How to Buy a Good Bassinet

Whether you choose to place your newborn in a bassinet or crib for the first few weeks of sleep, some planning and research are necessary to choose the safest and most user-friendly one.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bassinets

1. Decide where your baby is going to sleep for the first few months. Ask your pediatrician and other parents for their opinions.

2. Consider whether you will breast-feeding or bottle-feeding, and estimate the number of likely nighttime feedings. Also consider the possibility that the bassinet could be knocked over, if you have an older child, or that a pet could climb in the bassinet.

3. Measure the area(s) where the bassinet will be and the doorways it will need to fit through. Some bassinets have wheels to easily move them from room to room. Others are portable cribs with bassinet inserts fitting on the top of the play yard or with attachments to make the bassinet an extension of your bed. And some bassinets are baskets with handles that can be placed just about anywhere.

4. Check for safety features. If the bassinet has wheels, make sure they lock. If the bassinet stand collapses, make sure the legs lock to prevent accidental collapsing. If it has a hood, check to see that it fold back easily. Evaluate whether the sturdiness of bassinet and look for one with a wide base.

5. Test the mattress for firmness and correct size. A rule of thumb for crib and bassinet mattresses is if you can easily indent the mattress with your forefinger, it is too soft. If you can fit two fingers easily between the side of the bassinet or crib and the mattress, it is too small. Unsafe mattresses have been linked to SIDS and infant suffocation.

6. Make sure the product is designed to be a bassinet. Putting a blanket and pillow in a basket or clothes drawer is not a safe place for your child to sleep.

7. Expect to pay anywhere from $80 to $200. Bassinets can be found at most stores that carry children's nursery furniture as well as some of the larger toy store chains.

Tips & Warnings

• There are some manufacturers who make bassinet bedding to match nursery themes.
• If you are buying the bassinet as a gift, engage in casual conversation about nursery furniture and themes to find out what the parents are planning, without giving away your gift idea.
• Save your receipt or tape it to the box if you are giving the bassinet as a gift, so the parents can return or exchange it if they choose.
• Check consumer reports or recall notices before placing your infant in a bassinet you have purchased or borrowed.
• Check for sharp edges in the bassinet, especially in wicker models, as some reeds may poke through the bedding and scratch your infant.
• Some bassinets come complete with beautiful bedding. Decrease the risk of infant suffocation by not placing quilts or heavy blankets over or under your sleeping child.