Baby Equipment: Bassinets & Moses Basket

Series Summary

Babies are a huge responsibility, and require an enormous amount of baby related accessories. Bottles, car seats, and cribs are among the many things necessary before the arrival of a new baby. The modern stroller is a three to four wheeled buggy that can convert to meet a variety of needs, from bassinets, to car seats to traditional baby strollers. There are a huge number of styles, colors and specialty baby strollers around today that are sure to meet any parents needs and lifestyle. In this free video series on child care, a baby store manager discusses necessary baby equipment. Learn about choosing the right stroller, bassinet and pacifiers. Also, find out ways to keep a baby occupied, like with Pack n' Plays, swings and other toys. For the mom on the go, see great diaper bags that keep things organized and car seats that keep babies safe. For the utmost comfort and style, baby equipment is a must.

Video Transcript

"So in the first 4 to 5 months of having an infant, it's really convenient to have a couple of different places that you can put baby down to take a nap, that's called a bassinet, or Moses basket. I'm Joie with Baby Earth. And let's talk a little bit about, what to look for when buying a bassinet or a Moses basket. Now here are two really good examples of different ones. This is a bassinet, and it's pretty sturdy, you give it a shake, that's really important. You want to make sure that it's got a nice base, it's sturdy, and that any passing dog, or cat, or person, even if they knock into it, it's not going to tip over. Now, these are much different than a crib. This is actually a crib behind us. See, a crib you can't really move. Bassinets are made so that you can move them easily from room to room. So think about what rooms you're going to have to go to. Do you want one with wheels, do you need one that collapses and folds. If you get one with wheels, make sure the wheels lock, and that you know how to lock them. If it collapses, make sure that you can carry it, you're not going to be struggling trying to get it up the stairs, to let baby sleep in the office with you while you work. Now, these pretty little baskets here, these are actually something that I like to think of, as something cute to have next to the fireplace, and a nice place to set baby down. But they are really not intended to carry baby around, you know, they're really flimsy and it's just not safe. So if you do buy one of these, I would just keep it in one spot. Now something else to think about, is the mattress. So they all come with these cushy little mattresses, and they're very light, these are not intended to be cribs, they're just somewhere for the baby to nap, so it's a light mattress. You want to make sure it fits. A good rule is, take two fingers and place it in between the mattress and the edge, and if it fits easily, it should fit a little snug, but if you feel like you can fit three fingers in there, then the mattress doesn't fit. So, also, they're not made to have tons of blankets and beddings, so don't put too many extra things in there. I would say, maybe just a light blanket with the mattress and a stuffed animal or something to comfort your baby. Well I hope you learned a little bit about bassinets and Moses baskets. I'm Joie with Baby Earth."