Basket, crib or straight to a cot?

Measure your bedroom first. If a cot fits beside your bed, you can go straight to one, and you'll buy one fewer thing. If it doesn't, or you want to move your baby from room to room, a Moses basket or small first bed makes sense for the first months.

The sources don't rank one above the other. The Lullaby Trust says the safest place is a clear, flat, separate sleep space "such as a cot or Moses basket", and the NHS names the same two. Whichever you pick, the routine is the same: on the back, on a firm, flat mattress, in a clear space, in the same room as you for at least the first 6 months.

This comes from makers' pages and the two sources above. We haven't tried any of these. For anything about your own baby's sleep or health, speak to your doctor or health visitor.

The real difference is lifespan

A first bed has a short life. IKEA recommends the ÄLSKVÄRD for 0 to 6 months and says to stop when your child starts to sit up on their own. BabyBjörn stops its Cradle at about 6 months, at 8 kg, or when your baby can sit up, kneel or stand unaided, whichever comes first. Stokke gives birth to 6 months for the Sleepi Mini.

So plan on buying twice if you start small. On those makers' limits you'll want a cot by about 6 months, unless you buy Stokke's kit.

Prices were checked on 3 November 2026. The Stokke figure is its regular price, and it was on sale when we looked.

Straight to a cot

This is the option people forget. The lowest-priced route of these four is the IKEA SNIGLAR cot (£59) with the IKEA PELLEPLUTT mattress (£25). Together they cost less than the ÄLSKVÄRD alone at £129, and you won't be replacing them at 6 months.

The catch is floor space. The SNIGLAR measures 124x66x80 cm, and it has to sit in your room for the first 6 months at least. BabyBjörn gives 58x79x65 cm for its Cradle, so a first bed does save real length. Get the tape measure out.

A cot won't roll between rooms either. For daytime naps downstairs you'd want a second sleep space, and the Lullaby Trust lists a portable one (a Moses basket, travel cot or carry cot) among its essentials. It wants your baby in the same room as you for naps too, not only at night.

Second-hand cots are worth a look. The Lullaby Trust calls second-hand "a great way to save money", with checks on instructions, standards, recalls and condition. On a used SNIGLAR, read the date label too (more below). A new mattress for each baby is its general advice, and it knows that isn't always possible. Our cots and mattresses by budget goes into this.

Moses basket or small first bed

A Moses basket is the traditional choice, and we don't compare models here. Hold any you look at to the Lullaby Trust's mattress test: firm, entirely flat, with a waterproof layer. It says not to add extra padding.

The three first beds in the table differ in useful ways, and each gets the same test. None of the three pages says waterproof in the text we read:

• IKEA ÄLSKVÄRD. It has wheels you lock, a mesh side and a 40x73 cm mattress. IKEA sells the sheet separately. This is the one to look at if you want wheels and a low spend. On the test, IKEA uses "firm" for the mattress only in a photo caption, and we didn't find "flat" or "waterproof".
• BabyBjörn Cradle. It folds down to 13 cm high and weighs 6 kg, says BabyBjörn, so it can travel. It rocks. No other mattress may go in it. On the test, BabyBjörn lists a foam mattress with a cotton cover, machine washable at 60C, and says nothing on firm, flat or waterproof.
• Stokke Sleepi Mini bundle. It's FSC-certified wood on lockable wheels, says Stokke, and a conversion kit, sold separately, extends its life. On the test, Stokke says the mattress has "a firm, flat surface" and a removable, washable cover. That's Stokke's claim. Waterproof goes unmentioned.

So ask the maker about waterproofing before you buy any of them. When it arrives, try the Lullaby Trust's firmness check on the mattress: your baby's head should sink in by no more than a few millimetres.

Read the claims with care

BabyBjörn says its rocking soothes and mentions "a good night's sleep". Stokke calls its bundle "breathable". The Lullaby Trust's product guide says to ignore claims that a product helps a baby sleep longer or more deeply, and it says a firm, flat, waterproof mattress matters more than breathability. I'd judge these on size and how long they last, not on those lines.

Standards, and what they mean

The Lullaby Trust lists BS EN 1466:2014 or BS EN 1466:2023 for Moses baskets and carry cots, BS EN 1130:2019 for bedside cribs, and BS EN 716-1:2017 for cots (BSI, status Current, checked 3 November 2026). BSI's overview says that last one doesn't cover carry cots, cribs or cradles, which have their own standard.

BabyBjörn says the Cradle complies with EN 1130, and IKEA says the SNIGLAR complies with EN 716-1. We didn't find a standard named on the ÄLSKVÄRD or Sleepi Mini pages we read, so ask the maker if that matters to you.

A British Standard covers things like build and fire safety. The Lullaby Trust says it doesn't mean a product reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

One more from the same guide: don't adapt anything. It gives the example of attaching a cot to an adult bed. Bedside cribs made for the job exist, and it says that since 2020 they should meet BS EN 1130:2019.

What you can skip

Stands, canopies, drapes and matching sets are all optional. Pods, nests and bumpers stay out. Our safer sleep basics page has the full routine, and you can browse baskets and cribs when you've measured up.

We found no current recall for these four models on 3 November 2026. Older notices do cover earlier stock of two of these names. SNIGLAR cots were recalled in the EU in 2006 over the base, and in the US in 2011 over the mattress support, on cots sold to June 2010. Oval Sleepi cribs with foam mattresses, sold in the US from September 2006 to March 2007, were recalled in 2007. Buying either second-hand? Check the date label on a SNIGLAR or the model number on a Sleepi.