Next to you cribs - which one do you recommend

[MagicalCreatures]

I’m looking at some of the bedside cribs as I don’t really like Moses baskets and was just wondering if you could give me some ideas of which ones you have and prefer.
Thanks in advance x

We hired a bednest for 6 months, it cost £80 altogether as you have to purchase the mattress, which you keep at the end of the hire. Return postage is paid for and they aren't fussy if you send it back a bit late. It's functional but also nice looking and you can remove the top part and take it to another room if you need to. We used a cheap moses basket downstairs so didn't use that feature.

Also loved the Snuzpod.

Wow these ideas are great. Thankyou. I’m googling them all!!! X x

We had the snuzpod (since been used by three friends’ babies and going strong!). Our bedroom was very small and I liked how slim it was to slide in next to the bed.

They come with straps to attach all the way around a divan bed.

I'm sorry that this response doesn't directly answer your question but my babies went straight into a cot which until they can sit up had a higher setting, they were pretty much level of not slightly higher than our bed, they did have cot bars between us, but were right next to me. We did this because a relative lost a baby to cot death and he lullaby trust guidelines are to have baby on a flat firm surface and to ensure air flow eg open cot sides, no bumpers/ fabric around the edges. It worked well and saved the need to buy something for them to sleep in for the first 3/6 months, as they stayed in cot until around 2- 2 1/2?

I have a snuzpod and love it. My daughter is 6 months and 75th centile for height and I think we might get another month out of it. It is on rockers so you can rock the baby. Also the top detached from the bottom. We took the top to Center Parcs as I was too scared she wouldn't sleep in a travel cot. Can you tell she is our first?!

Oh and buy second hand!

i had the babybay and liked it - ds1 fitted in until about 6 months. looks good and fitted well. but it's not transportable.

One thing that concerns me is risks of cot death etc.
Have these been tested fully and had enough years in the trade to get a really good idea on risks like cot death.
Does anyone know?
Moses baskets have been used for years and seem safe and I don’t think there’s much difference in terms of ventilation in them to next to you cribs.
But I am a big believer in ‘why do we need all tgese new strange inventions when we didn’t have them years ago. And are they making things like cot death more common’?

There are no tests for these cots specifically in relation to cot death. However I believe if you have the baby within the confines of the cot, then it's counted as a separate sleep surface and therefore the same as a self-contained cot. Do follow the same guidelines - feet to foot, no unnecessary bedding or toys, etc. If you have them closer to you then it's the same risk as when co-sleeping.

You must be aware of the safety information provided with the products because when used incorrectly they can be dangerous. There was a very sad case a few years ago with the Bednest where a baby died. The design of the cot has been changed and warnings have been added but these weren't present at the time, it was simply that the cot was being used against the instructions - so it is important to be aware of potential hazards and recommended correct usage.

With DS I converted a cot as there wasn't much on the market. This time around, we have got a Waldin/Fabimax one from amazon. I think it looks fine and am pleased that it doesn't have a low weight limit like some of the more expensive ones, but I'm not sure about the space in terms of length. I don't really like the mattress but I can't find another to fit it. The ventilation is great so I'm not concerned about that.

IMO bedside cots are a useful "new" invention which is helpful in the context of co-sleeping, which isn't a new thing at all and has been done for as long as humans have lived, yet is associated with cot death particularly when risk factors are present. (modern bedding, smoking, soft surfaces etc) So actually bedside cots probably reduce cot death rather than contributing to it. Obviously, there are higher risks with a bedside cot than with a completely separate sleeping area but it does seem to be generally accepted that a bedside cot is one way of getting many of the benefits of co-sleeping while affording many of the safety benefits of a cot too.

Bedside cots will have to conform to British Safety Standards concerning cribs, cots and moses baskets, which are possible to look up.

Ultimately it's your choice to weigh up. If safety is your #1 concern then a separate, enclosed cot with no bedding is the safest thing, but many parents find that convenience and the baby's comfort plays into their decision as well - and your baby may not give you much of a choice about the matter!

We also have the IKEA Gulliver with the side off and attached to our bed (although dd2 is currently snuggled up next to me and not in the cot )

Had a Bednest for DS1 and dd1 - ds1 hated it and bedshared, dd1 was fine in it. Dd2 has also turned out to be a bedsharer but has transitioned into cot as she's got bigger (she's now 8mo) apart from when she's teething / unsettled as she is atm, when she comes back in to the bed as we get more sleep.

Re cot death, snuzpods etc are perfectly safe and - this sounds awful - if SIDS were to happen, it would just as likely have happened in a cot or a Moses basket. Biggest thing to reduce risk of cot death is to have them in the same room as you for all sleeps (including naps) up to 6m of age.

