My son slept in his car seat next to our bed for the first 2 months! Super easy and convenient, and it even rocked.

I used the fisher price rock and play sleeper for the first 6 months! It was nice how it was portable for travel and I kept it next to my bed. She slept in it as long as I swaddled her and even when she was able to roll over it had a three point harness to keep her secure. Once she outgrew the swaddle I moved her to the crib in her own room.

@Karen: An infant should not be in his car seat more then an our at a time, the semi-seated position partially blocks airflow that can result in death in some infants.

Crib in my room for the first month and a half, then crib in her own room which is just across from my room with both doors open.

That should read hour not our...

I recommend buying a bassinet that can be repurposed. We have one that converted to a toy box.

Awesome timing, thank you! Clueless mom-to-be here, and I was just wondering today what exactly a bassinette was, and for how long it would be used!

We used a hand-me-down bassinet that my sister used with her two for our son and he slept in it in our room for the first three or four months. He was a long baby so he was busting out of it by the time we moved him to his crib. I can remember my husband and me staring at him in the crib, thinking how tiny he looked in there. Now at 2+, we stare at him in his crib wondering how much longer we'll be able to keep him contained in there. :)

We have a beautiful vintage wicker bassinet with stand that we use for naps in the family room. We also used it with our older child to aid the transition from cosleeping to crib.

We used a pack n' play in our room the first couple months. If you have the room for it, it's useful for much longer than a bassinet (we used it as a travel bed for 2 years for each kid).

My sister was placed in an empty drawer when she was a baby, and my son spent a few nights in a large laundry basket. By about 3 or 4 months babies are too mobile for the low sides of most bassinets. Save $ and wait it out using what's at hand.

A bassinet that converts to a toy box or one that folds up for storage seems really smart since it's needed for less than a year. We just used a crib but I like the idea of saving space with a bassinet.

I know when I was a baby (late 70's) my parents had me sleeping in a laundry basket. Heck, it's the right shape and size, so why not? Most laundry baskets even have vented walls.

And, I second the recommendation of a wicker "Moses" basket --- we had one for our daughter when she was a newborn and it was great to be able to move her from floor to table and room to room while she slept quietly in the basket. Once she got bigger the basket became a great toy bin!

We have a beautiful heirloom bassinet that has been passed down several generations in my husband's family. It's Lloyd Loom, both beautiful and safe (no padded sides; well-ventilated but secure). It was a lifesaver when we had kids!

We used ours right next to our bed until our babies could pull themselves up to sit on their own, which was at around 6 months. It was a pretty essential piece of equipment for us, since co-sleeping was not our thing, and I wanted to have the babes close at hand, and didn't have room for a full crib next to our bed. We got one much like the Jenny Lind one above, except with rockers on the bottom, which did not turn out to be a very useful function. I agree that a pack 'n play (esp. one with a crib/bassinet insert) is an equally useful option that will have a much longer lifespan than the bassinet, but I guess I just wanted something prettier. We'll Craigslist it when we're definitely done having babies, but until then, it comes apart and stores flat in the basement, which isn't too bad.

My son is 4 months old and sleeps in a borrowed bassinet or his car seat.

My son slept in a hand-me-down bassinet. One of those standard bassinets covered in ruffles that you can find in any big-box retailer. It wasn't exactly my taste, but it was nice to have. I really like that Jenny Lind cradle and the one that converts to a toy box! Great idea!

We occasionally used the bassinet from our bugaboo or our cosleeper.

Carseats are not a safe place for an infant to sleep for a prolonged time. They block airflow and babies can become tangled in the straps, both of which have caused multiple deaths.

Don't forget that many pack-n-plays/playards come with bassinet attachments. With my extreme space limitations, this multi-purpose item has worked well. It allowed me to have the baby right next to my bed as a newborn, allowed for separate-room napping for both of my kids (even long after baby was too big for a bassinet), it travels with us, and it's a safe place for my now-crawling baby to play while I'm gathering laundry, etc.

That said, even the cutest playard doesn't look as nice as these bassinets! :)

How is it that the Cariboo bassinet is the exact same design as a $25 laundry hamper, and yet somehow costs $300...?

We used a Moses basket we got off Craigslist of $20 until my son was about 5 months old. It was super convenient and easy to carry around from room to room while he was sleeping. A pack'n'play is not as aesthetically pleasing, but also very practical as you can use it as a travel crib for a couple of years. I don't even think you would need the bassinet attachment.

Wondering if there are any safety issues around buying a used bassinet? I see tons of them for sale on craigslist- anything that I should look out for?

My friends tell me that the rocking ones aren't so great. She didnt elaborate though...?

With our second child, we used a cradle until it was outgrown (at ~7 wks), then moved her into a minicrib. It's working wonderfully. If we have a third, I'd just start them in the minicrib. Our first child was comfortable in it until somewhere between 12 and 18 months.

