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

Shopping

From everyday essentials to big purchases, swap tips and recommendations. For the best deals without the hassle, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Flip

Original poster

Which cot?

21 replies

Enthusia · 06/08/2005 12:01

Hi,

I am new to all this and need some helpful advice on cots!!!

What is best a bedside, cotbed or normal cot?

I have been told it is best to keep baby in your bedroom for first 6 months, but I do not want to use a moses basket or crib as I feel baby should get used to full size cot straight away and not have the problems of changing into cot later, so would a bedside cot be best? When I spoke to a friend she said that most parents don't actually keep baby in with them for that long so reccomended a normal cot, but another friend said a cotbed is a better investment. HHHEEEELLLPPPPPP

What did you do and what do you think is best???

OP posts:

jane313 · 06/08/2005 12:12

I think a lot of people use moses baskets or carrycots so they can keep their baby close to them for the first few weeks and most children have no problem moving from that to a real cot.

I didn't buy a cot bed or a bedside cot cos of space. I did have my son in our room for 6 months though. Because of that cot death research that says about babies needing ot be near their parents to remeberber to breathe, soemthign about hormones I think. i know losts of people who didn't. Mine needed feeding in the night for 6 monthss anyway so it was easier.

RachD · 06/08/2005 12:23

Before ds was born, We had a cot in ds bedroom. Nice big pine- actually a cotbed.

We had moses basket downstairs in lounge.
Another moses basket upstairs by our bed.

About the 6 months in your room bit....
Some people keep the darlings in their room for years, but it does not need to be 6 mths.

After one week, of ds being in his moses bed, in our room, dh said, he couldn't sleep because ds was a right little grunter, mover & snoring !!
So we moved him into his own room, after a week !!
Saying that, fully swaddled, he loved it and slept like a trooper.

But I think most people would say that was a bit early!!

Alot of people I have spoken to do it after about 2/3 months.

ionaming · 06/08/2005 12:38

Hiya, we managed to borrow a moses basket & were given a cot, so just had to buy new mattresses & bedding. I'm glad we had the moses as the cot was a very large one & dd would have been lost in it! We also planned on having the moses in our room with us, but that idea lasted just one night! You have no idea how noisy babies are when they're sleeping . Anyway, if you don't feel the need for a moses, then don't buy one - it's a "nice to have" but not necessary! Yes, a moses is portable, but most people stop moving them from room to room after the 1st few weeks anyway. As for a cotbed, most of my friends have one & yet I don't know anyone who has actually used one as a "bed".... baby no. 2 always comes along first, so the 1st one ends up in a proper bed & the cotbed gets passed on to the new arrival! Also, I wouldn't be too set on keeping baby in the room with you for the recommended 6 months in case it doesn't work out like that - you'll only be setting your self up for lots of guilt if you have to move baby into their own room sooner than the guidelines say. HTH, Iona x

RachD · 06/08/2005 12:52

Yes, ionaming, most people give up carrying the moses basket up and down, within a few days - too much hassle.

We had thought of that.I had a planned c section, so didn't want to be messing around moving it either.
But we were lucky enough to have two, and that really helped.

006 · 06/08/2005 12:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fairydust · 06/08/2005 13:03

We had a moses baseket for dd as i liked her to sleep in that down stairs with us in the day and the moved it up stairs at night.

At fivem months we put dd's normal cot in our room but as she was slepping through we put her stright into her room the night after.

I wish however i'd have had a cotbed as we later (2yrs) had to buy a toddler bed - which if we'd brought a cotbed wouldn't have had to.

Nemo1977 · 06/08/2005 13:05

hi
we had ds in a crib in our room for 8wks and also had a cotbed in his room where i would put him down for a daytime nap. Cotbed was fab for us simply because ds was trying to vault over sides by 12mths but wouldnt have been safe in a full size bed so the cotbed turned into a toddler bed for him. We will be using the same methoeds with db.

Original poster

Enthusia · 07/08/2005 09:48

Thanks for all the messages!!!!!

