When women fantasize about beginning their families, they often have the
image of tucking their angelic newborn into a beautiful bassinet. Baby bassinets
are always a very elegant, classy alternative to a crib, and are often priceless
family heirlooms, handed down from generation to generation. However, there is
no need for parents to be to fret if there is no vintage wicker baby bassinet in
their family tree. Bassinets can be purchased in every design imaginable, from
old fashioned, delicate lace to modern plastic. The choices are endless, and
making the right decision is very important if the parents are looking to create
an heirloom.
Bassinets are often considered a luxury item, since an infant usually only
uses one for the first few months. They serve the same purpose as a crib, but
are usually much more stylish. Classic elegance is the theme of most bassinets,
and often they are made of a wicker base. No matter which type of bassinet a new
parent is looking for, there are some important qualities that parents need to
be aware of. Most importantly, the bassinet needs to have a wide, sturdy base.
It should not be wobbly or fragile. This is especially important to check for in
old bassinets, as years of use can weaken the joints of the base. If there are
other small children, or pets in the household, a bassinet should be used with
extreme caution, since they tend to tip more easily then a crib. The mattress
should be relatively firm, and fit snuggly inside the bassinet. If more than two
fingers can fit between the bassinet mattress and the bassinet, the mattress is
too small. The hood of the bassinet should be retractable for most convenience;
however, this is often not the case on an antique baby bassinet.
Many companies make bassinets, in a variety of prices, from affordable to
indulgent. Baby Doll is a company famous for their gorgeous bassinets. They
offer a variety of models, each more regal than the last. The trademark of Baby
Doll bassinets are the intricate lace designs covering the entire bassinet.
While baby bassinets are typically white, Baby Doll offers a variety of
beautiful pastel colors, and not just pink and blue! One of their most popular
models is the Princess Diana Bassinet. It is made of Oak wood, and has large,
sturdy wheels on the bottom for added convenience. The bed of the bassinet is
the highest quality, and the outside is breathtakingly beautiful, with white
lace all around. It is truly a bassinet fit for royalty.
Not all bassinets are expensive. It is easy to find economy models made by a
variety of brands. Cheap baby bassinets, however, often lack the grace and
beauty of the more expensive models. They are geared more towards function then
beauty.
Since a bassinet is only used for a short period of time, it can easily be
stowed away in pristine condition, awaiting the next child to use it. It is one
of the first pieces of furniture a baby can use, so a bassinet is something that
can and will always hold a special place in the parents heart. A bassinet can be
used by generations of babies, becoming the most special of hand me
downs.
If you are planning to buy a Baby Bassinet for your little charming, you may
consider buying a portable bassinet instead of a standard one. These bassinets
come with wheels which makes them mobile in true sense.
You can take the baby from one room to the other, inside the house. As most
of these bassinets are suitable for traveling, you can pack it and carry along,
while on the go. It means your baby can sleep or rest in a familiar comfortable
environment away from home.
It is handy for holidays and while visiting friends and relatives. You can
choose the type of the bassinet depending on your need. A portable baby bassinet
can have a storage space such as a tray beneath the bassinet where you can store
the tit bit essentials for the baby.
Stack a pile of nappies, changes, bottles, warmer, medicines... everything
you may require. When you take the bassinet to the other room, you need not to
carry these separately. It saves your time too. Another design of portable baby
bassinet comes in lightweight synthetic material, which is lined with cotton
mattress and bumpers inside.
They are handy, easily portable and cheap also. It provides a clean cozy
environment to the baby. These can be wipe cleaned easily. The interior is of
cotton fabric and therefore absorbent and provides ventilation to the baby skin.
The mesh cover makes it visible from outside and protects the baby from insects
and pests.
While buying a Portable Bassinet check for the stability of the frame and
wheels. They should be properly aligned. The screw and attachments should be
secured properly. If it comes with a hood, the locking mechanism should be full
proof and child safe. For a pop up travel bassinet, check the material and
joints. It should carry the baby without deforming in shape.
