True Story About A Moses Basket

When my daughter was born, we bought her a beautiful Moses basket from Babies R Us.  We bought it in a really cute style with pink coverings and blankets.  As the Moses Basket cover was removable, we bought the one that we liked and figured we could always get a different one later if needed.

Fast forward 2 1/2 years.  My husband and I are expecting our third kid, and this time we're having a little boy.  As my due date is rapidly approaching, we've been getting baby things ready.  Over the weekend we pulled out our Moses Basket and stand as they're still in great condition.  As we had gotten them at Babies R Us, we decided to go there first to get a new Moses Basket Mattress and Moses Basket covers. 

In Babies R Us, we browsed for quite a long time looking at baby things and especially looking for the Moses Basket item we needed.  We were never approached by an employee or offered help.  Even when we waited at the desk, no one ever came to help us.  Eventually we managed to hunt down an employee only to find out that their Moses Basket mattresses were out of stock, and they don't sell Moses Basket Covers.  She recommended that we just buy a new basket.

So we went across the street to Mothercare and bought a new Moses Basket mattress for £25.  They only sell one size mattress, so we assumed it was standard.  Unfortunately, as soon as we got home we discovered that the mattress did not fit into the bed that we have.  We returned it and--from the comments made by the saleslady--it seems this is a common occurence there.

Mothercare also does not sell Moses Basket covers seperately from the Moses Basket.  However, they point out that the covers are removable so that you can wash them.  What do all of these companies think you're going to put on your baby's bed while washing their bedding?  Doesn't it occur to them that you need an extra cover for when that one's been puked/peed/spilled on and needs washing?

Having failed at Mothercare, we looked at Babies R Us again.  When we looked closely at the labels on the Moses Baskets and Moses Basket Mattresses, we made a startling discovery.  Babies R Us sells a selection of Moses Baskets.  They also sell individual Moses Basket Mattresses in more than one style.  However, their mattresses do not fit their baskets.  That's right.  The mattresses that come inside their baskets are a completely different size from the individual mattresses they sell.  If you buy a Moses Basket from Babies R Us, you can not later buy an extra or new mattress from them.  They don't sell them in corresponding sizes!

We finally found a mattress the right size at Mamas and Papas (where--novel concept--their Moses Baskets and mattresses come in matching sizes).  It was the same style of mattress, only in the right size.  Although I had expected Mamas and Papas to be more expensive, the Moses Basket mattress was actually cheaper at just £16 (plus they were having a 10% off sale that day).  However, Mamas and Papas does not sell extra Moses Basket liners either.

I looked on the internet and went through page after page of search results trying to find Moses Basket covers without a basket.  I found a few companies that sold really lacy, old-fashioned type covers that really aren't to my taste.  Otherwise all I could find were a few E-Bay vendors who sell them (usually for £15-£35).  The other common theme that I found in my searching were lots of parenting websites, family blogs, etc. with parents complaining about how ridiculous it is that you can't get spare covers for your Moses Basket.

In the end we decided that he's either going to have to have pink sides in his bed, or we're going to have to make our own.  I refuse to replace a perfectly good bed just because companies try to rip off parents and force them to buy an entirely new basket package every time they have a kid.