Can a baby sleep in a travel cot? well, obviously they can, I mean can you use it all the time?

[ravenAK]

Dd2 expected any day now.

Dd1 still in cotbed/toddler bed. She shares a room with ds & we'd be pushed to fit another full size bed in there.

We're reluctant to buy another cotbed - it's not so much the money (could get one off eBay if we wanted to cheapskate) as that it will take up huge amounts of our bedroom & that we're planning on moving within the year, whereupon dd1 will get her own room & proper bed & dd2 can have the cotbed.

We have a moses basket but given that I specialise in long legged 10 pounders, that's a VERY short term solution!

However, we also have 2 travel cots.

Can we use one nightly for dd2? It would be for first 6 months or so.

I have a feeling this may be a dumbass question & there's a really good reason why you can't, which is currently eluding my hormone & sleep deprivation addled brain...

My sil did this with her ds. He hated his cot and was too small for a bed. I have heard its not good for their backs. don't know if its true or not tho.

what about co-sleeping?

Not sure tbh..

Have you considered a hammock ? They don't take up much room and my dd loved hers (also a tall 10lber). It lasted until she was about 8 months.
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They are quite pricey but are fully washable and you can get really good prices for them if you sell them on

Not keen on co-sleeping - basket/cot by the bed, great, but actually IN the bed always feels a bit like I might squish the poor child! Have done it after bf'ing in the silly hours, but don't fancy it as a permanent solution.

The hammock looks fun, but somehow I can't bring myself to spend £150 on one for the 3rd (& last!) - if I'd seen them when expecting ds I might well have been tempted.

I don't think it does much harm. My DS napped in his a lot because I used it as a playpen as well.

DS slept in a travel cot for about 6 months or so after he had started falling out of his cot and also hating it, but we dodn't want to put him in a bed. His back seems OK (he's 4.3 now).

I foudn getting him in and out a pain as I was a lot pregnant at the time. That would be my main concern as it is a lot deeper than a cot/moses basket and you would be getting DD2 in and out of it quite a lot.

I think you can as long as you get a proper mattress for it. Someone on ebay makes them whatever size you need. But...I'd think it would be quite difficult to lift/lower a newborn in and out of one every night, they tend to be quite deep don't they?

yes they can if the mattress is nice and solid, iykwim.

Our ds had to as he was a head-banger. So it was travel cot or bruised forehead. i checked with HV. she assured me it was fine.

When they are tiny the matress with them is fine but as they get a bit heavier you can buy a matress pad thing for them to make it up to proper matress.

You could also get one with a bassinet in it so you don't have to bend over all the time to put a tiny in the bottom.

Excellent...so, if I use the moses basket until dd2 gets too mundo hugenormous...then move her to a travel cot with a decent mattress, that'll be fine?

My back'll have to take its chances. So long as it's not likely to cause any probs for dd2, that's fine.

Thanks ladies!

Yes, of course you can use them as their main sleeping place. We had two dcs close together and one had the travel cot as his main bed.

Just moved my DS2 (5 mnths) into travel cot. Don't want him in his own room yet so keeping him in travel cot until he is one. Did the same with DS1 and no problems that I am aware of. We bought the little mattress (goes over main matress base and makes it a bit more comfy)