Did anyone have problems moving baby from a small moses basket or crib, into a larger cot? I was told not to use a moses basket etc, as baby would then have problems sleeping in a big cot when the time came! I know that Jane313 said about this but wondered what anyone else thought!

All of this is extremely helpful, thank you!

OP posts:

Twiglett · 07/08/2005 10:05

there really isn't any issue between cot and moses basket IME .. babies just outgrow the moses basket then move to a cot with no issues .. also I think the smaller size might be better for a newborn and the lack of bars too

Personally I would buy

a moses basket for first few months .. they are fab and portable so baby can stay sleeping at your feet until you are ready to go up to bed

a cot for him / her to move into once they've outgrown the moses basket

biglips · 07/08/2005 10:58

We had baba in a moses basket cos the mattress was softer than her swinging crib mattress as she wouldnt settle!!! she was in our room till 7 months old till she was transferred her to her own bedroom in a big sofa cotbed as they will last for years to come - baba settled in straight away so no problems at all.

biglips · 07/08/2005 11:00

sorry--- she was in the moses basket till she got too big, then i got the soft mattress out if it and put it in the swinging crib and then she was put in her big cotbed.

Nbg · 07/08/2005 11:03

We have a cotbed. We bought it for the simple reason that dd will have it for a few years so it would save some pennies.

When she was a tiny baby she slept in a carry cot that came with our pushchair. We put this in the cot on a night, which at the time was next to our bed.

Nbg · 07/08/2005 11:06

Sorry missed your last question.

We didn't have any problems moving from the carry cot to the cot. Tbh I think dd appreciated the extra space!

Twiglett · 07/08/2005 11:18

I moved DS straight from a cot to a normal single bed and will do the same with DD .. their single bed will last them till they leave home

bambi06 · 07/08/2005 11:51

just use a secondhand moses basket or carrycot from pram and i only kept ly two in with me for about two weeks and we all slept better that way as i was always listening out for them and newborns are always noisy and snuffly!! and then i transferred them still in moses basket but inside cot that way they dont go through the change of moses basket to cot which can throw them a little and its important that they get used to their own bedroom from early on.. plus if you put them in the cot straight away they`re a bit lost in them at first

cod · 07/08/2005 12:26

Message withdrawn

cod · 07/08/2005 12:27

Message withdrawn

hunkermunker · 07/08/2005 12:32

We've inherited a swinging cradle (like a small cot) - it's sturdier than a moses basket, but smaller than a cot - we will use this for our second. DS will be 21mo when the next one's born, so probably still in his cot for a bit - we don't want to put him in a bed before he's ready, so this crib seems to be the ideal solution. Atm we only have two bedrooms, so DS will be in one, and DH, DB and I will be in the other.

BunnyBoo · 07/08/2005 12:33

I put my ds in a moses basket (in our bedroom) for the first 4 weeks, but because he grow out of it that quick i moved him into his bedroom into a swinging crib Then into a cot.

I liked the idea of a moses basket cause if you think where a baby has been staying (in your belly) for the past 9 months its very small and compact and i think they feel safe when they are still in a small space sleeping.

I would go for a second hand moses basket and then a cot.

You here all sorts of storys and ways to do it because we all have our own ways and ideas so just go with what you feel is best thats what i did.

Also i never had a problem moving ds into his own room etc, i think it was because he was still very young when we moved him.

Goodluck.

nappyaddict · 04/12/2007 23:47

playbead cotbed

Seona1973 · 05/12/2007 19:44

We used a swinging crib for both our lo's and that did them for 5/6 months in our room. They then moved with no problems into a cot in their own room. You can get cribs for not much more than a moses basket and they last a bit longer too. My dd moved from her cot into a single bed and we will do the same with ds but hopefully not in the near future as he is only 1. His grobag helps keep him from climbing out the cot so we should get a while more out of it.
We had a swinging crib from babiesrus and it was only about £60 and included a mattress. We also got the cot from there but it is now 4 years old as it was used for dd first - it was continental sized so slightly bigger than a standard cot.

Flip