co-sleeping issues / advice on sidecars

Hello,
I know co-sleeping is discussed here a lot. I have some specific
questions that I can't find answers to in the archive. Here's the
situation:
DS is nine months old and has been mostly co-sleeping. We have a crib
right next to the bed but he rarely sleeps in it. He usually falls
asleep after nursing. I try to put him in the crib but he senses when
we lower him down in it and then he wakes up. I have much better
luck just carefully transfering him from my arms to a spot next to me
in the adult bed. The problem is that it's a little crowded in our
bed. I don't sleep very well (b/c I'm a little worried about DS
getting up next to a pillow or getting tangled in the quilt) I would
really like DS to have a safe spot in which to sleep. All this has
got me thinking that I should have gotten a co-sleeper instead of
crib. So here are my questions:
1) When do babies outgrow the co-sleepers/sidecars? (Like the Arm's
Reach brand) DS is 23 lbs and about 30 inches. Should I buy one at
this late date? DS can pull to standing in his crib - most of the
sidecars I've seen have low walls - is he too big to safely use
sidecar?
2) Do you think the adult mattress makes a difference in DS's comfort?
Does he reject the crib b/c the mattress is so hard?
3) Can I somehow modify the crib to make it a co-sleeper/sidecar and
would that be safe? The crib mattress happens to be just about the
same height as our mattress.
4) Instead of a buying an Arms Reach or other type of co-sleeper,
would it be wise to buy a twin bed identical to our bed and put them
up side by side? I would ask DH to sleep on the twin bed and then DS
and I would have the rest of the bed. DH will probably flip when he
hears this idea!
What has worked for you??
I'm interested in any/all advice/comments.
Thank you!! Heather

why don't you just carry on transferring him to the cot? I knew I would
sleep badly if we co slept, so I always transfer ds to a moses baskets, we
did it right from birth, the first few weeks he would often fuss, but
probably because he hadn't fed enough, now he dozes off at the breast,
opens his eyes when being moved but almost everytime goes back to sleep
with no noise.

-----------
Anne Rogers

"Heather" wrote in message
m...

1) When do babies outgrow the co-sleepers/sidecars? (Like the Arm's
Reach brand) DS is 23 lbs and about 30 inches. Should I buy one at
this late date? DS can pull to standing in his crib - most of the
sidecars I've seen have low walls - is he too big to safely use
sidecar?

We had the space-saving Arm's Reach Co-sleeper, but ended up barely using it
because there was a small ridge between it and our bed, and I found it
impractical to lift DS into and out of it.

Worsening the problem was that our bed is a non-standard height, somewhere
between 18-20". There is now a Universal Co-Sleeper that adjusts to these
heights, but this wasn't available when we got ours.

IIRC, the space-saving version goes to 23 pounds. The others go up to, I
think, 30 lbs.

Standing could be a problem, but I'm not sure about the full-size
co-sleepers.

2) Do you think the adult mattress makes a difference in DS's comfort?
Does he reject the crib b/c the mattress is so hard?

I doubt it. Probably being moved from your side is what does it.

3) Can I somehow modify the crib to make it a co-sleeper/sidecar and
would that be safe? The crib mattress happens to be just about the
same height as our mattress.

I haven't tried this, but I think you can do this if you can lower one side.

4) Instead of a buying an Arms Reach or other type of co-sleeper,
would it be wise to buy a twin bed identical to our bed and put them
up side by side? I would ask DH to sleep on the twin bed and then DS
and I would have the rest of the bed. DH will probably flip when he
hears this idea!
What has worked for you??

We've been co-sleeping, but what you describe is something I've been
thinking about. DH built our bed himself, and I've thought at some point
maybe he could build a twin version with rails on three sides that we could
use as a sidecar. Then, DS could nurse as needed, then roll into his own
space. I hadn't considered moving DH into a twin, though.

