humanity co-sleeping pad - a good buy?

[FMB]

Hello,

We are a bedsharing family by necessity more than choice, thanks to DS who only sleeps snuggled up with me. For some time now I've been trying to convince myself we'll eventually be able to get DS to sleep on his own surface, but I'm about ready to give up the ghost. He enjoys it and, despite my lingering nervousness about co-sleeping, we've embraced it as a family and are doing well that way.

That said, DS is now 11 weeks old and is becoming more mobile. At the moment we have an arm's reach side-carred to the bed and I wedge pillows in it and sleep pretty far away from the side (DH sleeps behind me - we are all very small people and have a king sized bed). I'd like to feel more secure about the edge of the bed. The humanity pad seems like the answer, but I don't want another expensive but useless product (like the arm's reach) so I thought I would ask around first.

Anyone have the family bed? Anyone love it? Anyone end up not liking it? Worth the money? Any other products you recommend instead?

Thanks very much for any input.

[coleybug]

I had the Arm's Reach. DS spent maybe the first 3 or 4 weeks in it. Then I used it like you just described.

I looked at the Humanity Bed. But it just seemed awfully expensive. So I took a blanket, rolled it up as tightly as I could, tied it in 6 places with twine and stuck it *under* the fitted sheet on my bed. It's worked perfectly. I even took it on vacation! And it was FREE!

[Bmorefarmgirl]

someone mentioned these on another post and i thought they looked pretty cool. plus a LOT cheaper than the humanity thing.

http://www.gobedbug.com/

looks like the humanity might stay in place better, but these would seem to take up less room in the bed, not to mention costing 1/10 the price.

[esteg0]

I had an Arm's Reach attached to my bed for months just like you. I bought a humanity bed about 3 months ago and I love it! It is very reassuring and definitely worth the money!

[coleybug]

Originally Posted by Bmorefarmgirl

someone mentioned these on another post and i thought they looked pretty cool. plus a LOT cheaper than the humanity thing.

http://www.gobedbug.com/

looks like the humanity might stay in place better, but these would seem to take up less room in the bed, not to mention costing 1/10 the price.

Cool! I would've gotten that if I'd found it before I "rigged" my blanket up!

[MG01]

i had an arms reach until around 5-6 mos. we now have the humanity- just came in as it was back-ordered as a belated shower gift actually so i have only about a week's experience, maybe like four nights actually, my sense of time is shot lol... my son has had the WORST sleep ever these past 3-4 weeks, so i don''t know if i am a coherent judge, but i really dig it, it's nice to have something that big and cushiony that won't roll away, and the thick organic cotton flannel layer underneath us has really cut down on the issues we had been have with pooling sweat and breastmilk making big wet spots where kiddo's head would be, not the most comfortable thing in the world. i vote if you can afford it and/or find a used one, it is perfect. we have a queen bed, took apart the frame for safety and put the mattress on the floor, and ds sleeps between me and the humanity bolster- perfect. the size of the pad that goes under you could ideally be a little bigger, it hasn't really been a problem, but i would like if it would come in different sizes and i could have one that were fitted or tucked under the bed to stay in place- but i am one of the most anal people i know, so for the most part it stays, i just want it to be 100% flat/tight which it isn't, not like a tight fitted sheet or anything- that said, it is heavy weight enough (3-layered i think the brochure said) and plus your weight on top of it, it definitely does stay right in place. my vote goes to the humanity, just hope that i can enjoy it more in a less sleep deprived state with a happier babe.

[MG01]

i am also really psyched to use it as a body/pregnancy pillow when i have my next bebe (not for a looong time but still lol) i do that sometimes even now when i am napping and ds is playing with the g'parents in the other room, curl up around the bolster part... heaven...

and i also like having something organic under us, since i couldn't afford an organic mattress (for the queen bed, my son's arms reach co-sleeper/play pen mattress is the wool/organic cotton one, but we wind up doing family bed thing since he won't let me set him in the playpen even to nap arrgh. plus he is 7.5 mos and we have not set a crib up but i might do so just cause well that is what you do right. not like he'll ever let me put him in it.

eta:
i am having camera issues as of late but i will try to post a pic up when i can. it really doesn't take up much room, maybe about a foot or so in diameter- width/height and stays in place. although i guess as a single mama i don't have to worry bout enough space for a man in the bed- ha

it would be tight to have a queen mattress, the humanity bed, the baby, mom, AND dad. a king, maybe more likely, depends how you sleep and how much space you all want/need. my son is basically in need of constant contact so he wedges against the bolster facing me and often even not unlatching all night so we are sort of piled on in there lol.