Aside from dying, sleeping in a carseat can give babies a BAD case of flat head syndrome. Bad idea all around.

I'm confused. I thought a bassinet was, by definition, a detachable (or stand-alone) basket with handles. Some of these look more like cradles (swinging cribs) to me.

I think the best all rounder is the Stokke crib
http://www.stokke.com/en-gb/nursery/stokke-sleepi-bed.aspx?_s_icmp=0A5P423k

I loved the "moses" basket! It was so easy to move baby from room to room. She also slept in it in her crib to get used to her crib.

The whole "for every budget" part of this post is really misleading. There isn't one option under $100! I'd love to see a post (with photos) about DIY or refurbished bassinets. I know as a group, ATers are typically very creative.

I slept in a dresser drawer when I was born.

I had one bassinet in my bedroom and one in my kitchen! As others have already commented, it's about a thousand times better to lay a baby in a bassinet than a car seat. in fact, a baby should really never be left unattended in a car seat, especially when their heads are still floppy. And to those of you who have been doing this, we (I'm sure I speak for everyone) give this advice with love, not judgment. When I was a new mom I needed all the help I could get!

The bassinet of the Bugaboo stroller can be used for sleeping, and probably some other similar strollers also have bassinets deemed suitable for sleep. That's what we did for the first 2 months until she was big enough to transition to a crib.

You all have me freaking out about sleeping in the car seat. Flat head isn't an issue since he gets tons of tummy time. I'm wondering if sleeping in a cradle swing has the same risk? They are both at 45 degree angles. Any thoughts? He sleeps in a cradle swing at the sitter's house. He needs constant movement and easily wakes. These tactics help him get a better amount of sleep.

We got a moses basket instead, the lovely canvas one from Serena and Lily, as it has a more clean lined look than the actual basket ones. I love that it can be used for something else after the baby out grows it -- right now we store stuffed animals and pillows in it, but it is ready to be used again soon as we are expecting our second child. I adore the bassinets in the photos above, but I would have a hard time spending that much money on something that couldn't be used in a different way later... Plus we only spent $100 on our crib, so it would be a bit odd to spend more on the bassinet!

We've got a mini-crib that converts to a twin bed on the way for our new one. We're small people so I'm not really worried about her growing out of it too fast.

One more vote for a laundry basket! We didn't really mean to do that for our first, but since she was born mid-November, we ended up spending the first two months traveling cross-country to see grandparents for the holidays. The laundry basket was the easiest thing to manage, it was there, and it worked great. We just used a folded up bathroom towel for cushioning and took her from room to room as necessary. Now we're planning on doing that with our second. It's essentially the same as a Moses basket, but even cheaper, particularly if you already have one of the appropriate size!

my baby slept beautifully in the baby bouncer and car seat but as this practice was warned against by our health visitor he ended up sleeping on me - all the time. actually in retrospect it was lovely. but sometimes irritating when i had housework to do.

My bubs slept in the bassinet that came with our UppaBaby Vista stroller. It worked great until she could sit herself up. We never used the bassinet with the stroller and bought a $50 rocking stand custom made to fit the bassinet. The rocking motion was the greatest thing ever and would calm her down like nobody's business.

lol..for EVERY budget?! come on..these are EXPENSIVE bassinets...im not gonna lie, my daughter had a land of nod white wicker bassinet (we still have it, its in the basement waiting to be used again) but she hardly ever slept in it...she ended up sleeping in her boppy bouncer seat most of the time
and for those about the car seat thing..your baby CAN sleep in a car seat (please speak to your pediatrician first to get the OK before you do it)

Has anyone tried the Brica fold and go travel bassinet? It seems like an affordable option for a small apartment *and* for travel, but I'm wondering what others think. I like the idea of folding it up and storing it away when appropriate.

@JAX72- may I inquire where you were able to order the rocking stand for the Vista bassinet? I've got the same bassinet and would love to find something like this!

My mom gave us a lovely moses basket in a rocking stand. First baby couldn't be laid down anywhere for more than 2.5 seconds, so we couldn't use it despite mystified efforts. Second baby could be laid down and go right to sleep during his first month, so we used it for that one month. And now he's four months and it's serving as a biiiiiig toy basket until I find a smaller one for his special stuff.

If you're 100% sure you're not a cosleep-when-they-are-tiny parent, you could get more use than we. We found out we were neither 'let them cry a little' or pacifier-using parents. Ergo, they would have had to cry or pacify to get to sleep alone in it (as with a crib).

For all the folks asking about the rockers - the deal is, they don't rock very much so there isn't any soothing action that comes out of it like it would with a bouncy seat, if the rockers are on carpet the rocking action makes the bassinet 'creep' across the room away from your rocking foot, and if you're carefully laying an asleep baby in one the rockers make it tough to avoid startling.

But they are beautiful, classic, timeless...lovely. Sigh.