A crib, cradle, bassinet or Moses basket is not an essential purchase for your new baby, but it is something which may be useful if you have limited space in your bedroom. Current health profession advice is that it is best for baby to sleep in the same room as you for the first few months. However you may not have room for a full-sized cot next to your bed and a crib or Moses basket can be the ideal solution.

New to the UK is the stylish wooden BEDNEST co-sleeper cradle, with soft breathable fabric sides and adjustable height so it can sit next to your bed whatever the size of your divan.

Another advantage to a small cradle or Moses basket is that it is easily portable so that you can have baby in the room with you during the day, and even take it with you for family visits or weekends away. Some parents also use a Moses basket to settle baby into the cot when he is ready to sleep in his nursery, simply placing the Moses basket inside the cot for a few days or weeks so that he becomes accustomed to his new surroundings while still having familiar smells and sensations around him.

A Moses basket  or crib is a popular gift for family members or work colleagues to club together for, it is a generous present yet not too expensive for most budgets. There are many designs available, you may wish to have a neutral colour scheme to fit in with your bedroom, or a brightly dressed basket giving baby lots of interest between naps. Organic baskets and cradles are available too, which are usually muted or undyed fibres to lessen the use of chemicals such as bleach or dyestuffs during manufacture.

Most Moses baskets and cribs come with a cold foam mattress as standard. These are perfectly safe and comfortable, and baby will only be using the crib for a matter of months so you may feel that this is adequate. However, organic fibre mattresses with a coir fibre or wool core and organic cotton covers are widely available to purchase as an option for standard sized baskets, and are also available in non-standard sizes on a made to order basis if you have a family cradle, for example. 

A crib or cradle will usually have legs or a base providing height and stability. The crib itself might be soft fabric on a frame, or have more solid wooden sides like a traditional cradle. Moses baskets can be placed on the floor, but most parents buy a stand to use with the basket when baby is sleeping, so that the need for bending and lifting is limited, protecting your back. Stands are available in plastic, metal or wood, and can also be matched to your decor.

Swing cradles are available which do not take up any floor space, and have a natural gentle rocking motion to help sooth baby. Usually there is a strong hook mechanism with such cradles which can be fixed into a secure ceiling joist or even a door frame. Some designs are available with a tripod stand as an option which makes the cradle portable, for example the Leander ecotex cotton cradle.