What's That Question Again? To Use Or Not To Use?......

I recently looked into pregnancy forums to see what pressing questions expecting mothers have about bassinets and bassinet safety. Here are the top three frequently asked questions followed by some hopefully helpful and informative answers for those of you expecting!

Question #1 – Which is better to use - a bassinet or a crib?

This question has neither a right nor a wrong answer. The choice between using a bassinet or a crib is really up to personal preference. There are many pros to choosing a bassinet, however, and here is a list of the most common benefits:

·      You can keep baby in your room for convenient night feedings (whether you nurse or not)

·      You can keep baby right next to your bed for easier recovery after a C-Section

·      Bassinets are portable

·      Chores are easier to accomplish when you have baby in the room with you to check on, rather than having to stop your chores and leave the room to check on baby

·      You can develop sounder sleeping babies when you have them sleeping in a room that has activity in it as they get used to sleeping through noise

·      Bassinets offer a smaller, more confined space that comforts a newborn baby in sleep

·      Parents feel more comfortable and have less fears when their baby sleeps in their room during the night

Question #2 – How do you transition your baby from a bassinet to a crib?

This, again, becomes an issue of personal choice; however, this time it becomes the personal preference of your baby. Although the sky could be the limit in this topic, I have assembled a list of tips that will surely soothe 99% of babies in the bassinet to crib transition.

·      Swaddle baby tightly to imitate the confined cocoon-like feeling a bassinet helps imitate

·      Move the bassinet into baby’s nursery to sleep in before actually transitioning the baby to her crib

·      Try lying baby close to the side crib bumpers when you lay her down to help her feel close and confined to a side barrier

·      Attach a musical mobile to the crib

·      Play lullaby music on a CD

·      Sing to baby while letting her grasp your finger as she falls asleep

Although this may not comfort all babies, trying these suggestions may just solve your problem in a hurry!

Question #3 – Is it safer to have a newborn baby in a bassinet instead of a crib?

Three guesses what my answer will be!  You got it – not technically; however, there are a few safety issues that can be addressed with the use of a bassinet:

·      If you have baby in a bassinet in the room you are occupying, whether it be at night or during the day, you can immediately hear and respond to any emergency or situation that may arise

·      Having baby next to you at night means that you can quickly check on them without even getting out of bed. This in turn translates to better sleep for you, which is always safer J, but also translates to checking on baby more often since it can be done by simply opening your eyes.

·      Finally, having baby in the same room as you means that she doesn’t have to work up into an angry tantrum before being heard, meaning that you can respond to a calm baby’s needs, instead of a screaming baby’s needs. Also, it has now been proven that babies that are allowed to cry for long periods of time are actually destroying brain cells, and that is the last thing I want happening to my newborn baby.

·      Bassinet safety is based on using new, undamaged equipment. The CPSC has reported a study that found that approximately 50 infant deaths per year are caused by using old, borrowed, or heirloom bassinets or cribs. The dangers occur because the pieces may have been manufactured prior to publication of the most up-to-date bassinet safety standards and regulations, or they may just be used and abused in ways that can’t be seen with the naked eye. Parents, you wouldn’t use an old and used car seat, would you? The same principle applies.

Bassinet safety is always dependant on your particular item, however. Remember that any crib or bassinet that has been recalled needs to be immediately disposed of so that no chance of baby injury can occur.

Hopefully this helps to answer the most questioned topics involving bassinets and bassinet safety. I should mention in closing that the only con to using a bassinet is that you may spend money on an item that is not absolutely necessary - depending on how you look at it. Again, even this statement comes down to your point of view and personal preference.

This articles has been featured on EZine Articles and can be found at http://EzineArticles.com/?id=3149660.

The Moses Basket Baby Bassinet - A Modern Day Miracle for New Moms

A little more than 4 years ago, I lay in a hospital room with a brand new tiny baby boy excited to take him home and start my new life as a mom. When we got home, and I put him in his crib for his first nap, he just looked teeny in that big bed! I was nervous the entire time he napped. All you hear when you're pregnant are warnings about SIDS and death by smothering and who knows what other garbage.

After he awoke, I remembered that a family friend had given me a moses basket baby bassinet. I ran upstairs and retrieved it and took it downstairs for him. How that bassinet changed my life as a new mom!

Never before had I known what a blessing a bassinet could be. Now, when I was downstairs going about my daily activities, he was there with me safe and secure in his little moses basket whether he was asleep or awake. And when I had a chore to do upstairs, I would transport him with me in the little bassinet. I could easily keep him close by at all times. I didn’t even take the baby monitor out of the box until he transitioned into his baby crib.
          My baby was able to sleep inside his bassinet with my husband and I in our room from the very first night. What was really incredible about that experience was that we were able to put his little baby bassinet between us in our king size bed so he could be up off the floor, out of any drafts, within reach, and yet completely protected from the two of us. It was such a feeling of security for the two of us to have the baby in our room where we could see and hear him, as we were both very much in the “nervous new parent” stage. 

Ooohh, and what about those late night feedings? It was almost too easy! I just had to sit up when he awoke hungry, take him out of the moses basket baby bassinet, and let him feed. (I nursed.) No fuss, no muss – I almost didn’t have to be completely awake as he was still safe and secure with me, and I just had to transfer him back to his moses basket when he was done. Also, I was able to reach him in the baby bassinet quickly when he awoke, making it less of a distraction to my husband’s sleep, as he, unfortunately, had to be up by 4:30 a.m.

I just cannot tell you how much peace of mind I received by using a moses basket baby bassinet for my newborn. Not only did he feel more comfortable with a smaller confined space, but I felt more comfortable always having him under my eye. I recommend that all mothers, whether new or not, purchase a bassinet for their newborns and receive the same peace of mind I did!

Paige Pehrson Marsh is the owner of Lullaby Bassinets, an online baby bassinet boutique. Paige began this site after having three babies in three years, and found that a moses basket was beneficial in keeping her newborn babies safe yet nearby while going about her daily activities. Now, she has the opportunity to spread the joy to other new moms with the same concerns! See for yourself how much functionality and beauty a baby bassinet gives you and your home!  


This articles has been featured on EZine Articles and can be found at http://EzineArticles.com/?id=2973574



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