Kolcraft Cuddle 'N Care Bassinet Sends my Little One into Dreamland
Written: Nov 13 '05 (Updated May 31 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The different functions; The ease of taking apart and transporting
Cons: Sleeping pad isn't very thick; Vibration mode is noisy
The Bottom Line: This is a very good bassinet for the money, with multiple entertainment functions that can aid in the sleep process.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Kolcraft Cuddle 'N Care KB010 / KB015 / KB016 / KB... |
Preparing for a new baby this past summer, I found myself frequenting baby specialty stores and areas of department stores I had never visited before. I wanted to get everything ready before the big day, with a wide assortment of goods, toys, feeding devices, and other things for my new baby girl already in the house, waiting to be used. One of my main concerns was her sleeping quarters and besides a crib, I also wanted to have several other places where she could sleep, including a place where she could stay right in my bedroom where my wife and I could keep a close eye on her. My choice for the bedside is the Kolcraft Cuddle ‘N Care Rocking Bassinet with Light Vibes, a medium- sized sleeping and entertainment center for young children.
Facts About This Product?:
This bassinet is all white in color, with an elliptical- shaped area for a bed; a mattress- like pad; canopy; a rocking base with a separate storage compartment; and a detachable mobile unit that is meant to keep babies entertained while they prepare to sleep. This mobile unit features vibration; lullabies with a woman singing (songs are “Rock a By Baby”, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, and “Pretty Little Baby”); music without singing; a light; three small bears that rotate; and bird noises. The unit is powered by 4 AA batteries.
This unit measures approximately 32 inches in length, 17.5 inches in width, and 30 inches in height. The canopy pulls up and over half of the sleeping area and when pulled over the bassinet, it brings the total height to around 41 inches. The base of the unit features rocking- type legs and the main sleeping compartment can be lifted off, for easy transport.
Customer Service:
To help with assembly, this bassinet comes with a manual that shows how to put the unit together, along with a guide for the parts and contact information in case you need to replace one of them. The company web site is kolcraft.com.
Final Thoughts:
Kolcraft Cuddle ‘N Care Rocking Bassinet with Light Vibes was the second bedding device I purchased for my new baby girl (after buying a large crib) and it is the one my baby uses most often. I keep this bassinet in my bedroom, at the foot of the bed, where my little one sleeps. This way, if she starts to make noises, I will quickly take notice, wake up and feed her, change her diaper, or whatever. Left in her crib, in her separate bedroom, I would not even realize she was awake unless she got to the point of crying. This is why she stays in the master bedroom with me and my wife for now. This bed makes a good choice for a situation like mine because it is relatively lightweight, easy to move around, and it takes up a minimal amount of space in the bedroom.
Providing a sleeping quarters is the main use for this bassinet. It includes a pad for added comfort, but this pad isn’t very thick and is no substitute for a mattress. My little one sleeps soundly (or shall I say, as soundly as a newborn can) on this surface, even though it doesn’t seem all that comfortable to the touch.
Besides being a place to sleep, this bassinet is also an entertainment center of sorts, with a mobile arm that has a light; three small, stuffed bears that hang around the light and rotate; music; bird noises; and vibration. Depending on what your child enjoys, you can select one of the different settings to either entertain or to aid in the sleeping process. I have found that the vibration doesn’t do much for inducing sleep, but the sounds seem to work quite well. My baby girl likes the bird sounds and the lullabies the most. She likes the soft light and the rotating bears also and these settings have helped put her over the edge; from being close to falling asleep to REM in a matter of minutes.
Unlike some bassinets that have only rollers on the legs for easy transport, this bassinet has rocking legs and rollers. The rocking action is nice for soothing your little one into falling asleep. You have to grab the side and move it back and forth manually, but it does the trick. There are rollers also, and they require that you reach down and move a latch on each leg to expose them. This will make the bassinet a little taller and make it easy to move it from room to room.
The mobile unit that comes with this bassinet takes batteries, but they last a good long time provided you don’t overuse the different functions. From my experience, I have found that I use these features very little each day. They are only needed when my little one is either in need of something to help her fall asleep or in need of some quick entertainment to keep her occupied while I am doing other things. I estimate that I use these different functions only about 10 minutes each day on average. Because of my limited usage, I haven’t had to replace the batteries yet, in the three months I have been using this bassinet.
Speaking of the mobile unit, one other nice feature is that it is detachable. It secures itself to the side of the bassinet with a large, plastic, “nut” that spins onto the bottom part of the mobile unit (the part that resembles a screw). Because it is so easy to remove, many people take the mobile unit off and attach it to their baby’s crib, playpen, and other places where their baby frequently sleeps and/or plays.
Probably my favorite feature of this bassinet is the removable bed. The full unit is actually comprised of two main pieces: The bed and the base. There is nothing that secures the bed into the base. It just rests inside it. This means that the bed is easily removed by lifting it straight up, out of the base. This is nice because it comes in very handy if you travel. Just lift the bed out, place it in the trunk of your car, and you have an instant baby bed wherever you go.
Most of what this bassinet offers is good and I am happy with the purchase. But now that I have used it for a while, there are some things that I wish were different. One is the lack of much color, for baby’s visual stimulation. The only visual things offered are the light and the rotating bears, but they are all white. My little girl likes them well enough, but I think she would like them even more if the bears were colored or if there were colored lights. The bright colors would grab her attention and hold it better than no colors at all. Another thing I don’t like too much is the vibration mode. Like I said, my little girl doesn’t like this setting as much as the sounds, but to make matters worse, it is quite noisy. And you have to be careful if you take it off and attach it someplace else because it could become even noisier- like in the case of a wooden crib. The vibration against the wood could get very annoying after a while.
Assembling this unit together takes some time. I purchased mine brand new, still in the box, so I had to put everything together by hand. The instructions are not perfectly clear and I had to redo some of the construction once or twice. But once assembled, I haven’t had any mechanical problems since. One thing that I did find a little annoying is that the user’s manual is, in effect, nothing more than the instructions for assembly. There is little other information in this booklet. If you need to find out more, you must call Kolcraft or consult the company web site.
Overall, Kolcraft’s Cuddle ‘N Care Rocking Bassinet with Light Vibes is a good sleeping and entertainment package for a young baby. I like the lightweight, compact design and the mobile unit, with its light, vibrations, moving stuffed bears, and sounds. Some more colors and a better sleeping pad would make it better, but it is still a very good bassinet for young children, providing them with a place to sleep and a place to be entertained on the way to drifting off into dreamland.
For More Baby Product Reviews, Be Sure to Click on the Links Below:
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Similac Advance DHA/ARA
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Baby Cleanup:
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Johnson’s Baby Shampoo
Johnson’s Bedtime Bath
Recommended:
Yes
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