The Doctor's cot was the cot — as stated by the Eleventh Doctor — which the Doctor "slept in" during his initial incarnation's infancy.
It had writing in Gallifreyan carved into the sides. After Amy Pond demanded to know what it says, River Song pointed to the writing, said "it doesn't translate but this will," and handed Amy a piece of cloth that said "River Song." The Doctor still had it stored within the TARDIS during his eleventh incarnation, indicating he was sentimental about it.
He put the Ganger-infant of Melody Pond in it to rest after he had rescued her on Demon's Run. Upon seeing the cot, Amy Pond pointed out "the Doctor's first stars" hanging above the cot. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War)
He later retrieved it from Demons Run during his search for Melody Pond and kept the cot in the TARDIS drawing room. (GAME: The Gunpowder Plot)
Clara Oswald came across the cot when she was trapped in the TARDIS after it was damaged by a salvage team. (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)
Behind the scenes
- It is unknown if the Doctor had a child of his own use the cot. Before revealing he slept in the cot, he avoided answering when Amy asked him if he ever had children. However, Alex Kingston raised the question in River Song Confidential: A Good Man Goes to War about "how many babies have really been in that cot?" Kingston also stated her belief that the Gallifreyan writing on the side is the Doctor's true name.
- While the cot could be interpreted as going against the Doctor's Loom-born origins established in the Virgin New Adventures, the short story Cobweb and Ivory indicates that Looms are kept in cradles.