Not only does this signify that Baby O is growing fast, it is also a stark reminder that this is my last baby and that the newborn days are most definitely behind us. He is 14 weeks old now.
Baby O has outgrown our family moses basket |
The moses basket in which my four children have spent their earliest nights was also the moses basket in which I slept as a newborn. My two sisters slept in it too. And before my generation, it was where my father slept as a tiny baby.
It is a beautiful white whicker basket, which, I believe, was previously painted a pale green colour.
When I was pregnant with my eldest child, my parents passed it to me. My husband and I bought a new rocking stand for it and my husband's grandmother sewed a new broderie anglaise inner dressing.
Almost like a wedding, we had something new (our precious newborn) and something old (the basket).
As well as continuing a tradition, the moses basket has a secret underneath. For each child that has slept in the basket, we have glued on a brand new coin from their year of birth as a record of each inhabitant and to mark the passing of time. We've added a £2 coin for each of our children. There is a 50 pence piece from when I was a baby and there is a shilling from my when my father slept in it.
But now, the moses basket has been packed away back into the loft.
The next time it will be brought out will be to welcome in the next generation, when I become a grandmother.
Baby O is spending his first night in his cot. He settled down in his new bed beautifully. He is growing older now. And one day, maybe his son or daughter will sleep in our family moses basket.
Do you have any family heirlooms that are passed to the newborns of each generation?
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