also re: bed bug bumper-- i looked at that too, but it seems hard and angular, i wanted something more pillow-like. when younger i had to roll up blankets and make a li'l nest to set my son to sleep or prop him on his side in bed and nurse him to sleep, so he would need something a little softer/more conforming against his back or side. i realize this is not the approved PC safety protocol, but i do whatever i can to get sleep for me and ds, and so far, lately, it doesn't help. another thread, another time..

anyway i am really loving the humanity though. there is quite a variation in price on sites- get it direct thru humanity products website, the company that makes them. even with a delay/back-order, it is worth it. imho.

eta (again )
OP-- for your family, with a king size bed and a babe who sleep right snuggled up to mama, i think you don't have to worry about space w/ the humanity. i think basically the flannel under layer would be under you and babe and not under your DH (but the one issue i could see is it ending right in the middle of his sleep space/"side" of the bed and him sleeping half on and half off it, see the top pic here to see what i mean, you have to scroll down a ways to get to the humanity first: http://childorganics.com/Organic-Blankets-Bedding.htm
not sure how sensitive he is to those types of things but i cannot imagine that would be cozy- that is why i say i think they should make it to go all the way to the edge of the bed and make different sizes/length/widths or wrap around and tuck underneath the mattress- but measurements could help, it says on the site i think or i will measure mine for you if that helps)

also i want to try to find the site that ds's grandma ordered ours from, it was direct from humanity's manufacturer and was $200 i think, whereas some sites are selling them for closer to @250-350 (obviously, as the reseller has to stock them and make some profit, but still, I don't know about you all, but I can't afford extra $ right now) I'll edit in the url in a sec) (ok i think this is the one: http://humanityorganics.3dcartstores...y-sleeper.html the pics are quite accurate too)

I agree too OP that the arm's reach was a good concept in theory but a poor design and waste of money in practicality, although we were able to convert to a playpen so instead of a pack and play i guess if you want to have it for that it is useful in that it serves more than one function; i hope eventually i can get him to nap in there without needing constant motion/nursing/body contact- again, another thread, another day. as for when i had it set as the co-sleeper against my own bed, he slept in it on occasion but it had safety concerns and had to sorta rig it up, and he mostly just slept with me, both out of his preference, and out of the fact that i would fall asleep before he could finish nursing and i could sneak away lol. the exhaustions of motherhood.

good luck and let me know if you have questions or let us know how it goes, i am really pleased, although i had my doubts at first, i just put it on the registry thinking if i get it i get it, if not i will live and just take the box spring away so the mattress is literally inches from the ground and we wouldn't need something like that anyway- and lo and behold i now have it and now think it is the best invention ever.

anyway best of luck!! and btw congrats on your li'l lovey!!

[FMB]

Wow, thank you! Thanks to all of you for the tips, links, and especially to mama gaia for all of the information.

I will talk to DH about whether or not he'd be annoyed by the edge of the pad being in his sleep space. As of right now, he is banished to such a siberian patch of real estate on our bed that I think he'll view just about any change as an upgrade!

I think it's funny that so many of us use the arm's reach as a make-shift guardrail. Also makes a pretty handy bedside "table," too, don'tchathink?

[Smithie]

My big issue with the HFB was how HEAVY the flannel pads were. Removing them, laundering them and putting them back on was a serious hassle for me in my weakened, sleep-deprived state, plus they took forever to dry.

However, if you do not have a newborn and hence are not pouring sweat and gushing milk, that might not matter so much to you as you would be washing the pad so much.

[FeminineFigure]

I really like mine. I first used it as a pregnancy pillow. Then due to oversupply/leaking/night nursing it really helped to have the pad under me. I have a king sized sleep number bed with the two sides that go up and down, so I put the thing both in the middle of us and with the pillow on the edge of the bed. When I put it in the middle, my husband doesn't mind it--uses it as an armrest .

Pricey, but I am definitely getting my use out of it.

[FMB]

thanks all! I looked at most of the options and ended up ordering the HFB. It is on backorder, so I'm not sure how long it will take to arrive. We are looking forward to it! Part of my enthusiasm is definitely the idea of extra mattress protection! DS is a sloppy nighttime eater...