A baby bassinet can be a godsend in those first few months of parenthood. Once you bring your baby home for the first time, there’s a pretty good chance you won’t want to spend any time apart from your newborn bundle of love. After all that time waiting and anticipating, actually having the baby arrive is such a thrilling experience that so often creates an immediate connection. It’s also just hard, practically, to separate yourself from your baby. Those early days are a mix of absolute fairytale and exhausting marathon, a dreamland without a wink of sleep. Bassinets, however, can help both of you get the rest you need.

Even in the rare event that you need a break, being apart can be pretty difficult — feeding sessions, diaper changes, and a soothing touch can be required at any time. And as a parent, you want to give only the best of everything for your baby, so MASSE provides recommendations and reviews from real people who have really used the bassinets they’re discussing. You don’t have much free time for yourself in those first few months of parenthood, and honestly, in the few moments you do have, the last thing you want to be doing is sifting through shady internet write-ups about newborn bassinets. So at MASSE, there are no paid reviews or sponsored posts, so you know you’re getting only high quality advice.

Those first few months at home with your newborn are some of the most magical you’ll ever experience — and some of the most exhausting. Sleep is at a premium, both for baby and parents. With the best baby bassinets, infants have a comfortable and safe place to sleep, while parents can rest easy knowing their little one is snoozing soundly nearby. Because while cribs are often set up in a baby’s own room, bassinets can be placed at your bedside, making for a close connection and much easier late night soothing sessions and check-ins — because let’s be honest, there are few things better than watching your new baby sleep.

Not all bassinets are alike — they’ve actually come a long way in the last 30 years, when bassinet usage began to skyrocket. Some are like traditional cribs, just smaller and easier to move around the home. Others are more like portable (and incredibly comfortable) baby seats, which keep the infant gently secured in one position. Some other bassinets, meanwhile, can extend into larger cribs once baby starts rolling over, making one of the many transitions of early childhood that much easier.