Genius Invention: A Rocking Chair With An Attached Bassinet

We see great designs of common household furniture all the time, some are quite useful while others less so. Every once in awhile, you get to see a piece of furniture that doesn’t just look good, but also begs to be a part of your home.

Designers all around the world are always trying to put a new spin on ordinary everyday objects to come up with something new. In the case of this rocking chair with an attached bassinet, it is safe to say that they succeeded. This genius-level furniture piece is a hands-free way to rock your baby while cozying up on a comfy couch yourself. Probably with tea and a good book.

A practical bassinet for parents

Anyone who’s ever had a baby knows how it can be to put them to sleep. They jolt awake when you try to drop them down and seem to enjoy you standing as you try rocking them to sleep in your arms.

Introducing The Emerson Nursery Rocker, a rocking chair and bassinet combo from Karla Dubois and the answer to every exhausted parent’s prayers. The Emerson features a beautiful looking rocker armchair and bassinet which are neatly attached. ^[1]

The concept behind this one of a kind piece is to allow parents to be able to snuggle up in a comfy chair, preferably with a good book, as they rock themselves and their baby into a calming and potentially sleepy state.

The Emerson keep parents in close proximity to their babies and still be able to perform other tasks whenever they need to. When the baby falls asleep, their parents can gently extract themselves from the chair and creep away quietly to continue their book in bed. 

The Emerson’s upholstery is made from 100% linen and the extra soft, breathable mesh bassinet inserts help keep baby at the ideal temperature. The attached bassinet is detachable so the chair can be easily converted into a single-wide rocker. 

All you have to do is attach the bassinet’s rocking leg to the chair and you’ve got a more streamlined and very stylish rocking chair. This way, parents can continue using the rocker long after their baby has outgrown the bassinet. ^[2] Like with any bassinet, make sure to use it properly so your baby sleeps safely.

Putting your baby to seep

Newborns don’t yet have a sense of night and day so they tend to sleep round the clock waking up only when their tiny stomachs run out of breast milk or formula. 

According to the experts at the National Sleep Foundation, newborns should get between 14 to 17 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period, some newborns may even sleep up to 18 or 19 hours a day. They wake up every couple of hours to eat and then fall back to sleep. ^[3]

However, once your baby is a few weeks old, it is time to start to teach them the difference between night and day and help them establish healthy sleep habits while you’re at it. Here are some practical tips that can help:

Use light strategically

Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution advises parents that “Lights push your child’s biological ‘go’ button.” At a few weeks old, your baby starts reacting to sunlight the same way you do.

Sunlight makes them active and explorative while darkness triggers their brain to release melatonin, a key sleep hormone. To help your baby differentiate between the two, you can keep their days bright and their nights dark and they’ll quickly figure out when it’s time to sleep. 

Allow plenty of sunlight into their room during the day even when it’s time for their daytime naps. On the other hand, if they wake up during the night, don’t turn on the lights or bring them into a brightly lit room. Instead, soothe them back to sleep in their dark bedroom.

Rock your baby in this bassinet until they are drowsy

Have you heard the saying, “teach a man to fish”? The same principles apply here. According to Kim West, a sleep consultant and author of The Sleep Lady’s Good Night, Sleep Tight, “Babies who drift off on their own are more likely to learn to soothe themselves to sleep.”

Deborah Givan, M.D., director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Riley Hospital for Children, has this to say:

“Try to put your baby down drowsy but awake. This will help her learn to self-soothe and fall asleep—and, more importantly, back to sleep—on her own, which is the main goal of parenting.” ^[4]

Don’t look your baby directly in the eye

Most babies are easily stimulated and a direct stare eye to eye may engage their attention and signal that it’s playtime. “Parents who make eye contact with sleepy babies inadvertently encourage them to snap out of their sleep zone,” says Claire Lerner, senior parenting advisor at Zero to Three. “The more interaction that takes place between you and your baby during the night, the more motivation she has to get up.” ^[5]

Sources

1. “This bassinet and rocking chair combo is GENIUS!” Practical Parenting. Nicola Conville. July 3, 2019.
2. “This rocking chair has an attached bassinet because designers are geniuses.” Babyology. Pip Lincolne.
3. “Sleep and Your Newborn.” Kids Health.
4. “Expert sleep strategies for babies.” Baby Center. Karisa Ding.
5. “How to Put a Baby to Sleep.” Parents. Erin Zammett Ruddy. June 29, 2020.
6. “Babies and Sleep.” National Sleep Foundation. June 24, 2021.