Cot or bassinet? It’s a question that I get asked a lot and to be honest there’s no one answer. It really depends on the layout of your house and what works best for you and your family. However, if you’re considering a bassinet you’ve landed in the right place. But before you add to cart, there are a few things you should know when shopping for a bassinet, which you can read on our bassinet product guide and 2022 Best Of list here.

The first thing you should know is that there are no mandatory safety standards for bassinets in Australia (like there are for cots or prams). This doesn’t mean that bassinets on the market are necessarily unsafe but you will want to make sure you’re super vigilant when purchasing one. You can look for products that hold the European or American standards. Lucky for us, Red Nose Australia also have this handy guide to help you make a safe choice.

Next up, bassinets have a shorter life span compared to cots. Red Nose recommends you only use a bassinet until your bub starts to show signs of being able to roll unassisted. On average this happens at around four months but differs from baby to baby (ie. it can be less time or more time). Once your little one starts showing signs of being able to roll, Red Nose recommends transitioning them to a cot for safe sleeping.

While they do have a shorter life span, a lot of parents prefer bassinets in those early newborn days because they are more compact compared to cots. As they are typically smaller in size, they are easier to keep in your bedroom and are easier to move around the house compared to a full-size cot.

To find out the best bassinets in Australia in 2022, we surveyed thousands of Australian parents about the bassinets they used, loved and would recommend. You can read the results here. I also tested quite a few bassinets for The Baby Edit when my daughter was a newborn, including the Boori Bassinet.

Key takeaways after testing this product

The Boori Bassinet is a very practical product that does exactly what it’s meant to do: provide a safe sleep space for your newborn. There’s not really much you can adjust or additional features, it’s simply a rectangular mattress surrounded by mesh sides.

This bassinet in my opinion ticks Red Nose’s bassinet safety guidelines. I highly recommend you consult this guide when shopping for your own bassinet. This product has good breathability on all four sides with its perforated mesh, the sides of the bassinet are over 300mm and it has a sturdy and wide base.

The mattress too is pretty firm, which is also a Red Nose recommendation. When shopping for a bassinet don’t be alarmed if the mattress feels firmer than what you’re used to sleeping on – as it has been specifically designed for your baby. Babies require a firm, flat sleeping surface to reduce the risk of suffocation.

When it comes to its size, I would say the Boori Bassinet sits somewhere in the middle of compact and bulky compared to other bassinets I tried. If you’re considering a bassinet, I would also recommend making sure you can easily purchase additional fitted sheets that are compatible with your bassinet mattress, as you’ll need a few backs up in-between washes.

If you live in a single level and plan to move your bassinet between rooms, the Boori caster wheels on this product are a decent size and really easy to roll.

One thing to note about this product is that you cannot adjust the height of the bassinet. I have a low bed and found the bassinet was quite high when positioned next to it. This meant that I would have to physically get out of bed to pick Mimi up during the night, instead of being able to roll over and lift her out compared to some other bassinets I tested. I would have preferred an adjustable height to make it that little bit easier to use, especially after giving birth when your body is still in recovery mode.

Since testing the Boori Bassinet, Boori has discontinued this model and upgraded the model to the Boori Tidy Bassinet. This product has many of the features of the original bassinet but with a slightly more contemporary design and multiple use configuration options. Once bub outgrows the bassinet, you can reconfigure the Boori Tidy Bassinet to a change table, toy storage, or laundry or bathroom storage shelving.

The Boori Bassinet was tested by Emily and her daughter Mimi (between newborn to 3 months). Photography by Bri Hammond, produced by The Baby Edit. To find out which baby bassinets ranked highest according to the thousands of Australian families we surveyed click here.

This is general information only. If you need personal, health, medical or technical advice when it comes to your growing family, please seek out a professional.