Once your baby grows out of a Moses basket or bassinet, which most parents use for a newborn, he or she will need to move into a cot or cot bed. There are pros and cons with each.

Cot beds

*A cot bed is a cot with removable sides and a removable end panel that can be converted into a toddler-sized bed.

*Your child could outgrow an old-fashioned crib or cot by the time they reach one or two years old. The big advantage with a cot bed is that it will last years longer than a cot, because you can use it as a junior bed.

*Most cot beds will last until a child is seven or eight years old. But this will depend on their weight, and how much wear and tear they put the bed through.

*If you have the space, it might make sense to buy a cot bed from the outset, as it will last longer and you can avoid the hassle of having to buy two separate pieces of furniture.

Cots

*Cot prices start at around £70 for a basic cot, up to around £700 for a luxury solid-oak model.

*Cots are generally smaller than cot beds – around 50-60cm wide – so if your baby’s bed will be in your room until he or she is six months old, as is the current advice, a cot may fit more easily if space is limited.

*Sizes do vary, though. Cots designed to fit 'standard-sized' cot mattresses are a few centimetres narrower than cots designed for 'continental-sized' mattresses, although they're often a similar length (around 140cm). Measurements should be clearly displayed on the cot label.

*You can buy bedside cots with a removable side, so you can position it right next to your bed. You can adjust the base so your baby’s mattress lines up with yours, which makes night-time feeding easier.

*If you’re planning on more than one child with a small age gap between them, a cot may be more suitable, as you’ll more than likely use the cot for the new baby and buy a single bed for your older child.

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