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time4tea
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I am wondering if those of you who have one of these or who had one in the past could tell me if you really liked it and found it a worthwhile purchase or not. After searching my entire basement and garage for our bassinet, I realized I gave it away to the crisis pregnancy center after last dc, so now I am in a quandry as to what to have our new little one sleep in (due any time). Also, for how long were you actually able to use it?
Thanks in advance and God bless!
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Maryan
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Tea
I love it -- but my babies hardly sleep in it. They do some of the time though when they are very little. After four months of age, I use it more like an insurance policy that my baby doesn't fall out of bed. I like to co-sleep with babies, but I don't like babies sleeping in the middle -- I like them on my side of the bed and I like the barrier from my other children who might come into our room in the night. The co-sleeper forces them to go to Daddy's side of the bed which I prefer for sleeping and safety purposes. 
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Betsy
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Maryan wrote:
Tea
I love it -- but my babies hardly sleep in it. They do some of the time though when they are very little. After four months of age, I use it more like an insurance policy that my baby doesn't fall out of bed. I like to co-sleep with babies, but I don't like babies sleeping in the middle -- I like them on my side of the bed and I like the barrier from my other children who might come into our room in the night. The co-sleeper forces them to go to Daddy's side of the bed which I prefer for sleeping and safety purposes. |
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THis is how we used it as well.
Always feel a bit bad for not having the baby sleep in there much, but I love having the space to keep extra "stuff" that you need and the extra protection from falling out of bed.
Betsy
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Bookswithtea
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I love mine. Once your child is old enough to get off an adult bed safely, it can also become a wonderful transition place for weaning a toddler/preschooler out of your bed.
Mine is sagging from overuse.
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MarilynW
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I have been using my cosleeper all of 6 nights!! And I love it love it love it. I debated it at length - and was so lucky to be able to buy a gently used one in great shape. It is the best ever. We could not have the baby in our bed as our 3 year old often comes jumping in during the night. Also - I have had a very painful pospartum recovery - and the cosleeper has been such a blessing. My little guy is so comfortable in it - and I love having him within arms reach. Night nursing is easy - I even keep diapers, extra clothes etc in the cosleeper - and do the changings on a pad on my bed -so I do not need to get out of bed.
There are some other threads on cosleepers - I do not have the link as my angel baby needs to nurse - but do a search - I think they address how long you use the cosleeper for.
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Rebecca
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We love ours and have used it with all the children. My kids usually move out of it when they are too long and keep bumping the sides at night. A friend made ours from very sturdy wood so it actually holds almost 300 pounds safely. It will never wear out but is much harder to store between babies than the fold up kind.
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Becky Parker
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My baby is just 11 days old and I really love the co-sleeper. We, like Marilyn, also have a 3yo that joins us. It is so nice and comforting for him to know that he can still come into our bed! It has really helped him with the adjustment of having a new baby in the house. The baby, seems to do just fine in the co-sleeper and not having to get completely up when he wants to nurse makes my life so much easier. My dh even came up with an idea to make nighttime diaper changes easier: we just clipped one of those "Itty-bitty Book Lights" to the side. It provides just enough light for a diaper change without lighting up the whole room! I actually sit "pretzle style" facing the co-sleeper to change him! Boy, do I sound lazy or what?!!
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KerryK
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I love mine as well! I used it with my DD (now 6), and I've been using it since day 1 with our new baby (now almost 5 months). He does spend some time in our bed most nights, but will spend most of it in the co-sleeper. I also agree with using it as a storage spot and diaper changing area - it's very versatile!
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time4tea
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Thanks everyone for such helpful reviews! We are going to be starting out with a smaller co-sleeper (the kind that has to be actually in your bed with you) and will be putting away some $$ so that we can get an Arm's Reach sometime in the next few months, hopefully. We, too, still have younger dc who like to climb into bed with us, so it will be a a much safer optin to have a co-sleeper that fits "off to the side" for the long haul!
Becky - so glad to hear from you and that your new little one is here! BTW - did you ever buy one of the post-partum supports? I am still debating about it. I have heard tham some of them "roll" around on your middle, or that they just aren't comfortable. Did you ever decide on one certain kind?
God bless!
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Becky Parker
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Hi Tea,
Yes and no about the tummy support. I'll tell you about it at the tummy support thread!
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Joelle
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We just brought home Gianna (yeah!)!! My cousin gave us a pack & play with a bassinet. Is there much difference between that and the Arm's Reach if you put the playyard right by your bed? I've never heard of them before. I should say that I get out the playyard/bassinet and then end up sleeping w/ baby next to me anyhow because they never seem to sleep long in the bassinet and sleep longer right by me. So far that's our experience w/ Gianna too! But also do not have money to spend on something I will not use (which is why I am thanking my cousin so much)! Just curious.
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JennGM
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Joelle wrote:
We just brought home Gianna (yeah!)!! My cousin gave us a pack & play with a bassinet. Is there much difference between that and the Arm's Reach if you put the playyard right by your bed? I've never heard of them before. I should say that I get out the playyard/bassinet and then end up sleeping w/ baby next to me anyhow because they never seem to sleep long in the bassinet and sleep longer right by me. So far that's our experience w/ Gianna too! But also do not have money to spend on something I will not use (which is why I am thanking my cousin so much)! Just curious.
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Congratulations! It's funny you bring this up now. I had just been at a local store that formerly sold Arms Reach but now stopped. I talked with the manager and she explained that so many women had problems with "scooching" down to get out of the bed, especially with c-sections. She thought of the Arms Reach as a glorified pack n play, and recommended just what you are doing. Some of the PnP can raise up the bed, so it works like a bassinet for a while.
When I mentioned that the PnP has a very non-existent mattress, she told me they sell foam mattress paddings/inserts to fit inside to give better comfort, just measure my PnP.
I'm still on the fence about the Co-sleeper, as we don't usually sleep, and I couldn't nurse lying down anyway...so it might not be too much an advantage than having a nearby bassinet/cradle/PnP.
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Cindy Mac
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My personal experience on this one. The reason I like the Arms Reach versus the Pnp - the Arms Reach has one side that "lowers", so it is easier to get the baby out of the bed. I've had 3 c-sections, and haven't had any problems with the "scooching" to get out of the bed.
I'm sure you can make the Pnp work - for me, I wouldn't be without my Arms Reach if you paid me!
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teachingmom
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I found the thread where I commented on my co-sleeper here.
I can add a bit now. I really liked my co-sleeper in the end, much preferred it to a bassinette at my bedside, and used it fairly regularly for at least part of the night between months 2 and 5. My dd slept in it for much of the night between months 6 and 9. But when she started sitting up and pulling herself to standing in it before making a sound to wake me up, we had to stop using it. I was just too afraid she would tumble over the edge onto her head in the middle of the night.
I set up a full size crib in my 4yo's room a month ago, intending to nurse her to sleep in that room and use the crib for the earlier hours of the night. I also have a bedside rail on my bed for when she cries and dh brings her to me for the second half of the night.
Guess what? After just a month or so in the full size crib, she's been sleeping through the entire night in with her sister for the past week or so. I think the presence of her big sister helps -- I have found her in the morning, awake in the crib silently playing with a toy while big sis continues sleeping across the room. After a rough start, she's ended up being a great sleeper after all.
I must confess that I am a bit sad that she is giving up her night nursings so soon.  (She'll be 10 months old next week.) Of course, I am sleeping better. But I don't get to wake up to her beautiful warm body next to mine and that special time of cuddling before everyone else came in.
Back to the co-sleepers, I have a request. I cannot find my owners manual for it. Can anyone describe to me how to fold it up for storage?
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MarilynW
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teachingmom wrote:
I
Back to the co-sleepers, I have a request. I cannot find my owners manual for it. Can anyone describe to me how to fold it up for storage?
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Irene - the instructions are on Arms Reach website.Original Instructions
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teachingmom
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Thank you so much, Marilyn!
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happymama
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Because of reflux, we pretty much slept in the rocking chair the first 5 months, but from then on, we have a full size crib in our room, with one side completely taken off, pushed up against my side of the bed and the crib mattress pushed snugly against our bed mattress with blankets. I love it.
Baby latches on, we both fall back asleep, then if i wake up later and am uncomfortable, I can move him over into the crib and "have my bed back"! Between 7 and 9 months, when he could crawl but not safely get out of our bed, he napped on a crib mattress on the floor of our baby-proofed bedroom. Now he is almost 10 months old and has mastered climbing safely down from our bed, so he's back to napping in the crib. I love this, too. He wakes up, crawls onto our bed, climbs down, and starts to play!
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JennGM
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happymama wrote:
| Because of reflux, we pretty much slept in the rocking chair the first 5 months, but from then on, we have a full size crib in our room, with one side completely taken off, pushed up against my side of the bed and the crib mattress pushed snugly against our bed mattress with blankets. I love it. |
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We had the reflux issue, so that was another thing I was pondering. The cradle was completely useless for months. I am actually considering an Amby. I know that's not sleeping with the baby, but I wasn't sleeping in my bed anyway all those nights. 
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happymama
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If you get an Amby, let me know what you think. We have actually had 3 boys diagnosed with reflux, and i _really_ wanted an Amby but hubby wouldn't go for it for the price. He wanted me to try to make one - he offered to do the frame if I'd do the hammock. Can you guess he's a frugal engineer?! Anyway, by 4 or 5 months all my kids were off their meds and beginning to sleep on their stomachs at least. (shhh, don't tell anyone.) During those months it seems like one foggy nightmare, but time really does fly, doesn't it?
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JennGM
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happymama wrote:
| If you get an Amby, let me know what you think. We have actually had 3 boys diagnosed with reflux, and i _really_ wanted an Amby but hubby wouldn't go for it for the price. He wanted me to try to make one - he offered to do the frame if I'd do the hammock. Can you guess he's a frugal engineer?! Anyway, by 4 or 5 months all my kids were off their meds and beginning to sleep on their stomachs at least. (shhh, don't tell anyone.) During those months it seems like one foggy nightmare, but time really does fly, doesn't it? |
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My sil had one, didn't use it, but I might be able to borrow or buy hers, instead of paying full price. Ds just wouldn't stay asleep except in his car seat, but after discussions here about the possible dangers, I want a different option. We put him on his tummy after several months, too. It sure was a foggy nightmare -- after the first one, was it easier because you knew what to expect? At least in being able to recognize what was going on, and to brace yourself that yes, you're just not going to get any sleep for months. 
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Co-Sleepers
