Baby Co Sleeper

Hello!
I am a Birth Doula (birth assistant) and I saw your post. I wanted to just let you know that it's wonderful that you are using a co-sleeper. I have recently joined the Racine Infant Mortalitly Coalition and they are finding that many infant problems are related to the babies sleeping in bed with people. I hope that you find what you are looking for because you'll have the best of both worlds! Good luck!

Hi A.,

We have a co-sleeper for our little one; it's an Arm's Reach: http://armsreach.com/ We got ours from Target Online - there is even a sale going on right now (I'll try to paste the link, but if it doesn't work, go to www.target.com & do a search for Arms Reach - very easy!

http://www.target.com/gp/search.html/ref=sr_bx_1/601-###-...

I really love it - it makes nursing at night so easy, and I just love waking up and looking over at that sweet little guy sleeping.

One disadvantage that I haven't experienced quite yet: I think I've heard/read that the best time to move them from the co-sleeper to their own crib - if you don't want to co-sleep until they want to stop on their own - is around 4 or 5 months. I wasn't ready then (I'm still not 100% ready now, but my husband would like our room back to ourselves, and both adults involved do need to be on board with this!); Noah is now 9 months, and it might be a bit more difficult to make the transfer. HOpefully it won't be a big issue, but I'm a bit nervous....

Other than that, though, it's been a wonderful experience for us. As you know from already having had two, every baby is different, but I'd recommend the co-sleeper! :)

I used a co-sleeper until my daughter started rolling over. I loved it especially for those late night feedings. It also gave me comfort that she was next to me and I could see her rather then getting up and checking on her 10 times a night.

A.,

I used the mini version with my son and really liked it. I nursed him so having him right next to me at night was wonderful. It was also great to know he had a safe place to sleep where I didn't have to worry about my blankets, covers, etc. possibly suffocating him. There are little pockets in the side where I kept a couple of diapers and wipes. When he was very little and needed to be changed frequently during the night, I was able to change him right on the bed, feed him and put him back to bed without ever getting out of bed myself. I didn't go with the full size because we didn't have the room and because I wasn't sure I'd need the extra capabilities. The larger one does become a playpen if you need that, while the little one does not. My son slept in his co-sleeper for 6 months before moving to a crib in his own room.

My little guy is 9 months old now. He is a tummy sleeper and always has been. no matter what position we used, he would not sleep unless he was on his tummy. Since I was parinoid about SIDS this lead to me not sleeping as well. I bought a used, full sized co-sleeper for 50$. i just wish i had gotten it sooner. now we use it as a playpen. point being, i highly reccomend it. especially if you plan on nursing. best wishes!

Good morning A.

We used a lovely white full-size crib/co-sleeper for over 2 years with our little girl. It was harder for mom than dad to graduate her to her own bed and bedroom.

Her bed/crib has nice high railings on 3 sides. We put the side attached to our bed down so we used it as our co-sleeper.

We later used the bed as a crib when she graduated to her own bedroom.

She then graduated to her own twin bed staying in her own bedroom.

I can't remember the exact ages we moved her but it worked beautifully for the 3 of us.

The bed also has a nice drawer underneath and is a beautiful white color.

If you are interested, I would love to talk more.

Thanks.
J.

I bought the full size baby cosleeper when I had my twins a little over a year ago and I highly recommend it. It is quite a bit more work to put up and take down than a regular pack and play but it was worth it to have them so close (I had a bassinet for my older singleton babies and it was a pain in the neck to always have to actually get up to get them out of their bassinet) It was nice just to be able to scootch them over to breast feed especially b.c there was two of them and 2 bassinets would have ended up taking more space up in our room.
I am curious why you would not get the small version tho. Obvioulsy with twins I had to get the big one but if I had a single baby I probably would have gotten the smaller one. As a pack and play I didn't like it just b.c it is so much more difficult to put up and take down so I ended up selling the cosleeper (for $1000 and buying a used pack and play (for $35) and ended up with a $65 profit. Just an option to look at if you still need a playyard after you are done with the cosleeper arrangement.
Anyways I recommend it for sure, they aren't cheap tho so if you can find one used even better. We bought ours off Target.com.
Good luck with your new baby
K. H

If you're going to use co-sleeper, you may wish to read a little about co-sleeping at the API website: http://attachmentparenting.org/cosleepindex.shtml

There are a lot of good tips & resources about all related issues as well. Peace!

I liked using the co sleeper as well - very much! We wanted our daughter close by, within easy reach for feeding and tending to her, but not right IN the bed with us. As for the bed height/co sleeper height problem of not matching, this can easily be solved! The company that makes the co-sleeper offers height adjusters which are plastic cups that go under the co-sleeper. I think we bought 2 sets of them to get the co-sleeper within a reasonable match to our then-tall bed. By the way, if they don't match exactly, I found it easier for the baby to be slighter LOWER (not higher) than our bed.

For that matter, these kind of things are likely also available for your bed, but more difficult to install for sure!) Alternatively, there are low profile metal bedframes now availble (for your bed), if you wanted to lower your bed, but this is a larger committment and would be good if you liked this idea long term, and if you had a bed/frame/combination that would allow for this. Check any mattress or larger furniture store.

I tried a co-sleeper with my now 2 1/2 yr old and it was just too hard for nursing then laying her back down since it not exactly level with the bed. I just found it much easier just to sleep with her directly in my bed. I did this with both my kids and it just made things so much easier espically if you are nursing!

Hi!
I have a full-sized co-sleeper. I loved having it in my room, but honestly I only put my kids in there a few times. It's great until they begin climbing.
Also, I probably don't need mine anymore, either!

Hi A.. I think I know you! I just signed on to this sight 2 minutes ago and your message popped up which is really bizarre as I joined the sight because I wanted help looking for a good day care provider and Viola! there is your bio saying you are a day care provider! If you are A. Tenebrini who I just saw at story time this morning then super I'd love to chat with you about one day a week day care IF I get the job I hope to interview for next week. N. Eiesland

Oh and the co sleeper idea worked great for us as I was so afraid I'd roll onto my baby that I could not settle into a good deep sleep. We just lowered the side rail of the crib and slid it up to the bed and raised the mattress to the highest level. It worked well other than Hahns wanted to be snuggled up most of the time.

(If you are not A. Tenebrini- sorry about the above jibberish- just ignore!

I have a friend who uses one and she really likes it. I'm sorry for the life of me I can't recall the name of it. Its white and its adjustable height so you make it the same height as your bed. Its pretty cool. Try your local craigslist.com, I see them listed on there quite often. I don't know where you are located but these are just a few I found on the Minneapolis craigslist.com

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/bab/278267390.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/bab/270969000.html