cradle/bassinet vs straight to cot for newborn?

This is another thing I'm debating. DH and I orignally agreed that we would get a cot with the tetra snuggle bed to put inside and that bub will go straight in from birth.

Now I'm thinking that for slightly more than the Tetra, I could get a decent cradle that I can then wheel around the house with me. That way, I can have bub in the family room with me while I'm cooking/cleaning whatever.

I know a cradle won't get as much use, probably only until bub is 4-6 months, but am wondering if anyone has gotten one for an only baby and believes they're worth it.

love
sushee

We were given a cradle and Matilda spent around 5 minutes in it total. She co-slept with us for the first 10 weeks and after that was straight in a cot. She was also rolling over at 10 weeks so the cradle was way too small for her. If she ever slept outside our bed it was either in the cot or the pram. So we used the pram a few times as a bassinet next to the bed. HTH! I could also wheel her around the house in the pram & keep her close by.

Another option might be the amby hammock. Its still small enough to move around the house and keep in your bedroom but you will probably get more use out of it and most babies love them. They're easy to assemble and come with a carry bag so if you go to stay anywhere you can take it with you just as easily as you could take a porta-cot.

I was just thinking of the hammock too LOL

I looked at the amby hammock but was mainly concerned about bending down to it throughout the night as I have bad knees and a bad back. Is this a problem with them?

My mum used a hammock on all of us when we were babies and think it's the bees knees, so may have another look.

love
sushee

The hammock came with instructions about how to lift a baby out without straining your back but I'm afraid to say I ignored them 8-[ . Maybe you could look into hiring - you could start with a hammock and if its not to your liking get a bassinet instead.

We have just the cot, but I am finding she sleeps in my bed mostly. She seems to have gone off the cot totally anyway. I had a cradle with no 1 and she didn't like it at all. I also had a snuggle bed this time, but haven't used it, prefer to take it if we go places. Im planning on buying a sheepskin though and putting it in the cot to make it more comfy xox

Zaki co-slept until he was 18 months but with my now DH being a heavy heavy sleeper, I wouldn't want to risk it. Doesn't help either that he's 6ft 4 inches, and I ain't a thin chick, so there's not much room on the bed as it is!

I had another look at the amby hammock and again worry about the bending down. Ariani went from initally being in a pram to eventually moving to her cot in about 3 weeks, but Shay slept in a moses basket until he was 4 months.

Apparently the cradle I'm after is sold out WA wide until Feb anyway, so I have some time to think about it before making up my mind...

love
sushee

I use the Colonial Cradle. So its a bit bigger than a regular cradle. Jasmine loves it, though she would sleep anywhere Im sure. I also have a bassinet, but I dont like it at all, so I just went straight for the cradle and put the bassinet at Mums house. Its on wheels and I wheel it from room to room depending on the sun and the heat. Its really quite huge, or maybe its because she is so small (to me) but I love it, and so does she. I also have a Tetra mattress in there. I was going to get the snuggle bed, but for some reason I just went straight for the Tetra mattress and its just so perfect for her.

So I recommend getting a cradle. But I would try to get a Colonial Cradle, not just a standard cradle. The measurements are different and I did have to shop around to get the Tetra mattress to fit it, not to mention fitted sheets etc but I found it all! It works for us. Its very handy.

Good Luck

Sushee, did you see this post? Maybe you could check it out.
There is another option - most of the three wheel prams have an optional bassinet attachment and I know a few women who slept thier babies in them for the first few months. Alot of prams are dangerous to use as a sleeping place because the babies can wriggle down and get tangled up or fall out but because the bassinet attachments have raised sides this isn't an issue. You can wheel them around the house or park it next to your bed and it has the bonus of being a familiar sleeping place when you're out and about.

We were planning to go with just a cot, but Tamsin didn't sleep well in it so we got a bassinette (at about 3 days old). Now (nearly 11 weeks) she is mainly co-sleeping at night but the bassinette is great for day sleeps as she can be near us.

We bought a bassinette for Sam and then moved him into his cot. I liked the basinette because it was portable so you could move it around during the day...so when i got up i wheeled it out into the living area and at night wheeled it back next to my bed...that way he was always around us and not in a room by himself. He was only in it for 3 months before we moved him into his cot but for us it was money well spent.

