I fell in love with the Bednest the first time I laid eyes on it. Beautifully designed, sustainably produced and filling a gap in the market it became a baby furniture crush of mine. Top of my fantasy shopping list for Betsy I struck a deal to buy a gently pre-loved model and used my maternity grant to do so.
Having used the bednest constantly for the first five months of Betsy’s life I am still in love with it. From our very first nap together (which ended with Betsy puking all over the pristine sides) to holidays and right up until the last night we used it, we slept together happily.
Starting from scratch: putting up the Bednest is not a complete breeze. My technical assistant (Mr Kat) found that although seemingly simple he found setting the base level and at the correct height was a tad cumbersome although not a time consuming issue. Despite this criticism, Mr Kat says it is no harder than putting up a travel cot and packing it away for travel is a matter of moments. Like folding a pushchair, once you know how to fold it getting it up and down is a no brainer.
In use: both sides open although only one side is intended to be alongside the bed. The side opening onto the bed has three positions: closed, half mast and open. In closed position it is fixed by leather clasps (which are easy to open when fumbling in the dark) as in the picture at the top. In half mast position (pictured below) your baby has a small barrier to stop them rolling into the bed but you can easily reach in to soothe them. When the side is open, it folds into the bed, bridging any gap between crib and bed. Moving your baby into the bed for feeds is easy and I even managed to feed Betsy while she was still in the crib by moving very close.
As a piece of furniture I enjoyed having the crib in our room. Although we have a small space the rounded corners meant I never knocked into the side and the legs weren’t in a position to stub your toes. Getting in and out of bed with it on my side wasn’t too arduous and again the rounded corners were appreciated here. The top can be removed and used as a moses basket around the house so your baby has one place to sleep wherever they are.
The mattress was quite firm but Betsy was comfortable on it. You can also buy organic Bednest sized mattresses from Natural Mat. Betsy is quite a long baby and yet was still comfortable at just over five months old. We may have used it longer but a new wider bed ate up our Bednest space in the room!
Travelling: we took the Bednest away with us to visit friends and on our trip to Cornwall. It all folds down neatly and stows in a carry bag which we fit in between the front and back seats. Compared to using a travel cot or just sleeping with the baby in the bed as we normally would it was wonderful to be able to take Betsy’s crib with us – a massive plus to having a Bednest.
Washing: The sides remove easily for washing and washed well although they do take a while to dry so make sure you plan your timings well.
Niggles: my one niggle is that the cot side was uncomfortable for me when in open position. I had hoped to sleep with no barrier between us but the hard edge made me feel like the princess and the pea so I kept it in half mast position unless getting her out in the night.
Betsy’s thoughts: she likes it second only to sleeping in Mama’s arms.
My crush hasn’t abated; it remains one of my favourite baby items of all time and if we ever had another baby I would have a Bednest in a heartbeat.
All pictures copyright Kat. Picture of Betsy is at 12 days old.
Leave a Reply