What should I buy for my newborn to sleep in?

[beatie]

I'm due in September with my second baby. Last time round I borrowed a moses basket. This time round I cannot borrow it so will be buying something new and then selling it on.

I can't decide between swinging crib, moses basket or one of those french style cribs which is like a fabric/canvas rectangle on wooden legs.

Anyone have any opinions on all of these?

I had a moses but only used it for about 5 weeks, no experience of the other ones you mention. Most of the time at night, she ended up with me, only slept in the moses for naps.

I have always just used moses basket which I then put in the cot before actually moving them to sleep in the cot so they were used to surroundings! Both mine were in the basket till 4months then transferred to cot.

ive got a moses basket - jess was in it for the first 6 weeks in our room, and then she went into the cot. We used the moses basket downstairs til she was about 12 weeks for naps.

i think moses baskets are just gorgeous, although expensive! both my dd's were october babies, and i felt moses baskets were lovely and snug for them if it was cold

i wanted to buy a moses basket. but thank god i opted for a proper cot upstairs and a travel cot downstairs. i used it over and over, and it didn't last five minutes. still use it now when travelling - is fab!!!

My ds went into hisown cot in his own room when we came out of hospital

There's a travel cot you can get with a bassinet which is very good (Graco I think). Later on you can use it as a playpen.

oh forgot to say, i had to put my little one in the travel cot to stay downstairs at night, so the rest of my lot could get a good night's kip, and then help out during the day. worked out well.

the moses basket is useful if you want to carry it to wherever you are in the house, the cribs would just be in the one room I suppose.

saadia.. wots a bassinet? bit posh for me, tee hee

oh polly2 it's not posh at all, it's basically like a crib that fits on top of the travel cot so that it's much cosier and higher up than the baby would be if put in the bottom of the travel cot.

Here it is (hope this works)this

Oooh, I hadn't thought of using the travel cot highy uppy bit for a newborn's bed! Good plan!

saadia... cool idea!! ps how did u add the link?

polly2, it was actually simpler than I thought it would be, the instructions are at the bottom of this page, feel like a techie now.

I bought a moses basket for less than a month and even then only for naps. My son is quite "long". He then slep in his cot, so waste of money.

norash, totally agree. luckily, this is advice my partner gave me since he already has 2 daughters. a friend of ours was transporting his kid upstairs with a moses basket, and he tripped, and landed inches away from crushing the poor thing at the bottom of the stairs.

DS was quite big (10 pounds) but slept in his moses basket for about 3 months, basically until I couldn't squash him in anymore! Loved the way I could move it around the house with me without disturbing him. Have also got a graco electra (in saadias link) and it's really good, sadly just wouldn't have the room for it downstairs.

My last one slept in a moses basket upstairs and the pram downstairs until he went into his cot, but the basket was a borrow and I was a bit staggered at how expensive they are last time I looked in Mothercare!

£3.70 with an hour to go on ebay...

Personally i have found that they can 'outgrow' a moses basket alarmingly fast and it is not the easiest thing to move about with, go with the travel cot/bassinet idea if you can use/want it as a playpen, tho my friends little boy slept in his as his only bed till he was 2 and then into a bed, or just use a standard cot upstairs with babies feet to the bottom of the cot and then a reclining bouncy chair or lie flat pram for daytime/downstairs sleeps, if in a pram then there is the 'out in the air' possibility for some sleeps in this lovely weather [remember an insect net tho].

my mum always says that kids need space when sleeping and a flat surface. the floor for a small child in a safe environment is great. a lovely soft blanket underneath is fine.

Mine slept in Silvercross through the day and handed down wooden cot at night, fitted perfectly down the side of my bed.

I think moses baskets are so flimsy and the stands a bit wobbly. New borns are fine in full size cots, any thing off the floor and away from draughts are fine.

Oh yes, I hated the stand that we got for DD's moses basket. I did like moving the moses basket around the house last time, but this time I think I'll use our lie flat pram for downstairs sleeps and have something permanently stationed in our bedroom.

We're moving house soon and I am unsure as to whether the big cot will fit in our room. Has anyone used a swinging crib? Are they awkward for bedding? Does the baby like the swinging motion?

I already have a travel cot - it didn't come with a bassinet at the top. I wonder if you can buy them seprately. Months ago I saw a bassinet insert that goes inside a regular cot, for a newborn to sleep in. It was like a canvas rectangle - and it fitted sideways over the bars of the cot. Do you think I can find such an item again?! No. It would have been the perfect solution provided the cot fits into our room.