupofnamechanging · 13/11/2010 13:08

I had a crib, which barely got used as DD didn't like sleeping in it (it is now home to her dolls and teddies, so not a complete waste of money).

I think you will need somewhere to put the baby when you are downstairs. The baby seats which lie flat are useful for newborns, as are carrycots, if you have one with your pram.

I never had moses baskets. babies outgrow them very quickly. A carrycot is more sturdy if you want something similar.

QuantaCosta · 13/11/2010 13:13

That's what I did. We just had the cot bed. However the pram we had at the time convertd into a carrycot which was where they slept when they were in our room. Having said that we co-slept most of the time until they were transferred into their own cot bed in their room.

Having said that if you've got the room you could set the cot bed up in your room initially and move it later.

Never really understood the point of Moses baskets. I can honestly say there was never a time when I would have thought they could be remotely useful and they grow so fast I can't imagine anyone would use them after about 3 months anyway.

EricNorthmansMistress · 13/11/2010 13:38

DS used to sleep either in the pram or car seat Blush when he was tiny. moses basket didn't get used until he was 3mo as we co-slept, but he stayed in it for 2 months as he was lazy and never learnt to climb out. I wouldn't worry about getting a crib especially for downstairs, just use the pram. when they get a bit bigger a bouncy/rocking chair is a must, great to get them to sleep in. I did get a moses basket free (try freecycle) and bought a new mattress for about £8 so not a big outlay.

BelleDameSansMerci · 13/11/2010 13:47

I found moses basket really, really useful for downstairs but that's just me...

If you're anywhere near West Yorkshire, itsnice, I have a cot bed which has hardly been used that you're welcome to. DD did use it when it was a cot but has probably slept in it as a bed about six times (she sleeps with me). Anyway, it's white, from Next and it's yours if you want it (but you may want lovely new stuff and be offended that I've even offered).

BigTeuchLittleTeuch · 13/11/2010 13:51

If you plan on having another baby, then consider what the age difference will be. There are 3 years between mines and I had to turf DS1 out of his for DS2. Plus it takes up a lot of room.

In hindsight I would have had a cot rather than a cot bed.

I also had a moses basket which was great. With DS2 we used a travel cot in our room (with a 'proper' mattress) until he went into own room.

AuntyJ · 13/11/2010 13:58

I had a moses basket for DD but only got 8wks use as she was a very long baby. she then went straight to a cotbed. With DS moses basket came out and I think we got to 7wks, again a very long baby!
I put the travel cot up downstairs so they had somewhere to sleep in the day. I suggest that if you have the room.
Personally from my experince even though they are nice they are waste of money.

ChippingIn · 13/11/2010 14:13

BDSM - that's a lovely offer, it's probably worth the OP paying for the cartage if she's not local to you. Much, much cheaper than buying a cot bed!

OP - try Freecycle for a crib/moses basket etc, they're handy to have downstairs, by your bed and because they aren't used for long stay in good condition.

secretsquirrel1 · 13/11/2010 14:19

Cotbed was brill - paid a lot for it, but it lasted until DD was nearly 6!

For the first 6/52, we used the cot bit of her 3 in one pushchair - we were in a small flat so space was at a premium.

Her cotbed had 2 heights as a cot, we just put DDs feet near the bottom as a newborn. She was in a growbag at 6/52 which also helped.

The other thing that helped was that DD was an only child (not by choice Sad).

Swipe left for the next trending thread