Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Next to me vs Moses basket - help! Which to buy?

28 replies

sunnyfleur · 23/01/2024 21:12

Did you buy both, or just one or the other?

It seems silly to buy, a Moses for downstairs, a next to me for our room and a cot for the baby’s room. How can a such tiny human need 3 beds? 😂

I don’t want to cosleep at all. They will be in our room as per guidance for at least six months though.

I am looking at a Snuzbaskit, it claims to be 50% bigger than a regular Moses basket so maybe this would be ideal as it is lightweight and can be lifted up and downstairs. Then just a cot in their nursery for when they are older. We would have space for a full size cot in our room if we needed to.

Does this sound ok or do we need a Next to me? It’s hard to work out what is just marketing and what is actually a good idea.

--
MNHQ Update
If you’ve landed here while on the hunt for similar crib, co-sleeper, cot or Moses basket recommendations or advice, our guides to the best cribs, best cot beds, and best Moses baskets have all been recently updated to reflect current guidelines, advice, reviews and recommendations from Mumsnet users.
We hope this is helpful! Flowers

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
lovelove22 · 23/01/2024 21:15

I've got 1 of each, but we don't have any babies yet, (have had 4 miscarriages so have got everything we need) so I actually don't know if we will need both 😂

tinyraccoon · 23/01/2024 21:15

We have a next to me for our room and a Moses basket for downstairs just so we don't have to keep moving it and are using both every day.

For the next to me, I went for a Snuzbasket and really like it, but it was more an aesthetic choice! You can get them quite cheap on Marketplace if you want too

scrunchmum · 23/01/2024 21:17

Baby will outgrow a Moses basket by 6 months, so you will need something else for nighttime.
Moses basket may be useful for downstairs, we used the pram bassinet instead to save buying something else.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

scrunchmum · 23/01/2024 21:21

Sorry I completely didn't read beyond your first paragraph so you can ignore most of what I said!
I would just add that we have a chicco next to me which is a larger bedside crib than others and my long 4 month old is at its limits already. So if you are tall then consider that you don't want a smaller one (eg I believe snuzpod is shorter than the chicco one).

JMSA · 23/01/2024 21:23

My babies were very laidback but from memory (my kids vary in age from 14 to 22!), not one of them liked the Moses basket.

JMSA · 23/01/2024 21:24

Looking back, I wished I'd got one of the baby beds that's level with your own bed. I honestly don't know why I didn't, as breastfeeding would have been way easier Confused

110APiccadilly · 23/01/2024 21:28

I had an upstairs and a downstairs Moses basket, but we didn't buy either new. If you get on a local baby stuff group on Facebook, you'll be able to get a free or very cheap Moses basket and just need to buy a new mattress for it.

annahay · 23/01/2024 21:28

We had the snuzcot next to me, then just used the pram for downstairs sleep (rated safe for overnight sleep) so didn't buy a Moses basket too.

GreenWalls22 · 23/01/2024 21:30

I got a very cheap (£5) Moses basket from Facebook market place or eBay. Used it downstairs. There are loads available so you can be choosy about quality. Even better if you can get one from a friend or acquaintance.

Ideally the baby should sleep close to you in your bedroom. So unless you can fit a cot in your room you will need a crib of some kind for the baby to sleep in. The type really depends on your preference. You could have 2 baskets.

A Stokke sleepi mini is great. Again bargains to be found second hand. As it's wooden it can be washed down.

My babies were massive and lasted 2 months in the Moses basket before they outgrew it so don't spend.m a fortune.

I also used the pram carrycot downstairs as my baby hated going out in it! So it mainly stayed indoors.

Whatever you do, it's recommended to buy mattresses new (not second hand).

Next to me vs Moses basket - help! Which to buy?
Spareincoming · 23/01/2024 21:30

We have a next to me and I adore it having had a Moses basket previously the next to me is a godsend.
Downstairs we now use a travel cot with bassinet as it takes up less space, is more stable (other DCs rampaging!) and when we first got it we knew we’d use it on holiday etc.

I now decree Moses baskets a waste of money!

RandomMess · 23/01/2024 21:32

I just used the pram for downstairs!

Mine hated the Moses basket - big babies!

AuntMarch · 23/01/2024 21:34

If breast feeding I'd recommend a next to me type. It was brilliant not having to actually get up to feed and really helped me maximise sleep!

