Cradle or crib?

Question

My father in law is a woodworker and as soon as we told him we were expecting, he said he'd build us a crib. Well, he has finished it and while it's beautiful and well-made, he built a cradle that rocks - not a crib like we had expected. 
I'm very grateful that he spent time making this, but I've read rocking cradles are unsafe because it can roll the baby onto its tummy and cause suffocation. We also have 2 cats, and while we want to keep them out of the baby's room, I'm worried they could get in, jump up and rock it.

I'm stressing out because I don't want to feel ungrateful and not use it, but I've yet to find the positives to using a cradle over a crib. I'd really like to not take any risks when it comes to my baby's safety.

Do any of you use and like a cradle for your baby?

Answer

Get him to put a catch on so you can lock it in place when you're not watching the baby, but can use it to rock them to sleep when you are

Answer

We use a crib daily but we had a cradle at my parents house for when we would go there that would rock. She slept great in it. But it also had a stopping/lock on it so you could stop it from rocking once she was asleep. Hope this helps.

Answer

I know plenty of people who used a cradle as a bassinet while the baby slept in their room and then transfered them to a crib later on. And if you plan on having more kids or if you're having a little girl you could always save it so they could use it for their stuffed animals or baby dolls or something like that down the line. It might be cool for your kids to have that to look back on later on in life and maybe allow their kids to use it since I'm assuming it's better quality than a lot of store bought baby items now a days.

Answer

Talk to your dad, I'm sure he'd be happy to add little pieces at the bottom that will keep the cradle from rocking once he knows your concern.

Answer

You could stick something under the legs so it doesn't rock. That way you can still use it but dont have to worry about it rolling baby over.

Cradle or crib?

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