From the baby gear gospel according to DT reader Daniel, who emailed this to me:
What is it? I don't get it! Am I crazy for admiring simplicity?Amen, brother. For some righteous bassinets, you probably have to go to the promised lands of Denmark [home of the rockin' Leander Cradle] or Finland [can you say Seimi?]. Of course, finding a cool bassinet at a gen-pop price is probably harder than getting a camel through the eye of a needle. The rich man might not be getting into heaven, but his kid'll have a sweet bassinet in the mean time. [Us, we used the Bugaboo for 3 months.]
Am I the different one for shunning ruffles?
Does the majority of this country have all their taste in the mouths?
I am always at a loss when I see a parent pushing a monster pea green
or beige Graco stroller. What the hell are they thinking when they
went stroller shopping? That the color is chic? Give me a f'n break!
I have seen the cool cribs, the cool strollers, hell, I even researched a cool diaper bag, but where are all the modernist bassinets?
It seems as if the disease of the frilly has jumped from the crib and
spread to the bassinet. I can not, for the life of me, understand why
the general population buys this crap.
[update: there IS this one coming to Sparkability next month, the Cariboo Gentle Motions bassinet. Pros: clean lines, it's actually available in the US, only $329. Cons: "clean" can also mean "towel rack."]
One thing I don't get -- why do you need a separate bassinet-thing at all?
Taking advice from mommies I knew, I bought a pack-n-play with a bassinet attachment (like a hammock, but more firm). Less frilly than the traditional bassinet, with the promise of many baby-related uses.
For us, the pack-n-play was baby's nighttime sleep station for the first 3 months. We used a cradle (a loaner) downstairs during the day for naps, and the "bassinet" at the foot of our bed at night (some would use a co-sleeper at the bedside; in our case, there was more room at the foot of the bed).
By 3 months, she had enough heft to wiggle herself awake, so we moved her to a crib in her own room for naps and nighttime.
Why do you need a separate thing at all? You don't, but:
- It's handy if baby's in your room and the crib isn't;
-It's small and more newborn-sized;
-The pack-n-play, e.g., promises to be multi functional (good for travel, use it in transition from crib to toddler bed, great for storing toys in a pinch, etc).
Well, hey us Graco drivers would love to have Frogs but it's hard to justify a stroller thats more than your mortgage payment.
[there you go, flaunting your affordable real estate market. Next you'll tell me your house has more than four rooms... -ed.]
I also belong to the "bugaboo would have cost more than my mortgage payment" club.
Don't think I'm berating the Bugaboogers: cheap real estate usually means small town and fewer choices.
You get what you pay for ;)