Best bassinet

[crockpotinvesting]

Hi all. Baby coming in the next couple of weeks. Allot of news on bassinets in the news with recalls etc. I wanted to get the boggleheads opinion on the best bassinet. In terms of safety, Quality, and maybe the baby the most happy ( or parents less sleep deprived )

[123]

Start with a crib. You won't use a bassinet long enough to make it worthwhile, unless you expect a whole lot of kids.

In Finland they use a standardized paper box, probably a good alternative if you have to have a bassinet. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22751415

[jambadoc]

Start with a crib. You won't use a bassinet long enough to make it worthwhile, unless you expect a whole lot of kids.

This. Unless you can get one for free, I wouldn't bother. We bought all this stuff for baby number one. For baby number three, we didn't use any of it. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Find someone you know who is sensible and has multiple kids and ask them to take you shopping for what you really need. For the first three months, this is basically crib, bottles and/or breast pump, onesies or sleep and plays (the cheap ones - the kid will literally wear each one twice before they're outgrown), burp cloths (lots), blankets, a monitor if in another room, and diapers and wipes. You might get a baby bath as well.

[david]

Hi all. Baby coming in the next couple of weeks. Allot of news on bassinets in the news with recalls etc. I wanted to get the boggleheads opinion on the best bassinet. In terms of safety, Quality, and maybe the baby the most happy ( or parents less sleep deprived )

So newborns don't move much, so you're pretty much good to go with anything. And they don't weigh much so padding and support don't matter much. We used a tiny portable one we received used as a gift.

More important was out little guy was able to get out of his swaddle and was unable to sleep unless swaddled. We were given the miracle blanket and it worked like magic up until about 6 months or so. We bought a second one just in case the first got dirty (it did a lot). It's expensive for what it is. But it's effective. (But see below).

Also, people don't know anything about baby sleep. There's lots of advice and books and methods. One may work for you, so don't give up. But know that every kid is different and you aren't less of a parent if they won't sleep like other kids. (Also people lie about it, a lot and claim things worked when they didn't when pressed because they feel like bad parents if they say it didn't work).

Best of luck. It's an exciting time.

[nyclon]

Hi all. Baby coming in the next couple of weeks. Allot of news on bassinets in the news with recalls etc. I wanted to get the boggleheads opinion on the best bassinet. In terms of safety, Quality, and maybe the baby the most happy ( or parents less sleep deprived )

As others have mentioned get a crib. It's fine to use a $40 pack and play with a $25 3" or 5" foam mattress in it.

[bluebolt]

I like this one (it was much cheaper when I got it):

https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/produc ... d=65200704

A crib is great, but it was useful to have the bassinet in the same room as us at the beginning. A crib wouldn't have fit in our bedroom.

[bottlecap]

Hi all. Baby coming in the next couple of weeks. Allot of news on bassinets in the news with recalls etc. I wanted to get the boggleheads opinion on the best bassinet. In terms of safety, Quality, and maybe the baby the most happy ( or parents less sleep deprived )

As others have mentioned get a crib. It's fine to use a $40 pack and play with a $25 3" or 5" foam mattress in it.

I'll third this. We have three kids. Each was different. The first was the best sleeper and used both a bassinet and a crib. The others slept only in the crib, if we were lucky!

I will say that the bassinet is nice if you want to keep the baby in your room the first month or two and don't have room for a crib. But there's just no guarantee they will take to it!

I wouldn't sweat which one, as long as you do a little research.

Good luck,

JT

[LinusP]

Edit: quoted the wrong post

Hi all. Baby coming in the next couple of weeks. Allot of news on bassinets in the news with recalls etc. I wanted to get the boggleheads opinion on the best bassinet. In terms of safety, Quality, and maybe the baby the most happy ( or parents less sleep deprived )

As others have mentioned get a crib. It's fine to use a $40 pack and play with a $25 3" or 5" foam mattress in it.

Every portable crib I've seen has had a big warning not to use anything but the stock mattress. Maybe it's driven by liability concerns, but my understanding is that mattresses that are too soft are actually a danger to babies. Everyone makes their own choices about things like this, but I wasn't willing to take that kind of risk to save a few bucks.

[Andyrunner]

First kid we had a bassinet, it was nice for the first few weeks. We gave it away as it was given to us. Second kid we just used the pack n play.

[BuckyBadger]

Of course you don't NEED a bassinet. But it sure does make life easier!!

Our life saver was the Halo Bassinest. There are three models and we got the mid range one which had the upgraded swivel but not the vibration stuff.

