There are several big items that you'll be getting for the baby. First is the pram, and next is the cot or cot bed. A cot bed is one that will start out life like a traditional high sided cot, and then transform later into a bed suitable for toddlers. We've covered cots earlier, in this feature HERE. Now it is time to look at cot beds.

Cots are large, sizeable items, and if you're buying new you may need to order it in advance (so check on how long the delivery time is if you want one to arrive before the baby).

Brand new you could spend anywhere from £70 to £700 (actually, more than that. At the high end of the market there's cot s for prices that will truly make your eyes water).

This makes buying a cot bed tricky. Do you need to spend more money to get a bed that will last? What sorts of features should you be looking for? How does a cot bed work? I'll have a go at answering these questions, and more, in this feature.

Incidentally if you like the image above (and it is adorable) you can get it as wallpaper. Just click on the image for the link.

Click here to read more...

If you're after a decent cot bed for a decent price then you should head over to Kiddicare and take a look at the Devonshire cot bed they currently have on offer - its usual price is £159.99, you can pick one up for £65.54 (you'll need to enter the code MORRISONS to your basket to bring the published price down to that).

• Click HERE to take a look at the Devonshire cot bed

I am a huge fan of cot beds, all three of my children had cot beds, they just make perfect sense to me.  For the very first few months they all slept in a moses basket that we put IN the cot when they slept during the day so the sounds and smells of their room became familiar.

By the time they outgrew the basket being in the cot was already familiar - no upsetting transition phase.  The same again when it was time to take the sides off - it was still their cot but now it was also a 'grown-up' bed and far less intimidating than going into a BIG single bed; again, no upsetting transition phase.

It also means that you're not having to shell out for a standard cot and then a large bed all within the first 18 months as the cotbed will see them through at least the first 4 years.

The Devonshire cot bed has a three position mattress base - it doesn't come with a mattress though, you'll need to buy one of those that measures 140cm x 70cm.

Next day delivery is free as you've spent over £29.99 - don't forget to add the MORRISONS code to your basket before you check out.

Thanks to dmorison at HUKD

If I was looking for a cot bed, this East Coast Angelina cot bed would be one I'd seriously consider.

• Click HERE to for the East Coast Angelina Cot Bed in antique pine
• Click HERE to for the East Coast Angelina Cot Bed in 'cocoa' (it's a lovely colour, my favourite of the two in fact)

Cot beds, rather than just a standard cot, are the only way to go as far as I'm concerned.  All three of my children had cot beds and all three of them seamlessly made the transition from cot, to having the sides taken off and sleeping in it as a bed, to moving on to a full-size single bed.

Not only did it make that process a lot smoother, it also made it a lot cheaper; there was no need to buy bedding for a cot, then for a junior bed and then AGAIN for a single bed.

Cot beds can be expensive though and I bought a cot bed for my youngest from an eBay shop; I watched those items like a hawk and made a list of how much each one was selling for and averaged it out.  The cheapest was around the same price as this East Coast Angelina cot bed - £84.99, it's rrp is £169.99.

It's made from solid pine and features the following:

• 2 protective teething rails (this is good, my eldest son used to scrape his teeth across the top of the cot rail *shudder*)
• 3 mattress base heights
• 2 fixed sides
• 2 split ends to convert to bed mode
• Takes standard mattress size 140 x 70cm & conforms to BSEN 716. (Cot mode)
• Length 144cm, Width 77cm, Height 91cm, (bed mode)

You'll need to buy a mattress for your East Coast Angelina cot bed, but this is standard with all cots and cot beds, and there's no delivery to pay either.

Thanks to kahool at HUKD