Snuggle Nest vs. Co-sleepers

[GhostRose]

It seems our little one hates her bassinet, so I'm looking into alternatives. If you've used these products, what did you think?

TIA!

[saoirse2007]

we use an in bed sleeper like that because our 2 year old is in the bed

i would rather side rail a crib but we have no extrta room

you have to take baby out to nurse
eta at least you dont have to get out of bed

[wombatclay]

What qualities are most important or limited?

If your bed is already crowded, the cosleeper will add some space. But if the room is small, the nest will take up less room overall.

Is your babe "leaky"? The cosleeper can prevent pee/poo blowouts from forcing a mid-night family bed overhaul. The nest sits on the big bed so leaks go right through. But it's easier to clean the nest in the event of small leaks (cosleeper sheets are a pain to remove/replace).

Is your bed a standard height? There are adaptors, but the cosleeper works best with standard frames. The nest can go on any bed (also good for travel).

The co-sleeper will last longer (can hold a bigger kiddo, can convert to playpen, can hold laundry/diaper change supplies). But if you plan on straight up bed sharing down the road the nest may be all you need. And the nest is less expensive.

Depending on why your babe hates the bassinet, she may hate the cosleeper and/or nest. Both limit body to body snuggles/cuddles (the cosleeper has a "wall" dividing the babe's sleep surface from the adult bed, the nest has walls too). And both will require you to reposition or even lift the babe for nursing. The nest will give a more "snug" feeling while the cosleeper offers more space... is the bassinet too small or too big (in terms of her preference)?

You might consider renting a hammock or checking out an amby bed if she seems to sleep better with movement or a more upright position. Or sidecar a crib (if you have one) before buying a cosleeper. Or try straight bed sharing before investing in a nest.

[texaspeach]

we have the arm's reach cosleeper, but the baby is actually in the bed with us most of the time. Well actually at night he's usually on me in the recliner in the nursery. The cosleeper is ok, but you still have to lean over and pick the baby up out of it - I had a c/s so that was very hard for me so baby just stayed next to me or on my chest.

Have you considered having baby in bed with you with no nest?

[Flower of Bliss]

We have baby just in bed with us - no cosleeper, nest, etc. She sleeps with her head on my arm and my arm draped behind her, on her side, facing the boob she last nursed on. When she starts to stir, I quickly wake up, pull her closer against me, roll over with her going over me, and nurse her. We both fall back asleep this way. I'm very happy with this arrangement I can't imagine having to take her out of something at night and then resettle her in it after nursing. That said, if you really want to use a nest or cosleeper, I think wombatclay explained some pros and cons pretty well.

We have an Amby that we use for some naps - though she often naps in a sling and I usually just sit and hold her for some of her naps too. I'm pretty happy with the Amby - I like the way it holds her and the motion and DD seems to as well, I like that it takes up less room than a crib, and I love that it comes apart easily and stores nicely in a bag for travel or between babies. So far, I think it was a great purchase.

[RTT]

He just sleeps in bed next to me. DD did the same as an infant and we never had any issues.

[aydensmama]

We sidecar- check it out here. (we moved the side table to the end of the sleeper so it lines up with the head board) Got the mini crib from craigslist for about $90. Much better than the co-sleeper as I can rig this one to be even with the bed height which is great. My dh laughs when the babe ends up like flower described above. He thinks it is silly since we sidecarred with this babe. (I can't sleep well with babe in my arm, but sometimes I need to)

I wasnt a fan of the nest, cause I wanted the baby on the same level, but we did use it for a bit, and for travel it was great.

[mamaheids]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

What qualities are most important or limited?

If your bed is already crowded, the cosleeper will add some space. But if the room is small, the nest will take up less room overall.

Is your babe "leaky"? The cosleeper can prevent pee/poo blowouts from forcing a mid-night family bed overhaul. The nest sits on the big bed so leaks go right through. But it's easier to clean the nest in the event of small leaks (cosleeper sheets are a pain to remove/replace).

Is your bed a standard height? There are adaptors, but the cosleeper works best with standard frames. The nest can go on any bed (also good for travel).

The co-sleeper will last longer (can hold a bigger kiddo, can convert to playpen, can hold laundry/diaper change supplies). But if you plan on straight up bed sharing down the road the nest may be all you need. And the nest is less expensive.

Depending on why your babe hates the bassinet, she may hate the cosleeper and/or nest. Both limit body to body snuggles/cuddles (the cosleeper has a "wall" dividing the babe's sleep surface from the adult bed, the nest has walls too). And both will require you to reposition or even lift the babe for nursing. The nest will give a more "snug" feeling while the cosleeper offers more space... is the bassinet too small or too big (in terms of her preference)?

You might consider renting a hammock or checking out an amby bed if she seems to sleep better with movement or a more upright position. Or sidecar a crib (if you have one) before buying a cosleeper. Or try straight bed sharing before investing in a nest.

ITA with Wombat on this- we have BOTH the Snuggle nest and the Arms reach and Molly sleeps in NEITHER! She sleeps in my armpit most of the time. The first few days home we had her in the snuggle nest, but she hated not being right up next to mama, so we put that away. We do still have the Cosleeper set up, mostly as a huge "nightstand" for me! LOL I have my water bottle, glasses, nursing pillow, burp rags, extra blanket etc. We mostly kept it up for a safe place to nap her - if she ever lets me put her down!

[wombatclay]

I should add, we had a cosleeper and a nest with dd1, a co sleeper and a pack/play with dd2, and now with ds we have a sort of bassinet/glider.

With dd1 we used the cosleeper while I healed from the c/s. Then dd1 joined us in the big bed and the cosleeper acted as my night table/diaper changing table.

With dd2 we used the cosleeper for a few days and then it was a sort of bed rail with bonus space... helpful when you have queen size mattress, a big dh, a pp mama, and a wild 4yo who is an extremely active sleeper, and a new babe. The pack/play was supposed to be for naps and diaper changes downstairs. Many dipes were changed but only one nap happened in it. Visiting babes slept there though.

This time our bed is very low to the floor and the loft ceiling slopes... the cosleeper would be too tall for the bed and too big for the loft! The glider seat isn't intended for sleeping but it is the right size/height. The girls share a sibling bed and sometimes join us... when we need extra space (or for naps) the glider is there. But in general ds is in the big bed with dh and I.

I had considered renting a hammock (you pay by the month so if babe doesn't like it you're only out a months rent and the company donates the used hammocks to children's organizations... but if babe does like it you own the hammock once your monthly payments equal the price of the hammock) but I think what we have now is fine.

[LilWin]

We have the arms reach, I like that it gives extra space since our bed is quite small. DS2 sleeps in it for the first part of the night, but as soon as he wakes up for nursing, he sleeps with me and stays there for the rest of the night.

[saoirse2007]

when ds was first born he slept beside me...when we moved to a bigger spot we side carred...didn't use it

then we moved to an apartment where our double bed touched 3 walls...lol

when i sleep alone with dd we just sleep in the bed...when dh and ds sleep with us we use the first years in bed cosleeper

i don't like it, but ds wants to sleep beside her and kicks and roots all over the bed at night

if he manages to get too close she has some protection from her loving brother

we put it high where the pillow would be...

[momoftworedheads]

I have a co-sleeper and my son will not sleep in it at night. He sleeps on me in bed or on me on the couch. He like to lay on his stomach, on me.
I borrowed thiscosleeper from my husband's co-worker and thank goodness I did that b/c this little one only like to nap in it during the day!!

Good luck. How about one of those in bed co-sleeping nests? I am looking into getting one since it is me, my DH, middle son and baby in a queen bed.

Take care!!