Design
You suspend the Valco Nimbus bassinet in your cot or port-a-cot. It looks like a bassinet basket and is about the same size as a freestanding bassinet.
It's made from an aluminum frame, polyester fabric and the mattress is a firm foam. It comes in black.
Features
The Nimbus has four adjustable straps which are fixed to the rails of your cot; buckled straps for your cot or hooks for your port-a-cot.
It comes with a snugly fitted mattress with cover/sheet and a waist belt to secure your baby. The walls are mesh, which allow for plenty of air circulation around your baby.
Performance
This bassinet is really easy to set up if you are using the hooks over the side of a port-a-cot, using it in a standard cot is a little bit more fiddly. If you are buckle-challenged like me you might want to pay attention when you attach the first one so you don't get yourself in a pickle. Each strap adjusts individually so you can hang it from unevenly sided cots and the cot straps come off if you don't need them; make sure you store them in a safe place so you don't lose them.
The ventilation of this bassinet is excellent, the walls are entirely mesh fabric.
The sheet is a specific design to the Nimbus, it contains both the mattress and base of the bassinet and the waist strap is attached to it. You really need a second in case of 'emergency' and it would be annoying to have to replace in the middle of the night. You could squeeze a mattress protector in there if you cut it to shape and it wasn't too thick.
This bassinet collapses flat for portability and/or storage and weighing in at just over 2kgs it's very light to move around. You can unzip fabric from the frame for a wash.
Drawbacks
The Nimbus' walls are quite shallow and you really need to use the waist strap to keep your baby secure. If your baby shows any signs of independent mobility you should cease using it immediately.
I know I'm being a little nit-picky but I find the black a bit harsh, it probably suits if you have a black port-a-cot but I would prefer something a little softer if I were using it everyday in my standard cot.
Conclusion
Considering you only get 6 months use of a bassinet Nimbus is a good value buy. It also offers flexibility in terms of using your existing cot space and/or portability.
You can never do enough to lower you baby’s risk of SIDS. Find more information on the SIDS and Kids website and support Red Nose Day every year.
About Valco
Yeah! Valco is an Aussie company producing a wide range of prams and accessories and distributing them around the world.
