What is your baby sleeping in for the first 6 months?

[workingtitle]

We have a cotbed in the nursery, but can't have it in our room (no space) so need something that will do from birth - 6 months. I'm not keen on spending lots of money for something that will be used for such a short time, so looking for inspiration.
What are other people doing? Cribs, co-sleepers..? I guess a moses basket will only last a short time and some babies don't seem to like them?

[gloti]

I just finished building a crib from toys r us, I think it cost £79 inc mattress! I'm pretty sure it is called the Cambridge swing crib. It looks quite nice and seems sturdy and big enough for at least 6 months. after this time we are expecting to move the baby into his own room in a larger cot bed.

[noblegiraffe]

It's not about being able to see your baby, it's about the baby being able to hear you breathing.

My DD is six months and still in with us in her bednest. We'll be moving her out soon.

[JollyHolidayGiant]

We had our Moses basket on the floor with DS, on a towel. I think it cost about £30 from John Lewis. Worked great for us. He was in it for about 16 weeks.

This time I'm having a planned section though so won't be able to bend to get him. We will be putting the Moses basket on top of the cot, but we are lucky to have the space in our bedroom.

[JollyHolidayGiant]

Whether or not we stick to 6 months before moving DC2 into their own room entirely depends on DC2 and how they sleep. And how we sleep! We'll decide when they're here.

[Soupqueen]

We're renting a bed nest.

[foolssilver]

I'm planning to get a moses basket for the first few months. We're lucky enough to already have a cot and have space for it but I don't fancy learning in and out of it until I'm a bit more confident with the baby. (Very nervous first time mum here!)

[SoYo]

I've got a 5mo & wish I'd never bothered with a Moses basket as she wouldn't sleep in it at first so we mostly co-slept then (which I never thought I would do) and then she started waking herself up hitting the sides. She's currently in a travel cot with bassinet in our room and has been for a while. I thought I'd need a thicker, comfier mattress but she's fine on it. If I was starting again I'd probably get one of the small, cheap ikea cots instead or just use the travel cot from the get go.

[HeffalumpTheFlump]

We've bought this Moses basket:

m.tesco.com/mt/www.tesco.com/direct/obaby-b-is-for-bear-moses-basket-with-stand/170-0158.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=212-6243

I can't believe what good value it is. The Moses basket alone should be around £50 and the stand up to £20. It's beautiful too, really padded and feels really high quality. The little bear on the quilt is so cute too. As baby will be in it for less than 6 months we didn't want to spend loads, but still wanted quality. This is better than any other ones we came across for the price by miles. I very much recommend it.

[RobotBananas]

I've just found this crib on John Lewis
www.johnlewis.com/boori-king-parrot-bassinette-heritage-teak/p503085

50cm wide, so would hopefully last the 6 months.

[CityDweller]

We bought a moses basket thinking that's what babies sleep in. Ours had different ideas and refused to go in it after the second night. After a few more wakeful nights of trying to co-sleep in our not-quite-big-enough-bed we rented the bednest co-sleeper crib from NCT (£100 for 6 months - it's a great deal) and that's worked out really well for us. It's been great for night feeds - I just reach over and scoop her up and latch her on and then plop her back down when she's done and I go back to sleep again pretty quickly when she's not thrashing around grunting and farting in her sleep like a drunken old man that is

She's 3.5 months now and I think we'll be lucky to get another 2 months out of the bednest as she's already looking a bit snug in there, at which point we have no other option than to put her in a cot in the 2nd bedroom as our room is small.

[maggiethemagpie]

We have a huge moses which lasted DS for around four months so will use that again - when baby outgrows it will put in a small cot in our room, and then after 6 months move the cot into its own room.

