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Pregnancy

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Original poster

Crib/Cot vs Moses Basket

21 replies

MerryBlessings · 06/08/2010 11:18

OK I'm having a hormone induced meltdown, can't make a decision moment. Please give me your opinion.

We live in a small split level London flat. We rent and will be here until June next year when our baby will be 6 months old. Because the flat is small I'm trying to limit accruing huge amounts of stuff and spending loads of money/ending pu throwing it all away eventually (I want to hang on to it in case we ever have a second rather than just ebay).

A friend has offered me a really lovely moses basket for £30. We can't fit a cot bed into our bedroom so won't be able to go from MB to CB but will have to have a crib until we move (and hopefully put them in their own room).

My question is , can I skip the moses basket and go straight to a crib? What are the pros and cons to a crib?

Has anyone ever put a NB straight into a cot, swaddling them so that it doesn't feel too big?

Ahhhhhhh,

Thanks very much,

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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yellowflowers · 06/08/2010 11:21

can;t answer I'm afraid as watching with interest as have been offered both by friends.

cardamomginger · 06/08/2010 12:19

In a similar situation. Expecting DC1 and currently living in a small and cramped flat. Hopefully (planning office and builders permitting) we will be moving into a house when DC is about 7 months old. I faced a similar dilemma re what the baby should sleep in. It has to sleep in our room for as long as we are in the flat, and like you we are tight on space. In the end I have decided to go straight for a 120 x 60 cm cot. Can't fit anything bigger in our room. Yes, from a space point of view initially a crib would have been a hell of a lot easier. But given that we are going to be in our flat well past the age when he/she needs to sleep in something bigger, we'll have to fit a cot in eventually. For the same reason I didn't bother considering a moses basket. Although we are financially OK, cash is also a consideration - why have to spend money on 2 lots of stuff? I know that NBs can freak out a bit at first if their sleeping area is too big, but I'm hoping that swaddling will help with that. And I reckon that the kid's going to have to get used to sleeping in a bigger cot at some point, so why not from the start? As I say, though, this is DC1.... So I could end up falling flat on my face with this and placing an emergency order for a moses basket... .

goodmorning · 06/08/2010 12:45

my twins still nap in their moses baskets and they are 6months and i use them in the day downstairs, for us definitely two of the best things we bought-just wanted to say though that you can buy a new one for £30, i wouldn't pay £30 for a second hand one

SkiHorseWonAWean · 06/08/2010 12:51

My 5 week old has been in a proper cot from the time he came home and we too are in a 1-bed flat. Dutch health authorities v anti-moses basket from a restricted air circulation pov. Not much cat-swinging room available though...

TaurielTest · 06/08/2010 13:11

Just bought a moses basket (with new mattress etc) from john lewis for £29 delivered, so wouldn't pay £30 for a used one either...
We co-sleep at night, but find a moses basket is useful for daytime sleeps. (The guidelines about the safest place for a baby under six months to sleep is in the same room as you apply equally to naps as to nighttimes.)

TaurielTest · 06/08/2010 13:13

meant to say - but yes, you can go straight to a cot - my health visitor showed me a trick where you twist/roll a sheet up into a sort of U shaped sausage, then put that under the cot sheet to make a smaller zone for the baby if s/he doesn't seem to like the expanse of the whole cot mattress at first.

missdt · 06/08/2010 13:16

Sorry to crash this thread but if getting a moses basket would you get a rocking or stationary stand?

vitapulchra · 06/08/2010 13:34

MerryBlessings While moses baskets work for lots of babies, you never know if it will for yours--I'd recommend skipping it. I tried all 3 dc's in a basket and the first two lasted no more than 4 weeks before finding it too small (and they were 7.5 lbs at birth) and dc3 hated it with a passion so went straight into a large cotbed. I found that using a super soft blanket tucked around the mattress for him to lie on made him feel cosy, rather than just a sheet. He loves that blanket so much now he carries it everywhere and still sleeps with it. And he never wanted swaddling.

Do you mean you can't fit a cot in your room? Cotbeds are big, but cots are quite a bit smaller. I've never used a crib, tbh.

LooL00 · 06/08/2010 13:37

We have used a moses basket for dc1 and 2 and dc3 is in it now. We bought a new one for dc3 as the other one had slight mould on it. I would now I have noticed this always buy a new one, only £30. We have 2 stands, one upstairs one downstairs, both borrowed.I'd love a rocking one though.

OP you can go straight to a crib, most people do crib or basket, not both.Or straight to cot. Or put the moses in the cot and then not buy a stand.

TonariNoTotoro · 06/08/2010 13:41

Personally, I would get a travel cot with a full sized bassinet, and use that.
(we have this one)

We found it absolutely perfect, and the bassinet will last until 6 months, then baby can go in the main bit. You can always buy a full sized cotbed when you move, and travel cots are always handy to have (this one is the best I've found too)

TonariNoTotoro · 06/08/2010 13:42

Here's a similar one that's actually in stock

HTH

hildathebuilder · 06/08/2010 13:43

contrary to Vitapulchra experience my LO is still in his moses basket at 22 weeks and I think he'll be there for at least another 4-5 months because he is soo tiny (currently 11 lbs) and he hates vast expanses of space. A friend of mine found the same with her DS, he just wouldn't sleep in his crib for weeks, so she spent £30 on a new moses basket and hasn't had any difficulties since.

II would not spend £30 on a second hand mmoses basket myself and perhaps if you were going to get one wait until you have the baby and send your DH out if its a small baby!

TonariNoTotoro · 06/08/2010 13:51

John Lewis Moses basket - £30

TonariNoTotoro · 06/08/2010 13:51

John Lewis Moses basket - £30

TaurielTest · 06/08/2010 17:07

That's the £29 one I've just got. It looks very nice...
missdt, never bothered with stand, just had it on the floor so I could see in!

BrightLightBrightLight · 06/08/2010 17:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

jazzandh · 06/08/2010 17:30

For DS1 we had a crib in the bedroom which he used until he was 7months old - he was big, and would wack his arms against the side (although it didn't seem to bother him at all).

Our pram had a proper carrycot and we used this downstairs during the day for the first few weeks.

We had cotbed set up in DS room, and again - sometimes during the day after the first few weeks I would put him in there so he could get used to it.

He never seemed to have a problem with any of it, to be honest.

splashy · 06/08/2010 18:01

agree with other posters that £30 is really expensive for a used moses basket. try ebay!
you can get them new for cheaper, and with a used one you would need to get a new mattress anyway which costs around £10.

we are in the same situation as you in a small flat and went for a crib as while its slightly bigger, it lasts until 6 months, so would be longer until we need a big cot/cotbed. they also feel a lot more sturdy, and personally I would be much happier getting a second hand crib rather than a moses basket, as you can easily disinfect them.

Hevster · 06/08/2010 21:26

My DD was quite happy going straight into a cot at night, although we did use the moses basket downstairs in the day. We had a rocking stand and the basket that was £30 from John Lewis is great

notso · 06/08/2010 21:44

There are moses baskets on sale in Mothercare for about £17. Could you use the carry cot part of the pram if you have one?

I used moses baskets as they can fit right next to the bed, rocking stands are a PITA, DS's head was heavier than the rest of him so it always tipped and made him red in the face and we had to prop it up at one end.
I am hoping to get an arms reach co-sleeper this time as it will last longer than the moses basket but isn't as big as a crib but they are £££.

notso · 06/08/2010 21:45

I mean isn't as big as a cot not crib.

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