Ideas for old Bassinet / Moses Basket

21 years ago

Hi all! My youngest daughter has outgrown her bassinet and moses basket. Before I give them away, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas to use them in another manner.

The bassinet belonged to her father when he was a baby. It is white wicker on two folding legs with wheels. It's a little wobbly and made of thin wood, so we don't think it'll survive for another generation.

The moses basket is one of the ones found at boutique shops. It is a woven basket with two handles.

My only thought so far was to take the legs off of the bassinet and to use it for toy storage. But I don't think it will last long that way.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

Lori

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Comments (5)

bouncingpig
21 years ago
The bassinet would be darling with old linens in a bedroom or nursery or great for laundry in a laundry room. I know of a home here in Spokane that has one on a covered porch filled with red geraniums. The same ideas could apply to the moses basket, but it could also work well for magazines, fabric stashes, balls of yarn, etc. I love having a big open basket (well . . . mines actually a metal feed trough, but same concept) to throw in quilts for the kids in the family room. This way it is easy to pick up and put away, so it looks neat without a lot of effort. Before this the kids drove me crazy with quilts all over the floor in the winter.

Brenda
des_arc_ya_ya
21 years ago
How about taking the legs off it and placing it up on a cabinet or something in the kitchen? It would look neat with greenery in it, maybe some books or bright colored table linens spilling out of it. If it's not picked up and carried with a lot of weight in it, it should last a long, long time!

If it belonged to her dad, I sure wouldn't get rid of it. Find a safe place for it and pass it on down to your grandkids!
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Just remember that when you had your babies, you wanted to parent them your way, not your mothers / mother-in-law's way. That includes which items to use. The bassinet your babies slept in may in fact be unsafe with fumes you cannot detect (I think there may be a link there, between mattress fumes and SIDS), maybe lead paint, who knows. And it's probably just plain out-of-style too in her view, and for the mom to have something cute to put the baby in makes the baby all the cuter. :) It's really quite alright. I think it's important to back off and let her do things the way she feels is best, and let her be the grown up she is to make her own decisions without making her feel guilty over it. I'm just guessing you are, whether you're trying to or not, since you're still mentioning hurt feelings. I'm sure that her choice is nothing against you, it's just that she sees things in a different way than you, and that's OK! :) This is her life and her baby, she should feel free to parent her way (just like you did), and with your support and help. Let her know you think she's an excellent mother (she'll have enough self doubt as it is, we all do). Praise her. I'm preparing myself for all of the same; I'm talking to myself just as much as to you, here. I felt very strongly about how I parented my babies and kids (still do), and I'm bracing myself for when my teens are grown and have their own kids. I know I'll be tempted to say a lot of things, offer a lot of suggestions, but I'm going to have to let them be and just be the gramma smooching and spoiling. I really look forward to it, actually! Congratulations! Go do the grandma thing and love that little girl (and the big girl!) to pieces as soon as she arrives!
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CarolnWbg
21 years ago
The one in my third floor has been around for sixty-some years, at least. It was used for me as a baby then my mother used it for a laundry basket (it never did have legs). All of my children slept in it before they were in cribs. It now holds a lot of stuffed animals that my daughters left behind and are entertainment for our grandchildren. I kind of hope that a granddaughter might want to use it someday, if I am around that long.
phyllis_philodendron
21 years ago
I would keep the bassinet the way it is with legs, if it belonged to a family member. When I was pregnant, I originally wanted a cradle. My idea was to then fill it with toys once the baby got older (stuffed animals, dolls, something like that - not Legos). Since I had a boy, this idea was tossed! Although vintage dolls would look nice.

For the basket maybe you can line it and put potted plants in it. Don't know how big it is so i'm not sure this would work. But something along those lines or like was Des Arc said.
luvs2click
19 years ago
I'm with the others, I'd probably keep the bassinet for sentimental reasons and try to find a use for it - use it to display a collection of something. Would look really cute lined with an old quilt to display old dolls. If your bathroom is large set it in the corner to hold rolled up towels.

The moses basket - I used one in my kids room to store their shoes in when they were little. Otherwise they were all over the floor. They're also nice by the back door to throw shoes in. Or line it with a garbage bag and plant it full of flowers. Poke a few holes in the bottom of the bag for drainage. It should last several years if you set it inside the garage or a shed for the winter where it stays dry. Or use this one in the LR or den for toys - teach them young how to pick up and put away. If it's convenient and easy, they'll do it and you won't have to.

Arlene

Ideas for old Bassinet / Moses Basket

Comments (5)

bouncingpig

des_arc_ya_ya

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