[GreatSoprendo]

We rented the Bednest too and loved it. No getting out of bed for night feeds - just pop him across into your bed and back when you are done. Means you hardly have to stir yourself to night feed or do a quick settle so your sleep is less badly disrupted. Sadly at 14 weeks we had to move our 98th centile giant out of his nest and into the cotbed as he was just too big for it - but I would definitely have one again. Really made those first difficult weeks a lot less exhausting!

[DaveMccave]

In our bed :)

My first wouldnt sleep in a Moses basket from day 1. I've heard of lots of babies that hated them. Dd slept in her pram when tiny and then a cotbed in our room, as I didn't know about the benefits and safe ways of co-sleeping back then.

[notanyanymore]

I had the moses basket down stairs and a really beautiful cradle upstairs. She refuses to go in it! In fact all 3 of mine never went in it its just stood looking pretty and gradually getting filled up with blankets/toys etc. So, now we have a travel cot in there too which for some reason they all (including nieces) have loved! And has the added benefit of when we go and stay away from home we can take her bed with us and she's happy to go to bed as usual

[SoYo]

That crib in John Lewis is a bargain, it's usually hundreds! I would have loved a crib on wheels. A friend had one and she used to put her DD down in her nursery, wheel her through to their room when they went to bed and then wheel her back in the morning to get up and that way she was used to her nursery from a young age without spending the night there and they had a much smoother transition for it.

[poppingin1]

My daughter hated her moses basket and slept lying on her tummy on my chest for the first 3 months. Then she would alternate between sleeping on my chest or between myself and DH. I had a swinging crib and moses basket as gifts as well as a cot bed I purchased. She spent the odd night in them but that was about it.

I got a fisherprice swinging chair which was the only other thing she would sleep in while it rocked her during the day.

[RobotBananas]

SoYo - it is a bargain, isn't it :) comes with a mattress too apparently.

[workingtitle]

Robot, I've just ordered the boori from JL, thanks for linking! It'll fit in our room nicely and should last to 6m And good idea about having it in the nursery for some sleeps, SoYo, I'll try that.

[RobotBananas]

I ordered it too, very pleased I have as well. They've had loads in for ages and I'm glad I did, they're almost out of stock of 2 of the colours now.

[parttimer79]

I got a moses basket from NCT sale so if baby is one of those who hates them then at least it was cheap.
The alternative is going to be renting a bednest from NCT or trying to squeeze her cot in our room.
I really don't want to cosleep, as I think I'd be so paranoid that I'd get no sleep at all!

[threefeethighandrising]

For those of you still yet to buy a crib, I have a cunning tip.

Co-sleeping cribs (3 sided ones which come up to the side of the bed) are ace. The bottom line is you get more sleep with one of them (probably!), if you're breastfeeding. This is because you don't need to wake up, lift your baby out of the cot, feed, then return them to the cot (at which point they may wake up!). Instead you just pull the baby towards you, when s/he needs a feed feed, and feed them lying down, the baby hardly wakes, neither do you, you feed the baby back to sleep then slide her/him back into the cot, they're less likely to wake up than being lifted in, and neither of you wake up as much as you do when lifting out and sitting up. Sleep is so precious in those early weeks!

However 3 sided cots are bloody expensive here. On the advice of a mumsnetter (of course) I got one from German Amazon, much cheaper. If you use Google Chrome as your browser it translates the pages for you. We got this one with mattress, bumper and two sheets, delivered to the UK it worked out just over £100.

[mumoftwoboysS]

threefeet thanks for the insight/tip re co-sleeper cots/cribs. My main grudge with moses baskets is having to get out of bed, pick baby up, take them to bed etc. by that time they've woken and (potentially)take so long to settle- I was only thinking of my inconvenience but I didn't think about waking the baby- so it does make sense that baby might snooze more/not wake if just pulled closer to feed rather than lifted up.

however- after 2x failed bf I'm really bloody hoping that I'll succeed with DC3 and so looking at the co-sleeper crib idea. (bottle feeding would probably make the co-sleeper obsolete having to get out of bed and make bottles etc.)