Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Moses Basket vs Cot, Sleeping Bag vs Proper Bedding!

62 replies

LadyThompson · 23/07/2008 13:28

Expecting PFB, pretty clueless about all this infernal equipment.

Is a moses basket the right thing for a newborn, or just more crap to discard when the baby grows out of it after 6 weeks?

I am worrying about bedding, because I don't want her to be too hot (risk of cot death) or too cold (err...pneumonia?!) and I honestly don't whether regular baby bedding is the best, or whether one of these newfangled gro-bags will solve all my problems.

Winter baby, end Nov. Thanks lovely experts.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Original poster

LadyThompson · 23/07/2008 15:17

Thanks Mrs B. And loving the helpful illustrative links too! Fancy!

OP posts:

Oblomov · 23/07/2008 15:17

SOME babies love swaddling, becasue it is womb like.

savoycabbage · 23/07/2008 15:17

I HATED my moses basket as I always felt as if I was going to knock it over. I didn't bother with it at all for my second. I swaddled her and she went right into her cot.

Original poster

LadyThompson · 23/07/2008 15:19

So this swaddling thing then, when do you do it? Just for bed? Anytime they are going to sleep? Any known disadvantages?

OP posts:

MrsBadger · 23/07/2008 15:20

depends on the baby - you have to play it by ear as some love it and some don't.

dd would never sleep like it but it was the only way to contain her flailing arms enough to get her near the boob

MrsBadger · 23/07/2008 15:21

and you have to make sure they don;t get too hot - sleepsuit + swaddle was plenty for dd, no need for avest.

Oblomov · 23/07/2008 15:21

Dh was better at swaddling than me. I think it is becasue he is an expert at logistics, wrapping, christmas presents etc etc

We only did it at bedtime. It NEVER came undone.
I don't know of any disadvantages. Are there any ?

MrsTittleMouse · 23/07/2008 15:32

DD was a dreadful sleeper and would kick her way out of the blankets. Gro-bags were a godsend. She hated her moses basket, and was a lot better in a cot bed. I don't think that moses baskets are generally bad though, it's just that different babies like different things. And of course, you have no idea what yours will prefer when it's still safely inside you. We're hoping that DD2 will like the moses basket a bit more, but it only cost £20, so it's hardly breaking the bank, especially as it has been passed around the family a bit too.

Buckets · 23/07/2008 15:43

Swaddling is great for newborns when you can't get them to sleep. You Swaddle them, hold them on their Side and Sway them backwards and forwards, whilst Shushing. There's a 5th S but I can't remember it LOL.

After a few weeks when they're used to the outside world, a grobag is fine (unless it's absolutely boiling.)

tinkisagracefulshamu · 23/07/2008 15:43

we had a moses basket found it gr8 for first 3 - 6 months they find it morew comforting as small and snug and dd also used to sleep in it in the daytime in loundge.
grobags are great 2 used them from 6 months didnt feel safe using them before that. we used blankets with moses.
found grobags great from 6 months up until 18 months

mamafelix · 23/07/2008 17:37

Putting in my tuppenny worth...

There's a lot written/said about SIDS (cot death) that makes you really frightened with a new baby but try to put it in perspective...swaddled or with a light blanket up to their chin they are most unlikely to suffocate. I don't think anyone knows what actually causes it so even if the baby is a bit too hot I don't think that will kill them. You'll get to know pretty quickly whether you're baby's too hot or too cold, as they'll scream the house down, and anyway you'll probably be up feeding him/her every couple of hours anyhow (oh, the joys awaiting you!).

My baby hated the grobag, but obviously they're very convenient if they work. Get a couple of light blankets and try swaddling in the early weeks, then maybe invest in grobag when you've got used to the whole thing.

And,as can be seen by the varied responses above, every baby is different so it's really hard to say in advance what will work best.
If money is a real issue, ditch the moses basket (it is completely redundant pretty quickly). My baby loathed it - always fidgeting and hitting the sides. We really messed up keeping him in it for so long. Should have started out with a cot. The travel cot/bassinet idea is a good one for a bit of both...then you can see what your baby prefers. Trouble with travel cots though is that they are DEEP, without the retractable sides that cots have, which means putting a sleeping baby in and expecting it to stay asleep is bit tricky, unless you have very long arms!!

IF you can afford a real cot and a travel cot with bassinet, you've got the perfect set up, as you're bound to need the travel cot at some stage in the next couple of years.