Belphoebe

We took our ds out of the cosleeper at about your child's age because he
was crawling and I was afraid he'd crawl right over the side. We then
completely removed the movable side of the crib we had bought and never
used and lashed the crib securely to our bed with a bunch of bungee
cords. We have a platform bed, so the siderail was perfect for this. The
metal support frame thingie on the crib had a number of different
heights it could be screwed in at, and luckily one matched our mattress
height perfectly. There was some space between the two bedframes and the
two mattresses. We solved this by cutting a piece of hardboard to fit
exactly into the crib and span the the space flush up to our mattress,
then pushed the crib mattress right up to our mattress and bought a
piece of mattress grade foam to fill the remaining gap. I was able to
stretch the crib sheet to cover both the crib mattress and the foam for
a nice snug fit. Ds would nurse and eventually roll off into his own space.

Since you already have a crib, I'd try this before spending the money on
a twin bed and bedrails. The crib sides make great bedrails, and I have
one of those long body pillows I'd put on the open side when I didn't
want to hang around.

We just dismantled this contraption the other day, as DS requested out
of the blue his very own bed. We bought him a toddler bed and set it up
in the corner, with all of 18 inches between our beds. Seems like miles!

-Karen, mom to Henry 3-

I'm interested in any/all advice/comments.
Thank you!! Heather


Thanks everyone for these posts! If there's more, keep them coming..
I really like Karen's idea of modifying the crib but I'm a little
concerned about the safety since she had to go through several steps
to ensure a good fit. I'll have to see how ours works. Luckily, my
sister has a crib she's not using. Perhaps if we ruin ours, we can
fall back on hers!

"Heather" wrote in message
m...

1) When do babies outgrow the co-sleepers/sidecars? (Like the Arm's
Reach brand) DS is 23 lbs and about 30 inches. Should I buy one at
this late date? DS can pull to standing in his crib - most of the
sidecars I've seen have low walls - is he too big to safely use
sidecar?

Our Arms Reach is a 2000 model year. It says when baby is able to
stand/pull self up or 30 pounds. My DD is 2. She of course can stand but
has the cognitive ability not to jump out the side (I think :-) She's only
26 pounds and sleeps in it now that we have a new baby. She's 35 inches
btw.

2) Do you think the adult mattress makes a difference in DS's comfort?
Does he reject the crib b/c the mattress is so hard?

I think this had a lot to do with my DD and now with my DS. They just seem
to sleep better on the soft mattress. As I said though, DD now sleeps in
the cosleeper with no problems so maybe its an oversimplification. The
other thing I've chalked it up to is having the warm mom body right there.

3) Can I somehow modify the crib to make it a co-sleeper/sidecar and
would that be safe? The crib mattress happens to be just about the
same height as our mattress.

Usually yes. If the side rail drops low enough (or if one whole side rail
will come off you take it off) drop it and scoot the bed up to the crib.
If you can box the crib into a wall you're set. If not, you need to get
some straps and strap them together.

4) Instead of a buying an Arms Reach or other type of co-sleeper,
would it be wise to buy a twin bed identical to our bed and put them
up side by side? I would ask DH to sleep on the twin bed and then DS
and I would have the rest of the bed. DH will probably flip when he
hears this idea!

Hee-hee. I've also heard of doing this, so its an option as well. Though
you might think of putting your DS on the twin rather than your husband

Good luck!

--
Rhiannon (who taught DD today that we have a "family bed". Not a term I've
ever been into, but kind of sweet now.)
Madison Sophia - 9/6/01
Owen Grady - 6/23/03

Remember, we had to fudge the set-up a bit because our big bed is a
platform bed with a rail along the side rather than a regular boxspring
and mattress on a frame situation. I think you'd be able to get the crib
flush with a regular bed, but you'd have to figure out how to attach it
securely. The idea of pushing the crib up to the wall then the bed up to
the crib would work in that case.

-K-

We have been co-sleeping since birth, DD is now 7 months, and we have her
crib next to the bed with one side removed (although DD rarely sleeps IN the
crib). Our bed sits very high but luckily the crib mattress adjusts to the
same height.