If you're planning on breastfeeding, consider that snuzpods etc only last until around 6m - hence why we went for the Gulliver cot instead. I'm still feeding 2-3 times a night and really couldn't be bothered with getting up to go to another room each time. My older two stayed in our room until they dropped their night feeds (at around 16 months), then moved into their rooms. Although they have all snuck back in during the night for ages after that (dd1 - 5yo - is asleep the other side of me atm )

Personally I have always just used a completely different sleep surface for the living room, I don't want to be moving the baby's bed around, you won't when they are bigger. (Just as another option).

Here's a list of all of the relevant standards.

I think most bedside cots come under the cribs standard as they are crib sized.

www.netmums.com/reviews/buying-guides/baby-equipment-safety

@BertieBotts that’s fantastic advice. Thankyou very much. I’ve just been looking into it and the NHS website has exactly the guidelines you described.
I did hear about that babys death in the bednest and I think that’s what was playing on my mind but after researching it, they didn’t go by the guidelines etc.
I suppose it’s all common sense.

Yes unfortunately this is one of the risks with any product - it seems that on the older version of the bednest, although the instructions stated not to use it in the manner it was being used, it was not made clear that this was actually a point of safety. In addition, the parents hadn't read the instructions as they'd got the cot second hand without any.

So it's important to read carefully through any instructions with any piece of baby equipment and assume that every instruction is important for safety, even if it doesn't explicitly say.

If you get something second hand you can normally download instructions from the manufacturer's website. If you can't find them, contacting their customer service will usually get them to email or post you a new copy. If the item is so old that you can't get hold of the instructions because the company no longer exists or doesn't have them any more, it's probably not a good idea to use it.

I had the bednest for dd but I didn't like the fact that when the side is down it rests on your mattress and has a very uncomfortable metal frame inside the cloth which you end up lying on.

This time I have a chicco next to me, so far it feels lower quality build than the bednest but the design with the dropside is better. He's not due for a week yet so I can't say how baby feels!

I use a sleepyhead inside the cot. This can then be moved between rooms without moving the whole cot.

You won't realistically want to move the cot around rooms daily as it needs to be strapped to the bed when used as a bedside cosleeper and that's not a two second job.

I have a Bednest which I used for numbers 2 and 3 (who were in my room for about 4 months each) and for number 4 I got a next-to-me. I love the way the Bednest looks but the one thing that drove me crazy about it was that it was so heavy to move if you want to get in and out of your side of the bed easily - which you may want to do carefully after giving birth! It is also very heavy to move around the house - I NEVER did that - or take away for travel. The next-to-me is generally much lighter, easier to adjust and move as it has wheels on one side. Number 4 is 5.5 months and sleeping in the next-to-me right now. He will get a bit longer out of it, though will be soon going into his own room I think 😭

MyKingdom makes a good point about the drop side on the Bednest being uncomfortable, I forgot about that! I also used a Sleepyhead inside the next-to-me (fits perfectly) until a few weeks ago (4.5/5 months) when he started to try and roll.

I had the Chico next2me and really liked it. There are prettier cribs around but this was very functional. As someone said it's easy to fold away so became our travel cot for the first 7 months of DD's life too. I never used it as a 3 sided cot, just as a stand alone cot on my side of the bed.

Tutti Bambini Cozee

I think it’s better value than the others because it’s portable, being able to fold it up and use it as a travel cot is a brilliant feature. You can also angle it if baby has reflux. It wasn’t available when I was pregnant (it went on sale after DS was born) but I wish it had been. We used a Snuzpod which was fine but not portable and couldn’t be angled.

We loved the Bednest, used it right up to six months. Rented one and ended up buying it to keep for No. 2 (cheaper than renting twice). Originally went for it as it was the only one that I could find that was tall enough for our giant bed. The height has loads of adjustments, which is great. We took it on holiday to an apartment for a week, no problem.

I didn't have any issues with the side being uncomfortable. It doesn't come far enough onto the bed that I needed to lie on it, I just lay next to it and put a thin pillow over it to rest my arm on when comforting baby.

We used the Sleepyhead inside it, which worked well and meant I used to leave the size down all as baby was safely contained within the Sleepyhead.

We've brought the Tutti Bambini Cozee crib though yet to use it. I liked the design of it much more than the Snuzpod and Chicco crib and the fact it folds up into its own carry case (it is a bit heavy though!) Mothercare sell the sheets for it which I thought were a bit expensive (£25 for 2) so my MiL has been kind enough to sew us some instead.

For us, having a bedside crib didn't help at all, DD was equally unwilling to sleep in it with the side up or down. Somehow she could tell the difference, while asleep, between being placed in our bed and being placed on an identical surface 10 cm away. So I wouldn't assume that any additional expense for that kind of crib will definitely pay off.

@theruffles if you need any more sheets the Mothercare own brand bedside crib sheets fit the Cozee perfectly and are much cheaper, especially when on sale.

I found a similar thread on here advising on all these options - off the back of that thread I chose he Chico next to me as it can tilt for reflux babies, it also fits a sleepyhead if you're planning on one of those
And it seems the biggest so will get lost use out of it.