On one of my sleepless nights, (yes, another perks of third trimester common symptoms) I got an idea of making a caddy for the baby cot. I heard that sometimes babies need nappy change at night, and at this point, I’m willing to invest in anything to make my night time easier.

After imagining the constructions in my head, I bought some medium weight fabrics. They feels more like a light canvas, and fairly easy to work with. Actually, I was quite intimidated to sew using medium weight fabrics, only because this project calls for sturdy, sturdy construction because I decided to include a holder for the baby wipes and they are quite heavy, fully loaded.

Eventually, this was born.

I got the fabrics from MayMay Shop. They have quite unique selection of imported fabrics at reasonable price. The colours on the website are close to accurate, which is important to me.  The downside is they take up to 2 days to post out orders.

I used  elastics to secure the baby wipe case.

I made a couple of top stitch lines at the top to make it more sturdy. Otherwise when the baby wipes case is loaded, the fabric will pull slightly. The small pockets on top is to hold small essential items like nappy cream, and perhaps lotion or baby oil.

The two bottom pockets are for diapers and some clothes.

We got this SNIGLAR baby cot at Ikea. It costs RM165, (whaaat!). It doesn’t have a drop down side though, which I don’t really see the point of it. It’s either you co-sleep or not. Choose! At first I wasn’t too keen on getting this one because it’s Ikea. However, the reviews proved that this cot is long lasting, sturdy and meets safety standards in various countries. We tested it, and yes it is sturdy. We are sold.

Anyway, what I love about it that the highest bed setting level up to our bed, and it’s paint-free! Meaning it’s low VOC and I’m just a freak when it comes to chemicals and stuff. I also love that it’s so simple and modern.

Of course we are not putting this baby cot by the window. It’s just temporary until baby arrives. We also got the VYSSA SNOSA mattress for RM99 and also a mattress protector, LEN for RM29.90. Inside the cot: Tilam kekabu and baby nap mat.

Apparently, people are very opinionated when it comes to baby cot. In our Malay culture especially, we co-sleep with babies up until they are 2, (some even more than that). To me, it doesn’t matter if you want to co-sleep with your baby or not, I believe every parent is different, and they know what’s best for their children.

We’ve decided to use the baby cot for a number of reasons. My husband may have different reasons, but here are mine.

Number one reason is safety. My husband is a heavy sleeper, sometimes he even roll up against my side and I had to wake him up to move. We tried to move our furnitures around so that our bedside is placed against the wall, but Eddie disliked the arrangements and won’t stand it (I agree but was willing to compromise). In addition, I think we occupy most of the bed already and I wouldn’t want to have my sleep compromised because I don’t have enough space.

Next is attachment issues. I wouldn’t want my child to be too attached to me. I want her to be more independent. Also, having her in the cot will teach her boundaries. I’ll cuddle her, feed her and give all my attention to her but when it’s night time, I go to my bed and she goes to hers.

Whenever we mention we bought a baby cot, people would laugh and say it will never happen.

To me, I believe we can teach our children however we want them to be. If we speak English to them, they’ll speak English.  If we talk to them a lot, they’ll know how to keep conversation going. If we let them play, run, fall and make mistakes,  they’ll learn how to be fearless. If we put them in baby cot from day one, they’ll sleep in the baby cot.

Also, it’s not like I will put the baby cot in another room or anything, I will have the cot near our bed. So she’ll be safe and sound and also within my reach for me to feed her. If all else fails, I can just remove one side of the cot and have it pushed against the side of our bed, so it feels like co-sleeping but she’ll be on her own bed.