Simplicity 4 in 1 Convertible Bassinet

Since I was about 8 months pregnant, I toyed with the idea of getting a co-sleeper for my newborn. With my previous pregnancy, I only had a crib, and did buy a Jenny Lind for the new baby as well. However, the crib was too large to fit comfortably in my bedroom, and I dreaded the forth-coming trek from master bedroom to baby bedroom to kitchen and back again several times each night.

A co-sleeper sounded like the perfect idea, but the price was really out of my budget. Luckily, I came across an ad in the local online newspaper, the AJC.com, for a co-sleeper bassinet. I'd never been particularly keen on the idea of a bassinet, since babies grow SO fast, and I feared that it would be a waste of money, but the price was right - $50!

To my surprise, this is one of the best purchases I could have ever made! This bassinet does everything! Firstly, it is full-fledged bassinet, with the canopy and the skirting. But it does SO much more! The Simplicity 4 in 1 Bassinet is just that, 4 things in 1; it's a bassinet, a cradle, a changer and a co-sleeper.

The bassinet has retractable wheels, and easily turns it into a rocker. The comfy vinyl pad/mattress comes with a matching fitted sheet. The unit converts into a cradle with a 'quick-release' latch, and it can rock (though I've never tried this). The changer feature has a pretty large surface area and 5 height adjustments so you can change your baby easily, and the canopy is also detachable and collapsible to give you some elbow room. The Simplicity also changes into a co-sleeper with a drop-down side, and by using the ability to adjust its height, it fits securely along side your bed with its safety straps.

The coolest feature to me yet is the detachable mobile and remote control! The mobile is volume controlled, plays 3 songs, spins and has twinkling lights. My 3-month old loves this! He coos and kicks and giggles for a good 20 minutes before nodding off to sleep. The bassinet also vibrates, and has a control to increase or decrease the intensity of the vibration. This feature is a little alarming and my son gets startled with it, so we don't use it. But again, you must admit that a remote control to the mobile is pretty cool. I've never seen this before!

My son was only 6lbs 10oz when he was born, and now at three months he's up over 14lbs. The manufacturer recommends the bassinet and co-sleeper use for up to 18lbs, but to discontinue to use if your baby can roll over or push up on his or her hands and knees. And the changing table is for use up to 25lbs. The canopy and skirting material are detachable so wou can wash them as needed.

There are a lot of batteries needed for this thing; the mobile requires 6 "AA" batteries and the remote controls uses 3 "AA" batteries. But, I can definitely say that we've used the mobile faithfully every night for at least 25 minutes, music and lights, for two months straight and have not yet had to change them.

Again, I would have never in a million years thought to purchase a bassinet, but the Simplicity 4 in 1 really has been a life, uh, sleep saver! Though I got mine second hand, you can find one at Wal-Mart for about $99.99 and at CSN Baby or All Children's Furniture for $125. Or do like I did and scout out a gently used one in your local classifieds. You'll be glad you did!