Baby sleeping options - can someone give me the simplest solution?

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I need to buy something for my baby to sleep in and am completely overwhelmed by all the different options. On other threads people recommend cots, Moses baskets, Snuzpods, baby cocoons, carry cots... then others will advise against certain options, saying babies will grow out of a Moses basket (for example) in no time!

I have a limited budget and limited space (although I could actually fit a normal sized cot in my bedroom). I don’t want to waste money on loads of kit that the baby will quickly grow out of or not use.

Please can someone tell me the bare minimum I need - could I get away with just a cot for example and forget about the Snuzpod, cocoons, basket and all that stuff? I will obviously be buying a pram too if that is relevant.

I’m feeling really frazzled from all the possibilities on offer and the positives and negatives of each one - please help!

I don't have any advice but am following as I would like to know this too. It's so overwhelming, I don't know where to start x

I did start with a moses basket but baby quickly outgrew as she was 10lb born. So I ended up getting a crib that could rock or be still. Lasted her until about 8 months when she moved into big cot in her room. Found the crib was a good middle ground not too big for her to be overwhelmed but also lasted a decent amount of time. Also wasnt too expensive - found a second hand one online for £10 and just bought a new mattress for it but think even full price new they tend to only be around £50?

You can just get a cot. The main problem with that is that baby needs to be in your bedroom to begin with and cots are quite big - could you fit one in your room and comfortably move around for 6 months?

Some babies find it hard to sleep in cots as they are too big so they dont feel so secure, so you could get a moses basket for the first few months. There are moses baskets available second hand very very cheap - it definitely doesnt need to be an "expensive bit of kit", you could probably get one for £5 and a new mattress for £10.

Mine never slept in Moses basket, crib etc. We had a cotbed in our room attached to the bed with one side off so just became a giant bed really. Easy for nightfeeds as she was right there.

She is 2.5 and it’s now in her room as a toddler bed (should last her at least another 18 months).If you have a mothercare nearby they had some cot beds down to under £90. I got a good mattress online for about £30 (think it was from online4baby. You can but lots of cot bed, cots, Moses baskets etc second hand too- then just get a new mattress.

Ds hated his moses basket but loved sleeping in the carry cot from the pram !

Moved him into his cot at around 3 months . I wish I had bought one of those lightweight mesh cribs you can wheel around that I saw on tv the other week. Too late now he's 6 !
Good luck op , I envy u it's such an exciting time x

Moses basket (any cheapo one will do) and cot. You can easily get the secondhand, just get new mattresses.

Don’t buy any kind of sleep positioner, sleepyhead etc. They’re not safe.

DS was born in 2016 so a little while ago.

We had a Chicco lullago crib which he slept in overnight, it was a travel one too, it collapsed easily, so we took it away with us. He slept in it until 6 months when he went into a cot bed in his own room. He was 9lb at birth so a Moses basket would have been useless after a short while and I didn't like the look of them anyway.

Down stairs he slept in the carrycot of his prom or honesty he had 99% of his naps on me until he was about 6/7 months.

Congratulations!

You can just get a cot. The main problem with that is that baby needs to be in your bedroom to begin with and cots are quite big - could you fit one in your room and comfortably move around for 6 months?

Yes I could - house is small but main bedroom oddly large!

It sounds like cot plus Moses basket is the simplest solution then. The Moses basket will be used when I’m downstairs with the baby during the day! Unless I could just use the pram for that and not bother with the basket?

We had twins and had a large co sleeper cot upstairs and a travel cot downstairs for naps. When they got too big to share the co sleeper we got another travel cot, one went in that and the other stayed in the co sleeper, then we moved both into travel cots in their room about 9 months (we moved shortly afterwards so didn’t want to put up cots to just take them down again). The travel cot was great for downstairs naps and means you have one when you go away.

The arms reach co sleeper we had was amazing and the size of a travel cot so could be used for ages for a singleton if you want a cosleeper cot (can also be used as a travel cot but more of a faff to put up). Bought it second hand and sold it for not far off what I paid for it.

