Husband and wife team Adam and Sinead Murphy, the brains behind the Shnuggle, designed the basket through default after their own experience with a traditional Moses basket.
Adam and Sinead’s allergic irritable baby was very difficult to settle in the woven creaky basket they had, so they created a solid basket out of an extremely strong material called polymer. Polymer is hypoallergenic and therefore doesn’t harbour dirt or dust mites (the main cause of allergies). Oh and it’s also BPA-free and Pththalate-free.
Suitable from birth to approximately 6 months (9kg), depending on the size of your little one, it is available in four different designs - white or cream waffle, for £69.99, and blue or pink dotty, for £59.99.
The Shnuggle Moses basket recently won the Rattles to Riches baby competition and is likely to be available on the high street next year. Currently, it sells online through Kiddicare, Amazon and at www.shnuggle.com
What we love
I’ve been truly delighted with the Shnuggle basket. The biggest plus for my husband and I is the fact that it doesn’t creak at night while Sofia is fidgeting. As Sofia has at last started to sleep a lot longer, we are finding that we can too. I distinctly remember laying awake most of the night with my other daughter, Esme, when she was a baby, listening to the basket rustle while she twitched in her slumber.
Another plus is that thanks to the polymer, the basket is super strong, in fact up to 10 times stronger than a traditional basket. This means that 3-year-old Esme can’t fall in to it when she leans on the edge to peer in at her baby sister. Better still, if she happened to blindly career in to it, it would remain solid.
Although it is strong, it isn’t heavy. It is designed to be portable and lightweight just like traditional baskets. The handles used to transport it are made of soft but strong cotton, which lay flat down the sides well out of the way of Sofia’s reach. Also, unlike a traditional basket, thanks to what it’s made of, there’s no risk of splinters. The basket can’t weaken over time either. It won’t, for example, become damp if stored.
The hypoallergenic factor is something that I can’t believe has not been thought of before. The smooth sides are easy to clean and you can wash or even sterilise the basket with mild bleach. But the point is it’s really hygienic because there aren’t any nooks or crannies that can collect dirt and dust, which especially helps out atopic families.
The safety aspect is obvious when it comes to the Shnuggle’s design. The base of the basket has holes in it to aerate the insides. This assured ventilation works well with the materials/fabrics used and the mattress alike.
Sofia has been testing out (and loving) the luxury mattress. This is an optional upgrade at purchase. For the extra £9.99 I’d say it is well worth it. It’s not just the added comfort and support it offers. It has a removable quilted cover, which is breathable, water resistant and can be machine washed at 60 degrees.
The fabric is of great quality. The overall look is not too frilly and yet there’s just about the perfect amount of prettiness to make the Shnuggle Moses basket beautiful. Aside from the hood, which is hand wash only, it can be thrown in the machine on a 40-degree wash. Great if yours is a reflux baby as mine is. It washes up beautifully time and again.
And, one last positive point - the hood on this basket stays up!
What to watch out for
Yes, the Shnuggle basket is a little bit bigger - approximately 10% - than a traditional basket, but I only notice this in the width. The length is practically the same as a traditional basket.
Each time I’ve washed everything, it has taken two of us to put the lining of the basket back in place.
Who is the Shnuggle Moses basket best for?
New parents after an ultra safe, strong option for their sleeping newborn.
Here is a Moses basket that has evolved into something worth having, especially if yours is an atopic family. The only real negative is that it’s not yet available everywhere. But as the Shnuggle is a Moses basket that ticks all boxes and then some, it is only a matter of time before that changes.