Whew. I talk too much!

elmoandella · 23/07/2008 17:43

we used moses basket for ds. completely useless.

used travel cot with bassinette for dd. many reasons we loved it. we wnet for the bigger version. the graco contour.

got a real mattress so just as comfy as a crib

you can swing the bassinette level with your foot without having to get out the bed and worrying its gonna fall over.

can take out bassinette level and keep using it if you have proper mattress for ages (good if you breast feeding and want the baby close till they're quite old.)

can travel anywhere and baby will always sleep sound as not a weird bed. i.e baby used to it.

mash sides so you can look in without getting out of bed.

some versions come with a nightlight built in.

if baby has an older sibling they cant get to it. older sibling can push over moses baskets/rocking cribs. and climb in. (handy if your thinking of having more and using again)

some come with cot top changer and pockets on the end to put nappies/dummies or other accessories that usually end up lying all over your bedroom

Original poster

LadyThompson · 23/07/2008 17:47

Wow. A mine of information. I don't know what I would do without Mumsnet, seriously.

OP posts:

kookiegoddess · 23/07/2008 17:54

another first timer here - do you have to wash grobags before use? and from weight/age can you start using them?

Sophrosyne1 · 23/07/2008 18:09

At our NCT antenatal classes we were told not to use grobags until baby was at least 6 months old.

mad4mybaby · 23/07/2008 18:15

if you look on grobag.com the official website it says theirs can be used from 7lb so for alot of babies thats from birth. I messed about with blankets and swaddle blankets and eventually put ds in a grobag at about 3 weeks i think. A godsend. He was in one until he went into a proper bed about 3 months ago (now 2.1) also the travel ones are fab!

JRocks · 23/07/2008 18:16

Grobags were a godsend here too - especially the stripey one with zip on back so you can put them in buggy/car seat without taking it off [lazy]

DS was in his until about 2 years, when he could pull up his blankets if he got cold so didn't need anymore.

Buckets · 23/07/2008 18:22

Oh and if your baby has reflux you'll probably find blankets easier laundrywise until the Infant Gaviscon kicks in .

SquiffyHock · 23/07/2008 18:54

We used this type of swaddle for about 4-6 weeks then straight into a grobag. I always thought DD looked adorable all bundled up - do you remember those toys, glo-worms??
Buy 2 as they can get a bit sicky on the top. At night time I rarely changed her nappy, only poos, so she was hardly disturbed at all.

kookiegoddess · 23/07/2008 19:03

any tips re:washing before use?

mad4mybaby · 23/07/2008 19:07

do you mean washing a grobag before use? Yes i def would as its just the same as when you buy brand new clothes it feels sort of 'folded' IUSWIM plus it'l get rid of any chemicals that maybe there from production. Also if you do plan on using from early its good to get it washed and smelling of your own house. Even better keep it under your pillow/in your bed before your due date and can be reassuring for baby

elmoandella · 23/07/2008 20:09

wash grobag first.

and check out what type of closing it has in it. you want something that opens right up so you can put baby into asleep.

the kind that are like a jacket are a pain. as you wake baby up putting arms in.

my favourite are the one that are poppers at the shoulder and zip . the ones with poppers all the way round take forever and they pop they're feet out the spaces.

laura325630 · 23/07/2008 20:31

My dd is 6 weeks today and I am regretting buying most things before she got here.

She is very nearly out of her moses basket as we have a 'small' one - I wish I had checked sizes first. I have a cot which is now in our room but wish I had bought a bedside cot so that she was close to me.

I also wasted a lot of money on blankets and sheets only to have bought a grobag last week and now dont use them!!! The grobag is so good that Im not going to bother with cot bedding just get bigger and thicker ones for when shes older!!

libralady · 23/07/2008 22:24

Quick question as my DS is now 4 weeks. We have been given some grobags. Is it safe to use them in this hot weather at the moment or are they primarily for Autumn, Winter and Spring? I'm worried about DS overheating. At the moment he is in a moses basket in his vest with a sheet over him, but he is always kicking this off. It is warm in the room and we have a fan going throughout the night.

ilovemydog · 23/07/2008 22:30

Both DD and DS hated the grobags and kept trying to kick them off. Works for some, doesn't for others.

Have a moses basket downstairs for DS to nap in.

And a willow crib for DS until he moves into DD's crib and she gets a junior bed.

Swaddling is just wrapping the baby tightly in a blanket. There are special swaddle blankets you can get, but it's easy enough to do with a cot blanket.

Flip

1 2 3