Carrycots used to be the essential part of a parent's kit when travelling. But with the arrival of fold-down travel cots, cute Moses baskets and travel system pushchairs where car seats could click conventiently into a buggy, carrycots and huge old fashioned prams got a little neglected.
However, after research suggested that babies should not spend excessively long periods in car seats - due to the possible damage caused to their growing spines, and their inability to stretch out and move, whilst lying flat - the option to use pram-style transportation has made a comeback.
Add to this the arrival of Bugaboo and a fleet of other manufacturers now selling pushchairs where you buy the chassis separately and mix and match pram and buggy parts to create something which suits your own needs, and carrycots are very much back on the shopping list.
What is a carrycot?
Unlike a lay-flat option in a pushchair seat, a carrycot creates exactly what its name suggests: a small crib for your baby to sleep or rest in, when you're on the go.
A carrycot has a solid, protective frame and carry handles. It is important to get a feel of the carrycot before you buy it. If the handles are not ergonomically designed or don't particularly suit you, and if the cot itself is bulky and heavy, you just won't use it enough.
The carrycot can usually click into the frame of a pushchair to complete a specific travel system. It's most likely that you will choose a carrycot as part of your bigger choice of travel system.
A carrycot is suitable from birth and can be used usually until your baby is 9kg or 10kg (six to nine months, depending on the baby), or until your child can sit up.
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| Windoo Carry Cot |
Mattresses and ventilation
Any product in which your baby can sleep or rest for long periods of time, must meet strict safety standards.
All carrycots come with washable mattress covers, but it is important that you have a mattress that correctly fits the carry cot and that you practice safe sleeping with your baby when you are out and about and when your baby is sleeping during the day, just as much as when you go to bed at night.
Some mattresses in carrycots and prams are really only suited to brief naps, but if the mattress is thick enough and well ventilated, the carrycot can replace the need to buy a Moses basket.
If in doubt, ask your midwife or health visitor, or check in the store where you are buying the carrycot, by comparing the mattress with mattresses being sold for cribs and Moses baskets.
All carrycots come with claims that the interiors are well ventilated. Understandably, this is very important. For example, Bugaboo have their 'Aerosleep', hypoallergenic system to ensure that mites and dust don't affect your baby's comfort or breathing.
Using carrycots in the car
In the days before it was compulsory to wear seatbelts in cars (or indeed, before many cars even had belts fitted), a carrycot was seen as a secure way for a baby to lay flat on car journeys: placed in their cot, plonked on the back seat. The handles made it easy to transfer the baby from the car just like a sleeping baby nowadays can be carried inside in a Group 0 car seat.
Now that newborn car seats are not considered advisable for extended periods of time, there are a few car seats which will secure your baby but which fully recline.
However, a far cheaper option, is to buy a carrycot which comes with its own secure fixings and can be used in the back of your car. This means your baby is as safe as he would be in a car seat, but is able to sleep or lay flat in his carrycot for the journey.
The Bebe Confort Windoo Carry Cot is at the high end of the carrycot range (at about £169.99), but it can be used from birth up to about 10kg (beyond six months usually), and can be fitted safely as an alternative to buying a Group 0 car seat. The Auto Carry Cot can also be used in this way.
Extras
Most carrycots come with a hood and an 'apron' to cover your baby. Some will also come with an insect net, or safety fixings for use in the back seat of a car (see above).
How much?
You can expect to pay between £100 and £200 on a carrycot, depending on the model, and if it's suitable for other things, such as safe night sleeping or use in the car. Bear in mind that the more expensive options might save you the expense of a crib or first car seat, if it suits you, so it tends to even out over those early months.