There is a space between the crib and our mattress, about 3-4 inches, but I
just cram one of those long body pillows in to it and we have no problem!
We are going to start transitioning her into the crib now as she has become
quite an unruly sleeper - tossing and turning and flailing her little arms
about! its so precious!

Melanie

Olivia Madison 2-28-03

"Heather" wrote in message
m...
Hello,
I know co-sleeping is discussed here a lot. I have some specific
questions that I can't find answers to in the archive. Here's the
situation:
DS is nine months old and has been mostly co-sleeping. We have a crib
right next to the bed but he rarely sleeps in it. He usually falls
asleep after nursing. I try to put him in the crib but he senses when
we lower him down in it and then he wakes up. I have much better
luck just carefully transfering him from my arms to a spot next to me
in the adult bed. The problem is that it's a little crowded in our
bed. I don't sleep very well (b/c I'm a little worried about DS
getting up next to a pillow or getting tangled in the quilt) I would
really like DS to have a safe spot in which to sleep. All this has
got me thinking that I should have gotten a co-sleeper instead of
crib. So here are my questions:
1) When do babies outgrow the co-sleepers/sidecars? (Like the Arm's
Reach brand) DS is 23 lbs and about 30 inches. Should I buy one at
this late date? DS can pull to standing in his crib - most of the
sidecars I've seen have low walls - is he too big to safely use
sidecar?
2) Do you think the adult mattress makes a difference in DS's comfort?
Does he reject the crib b/c the mattress is so hard?
3) Can I somehow modify the crib to make it a co-sleeper/sidecar and
would that be safe? The crib mattress happens to be just about the
same height as our mattress.
4) Instead of a buying an Arms Reach or other type of co-sleeper,
would it be wise to buy a twin bed identical to our bed and put them
up side by side? I would ask DH to sleep on the twin bed and then DS
and I would have the rest of the bed. DH will probably flip when he
hears this idea!
What has worked for you??
I'm interested in any/all advice/comments.
Thank you!! Heather

Heather,

We took the side off our crib and pinched it between the bed and the
wall. There was a bit of space between the crib mattress and our
mattress so we stuffed a body pillow between the crib rail on teh wall
side and the mattress. It works just great. Oh yeah, we also had to
lower the crib mattress to the same level at our bed. There might be a
slight difference in height but not enough to worry about. By the time
we did this DS could roll over and move himself out of any difficult
positions. It's way cheaper than a co-sleeper and bigger too.

LB

Heather wrote:
Hello,
I know co-sleeping is discussed here a lot. I have some specific
questions that I can't find answers to in the archive. Here's the
situation:
DS is nine months old and has been mostly co-sleeping. We have a crib
right next to the bed but he rarely sleeps in it. He usually falls
asleep after nursing. I try to put him in the crib but he senses when
we lower him down in it and then he wakes up. I have much better
luck just carefully transfering him from my arms to a spot next to me
in the adult bed. The problem is that it's a little crowded in our
bed. I don't sleep very well (b/c I'm a little worried about DS
getting up next to a pillow or getting tangled in the quilt) I would
really like DS to have a safe spot in which to sleep. All this has
got me thinking that I should have gotten a co-sleeper instead of
crib. So here are my questions:
1) When do babies outgrow the co-sleepers/sidecars? (Like the Arm's
Reach brand) DS is 23 lbs and about 30 inches. Should I buy one at
this late date? DS can pull to standing in his crib - most of the
sidecars I've seen have low walls - is he too big to safely use
sidecar?
2) Do you think the adult mattress makes a difference in DS's comfort?
Does he reject the crib b/c the mattress is so hard?
3) Can I somehow modify the crib to make it a co-sleeper/sidecar and
would that be safe? The crib mattress happens to be just about the
same height as our mattress.
4) Instead of a buying an Arms Reach or other type of co-sleeper,
would it be wise to buy a twin bed identical to our bed and put them
up side by side? I would ask DH to sleep on the twin bed and then DS
and I would have the rest of the bed. DH will probably flip when he
hears this idea!
What has worked for you??
I'm interested in any/all advice/comments.
Thank you!! Heather

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