I'd go cot and pram. Or cot and travel cot. I definitely wouldn't recommend a moses basket - had one for dc1 and he outgrew it so quickly. Didn't bother with dc2 and didn't miss it.

Cheapest options would probably be a pram (with bassinet) downstairs for naps, and then buy a proper cot for your bedroom that you can move to baby's room when he/she goes into their own room.

We had a Chicco next to me for our room which we used for about 9 months and I really recommend but it is an added expense.

I have decided to go straight for a cot. The basic one is around £60 from Ikea 60 x 120 size. Will then add a decent mattress from 'little green sheep'

I will have a pram with carrycot, so will use either carrycot, bouncer, playmat on floor for sleeping downstairs depending on what we are doing.

I decided against a co-sleeper cot as tried at a few friends houses and found it a pain to get in and out of bed with as too far down. I would prefer to keep bedside table also for lamp, water, etc so shuffling down the first few weeks with potential stitches etc didn't seem worth it.

Also aiming to breastfeed, but after few few weeks DH to do last feed in the evening, so a cot at the bottom of the bed seems more equal for him to help. He's also going to be on 'bum duty' if im on boob duty!

Like you our room fits a cot just about so seems best option to last long. The cotbed size 70 x140 is too big for us though without squeezing past, so maybe check that in yours.

I have a moses basket and I'm planning to try and transition by sleeping the basket inside the cot in our room so she gets used to the bigger surroundings before she outgrows the basket. That's in an ideal world of course. If not I'll panic buy something else to retain my sanity no doubt

Cot & pram, but use the carry cot part, some people call a buggy/pushchair a pram when it isn’t.

Thanks all. Wishing I lived in Finland, where the government gives every new baby a cardboard box and a mattress!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22751415

Scotland do those too.

We just had pram downstairs. Just make sure it has a carry cot that's safe for overnight sleeping.

we could have had our cotbed from day 0... you can just lower the base as they get more mobile. as it happens we were given a good crib (just a wooden rocking one) so we used that til he was about 5/6 months. if i was putting a new baby in a cotbed i'd probably use a sleepyhead b it I'm sure the midwives would clutch their pearls about that.

ds 2 will also go in the crib just because that's what we have and then in a few months i expect we will put him into Ds 1 cotbed with the base raised and put DS1 in a big boy bed

not sure if DS will ever sleep again if he can just get out of his bed whenever he likes though!!

btw i say DS went in crib but the reality is he mostly slept in my bed attached to my boob for 15 months so don't get too many ideas as they do what they want and if you've got a clinger that's the only way to sleep! he's brilliant now though.. managed to conceive another one even!

I'm getting a cot bed and I have a moses basket, on a night I will be putting the moses basket inside the cot to save on room but through the day it will be on its stand downstairs or as others have said you can use carrycot bit from your pram throughout the day too.

Does the pram your getting have a carrycot?mine did so I didn't get a moses basket. Ds slept in that downstairs and cot (theoretically) upstairs. (in practice we Coslept till 7m, then he moved into his cot in own room and has been there ever since). As pp said its a cot bed so will last a little longer too.

Personally I loved the chicco next2me as it is a big crib so lasts until baby is sitting up, it can be used as a travel cot, upstairs and down and as a cosleeper of baby needs it (mine did!)

It can also be inclined if baby has a cold / reflux which was really useful too

Does the pram your getting have a carrycot?

I haven't looked into prams yet, but it sounds like it's a good idea to get one with a carrycot? Is there any reason why you wouldn't?

I wanted to have the cotbed from birth in our room but when built in the nursery, it wouldn’t fit through the bedroom door!! So we got Moses baskets to use in our room for the first couple of months. You can get them quite cheaply or even secondhand and just buy a new mattress for it.

We have a chicco next to me crib and would really recommend. It's an added expense but you can pick up one for cheap on Facebook marketplace/ Ebay etc. (we got ours for 50 and I think rrp is around 179) and then replaced the mattress with a new one. Chicco do replacement ones but we went with little green sheep. Hopefully should last you for 6 months or until little one can sit up. Best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy.