What Is A Bassinet?[2022]
If you want to know what is a bassinet, this post is for you.
There was a time when newborn babies were kept on traditional beds. It was the time when bassinets had not been invented. Keeping newborns in bed exposed them to risk as beds are not safe for them. As a result, cases of accidents started rising. People would often hear about those cases in which newborns suffered life-threatening injuries.
Consequently, parents were always afraid and worried about their newborns. So the need for a safe resting place for newborn babies was rising. With the invention of a bassinet, that need has been satisfied.
There are many reasons why you should have a bassinet for your baby, and we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But first, let’s discuss what a bassinet is.
1. What is a Bassinet?
1.1. Types of a Bassinet
2. Benefits of Using a Bassinet
2.2. Baby’s Next to You
2.3. Independent Sleeping
2.4. You Get More Space to Rest
3. What is the purpose of a bassinet?
4. What is the difference between a bassinet and a crib?
5. Where should a newborn sleep?
A bassinet is a type of bed built especially for babies. Most doctors recommend bassinets for babies and ask parents to keep the baby in the bassinet for at least four months. In this way, not only is the baby safe, but also next to your bed. The basic design of a bassinet remains pretty much the same as most of them have fixed legs. Most of the bassinets look like a basket having free legs or casters in some cases.
Bassinets are very popular among parents in the UK. Every family uses a bassinet to keep infants in the light of the recommendations by health professionals. Surveys suggest that now more and more families prefer a bassinet as a sleeping place for their babies. The number of families using a bassinet has doubled in the past few years. The obvious reasons for this are convenience and safety.
Types of a Bassinet
Based on their portability, bassinets are categorized into two types.
Stationary Bassinets
As their names suggest, stationary bassinets are those that are sturdy but are not much portable. They are highly durable and made of better materials. When kept with care, you can use these bassinets for years. The main drawback of stationary bassinets is that they’re less portable. You can move them easily, but you can’t carry them from one place to another. So you’d have a hard time shifting it from one room to another. This is a massive part of why most parents are skeptical about buying these bassinets. Apart from safety, portability is a factor that most parents consider before buying them.
In contrast to stationary bassinets, portable bassinets are less sturdy and more portable. They’re now a more popular choice, thanks to more portability. Portable bassinets are also known as Moses baskets. They’re a viable option as you can lift the bassinet and carry your baby within your house. And their sturdiness is not terrible either, and it’s just that they’re less sturdy as compared to stationary bassinets.
Furthermore, bassinets are supposed to be used for 4 to 5 months only. So their sturdiness doesn’t matter much anyway as almost any portable bassinet in the market can be used for one year easily. Hence, it would not be far from the truth to say that portable bassinets are a nice compromise between portability and sturdiness.
The ones as mentioned earlier are the two main kinds of bassinets. However, there is another type of bassinet which is not widely used. It is a special type which is next to safest. It is sealed for extra safety and is generally used in hospitals only.
One thing to bear in mind is that bassinets should never be used for more than four months. When your baby starts moving or rolling over by himself, know that it’s time to look for another option. This is because the sidewalls of a bassinet are not high enough to protect your baby from falling. Don’t wait for it to happen, and shift to a crib once your baby turns four.
Benefits of Using a Bassinet
Here are some reasons why you should consider using a bassinet for your infant.
The most obvious benefit of using a bassinet is safety. Doctors recommend a separate sleeping place for a baby where it’s safe, and when it comes to safety, nothing is better than a bassinet. Buy a bassinet, and you can rest assured knowing that your baby can now sleep safely.
Baby’s Next to You
People who just became parents are more concerned about their children. Seeing their baby in a bassinet next to their bed gives them peace of mind. The feeling of seeing your baby sleeping safely is second to none. It also makes it easy for parents to keep an eye on their baby.
Another reason why you should buy a bassinet for your baby is that it makes babies used to independent sleeping. When a baby develops the habit of sleeping independently from day one, he no longer needs his mom’s help after waking up at night. Research shows that these kids tend to sleep better and look fresher than others.
You Get More Space to Rest
We all know how hectic and tiresome the parenting experience could be. Particularly, if you’ve just become a parent, it’d be even more tiresome for you. Carrying your baby, feeding him, and taking care of him the whole day means you’d need more rest. Long story short, proper sleep holds paramount importance for parents. If your baby sleeps with you on your bed, you won’t be able to sleep freely as you normally do. When using a bassinet, you put your baby in a bassinet and rest easy.
Bassinet serves the purpose of a sleeping place for babies. Doctors recommend that babies should sleep in the same room with their parents but on a different bed. This is where bassinets come in handy. While sleeping on a bassinet, babies are safe and next to their parents.
What is the difference between a bassinet and a crib?
Both are considered safe sleeping places for babies. The main difference between a bassinet and a crib is their size. A bassinet is used to keep babies up to 4 months, whereas a crib is a relatively bigger sleeping space used to keep older babies. While a crib takes up more space, a bassinet is a more portable option. This is why parents who live in smaller houses prefer bassinets.
A newborn should sleep in the same room with their parents but on a different bed. This is because the regular beds introduce many safety concerns to them. Doctors recommend a bassinet and a crib so that newborns can sleep safely. A bassinet is used to keep babies till four months, and then a crib is used.
Newborns are not safe when sleeping on regular beds, and parents can’t keep them in another room. A bassinet is a nice compromise where you can sleep next to your baby and keep him safe as well. Parents keep their babies inside a bassinet for four months and then move on to cribs. The main types of bassinets are stationary and portable bassinets. We have discussed some reasons why you should consider buying a bassinet for your baby, such as safety, peace of mind, more space to rest, and developing the habit of independent sleeping in your kid from day one.