Moses basket/car seat / pram?....

[Superdaad]

Is there such a thing as an all in one, which a baby can sleep in the night, be moved about in and go in the car?
Do you have to have a Moses basket?
Can you just have a cot from birth?
What's the best cheap option to cater for all these kinds of needs of places to out the baby?
Thanking you!

You can use a cot straight from birth, but from my experience even in a wooden crib mine hated it when newborn and were extremely unsettled because it's very exposed. My second born I never even had a Moses basket I used the carry cot from the uppababy vista pushchair which is safe for overnight sleep.

I'm not sure about a car seat mix in that though. I'm not really clued up on lie flat car seats but there may be a possibility

Jane Matrix Light 2.

We have one and it was absolutely brilliant for our lifestyle (lots of traveling and overnight stays).

It's a fully lie flat car seat so safe for newborns to be in for long periods of time (whereas standard carseats pose a breathing risk after 30 minutes so you have to take regular breaks).

It has air vents so is safe for overnight sleeping if you buy the compatible mattress (though I would say only fully suitable for trips away; I wouldn't use it as the permanent sleeping solution at home).

Then the carrycot also can attach to any of the Jane chassis, turning it into either a pram when laid flat or a pushchair using 3 recline options for sitting up.

You need to do some reading around the safety of different types of car seats. For me the Matrix being safer for lying flat outweighed the fact that it might perform slightly less well in a collision (but still thoroughly passes tests).

At the time I was researching the stats were that in the past 12 months, 21 babies had died of suffocation in car seats where 0 had died in collisions because infant car seats perform so well on impact but compromise the airway.

We bought a travel system which has a carry cot type pram, car seat that works with pram and buggy option for when she’s older.

Newborns can’t be in a car seat for more than 30 mins at a time. There are lie flat car seat options, which we looked at too, but ultimately we preferred the one we chose which is not lie flat but we’re not going to be driving any distances with her any time soon so we decided we didn’t need it. Even if you got the lie flat seat it wouldn’t be suitable for sleeping in I don’t think?

We’d planned to use the pram/carry cot for downstairs naps and not bother with a Moses basket. As it happened I saw a Moses basket and stand reduced to £30 in Argos the evening before my induction and kind of panic bought it! I’m glad I did as so far she likes the Moses basket and hates the pram unless it’s moving! We have a next to me type crib upstairs, but you could use a full cot - baby might not like the bigger space though? The cot should be next to your bed for first 6 months so ensure you have space.

You could get a Moses basket very reasonably and use that for both day and nighttime sleeps. You’d still need a separate car seat and possibly a pram too (though not necessarily the pram at first - you might prefer a sling for example?). Second hand prams, cots and Moses baskets are all fine - you’d need new mattresses though, and car seats should be bought new.

You could get a pram that has a carry cot option that is approved for overnight sleep. You’d need to research which ones are, most are not. Then you’d only need the car seat on top, and if you bought the pram and car seat together as a travel system you might get a good deal?

I used the carry cot on my 3 in 1 as a bed until 6/7 months (small babies!) very convenient when you go out in the evening if you are walking.

Thanks all!

And love the stats Ineednewshoes

Hi @Superdaad

I am pregnant with my first baby so it is all new to me! However, I have done quite a bit of research around car seats/pushchairs as I am clearly over excited! We have just bought the Cybex Cloud Z car seat with Base Z, this rotates 180 degrees to make it easier to get baby in and out of the car and it has the all important lay flat feature. You can then clip the car seat onto a pushchair frame, quite a few are compatable, but we are opting for the Cybex Balios S Lux to pair with it - purely based on reviews, feel, size, ease and price. Due to going into a flat position, there is no need to worry or swap baby over.

We plan to get a next to me type cot for the first 6 months or so, then move to a standard cot. I am not sure yet what we are going to do for the daytime, quite a few people have recommended a Sleepyhead pod which seems to be very good for transporting around as well as multi-use so I am going to look into that - although I do very much love a moses basket!

You can get a Moses basket for less than £25 from Asda.
I got a very good car seat for less than half price on the silver cross outlet site.

Thanks @gonewiththerain
The wife has actually just one from Aldi for £30