A must for breastfeeding mums! (Mothercare Bedside Cot)

Member Name: technoir

Product:	Mothercare Bedside Cot
Date:	09/06/09 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Perfect height for most beds

Disadvantages: No mattress included

After struggling with a moses basket with my first baby I decided 2nd time round to buy a Mothercare Bedside cot. I breastfed my first baby and wanted to with my second but kept hurting my back lifting him horizontally in and out of his moses basket whilst trying to stay in bed.

I saw this cot in the Mothercare catalogue and had a look online and luckily got a 10% off voucher around the time I was looking to buy it. It cost £180 but with the many offers there are we got it for £162. It was out of stock online but they took the order and gave me an estimated delivery time and it only took about a month. I would make sure you order it in plenty of time though.

Its made of Beech wood with flat bars on all 4 sides. It has 2 teething rails which I'm sure will be good for those teething problems ahead. Its got 8 holes so you can align it perfectly with your mattress height and the instructions tell you how to work out which hole to use. It measures L127 x W66 x H106cm and you need a continental mattress 120x60cm with it - not included

The side is attached on runners at the sides and slides up and locks in to position when a proper side is needed and slides underneath the cot when not in use. I find it a very useful storage shelf for spare nappies etc.
It has lockable wheels which as most plastic wheels do slide with a push but as Ive got a wooden floor we left them off and its stayed in position well. I think you'd only need them on a carpet but I haven't moved it to put the side up in 4 months. Maybe I'll need them when she's older but even then you don't want it sliding around much.

The good thing about assembling this cot is that it comes in large pieces- quite different from the 40 or so rods we had to line up for our son's cot bed. You get the 4 sides and the base along with the usual screws, rods and alan key etc. The instructions are quite simple and we actually managed to build ours on our double bed as the doorway was too small.

The only thing we took ages to work out was how you fix the side when you want a proper cot side. You have to put the little plastic rods on the end into the lower slot then run the whole thing up to the top holes with the catches on. We managed to snap half of the plastic bit on the end trying to shove it in to the catches from the outside. (This might only make sense once you've tried it).

I love the fact I can sleep next to my baby and feed her in the night without having to get out of bed and I also change her nappy on there as well as its the perfect height. There's enough room at the other end for nappies, wipes and the book I'm reading so it takes the place of my bedside table.

I like to be able to rub her tummy while I'm lying next to her or slide her into bed once I've fed her. Its so handy and makes me wish I'd discovered it for my first baby. I would definately reccomend it to anyone especially breastfeeding mums!

Summary: The best cot around