Baskets, Cribs & Co-Sleepers - Where Will My Baby Sleep?

We recently took a trip to all of the local known brand baby stores to look at the products we’ve spent the last five months looking at in a misty haze online, specifically bedside sleeping for those first 6 months.

Its hard to tell from pictures on the internet if something is going to feel sturdy or safe. Will the build quality be what you expected for the price. Do you want your baby to sleep in a basket like moses or a swinging crib? How am I supposed to know?

The first items we looked at were the moses baskets and we left every store with the same feeling,  we don’t want to use one. Many of them felt very flimsy, I know billions of people use them and we’re probably just over analysing things as first time parents but some of them just didn’t seem safe at all! I’ve also read that some larger babies grow out of baskets very quickly and they don’t last up to 6 months, to top it off I have a feeling that our cats might think of a large wicker basket as being a rather handy scratching place. Not an ideal situation, although they won’t be allowed in a room with baby sleeping anyway. I’ve also been reading a lot about SIDS which I’m sure all parents worry about, so whatever we choose to put our baby in I’d like it to be as safe as possible.

So, if moses baskets are a no then surely we must want a bed side crib?

A swinging crib, a gliding crib, a stationary crib? What about a co-sleeper? Their are so many options and when you’ve never done this before how are you supposed to know which one is best?

I’ve spent the last two months constantly looking up bedside sleeping places marking them off based on quality, ease of use and budget, reading copious amounts of reviews and I still don’t know which one we need.

Here are my top choices of the available options and what I think of them, of course I haven’t used any of them so my views and opinions are based solely on reading reviews and having been to look at the products in stores. Have you used one of the below products, are you using it now? I’d love to know what you think!

Swinging Crib
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The swinging cribs I’ve seen all seem to look and feel safe, nice solid wood. However the pin used to stop the swinging motion seems very weak and isn’t a snug fit on any I’ve looked at. The crib still wobbles side to side even when the stopper pin is inserted, is this normal? Is it safe? Overall they look cute and averaging from £60-£80 they fit nicely in our budget, their are also lots of pre-owned ones around from £30! – The one I looked at was £68 from mothercare 

 

Gliding Crib

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Gliding cribs look and feel very much the same as the swinging cribs except the mechanism and motion for the movement is different, it feels safer and not as clunky when compared to the swingers, they do however cost more and average from around £100. – I looked at this particular model in mothercare for £99.99

Snuzpod Co-Sleeper

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I love the idea of co-sleepers as they mean baby can be kept as close to you as possible without you being in danger of rolling onto them or smothering them. I’ve also read that they’re also best for breastfeeding which I hope to be doing, it gives you to ability to just scoop baby over to you and feed without getting up and lifting them. The Snuzpod is a high-end product. It’s a very sturdy solid item and when rocked the motion was very subtle. The side of the pod drops down so you can have it right up to your bed for co-sleeping or you can leave it up for independent sleeping. The top also comes off of the stand as a separate bassinet ideal for moving to other rooms throughout the day, the height is also adjustable. Their is also the Chicco next to me crib which works like the Snuzpod but looks more like a travel bed when compared to a Snuzpod, however we didn’t see one of these in store. – Snuzpod retails at around £199 and comes in 4 colours to match the tone of wood furniture in your home! You can purchase these from Mamas & Papas where I looked at them, or direct from The Littlegreensheep who make them.

Static Crib –

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The static crib is like a miniature version of your standard cot, it doesn’t have a drop side or any soothing motions for baby. It’s very much no thrills with a fixed height so you’ll have to bend over it to retrieve baby but for a mere £39.99 it felt like a nice sturdy little crib.I looked at this model in Babies R Us

Have you used any of the above for your little one? I’d love to know your thoughts on them if you have – Help a clueless mother-to-be out!

Hopefully once we make a decision then come the beginning of January when we start using whatever it may be, I can let you all know what I think of our choice!

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