Anyway, the Halo is cantilevered over the bed so that you can mimic co-sleeping safely. I pulled it right over the mattress and slept 6 inches from my baby - so close i could hear her little breaths.

The other nice thing is that the side of the Halo is spring loaded and pushes down so that it's easier to get your baby into and out of it while you're still in bed. I ended up having a c-section and it was much easier to get my baby out and in the bassinet in the middle of the night. It also makes life a lot easier if you're breastfeeding every three hours during the night!

AAP recommends your baby sleeping in your room until 6 to 12 months old. We moved our little one into her crib in her nursery at 5 months because my alarm was waking her up in the morning. But the 5 months she slept in the Halo was worth the price.

[Ztx]

+1 for the Halo Bassinet. We used it only for 3-4 month and then the baby moved into a crib in a separate room but it was very convenient.

[SublimeBri]

We just had a baby a month ago and have been using this as the bassinet.

https://www.guavafamily.com/products/lotus-bassinet

It is pricey but turns into a travel crib. We like to travel and thought this would serve two purposes. Bassinet has been solid thus far.

[OnceARunner]

Our first is due in 8 days and we bought the Halo Bassinet. Haven't used it yet, but it seems solid and super convenient for breast feeding in the middle of the night. Glad the two posters above me would recommend it after using it.

[zimmer0]

echoing the Halo. Wife found a used one off of FB Market for a steal, $45 opposed to the the $200+ new. Same for the mamaroo, again, basically stolen off of FB market.

[BuckyBadger]

echoing the Halo. Wife found a used one off of FB Market for a steal, $45 opposed to the the $200+ new. Same for the mamaroo, again, basically stolen off of FB market.

They go FAST on the used market. So fast that we couldn't snag one. But i sold ours on Craigslist in hours for about 70 percent of what we paid and got about 5 other emails before i took the post down.

So if you do have to buy new you'll get some of it back at least.

I can't believe you got it for 45 bucks! I think i got 175 for ours including an extra sheet and mattress cover.

[daheld]

Get a crib. When your kid is 3 months old and totally used to sleeping alone in a crib you'll be glad you did. You're not going to sleep much for the first couple months anyway, why not get the kid used to sleeping in a crib at the same time?

[Thegame14]

a simple one with wheels. There should be nothing in a bassinet or crib, no toys, no stuffed animals, no blankets no bumpers, nothing except baby. If baby is cold turn thermostat up for put thicker closes on.

[Broken Man 1999]

We used a crib as well after our first. The nice thing about a crib (in another room) is the baby won't need to have a parent hovering over them at all times.

One other bit of advice, don't attempt to keep regular and routine noise down when baby is sleeping. I guess it turns into white noise to them, and they adjust quickly. Play music/TV at normal levels, don't agonize about other children playing loudly, or someone knocking on your door, etc.

Enjoy! They grow up so fast.

Broken Man 1999

[flyninjasquirrel]

As mentioned above, the AAP recommends babies sleep in the same room (but NOT in same bed) as parent(s) for first 6 months of life at least to reduce risk of SIDS. If you have a crib you can take out of the nursery and put in your room then go for it. If not, use a bassinet. Make sure you get something that is easy to bring baby in and out of bed to you for breastfeeding/comforting etc. IMO, getting out of bed a million times a night to get the baby out of the crib would be a PITA. We use the Guava. It's OK. It sits pretty low so it can be hard to reach down and get baby if your bed sits higher. Probably would go with the Halo next time, but they are expensive for something you only use for 6 months. The Guava was given to us.

[mariezzz]

Start with a crib. You won't use a bassinet long enough to make it worthwhile, unless you expect a whole lot of kids.

In Finland they use a standardized paper box, probably a good alternative if you have to have a bassinet. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22751415

Really interesting article on the Finnish baby box. A lot of good was done, and continues to be done, with that idea. Would be good to see that in the US. The article that it links to (The babies who nap in sub-zero temperatures) is also quite good. That's sub-zero in Celsius, so 'below freezing'. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21537988 Many Americans would view it as abusive or neglectful lol.

Nowadays most day-care centres in Sweden put children outside to rest. It's common to see rows of prams lined up in the snow at nap-time, with youngsters fast asleep inside.
...
Nowadays most day-care centres in Sweden put children outside to rest. It's common to see rows of prams lined up in the snow at nap-time, with youngsters fast asleep inside. ...

Martin Jarnstrom, head of one of the Ur och Skur group of pre-schools , is another big advocate of outdoor naps, though he emphasises that while the weather may be cold, the child must be warm.