The handles should be strongly secured. The decorating paint or finish should
be non toxic and lead free. The paint should not peel off easily and should be
covered with soft padding. This is quite useful and safe when the baby is
teething. The cotton should be safe and hygienic. The fabric should also be
flame resistant.
Walking into a baby furniture store can be completely mind blowing - there's
so much stuff! Most of us don't have an unlimited amount of money to spend, and
if you've never had a baby before, it can be really hard to work out what's
really necessary, useful, or basically a waste of time. If you're planning to
set up a gift register at the store, you want to make sure the things you put on
it are useful and practical. It's can all be incredibly confusing.
Let's take a look at some of the main items you're going to find in the baby
store, so that you can have some idea of what baby furniture you really want or
need before you even get to the store. That way you can focus on picking exactly
which one you want, rather than messing about deciding whether you actually want
or need it.
Baby Bassinet or Cradle
A bassinet or cradle is used from birth until around 4 months. Basically, if
the baby can roll from side to side, it's time for baby to move up into a crib.
Make sure the mattress fits snugly against the sides. You may even find that a
padded bumper, sheets and quilt are included.The bassinet probably falls
somewhere in the middle between necessary and unnecessary. If you're on a
budget, you can certainly go without one. Having said that, I loved my bassinet
and wouldn't have been without it. It's so convenient to be able to move baby
around. I generally let baby sleep in his own room during the day, and used a
baby monitor, then at night wheeled baby's bassinet into my room. Mine could be
rocked gently to help baby fall asleep, and because it was up on a stand, it was
easy to life baby in and out - I was recovering from a caesarean.
So my advice would be - if you can fit a bassinet into your budget, do it.
Perhaps it's an item that a few friends or family could buy for your baby
shower.
Baby Crib or Cot
Some sort of secure bed for baby is definitely required. Spending a fortune
buying one isn't required! You can buy cribs in a massive range of styles - with
a huge range of price tags to match. Probably the main thing to look for is to
make sure the crib adheres to the required safety standards. Check that the
mattress fits snugly against the sides of the crib. Some other helpful features
are: an adjustable base height, a couple of release mechanisms (not just one, in
case baby learns how to do it!), lockable wheels, and no stickers that can be
peeled off easily.
Crib Mattress
Many cribs include their own mattress, and that's probably the best option
because it should fit the crib snugly. There are two types of mattress - inner
spring/coil or foam. Generally, the innerspring style of mattress will last much
longer, but is usually a little more expensive. It's worth buying some sort of
waterproof mattress pad, to protect the mattress, but make sure it doesn't have
any plastic on the side the baby will be sleeping on.
Bedding Accessories
This is an area where you can start to spend some serious dollars! It's very
easy to get carried away with all the cute and gorgeous designs for baby
bedding. Thankfully most cribs and bassinets use standard sizes, which makes
things a little easier. One good strategy is to buy the necessary basics
yourself, then put all the less necessary accessories on your baby shower gift
register. Apart from the basic sheets, I've always liked to have a bumper for
the top end of baby's bed - and make sure it ties on in multiple places, so more
than one tie has to break before it can fall down. You should never use a pillow
for baby, and even quilts or comforters aren't recommended - stick to ordinary
blankets. You can also often get added extras, such as diaper stackers.
Personally I've never found them of much use, but again, some of the extra might
make good baby shower gifts.
Changing Table
If you're really strapped for cash, then you can probably make do with using
your bed as a changing table, but if you can, this is something I highly
recommend. Your back will certainly prefer it! My changing table was actually
more like a set of dresser drawers, and nowadays, with the changing table part
removed, it's still being used as drawers for my daughter's clothes. So it pays
to think ahead and buy a changing table that's practical. Also look for safety
features, such as guardrails and perhaps even safety straps. And of course it
needs to be well padded! It's handy to have some sort of shelf where you can put
items you're using, but personally I just put them down one end of the changing
table and changed baby at the other end. Once baby got bigger, I used the top
drawer.
