Bassinet safety standards?

[indigo]

Wondering if anyone knows what the safety standards are for bassinets. We inherited one from a friend of a friend and I am debating whether to use it for the first few weeks, in lieu of putting the baby in her crib right away. We can fit a small bassinet in our room but not the crib, so it would save us a few steps in the middle of the night.

The main issue, as I see it, is that the bassinet mattress does not fit snugly against the sides of the bassinet. I went and bought a new one at BuyBuyBaby but that did not fit flush either. Part of the challenge is that the sides of the bassinet slope outward in a "U" or "V" shape, rather than going straight up at a 90-degree angle as a crib's sides would. So it seems there would be a higher likelihood of the baby's head getting stuck between the mattress and the side.

I have read that for cribs you should not be able to get more than one finger between the mattress and the side. This bassinet definitely does not meet that standard, plus the sides of the bassinet are vinyl-covered wicker - much less breathable than wooden crib slats or playpen mesh.

Does anyone have advice on where to look for these standards? I did a quick online search but didn't turn up anything definitive. What has your experience been with bassinets? Did anyone face this issue and what did you decide? (We already have a playpen with bassinet for the first floor of our house - would rather not buy a second one but if that's the only solution...)

thanks for your help!

[Fun Fair For Four]

For a bassinet, you only use it until the child is around 15 lbs or until they start to move around, so getting to the sides usually doesn't happen, but the other is that the pads that come with bassinets are only an inch thick to keep the child from sinking in too far, so don't replace it with something thicker.