"It's very important that the children have wool closest to their body, warm clothes and a warm sleeping bag," he says.

There is a Swedish saying that encapsulates this thought - "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing."

[noraz123]

First, congratulations!

Start with a crib. You won't use a bassinet long enough to make it worthwhile, unless you expect a whole lot of kids.

In Finland they use a standardized paper box, probably a good alternative if you have to have a bassinet. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22751415

I mostly agree with 123. My wife got a "baby box" from here - https://www.babyboxco.com. While it was not our baby's primary sleeping surface, we did find it useful if we needed/wanted our son to sleep in different room. Very easy to move.

But we also got a "co-sleeper" that we used in our bedroom. We bought the one that was recommended by The Wire Cutter (Arm's Reach) - https://thewirecutter.com/lists/things- ... ep-better/, and found it quite useful while doing night time feedings. Very easy to adjust to the height of the bed. Eliminating the need to get up in the middle of the night to retrieve a baby from the Baby Box was very worthwhile to us.

123 is correct that you will likely outgrow the bassinet/co-sleeper within a few months. We migrated to a crib around month 5 or 6. I would still get a co-sleeper, but your mileage may vary.

[c1over8]

We received something similar to this as a hand me down:
https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Children-B ... 67293&th=1
Very easy to get the baby in and out since its raised off the floor. Ours said to stop using it at 15 lbs or when baby starts to roll. Ours started to roll at 13 weeks and around 14 pounds so we didn't get much use out of it. Ours has some features like music and I'm not sure what all else - we never used them.

We got the baby box others have linked free at the hospital. Easy to get baby in and out, although you have to bend all the way to the floor. We used it sometimes for the baby to nap in other rooms as it was easy to carry from room to room even with the baby sleeping in it (not sure that's actually recommended). But one day between 2 and 3 months baby started crying because baby got baby's foot stuck in the little carrying handle hole and couldn't get loose. So we started only putting baby in there when someone was monitoring, even though the shtick is that you can let your baby sleep in it at night.

We also have the guava lotus playyard, but not the bassinet attachment. We like that mom can crawl in there with the baby and nurse the baby to sleep "sideline" style if the baby is really fussy and we are desperate so that the baby doesn't have to be moved after falling asleep and risk waking the baby. The playyard only has one level - all the way on the ground so I'd say its not ideal for a newborn, trying to either lift over the sides or navigate the side panel half asleep. Once baby is a little bigger and has some head control, it is great.

So I'd say get a bassinet if you can get a hand me down or cheap second hand one, otherwise I'd probably get a playyard so you can use it longer and just consider if you want the type that has multiple levels and then just use one of the higher levels as your bassinet.

[Cash]

We got the bassinest, but the baby didn't like it and only used it for a week before we just put him in the crib. Fortunately, we bought it used. Now I need to sell it.

As a first-time parent, you're going to buy lots of stuff that you're told babies love, but will turn out that your baby hates. Then there is stuff that will work for your baby but not for others. Such is life with a newborn.

[stoptothink]

As a first-time parent, you're going to buy lots of stuff that you're told babies love, but will turn out that your baby hates. Then there is stuff that will work for your baby but not for others. Such is life with a newborn.

Your best resource are family and friends, they should have tons of stuff that they were told were required for infants that they never used and are storing. We bought virtually nothing outside of diapers and formula (wife couldn't produce milk), everything else (which was shockingly little) was 2nd hand from family/friends/neighbors. Like many others, we didn't have a bassinet; 2nd hand pack-n-play FTW.

[Broken Man 1999]

We got the bassinest, but the baby didn't like it and only used it for a week before we just put him in the crib. Fortunately, we bought it used. Now I need to sell it.

As a first-time parent, you're going to buy lots of stuff that you're told babies love, but will turn out that your baby hates. Then there is stuff that will work for your baby but not for others. Such is life with a newborn.

Hah! We sold our first set of baby stuff, then life happened and we had to go round up another set of baby stuff!

Wife came home one day and told me I had gotten her pregnant. I laughed about it, I took the news in stride, I told her she had just extended her SAHM gig another few years. She was not amused.

Broken Man 1999

[zrail]

This is my favorite topic lately!

Rent the SNOO. You will not regret it. We rented it for our second and it’s been incredible. She’s been sleeping through the night (at least 4 hour stretches) since 2 months old and does almost 9 hours almost every night now at 6 months. You can keep them in it until they can push up on hands and knees or 6 months (we are going longer because she was 6 weeks early).

If you or the kid don’t like it you can return it and you’re just out the one month rental fee.

https://www.happiestbaby.com