Rocking Chair
This is definitely on the "maybe" list. A lot of women swear by them, but
personally I never had one and it never bothered me in the slightest. So this is
going to come down to personal preference and your budget. Having said that, you
will need a comfortable chair to sit in, particularly if you're nursing your
baby.
Portable Crib
This is one piece of baby furniture that got used a lot in my household! My
son used to come to work with me when he was little, and I used a portable crib
for his naps. It was great when I went to visit family and friends, because baby
was familiar with it and happy to have a nap when the time came. I also didn't
have to worry about baby rolling off someone's bed. It meant that we could go on
holidays and know that baby had somewhere safe and familiar to sleep. I used
mine so much that I ended up having to buy a second one when my daughter came
along! It's important, though, to spend some time making sure the portable crib
you choose is well constructed and safe. Make sure it can't collapse easily,
particularly if baby tries to climb out. Check there are no small spaces where
fingers could get trapped, and a collapsible padded base is very helpful.
High Chair
A high chair rates very close to the essential end of the scale. The good
news is that you don't need one straight away, so you can put off buying it
until quite a few months after baby is born. Look for an adjustable tray,
restraints of some kind and perhaps even lockable rolling casters. Some models
also have a reclining seat, so you can use it even when baby is still bottle
feeding.
Car Seat
This is definitely essential - apart from ensuring your baby's safety, you're
breaking the law in most places if you don't have one. Newborns must travel in
the back seat of the car, facing the rear. Once baby is older, usually closer to
1 year old, you can place baby in a forward facing car seat. When your child is
older again, anywhere from 2 years upwards depending on their size, you can
change over to a booster seat. The major decision you'll have here is whether to
buy separate, specially designed car seats for baby and then your toddler, or
whether to buy a convertible model. Personally I always had 2 separate car
seats, mostly because all the consumer safety research I'd seen suggested that a
specifically designed car seat was more effective in an accident. Thankfully I
never tested that theory out! Construction and safety levels are constantly
improving, however, so if buying a convertible model is where your budget is,
that's okay too.
Strollers
This is another baby item where there seems to be too many choices. First you
have to decide which style of stroller you want, before even looking at
individual brands. At some point you are going to want to transport your baby,
so you will need to buy something. You need to start by having a long, hard
think about what you expect your movements to be with your baby. Do you plan to
take baby jogging with you? Go over rougher terrain regularly? Or will you
probably only put baby in a stroller at the shops? Do you want a pram that can
later be converted into a stroller? Once you have an idea what type of things
you'll need to use your stroller for, a salesperson at the baby store should be
able to guide you in the right direction. You then need to think about what
added features you might like - accessory bars, toy and activity bars,
headrests, adjustable height, rain shields etc. Choosing the right stroller is
probably going to take you a while!
Baby Monitor
A baby monitor probably isn't necessary, but I always found it was great for
peace of mind. It meant I could be off in another part of the house doing
something, but still be monitoring my baby's nap. Prices vary a lot, but it's
probably better to choose your monitor based on the features you're going to
need, rather than price. If you're going to move around a lot, make sure your
monitor is portable. Do you want batteries or mains power? Do you want video
monitoring as well?
Bouncer Seat
Again, this isn't necessary, but it's very useful! Babies love to watch
everything that's going on around them, and it's much easier for them if they're
raised slightly from the horizontal. You can buy all sorts of fancy bouncer
seats, with everything from toy bars to battery operated bouncing. I only ever
had a very basic fabric bouncer, and most of the time the toy bar wasn't even
attached. Both my kids loved them, and the good thing was that I always knew
where they were! Very handy, particularly when I was cooking dinner. The main
thing to remember is that you should NEVER place a bouncer seat on a raised
surface, they should always be placed on the floor or ground.
