Co-sleeper opinions

[KCMartha]

My husband and I know we want to keep the baby close to us and are looking at our options.
I like the idea of a co-sleeper but I wonder if they are really as useful as the manufacturers claim.

Here are my questions for you:

What kind/size of co-sleeper did you use?

How well did it work for you?

How long did you use the co-sleeper? Did your child grow out of it or did you switch to something else?

Anything else that would be useful to know?

[Calliope]

We had the mini. Loved the idea, but I found the fact that you had to either drop the kid down or pick them up over the bar to be awkward from the position of lying in bed. The mattress is not flush with your own the way you would expect. Also, the mattress is comes with is a thin pack n play type and not that comfortable. You can get a custom mattress from BabyFactory2u.com for about $30 shipped and I would definitely go that route of you decide to get a co-sleeper. You also HAVE to have the cosleeping straps attached to your bed after the baby gets over 10ish lbs or it starts to sag.

In the end, we didn't use it much at all and I sold it to someone else. Next time, I am going to get a hammock bed like an Amby bed or the Arm's Reach cocoon sleeper.

[hopeforchange]

we had the arms reach mini cosleeper. what i learned in dd's first week of life, during which i did not sleep, is that a cosleeper is no different than a crib to a newborn baby. you are still getting up to nurse baby and then trying to lay them back down away from you. i would get up to nurse dd, try to lay her down in the cosleeper, and the instant i put her down, she would wake up again. finally, when she was about 5 days old, in desperation, i crawled into the bed with her still in the crook of my arm and got the first 2 or 3 hours stretch of sleep that i'd had for a week!

after that, the cosleeper because the place that held the diapers and wipes and spit rags and nursing pads and clean clothes, etc, lol! later on, we took it off the bed and used it in our living room as a changing table (with all the sides up).

that being said, i do have a full sized arms reach cosleeper and i plan on it getting used this time around. right now, i'm planning to move dd over into it, after we move in 2 weeks. then i can put the twins in the bed with me. but we'll see what happens.:shrug3

just an FYI, i got my full sized cosleeper for free on freecycle.:) it's a good place to look for things like that. also, there are several websites out there that show you how to sidecar a crib, which is essentially the same thing and the mattresses in cribs are much nicer.

oh, and if i were buying a baby bed all over again, i might get that bed that hangs from a swing, so that it's like the natural motion of the womb. maybe it's by amby?

[Calliope]

also, there are several websites out there that show you how to sidecar a crib, which is essentially the same thing and the mattresses in cribs are much nicer.

oh, and if i were buying a baby bed all over again, i might get that bed that hangs from a swing, so that it's like the natural motion of the womb. maybe it's by amby?

Yes, it's the Amby bed. There are some other brands too - Happy Hammock, Kanoe, and the new one by Arm's Reach.

If I had known about side caring a crib, I would never have bought the co-sleeper. We have our crib sidecarred right now and it does everything I hoped the co-sleeper would do, only better.

[hey mommy]

I'm marking this for future reference. We like having the baby next to us, but not always in bed with us, so we're going w/a co-sleeper. Last time we had a pack-n-play w/bassinet and it was fine. This time I'd like the baby closer to me in bed.

I was thinking of getting the full size co-sleeper b/c it also can be used as a play yard, which is a feature I like.

Oh, and we don't have room to side-car the crib, so we have to stick w/something smaller.

[JellyBean]

I have the mini right now and I'm actually really enjoying it. I have one twin that sleeps in the cosleeper and the other twin sleeps on the other side of me in our bed. Its just a little bit lower than my bed so I'm able to nurse her and gently lay her down in it and then even if she wakes she sees me right there and usually will just smile and doze back off. I switch back and forth between whose in my bed and whose in the cosleeper depending on whose being needy at the time. I think with one baby it would be great to have on those nights when your rolling over and moving is disturbing their sleep and they'll sleep better in their own space but realizing there may be nights they'd rather be right in your arms.

[hopeforchange]

just an fyi...you can order the height adjusters to go with the cosleeper to make it even with your bed.:) we never did (cause we were too lazy, lol) and ours was lower than our bed too, but you can get them.

i believe my full sized cosleeper actually came with a few.

[Yuliana]

I just put the baby in the bed between me and a bed rail.

If I ever were to get a cosleeper and would prefer to get a crib and adapt it like this http://www.freewebs.com/sidecarcrib/index.htm

Edited to add that I did buy a pack and play so the baby could take naps there and I had it in the room but never used it at night. It was cheaper and it did the job.

[Cat]

What about those little snuggle nests things? Are they worth it?

[Yuliana]

What about those little snuggle nests things? Are they worth it?

Not to me :giggle You still have to take the baby out. I like sharing the bed because I can put the baby to nurse while lying down since he is right there with me. Those snuggle nest have walls on the side so you have to take the baby out, putting him on the breast and once he is done put him back again.

[NewLeaf]

What kind/size of co-sleeper did you use?
We have the original Arm's Reach Cosleeper

How well did it work for you?
It's indispensable to me. We got it when ds was about 2 months old because there wasn't enough room in our queen size bed. Dh had already stopped sleeping with us for room sake. We just moved and I didn't have it for two nights and it made my bed feel like half its size.

How long did you use the co-sleeper? Did your child grow out of it or did you switch to something else?
Ds is 7 months and he's a big boy and we still use it. I also have a small crib at the foot of the bed. I put him to sleep first in the crib at night so he doesn't crawl off the bed while I'm not in there (which has happened) and then put him in bed with me/cosleeper once I come to bed. The cosleeper goes up to 35 pounds. It was helpful too when dd (3) didn't feel good. She slept in it a few nights and ds slept in the bed with me.

