Co-Sleeper question

Nan wrote:

I'm trying to steer dh away from wanting to buy a cutsey bassinet. I
think it would be a grand waste of money for the short time the baby
would be able to use it.

Sooo, I'm looking at co-sleepers, Arms Reach, in particular.
I've seen them mentioned in here, so I'm looking for feedback.

I don't have any feedback for you regarding the Co-Sleeper but this is
what we did for the twins:

We used either the full bassinette feature on the Pack 'n Plays or put
the twins in a laundry basket (two baskets when they got older.

Once they were too big for the PNPs we shoved a crib up beside the bed
(my side) and removed one side.

From what I understand of the Co-sleeper there *is* a weight limit. I
think a PNP w/full bassinette would be more versatile. Of course, YMMV.
:-)

--
Brigitte aa #2145
edd #3 February 15, 2004
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/joshuaandkaterina/

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

Nan wrote:

We did the laundry basket for dd for about 2-1/2 months, then got a
nice wooden cradle at a resale shop for $10. She used that for
another 3 months or so, then we moved her to a crib, which she hated.
So, she's been in our bed since then, and the crib has been used
for.... storage ;-)

Our hated the cribs as well.

I think it's the mattresses. They are too hard. With this one, we're
going to do the PNP and co-sleep. Then re-evalute when baby is a bit
bigger. Probably a small mattress on the floor next to our mattress
(what we ended up doing with the twins). We just put the mattress back
onto the bed frame a few weeks ago.

I'm sure there is a limit, too. I just couldn't locate what it is.
You've got me considering a PNP with bassinet, though. Size is a
consideration, but is something we can work around.

Those full bassinette PNPs are pretty good. Mine have weight limits of
20 pounds.

--
Brigitte aa #2145
edd #3 February 15, 2004
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/joshuaandkaterina/

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

Nan wrote:

I definitely think the mattress being so hard is an issue for dd. She
has a toddler bed that was given to us and she doesn't like it. So,
we have a big blue race car in our bedroom, and she sleeps with me ;-)
Now I'm pondering getting a foam padding for her bed and see if that
would make a difference, if I can't find a softer mattress to fit it.

We ended up buying twin-sized beds/mattresses for the twins last month
and they love them. We bought foam mattresses because of the
accident-in-the-night feature of small children. When they are a bit
older, we'll get the coil-spring mattresses. We got them at Ikea. Very
reasonable.

--
Brigitte aa #2145
edd #3 February 15, 2004
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/joshuaandkaterina/

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

hey nan....

i just bought the arm's reach co sleeper and munchkin isn't here yet,
but i already like it better than a pack n play. the weight limit on
mine is 30 lbs for the bed, possibly the whole thing....not sure about
that though. anyway, the reason i like it is because it hooks directly
to my bed whereas a pnp doesn't. it is basically the same thing as a
pnp. the bed can be placed at the bottom so that it becomes a play yard
later if i want. it doesn't have wheels (i got the original...not the
mini, which i believe has wheels...but the mini doesn't hold as much
weight...) but is easy to put together and take down. it came with a
carrying case so that i can take it with me when i go and visit
relatives. it isn't too heavy either. it you don't want to hook it to
your bed, you don't have to, you can use it like a bassinet like a pnp.
they said that i could even hook a moblile to it, which i ahven't tried
yet, but am going today or tomorrow to look at them and see if it works.
i don't see why it wouldn't. to just give you a heads up....with the
cosleeper, your baby's bed will actually be about 4 inches lower than
your bed, but i dont' see why that would be a problem. hope this helps
you. i'll try to remember to let youknow how it works out once
munchkin is here. good luck!!!

melanie

DeliciousTrufflesGoAwayWorm writes:

Our hated the cribs as well.

FWIW our DS has been in a cot (= US crib) with one side removed and
fastened to our bed since day 1, and seems fine with it. (Wakes up once
most nights, but is hungry then so I wouldn't expect anything else.) Maybe
we're lucky, or maybe this arrangement is one that works. I guess it may
matter that he didn't get used to a smaller space first. We have a sprung
mattress for the cot which is actually softer than our mattress. It has a
zip-off panel that can be washed and tumble dried; we've only had to do
this once (spit up) - came from Mothercare in UK. I definitely like the
cosleeper idea but see no reason to go for something with a weight limit.
Apart from anything else I like that I can move myself into his space
rather than vice versa for feeding to sleep - I can rest my head and
shoulders above him in the cot and feed, then once he's asleep I move me
not him, which is a great thing especially as he just doesn't do the "very
deep sleep" thing that newborns are supposed to - he almost always wakes
when we move him, at any stage in the sleep cycle. I'd worry about doing
this with a less sturdy cot!

Just my 2p-worth

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

nan writes:

Hmmmm.... another option to consider! What did you use to fasten the cot
to your bed?

Velcro straps, which came from a department store, not sold specifically
for this purpose. Easy as we have a pine bed with lots of places to wrap
the straps round - might have required more ingenuity if we'd had a divan
type. The cot has lockable casters and the instructions suggested you
didn't need to actually fasten the beds together, but I didn't like that
idea.

Also we moved the cot mattress over so that it's hard against our mattress,
stuffing prefolds between the other side of the mattress and the cot to
keep it in place. Because the cot is designed for this use the height is
very adjustable and there is only the tiniest "lip" between the two
mattresses.

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003