New mama, Theresa, who is Gugu Guru’s Head of Design was offered the HALO Bassinest for review. Overall, she was absolutely thrilled with the product. In this review, she lists the pros and cons from her experience. We also gave HALO the opportunity to respond to the two cons from Theresa’s review and were pleased to discover that HALO has listened to their customers and is offering a new Bassinest stand this year to address customers’ opinions over the base size and weight.
Pro: TONS of pockets
The HALO Bassinest swivel sleeper has three pockets for tons of storage (three pockets!) Diapers, wipes, diaper cream, burp clothes – if you have a c-section or are just exhausted in the middle of the night, everything is right at your finger tips.
Pro: Lots of cool features
This bassinet has everything you could want from music, vibration and a breast feeding timer all right at the ready for parents. Again this is a huge c section plus!
Pro: C section approved
The fact that the HALO Bassinest swivel sleeper comes right up to the side of your bed is a huge help for nursing and also after a c-section. I had to move minimally to get to my baby in the middle of the night. The swivel of the bassinet was the biggest help because I didn’t have to slide myself down the bed and pass the bassinet to get up. With the swivel, I can easily slide the bassinet (and baby) away from the bed so I could get on and off the bed with ease while healing.
Pro: Mesh/collapsing side
Even though most bassinets have mesh sides the HALO Bassinest has really large openings so it is very easy to see your baby while you are lying down. I also loved the collapsible side so I could touch my baby or put the pacifier in his mouth without even sitting up.
Pro: Room for baby to grow
I love how big the basket is that holds the baby. I happen to have a big baby (born almost 9 pounds) and as he has grown over the past three months, he still has plenty of room and sleeps comfortably as he wiggles around. My baby will get lots of future use in his HALO!
Con: BIG base
This bassinet is not one that you can easily move from room to room during the day because the base is so large. It is hard to get it through doorways so you have to strictly use this bedside. (If you put it together in another room and then want to move it into your bedroom, it is a little tricky.)
HALO’s Response: The base is large, heavy and not designed to be moved. This keeps it firmly planted next to the bed where is used most of the time, but the unique swivel and glide give it movement. However, HALO recognized that parents want more mobility and is introducing a Bassinest stand toward the end of 2017. This will enable parents move the Bassinest throughout the house as some babies just sleep better in it, and parents would love to be able to provide that same safe sleep space when they move out of the bedroom.
Con: Additional Light needed (c-section specific)
The bassinet comes with two light sources. The first light source points to the floor and is very small. So if you are looking for some light in the dark to breastfeed, etc, this light won’t really help post c-section. There is a second light that shines in on the baby. I never felt the need to use this light because with the baby in such close proximity to me I felt I could check on him without the light.
HALO’s Response: With regard to the light there are actually two lights on the model: one which illuminates the floor so you don’t have to turn on a light if you are getting out of bed, and it was positioned that way so you wouldn’t disturb the baby. The other nightlight on the soothing center serves as a nightlight, and we believe many moms use this to gently lift baby out of the Bassinest for nursing. The amount of lighting needed likely varies from consumer to consumer, but these two features offer lighting close to the Bassinest to help mom and baby and should not disturb anyone else in the room.
Get the HALO Bassinest here.
Check out these other posts on the HALO Bassinest: