Moses Basket Alternative

In keeping with our efforts to contain cost and clutter (unintentional alliteration), we haven't bought a bassinet or Moses basket for the baby. Instead, we plan to keep it in a regular basket for the first couple of months.

I've had this basket for years; it was given to me as part of a housewarming gift and held bath towels and melamine kitchenware, but I've seen similar baskets at Ikea and discount stores like TJ Maxx. What I like about this basket is that even though it's made of natural materials it's extremely strong, it's shallow, and it has handles.

To prepare the basket for baby, I simply folded up a towel to the dimensions of the basket and then inserted the towel in a pretty embroidered pillowcase. Remember, you don't want babies sleeping in anything too cushy because it can be a suffocation risk. The towel provides enough padding while still being a firm...and it's easily washable.

Because babies outgrow Moses baskets and bassinets so quickly, they can only use it until they learn to roll over, it just makes sense to re-purpose a regular basket for a few months for baby, and then re-integrate the basket back into home storage when you're done with it.

P.S. I totally don't think you need a Moses basket or bassinet, but because my husband really wants to co-sleep with the baby and there's some increased risk of SIDS with that, a basket seemed like a good way to keep the baby in bed with us without compromising safety or splurging on a co-sleeper.