User:Josh Parris/Sandbox



A bassinet, bassinette or cradle is a bed for infant children that is incapable of safely holding a standing child. Nowadays a bassinet is regarded as specifically for babies from birth to about four months, when they learn to roll. Once a baby can roll an elevated bassinet is too dangerous.

bassinet - an elevated surface consisting of a mattress and base for sleeping for a baby who can not sit up

fabric or mesh sides  mesh opening clause 10.12 - less than 5 mm, 12 to 30mm for limbs, 50 to 95mm for heads, bigger than 115mm for all else

Cradle, from the old High German word 'kratto' meaning a basket.

Because some children till slept in a bassinette at ages 3 or 4 years, it is possible to find quite a range of sizes of antique bassinettes. The cradle shape - a box with vertical ends and sloped sides - has remained fairly standard since the 17th century.

There are no design standards for bassinettes, presumably because during the period in which a modern bassinette is used a baby can safely be left to sleep on any flat firm surface. SIDS.

Rocking
Image at victoria and albert museum (oak cradle or swinging cot, designed by R. Norman Shaw for Julian Waterhouse - baby son of Alfred Waterhouse, architect - in 1867) Slatted or canework sides for ventilation and easy cleaning were used from the late 18th century, as owners became more interested in fresh air and daylight.

Historically the lot of a child is an uncomfortable one. To get a child to stop crying and go to sleep...

Advice from late 13th century said to swaddle newborns and let a nurse rock it to sleep. (Walter de Bibblesworth)

Many carers find their child calmed by a rocking or swinging action. The process of lulling the child to sleep may be accompanied by prerecorded or live performance of lullabies. There are two major mechanisms for getting a bassinette to rock: the bassinette can be suspended to swing, typically with a cradle hung from two trestle-based posts; or placed on rockers. Mecahanisation of this task has been attempted with varying degrees of success thoughout the ages.

Bassinettes designed to rock are often referred to as cradles. Rockability can be retrofitted into a bassinette by attaching rockers.

Rocking was an important function of a craddle, with households employing woman as Rockers especially for this task. One 1754 book had pages of advice just on rocking cradles.

A particularlly well documented cradle is that of the future King Henry V. To prevent him tipping out due to unusually vigorous rocking, there were silver buckles to tie him into the cradle with his swaddling bands. The use of swaddling bands was common at the time (the 14th century). The sides were vertical; slanted sides became typical by the 17th century.

"By the 17th centry most cradles were mounted on wooden rockers, and the swinging cradle was out of fashion"

Rocking began to fall out of favour after many 18th century authors, for example Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1762 'Emile' said swaddling bands are no good, and that babies mustn't be rocked. michael underwood in his 'Treatise on the Diseases of Children' London 1789 bemoaned rocking; babies were "jumbled in the cradle like travellers in a mail-coach".

the earlier gothic type of swinging cot, suspended from two upright posts became fashionable again towards the end of the 18th century At this time swaddling bands were no longer used, so hours of rocking weren't need to comfort a child anymore.

Over time it became "considered vital that the child's bed be raised off the ground." This because of a perception of noxious fumes below knee level, and explosive vapours near the ceiling, with good air in between. This elevation of beds made rockers unviable, so....

Use
In a hospital environment, a special form of sealed bassinet is used in a neonatal intensive care unit.

On many domestic and nearly all long distance flights, most airlines provide a bassinet (which is attached to a bulkhead) to adults travelling with an infant, i.e. a child under the age of two. The use of the bassinet is restricted by the infant's size and weight.

Scientific research has shown that the mattress influences SIDS outcomes; a firm, clean and well-fitting mattress lowers SIDS risk, but neither the mattress materials nor re-use affect SIDS risk. It is common to place a waterproof membrane between the mattress and the bedding to prevent uncontained bed wetting from damaging the mattress. Bed sheets ought to fit the mattress tightly so that the child cannot become entangled and suffocate; a common safety recommendation is to short sheet the bed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants under 12 months share a room (but not a bed) with their parents, as this has shown to be protective against Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Other sleep environment factors include supine positioning (back sleeping), use of a firm sleep surface, breastfeeding, consideration of a pacifier (dummy), and avoidance of soft bedding, overheating, and exposure to tobacco smoke.

Cradles would be placed close to firelight to ward off evildoers, but this occassionally resulted in hyperthermia.

Stationary or portable
Although there are many variations, they fall generally into two categories:
 * light and portable types sometimes called Moses baskets
 * sturdier but less portable cradles

In both cases, they are generally designed to allow the resting baby to be carried from place to place. Within the home, they are often raised on a stand or other surface to reduce back strain when bending over to tend the baby. **This is asmusing, because at this age babies often weigh less than 5kg; when they weigh more they're moved to an infant bed, with a lower base to bend down to when tending the child** Wheeled frames to convert a bassinet into a pram or baby carriage are common.


 * Infant car seat, a bassinette designed to be secured into a vehicle

portacot image at victoria and albert museum (iron folding cot, complete with hangings and the infant's first set of clothes. On casters. featured in the 1907 Army & Navy Stores Catalogue priced 3pound 17s 6d)

Materials
"A varity of materials formed the mattress, wool being used in some case, but more usually a straw mattress was placed over a layer of rushes, followed by a sheet or pillow" Daily change of rushes, mattress refilled when soiled, straw must have been prickly. 1803 'Advice to Mothers' Dr Buchan suggested bran as a mattress filler.

iron beds were developed in 17th century Italy to address concerns about infestation. A rockable iron cradle (with dangerously pointed corner posts) has been dated to 1620-1640. Proponents went on to promote iron beds...

Examples of mass produced iron cradles from Germany and Sweden have been dated at 1850-1875, made from iron rod and straps.

Wicker
Although a Dutch wicker cradle from 1610-1620 is conserved at Pilgrim Hall, Pymouth, Massachusetts it is unusual for wicker furntiure to survive so long - they were not intended to survive a long period of time compared to wooden furniture. It is unsurprising there are few earlier examples, in spite of the likelihood of cradles being used during antiquity.

Wicker (woven) cradles were popular since Tudor times. Light, cheap to make, could be burnt in case of infectous disease. They're known from "the earliest times" Complex surface that's prone to becoming dusty and retaining dirt.

Rolling
At three or four months of age babies are able to roll over by themselves; this means they could tip the bassinet over, so for safety they must use an infant bed or toddler bed instead.