Mummy2C · 23/01/2024 21:37

For my first baby I used a next to me upstairs and a travel cot downstairs until they were 6 months old. For my second I used a moses basket downstairs and it was great. I could move it around from room to room depending where I was. I loved my next to me as easy to breastfeed in the night. We now have a cot and co sleep. I started co sleeping as I wasn't getting any sleep in the night as little one feeds throughout the night. They're not in own room as the nursery is quite cold and difficult to heat.

LittleOwl153 · 23/01/2024 21:37

My youngest is 10, and I don't think next to me cribs were a thing...

We had a full sized cot at the end of our bed, (which converted to a cot bed later on) in our room. Both babies went in this from night 1 (in a baby sleeping bag!). At 6ish months this was moved to baby's own room and baby slept there.

Downstairs I used a pram which came off the wheels and sat on the floor/middle of table. Or they crashed on the floor under a baby gym or something similar. At a point were crashing on the floor wasn't working or wasn't an option baby got taken up to the cot and earlier on one of us stayed up there.

None of this expensive kit... but then I did cloth nappies and a simple microwave steriliser too so 🤷

Jk987 · 23/01/2024 21:50

You can use the bassinet from the pram as a day nap bed instead of a Moses basket. Handy when they fall asleep on a pram walk as you can bring them into the lounge when you're back and make a cuppa (in theory!)

wasanneofcleves · 23/01/2024 21:52

We had both. If you're bf then a next to me type cot at night is so much better than a Moses basket. Also good to be able to see your baby from bed and much easier to move a baby into from bed once you've finished feeding. Tbh my first only tolerated a Moses basket with a rocking stand as she had to be rocked to stay asleep in one (even if she was asleep when we put her down) and my second hated the Moses basket more than anything so it was barely used. It will depend on your specific child.

But if you just want to get one for now then get a next to me (or whatever brand equivalent you go for) and don't bother with a Moses basket or a cot for now. You won't need a cot for the first 6 months. When you're downstairs baby can either go in the pram, sleep on you, sleep in a sling or go in a dock a tot (all babies I know love these)

crampycrumpet · 23/01/2024 21:52

Moses basket is good for
10-12 weeks max

If you can get second hand moses basket, I would. Or borrow one?

crampycrumpet · 23/01/2024 21:55

Mine didnt like the next to me at first (too big) so moses for about two months and then was too big for moses so transferred to the crib

We used to stick the moses basket inside the
Chicco crib

Ladyj84 · 23/01/2024 22:04

Our toddlers only had there cots upstairs. None lasted long in there moses basket, worked out they were constantly hitting the sides with there arms or legs and waking themselves up so just made them a wee nap bed on the living room floor lol

lavagal · 23/01/2024 22:10

I did have a Moses for the living room / kitchen. It's really handy if you need to pop them down for a minute/ nap

Next to me in our bedroom was great when breast feeding and lovely nighttime cuddles

Milkand2sugarsplease · 23/01/2024 22:50

Both of mine hated life the Moses basket and actually would have grown out of it waaaayyyy before 6m if we had kept and used it.
To be honest, if you've got room in your room for a cot, go with that and just move it to baby's room when it's time, maybe when you're taking it apart to lower the cot base anyway as baby grows so you're not faffing too often.

Saves money on an item you don't need and there's every chance baby won't like anyway but also gets them comfy in a cot from the off rather than transitioning later on.

Hiddenvoice · 23/01/2024 22:57

I had a snuzpod for my bedroom which was great as it was bed height. I then had a Moses basket for downstairs which made things easier if we were downstairs doing things as the baby was close to us. We also had a cot in my DD’s bedroom, she didn’t sleep in it until 7 months but used to have naps in there when she got too big for the Moses basket and enjoyed just lying and staring at her mobile.

TigersTea · 23/01/2024 22:59

We just used the pram bassinet downstairs, much more convenient and portable. We did a few overnights with that too when she was really young - check if your bassinet is suitable for overnight use

TedWilson · 23/01/2024 22:59

I never had a moses I just used the pram top downstairs. Upstairs I had a swing crib and it was beautiful! Also you ca pull a swing crib right up to the bed but far more flexibility than a next to me.

Aria2023 · 23/01/2024 23:00

I had both. My first didn't like the moses but liked the next to me and my second liked the moses so much, that I sat it in the next to me at night! So I say get both. They are both easy to sell if you don't use them.