Anything else that would be useful to know?
I know a ton of people who said they were a glorified junk holder. They stored blankets, diapers, etc on it. I started out with a pack n play with a bassinet in the top and that DID NOT WORK AT ALL. Then I had nothing with ds in the bed with me, which didn't work. I got the ARC as a solution and to a problem, which it solved, so I think my satisfaction with it is much greater than alot of other moms.

I also bought ours used on Craigslist. It was in PERFECT condition and I paid $75 dollars for it as opposed to $300 dollars new. I'm sure that also affected my satisfaction level.

I plan to keep using it until he gets too big or too heavy for it.

I have chronic back pain and having a cosleeper that is level with the bed has helped so much to keep me from being in even more pain.

I read that the cosleeper is actually a few inches below the level of the bed but ours isn't. Ours has a mattress in it but I don't know if this was bought to add or came with the sleeper originally... I can't tell from pics.

[NovelMama]

:nak

My husband and I know we want to keep the baby close to us and are looking at our options.
I like the idea of a co-sleeper but I wonder if they are really as useful as the manufacturers claim.

Here are my questions for you:

What kind/size of co-sleeper did you use?

mini arm's reach

How well did it work for you?

loved it!!

How long did you use the co-sleeper? Did your child grow out of it or did you switch to something else?

first 4 mos w/both girls. stopped using each time b/c they stopped going back to sleep in it after night feedings. began cosleeping in the be @ that time.

Anything else that would be useful to know?[/QUOTE]

really loved ours. recommend it all the time! :)

[JellyBean]

What about those little snuggle nests things? Are they worth it?

This was great when the girls were both 5 lbs and I was scared for them to be in the bed with us and they weren't ready for the cosleeper quite yet. It was very short lived though...we only used it about the first month.

[aleigh]

I used an arm's reach mini too for the first 4-5 months. but, i used it as more of a bassinet & never actually hooked it to my bed- mostly b/c we bought it used after the baby was born & never got around to it. i don't love co-sleeping with a little baby, so it was a good middle ground for us. she was still close, easy to nurse & i could reach out & pat or touch her. plus, i didn't freak that i had rolled on her or anything. now she sleeps in her crib by our bed & then comes to bed with me between 2-4 when she first nurses.

we used an amby with my son (who had bad, bad reflux) & tried it with this baby. she hated it. my son loved it for about 2 months (from about 3-5 months old) until he could roll over. one thing about the amby i don't like is that if i was putting my kids down asleep i would ALWAYS wake them putting them in the amby. i was clumsy at it. they are nice & snuggly in it though.

[Codi]

Short on time. Have not read the replies yet but wanted to add that we spend the money on it, and it only housed diapers for easy access at night time changes for ds. We didn't even bother buying ANY baby "things" for dd. We thought we would put ds in a crib and co-sleeper, etc...but the first night in the hospital, he slept next to me and never left! I personally would not spend my money on it. But Im a die hard co-sleeper, family bed gal. ;)

[MrsHutch]

We side-car a mini crib and we don't use it a whole lot (we mostly just put him in it if he's already asleep when we go to bed and he stays there for a couple of hours until he wakes up and I roll him over into bed with us), but we like it. It makes a great end table to hold my glasses, phone, pacifier, burp rag, etc. ;)

[zak]

I had a snuggle nest and a pack n play (with an insert so baby would be "high" in it) all ready when we got home with Red. I used neither. I realized I didn't want to have to move around a bunch. I'd rather have him close and have access ready to nurse than get him in/out of things. :giggle

I invested in a bed rail and sold the nest and gave away the PNP. :) :smile

[Calliope]

just an fyi...you can order the height adjusters to go with the cosleeper to make it even with your bed.:) we never did (cause we were too lazy, lol) and ours was lower than our bed too, but you can get them.

You can't make the mattress flush with your bed even with the height adjusters. It is designed so there is always a "lip" of about 4 inches of rail above the mattress level on the dropped side. When I bought it, I thought I would be able to just slide the baby off my mattress over onto his and I couldn't. I either had the lift over the lip or (without the height adjusters) drop the baby down.

[Littledisciples]

This is all great info. I like the side car crib idea. I tried doing that when mine where babies but it wasn't nice like this idea.

[hopeforchange]

You can't make the mattress flush with your bed even with the height adjusters. It is designed so there is always a "lip" of about 4 inches of rail above the mattress level on the dropped side. When I bought it, I thought I would be able to just slide the baby off my mattress over onto his and I couldn't. I either had the lift over the lip or (without the height adjusters) drop the baby down.

hmm...i guess it's been a while since i used mine since i didn't remember that, lol. i wonder if the full size cosleeper is that way too? if it is, then i guess it will definitely be a bed for dd and not a place for the twins, cause i'm like zak...i don't want to move that much, lol!

[KCMartha]

Wow, it is awesome to see everyone's comments and this has given me a lot to think about!

[Codi]

Like Zak, we just use a bed rail too! :hug

[mum2abby]

What kind/size of co-sleeper did you use? We used a bassinet (a really gorgeous one from PBK that really was more pretty then useful and we're keeping it against DHs wishes because its just too pretty to part with maybe my grandchildren someday will use it?!).

How well did it work for you? DD#1 might have slept in it 15 times TOTAL...DD#2 maybe 30. We always ended up bringing her into our bed (king size) way easier and we all slept better. And during naps she slept in swing or sling;)

How long did you use the co-sleeper? Did your child grow out of it or did you switch to something else? She still fit in it at 6m when she started rolling and moving more it wouldn't have worked.

Anything else that would be useful to know?: You'll probably have a completely different experience then all of us:)