How crucial is a moses basket?

[DivaSkyChick]

Mom sent me money to buy a gorgeous one from mamas and papas. A friend says it's a must, baby won't be happy in the big cot. Others here mention using it only a few times.

Do I buy or use the cash toward something else? We plan to swaddle, btw.

We started in a cotbed we swaddled, twas fine. Now we don't have to move her and we'll only have to make minor adjustments till she's seven - hurrah! Life is too short for self assembly.

Moses baskets look sweet but the one time we had one in the house the cat adopted it in five minutes so we decided we wouldn't have one for DD.

I found a moses basket useful to put next to the bed for first few months esp as bfing and a cot would not have fit, and would also have had to be taken down again to be moved to babies room.
You can't really plan to swaddle either, DD1 was for 6 wks, DD2 was having none of it Not once did I ever need to with dd2. I wouldn't buy an expensive one either. Mine was second hand and I posted it to phdlife for her new ds. She is planning on passing it on too. I bet you know someone who has one they don't need anymore.

Not essential. We used the carry cot of our pram for the first 2 months. She slept with us in our room. during the day in the TV room. At 2 months we moved her to her cot 'cause she got to big for the carry cot.

okay, thanks for all the advice. Will probably pick up the cheapy one at John Lewis if I don't get one at the NCT Nearly New sale this weekend. Can't borrow as I have only lived in the country for ten months and don't have loads of friends with babies. Just one, actually. But her's broke (the basket, not the baby.)

I guess you'll all say the same about the fancy matching changing mat from M&P as well, right?

YES

get the £3 one from Ikea

lol!

I never had a moses basket and never needed one. We did borrow a swinging crib from a friend but DD hated it, even when static. So we bought a bedside cot instead and DD went in that from 2 weeks (when it arrived), as well as part co sleeping as well.

I have the moses basket that Mrs Badger linked to and would like to say it is great. I have the cheapest stand from JL too very sturdy and well worth the money.
We weren't going to buy one and were going to go straight for a cot bed but after deliberating we decided that due to moving house soon after DDs birth the basket was a better initial option.
DD was also very small so would have been completly lost in a big cot bed.
In the end we only moved a couple of weeks ago and DD is still in the basket at 15 weeks. I think she has a few more weeks in it too, there is plenty of room for her.
It was good in the early days as DH would bring it downstairs and she would sleep in it during the day.

not crucial one iota