Graco Eluma Nest review

The full review

The Eluma Nest is Graco's UK take on the responsive bassinet (its US range has similar cry-detecting models, such as the Sense2Snooze). A microphone under the crib listens for crying and, when it hears it, Graco's Cry Detection mode works through five soothing sequences, changing roughly every 30 seconds while your baby keeps crying, combining gentle rocking, soft vibration and sound. You can also run it manually, with three rocking speeds, two vibration speeds, three volume levels, white noise, melodies, and a Bluetooth speaker if you'd rather play your own.

On the safety basics it ticks the right boxes. Graco's manual says it complies with EN 1130:2019 (the crib standard) and EN 16890 for the mattress, it has breathable mesh on all four sides, and the organic cotton mattress is firm and flat. It's designed for babies from birth to about six months or 9kg, and you should stop sooner if your baby can sit, kneel or pull up. It also switches itself off after eight hours without a button press.

The compromises are physical rather than electronic. Mother&Baby's testers liked the soothing features and the look, and scored it 8.6 out of 10 on average, but flagged that it can't be height-adjusted, has no zip or drop-down side and may sit too high for some beds. In other words, it's a standalone crib you park beside the bed rather than a true side-sleeper. Some also found the mattress thin. It runs on mains power, and Graco's own troubleshooting notes that lots of background noise can stop it detecting crying.

What makes it the pick for most people is the price. At around £200, with no app and no subscription, it does the headline smart crib trick for about a seventh of the cost of a SNOO, and it lists the UK crib standard, which is more than the SNOO's UK pages do.