Next To Me crib

[Polly1308]

I am 21 weeks pregnant and now having a look at the things I need to buy for baby.

I like the look of the next-to-me crib, but as I'm not sure if I'll be exclusively breastfeeding, would I be just as well with a Moses basket in the bedroom for baby to sleep in?

I completely see the advantages of the next to me crib for night feeds if breast feeding, but don't want to spend unnecessarily on an expensive item if I don't need to!

Thanks for any advice!

You could try renting one. Bednest will hire a refurbed side sleeping crib with brand new mattress for £40 for as long as you need.

And you won't have the hassle of getting rid of it when the baby moves to a cot

I breast fed Nd we had this crib, check you have enough room for it first, I didn’t ad it was a squeeze to get in and out!

DD is now nearly 10 so it was a while ago...

I loved mine with my son, you get a lot longer out of them than you do with a Moses basket too. Most people get 7-9 months.

I liked the look of them but our divan bed was too high for it to work.

Instead we just pushed a full size cot up to the bed, took one side off, set the mattress at the same height as our bed and used a nest until DD was rolling. At that point we removed the nest and put the side back on the cot. It also meant we never had to try and do the transitioning to a cot thing as she had been in it since birth.

Went for a snuzpod it's brilliant my three month old is in it now and loves it made life a lot easier for night feeds.

Our DS is 3 months old and ebf and lying in it right now. It's wonderful and has really helped us to breastfeed easily and we get lots of sleep. We borrowed ours from a friend, I bought a mattress protector for £15 from amazon and standard brushed cotton square flat sheets for it from eBay for £3 each.

DS is super tall for his age so i think we may only get another month out of it sadly, not sure what to do after that...

I would say out of all the baby things its been the item that has been the most useful.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts. Can I ask those BF mums, if you weren't breastfeeding, would you still rate it as highly?

Following this as I'm in the same position OP - hoping to BF but not sure if I will or not (didn't with my first), and wondering if the next to me crib is worth it if you're not BF'ing.

I would say yes. It's lovely to be able to pat pat or stroke DS tummy or hold his hand while he sleeps. I'm close enough for him to smell me and I hear him move and make noises in his sleep so can react to them very quickly. DP works in a dangerous job so doesn't do anything except sleep at night, so far he hasn't had to go in the spare room because i can get to DS before there is any crying.

Also if babba is sick and waking frequently you don't have to keep getting out of bed to see to him/her.

Like the PP said a cot with one side down would also work great without additional expense if you have room for it next to your bed.

Hi OP, we’ve bought a baby Dan next to bed crib. You can have the side on or off, so if you do breast feed at night it can be next to the bed. Likewise if you find it hard to get up completely when your recovering it should be useful.
It also functions as a love seat after you stop using it so it lasts longer.
I had a Moses basket with my first son. As I had a tear, I found it really hard having to get up properly to feed/settle him

My baby was ff and I LOVED the next to me. We used it with a sleepyhead and it was a lovely bed for DS. I loved waking up and seeing his little face next to me straight away, but he was quite safe and separate from our bedding, especially in his sleepyhead. We started with a Moses basket but replaced it within a week and never looked back. I'll def use it again with this baby.

We had the Chicco next to me crib and it was great for us. I do breastfeed but didn't use it with the side down in the end. I just used it like a normal cot. We also had a Moses basket that DS settled in better at the beginning but he outgrew that at 9 weeks old. He then stayed in the next to me crib until he was 6 months. It was great we took it on holidays with us so DS would settle just the same as at home.

Seconding what the PP said, I had an emergency section and not having to sit up multiple times in the night helped a faster recovery. I quickly learnt to BF lying down.

Also the baby will grow out of a Moses basket before 6 months so you'd need to either buy something else or have a normal cot in your room. Do you have space for one?

We had the Snuzpod. DS is FF. It was brilliant. Nothing to do with feeding, and all to do with just being able to stick out an arm to comfort them. I think snuzpod is slightly better than the next to me as it’s longer so will last a bit more?

We didn't use the next to me crib (it's expensive). We just got a standard cot and attached it to our bed with one side off. And yes, it was a lifesaver. My first hated the moses basket and we could never get her to sleep in the damn thing (I've since sold it and don't plan to use one at all for #2). I only bf for 10 weeks, but honestly it's not that it's especially useful for bf. Early on, you pick them up to feed anyway until you get the hang of feeding lying down. It's all the other soothing, comforting, checking on at night that it's helpful for. It would have been so much more of a hassle in the moses basket or in a separate room. We used our sidecar cot for a year and it was very worth it (even though I was bottle feeding after 10 weeks).

we used the next to me. I had the side up as it just wasn't quite the right fit for our bed. It was v handy as we didn't have room for a cot. Dd stayed in it til 9 months, no prob transitioning to cot in her room.

I didn’t BF but absolutely loved the Next2Me. DD could see me when she woke up nd I could settle her with a pat or the dummy without getting out of bed.

Super helpful replies, thank you so much. I think I will go for the next-to-me style of crib. If it makes life easier in any way at all, it'll be worth the money! I don't really want a full size crib in the bedroom, could make things a bit cramped.

Thanks again

We had one and it was great. Much, much bigger than a Moses basket.

We mixed fed but to be honest I didn't even really think about the feeding aspect in relation to it. We just liked it as a concept.

I dont plan to breastfeed but I have got a next2me to use in our bedroom. Smaller than a cot and bigger than a moses basket

I can recommend the arms reach co sleeper. We used it for our twins, so would last ages for even a big singleton, and it's the same size as a travel cot so easy to get mattresses and can be used a a travel cot also.

fenella I thought the Next2Me was bigger than the snuzpod? I don't know anyone whose baby has been in the snuzpod beyond 6 months, whereas Next2Me seems to last 7-9 months.

We went for the Next2Me dream over snuzpod mainly because it seemed softer (no exposed wood), and has more position options.

Baby not here yet so will see if it's any good!

They're virtually the same size. The next2me mattress is 2.5cm longer. We moved DD from the snuzpod to her own room at 7 months but didn't have to, there was still plenty of room.

We have a bednest and are not breast feeding. It’s still very useful, and I don’t see how it is any less useful if you are formula feeding?