Jo

Aidyn went straight into his cot from the beginning (we couldnt afford to buy a bassinette as well) and so it was a combination of co-sleeping, and in his cot. As he got a bit older (over 6 weeks) he began co-sleeping with us more and more, until he was about 9 months old.

I borrowed a basinette from a friend and James was sleeping wrapped up in it till 10 weeks. It was a nice height and it was nice to be able to jiggle it which you can't do with a cot (not that jiggling always worked lol).

But once we decided to not wrap him his arms would've hit the sides so he went into the cot then.

I think if the basinette wasn't free I wouldn't have bothered with one. My niece was in a cot from day one and slept through the night from 2 weeks old!

If they are wrapped anyway, maybe they can't tell if they are in a cot or a basinette?

Love Pearl

I used a cradle first but that was because we were given one. I found it handy to have him in our room and the lounge room during the day in it. It only lasted 5 weeks though as then he was too long for it. If you have to buy one, I wouldn't bother IMO.

Paris went straight to our cot (on bassinette level) and Seth will be doing the same. In fact we setup the cot today :o And its all ready for his arrival, hopefully not for another 9 weeks though :D

*hugs*
Cailin

My MIL insisted on "doing up" my DH cradle but I was always worried about all the anchy fancy lace and fluffy stuff.
So she slept in the bassinet attachment of the pram for about 4 months..it was fabulous we could take her around the house without too much trouble also when we went to peoples houses it was great as she was so use to sleeping in it...pitty she got too big.
Bec

Sushee we have a small carry bassinet that has been priceless! Emma has slept in her cot at night since 10 days old, but the bassinet was used during the day so she could be near me. It was also great for visiting, we would just take it with us & she'd sleep in it wherever we were. I bought it for around $60.

We put Louis in the cot from the word go. At times in the very early days we would sleep in his bouncer which seemed to help with his wind. After we worked it out though we just propped up one end of the cot and he was fine.

We now can't sleep with Louis in our room as we wake to every little noise he makes rather than him just crying....

Thanks all for your advice. I've put a cradle on order. I don't really have anyone who could have handed one down to me. My sister used a bassinet, but no offense to anyone who smokes (I used to be a smoker until Sept 2004), but my sister smokes like a chimney and is not discriminate about smoking in front of her baby/baby stuff, so I've opted not to take over her DD's furniture.

DH and I reckon that even if we don't have another baby, he'd like to keep the cradle as a reminder of bub, and perhaps to pass on to my DD when she eventually has a baby of her own. I like that idea, so a cradle it is!

love
sushee

Hi
Just after some advice or reassuring words, my little man is 9 weeks old and he is getting too long for the bassinette, I still wrap him and he dosen't move but I am scared as he is getting bigger and I am scared of the sides being too close.

Is now a good time for the cot? I just feel he is so little and I guess the step for me is a big one as I feel he is getting so big so quick, I thought they stayed in a basinette for 3 months?

Maybe I am just a sook, I guess I just need some one to say this is the right move.

Thanks
Jules

Julie I dont know if there is a 'right' time to swap to the cot, but if you feel he is getting too big for the bassinet then go for it! It definately wont hurt to have him in the cot. If it is hard for you thinking of having him further away, just put the cot in your room so you can still be near him.

HTH

Kaleb went straight into a cot and we never had any problems with it, although on that first night at home I was terrified to leave him alone in it because it was so big and he was so small. I just made up the sheets/blankets according to the sids guidelines, so he couldn't wriggle under them.

Linda thanks he definately will be in our room but I don't know I guess it is because the cot is so big, and Jo where did you get the sids guidelines from??

Thanks
Jules

Hi - Cait lasted three and a half months in the basinett before she got too big for it and I moved Alex to the cot at 7 weeks mainly because of the heat, I thought the air would travel better around a cot than a basinett. He has slept really well in the cot. Maybe because he's a bit of a brutus baby, he doesn't look small at all in the cot !

We had Cait in our room for about a week, but she made too much noise, so Alex has been in his room since the start.

Barb.