How to raise the mattress height of an arm's reach co sleeper to the same as the bed

[Snapdragon]

http://www.armsreach.com/pages/shop-pv-c10-31.html

This is a question I am sure I can figure out on my own but I was curious if anyone here has done this. I am thinking of getting the above linked sidecar cosleeper crib thing. In the picture you can see that the mattress is lower than the bed height. I guess they do this deliberately, they said when I inquired.
At any rate- I want to raise the mattress height up to be level with my bed so it is like an extension of my bed but protected on 3 sides.
I had thought I would just get an extra mattress or maybe some other thing to put under the mattress to raise it up.
Somehow in the picture, though, it looks as if that ledge there might still get in the way of making it a smooth flush extension of the bed.

has anyone used this or a similar co sleeper bed and found a great way to raise the mattress on it up to be right flush with the bed?
thanks

[dollyanna]

Well, first off, they do sell these leg extenders that you can buy to raise the height of the cosleeper. We had to use them to get it up to the height of our (high) bed. http://shop.nurturecenter.com/index....ct_detail&p=92

But even with that, yes, the ledge thing separates you from the baby. So, for us this meant that the cosleeper was great when we put baby down to sleep, but most of the time once she woke up to nurse, she ended up in the bed for the rest of the night, at least in the early days.

I liked the cosleeper, but I don't know if it's significantly different than having a bassinet next to the bed.

ETA: sorry, I just looked at the link, & that is not the thing that we had. Sorry, I know nothing about it. Is your bed higher than 30" -- that is how high it says it can go.

[lonegirl]

You can adjust the side so that it is even with the bed....without the ledge thingie. I did it. You adjust the side to the lower setting. It has been 2 years so I can't remember the exact details...but all we did was use the leg extenders and wrap the mattress board in a blanket to give a bit more height (but not plushness). it was great! I will see if I can find a photo.
We had the Universal if that is anything to you

[Snapdragon]

lonegirl so- you wrapped the mattress in a blanket and then put sheets over it? I can't quite visualize it.I would love to see a picture if you do find one. ALso, I have only seen this picture of the bed, I haven't seen the actual bed yet,so it is even harder to visualize.
I have a normal height bed- I know I can get the leg extenders to raise the co sleeper up- but the ledge thing and the baby's mattress being lower is the thing that I don't want. I would love to have this and make it flush so that it could be a smooth extension of the bed rather than so seperate seeming. And that there wouldn't be a space or obstacle between this and my bed.

[LionessMom]

have you thought about just doing it with a crib?

http://www.freewebs.com/sidecarcrib/

it works great for us.

i like the arms reach you have linked to though. it looks real nice and i like that it converts to the chair thing. i didnt get it though bc of the ledge thing. i didnt know there was a way aorund it.

[Snapdragon]

Originally Posted by LionessMom

have you thought about just doing it with a crib?

http://www.freewebs.com/sidecarcrib/

it works great for us.

i like the arms reach you have linked to though. it looks real nice and i like that it converts to the chair thing. i didnt get it though bc of the ledge thing. i didnt know there was a way aorund it.

See, I love the thing you have there! Nice and flat and flush with the bed. The thing with us is that neither me nor my husband is very handy with building or attaching or any type of remotely carpenter thing- so I think for us we like the idea of having somehting that is super easy to set up and attach to the bed. But what you have is similar to what I am going for. I think we will have the baby directly in the bed with us much of the time but I think I will also like the option of being able to lay him or her to the side sometimes too.

[Snapdragon]

also, Lionessmom the sidecar'ed crib you have looks bigger than the cosleeper I am considering- I actually really like the size of yours.. I just read through your link again and I just love it! So cozy. I like the foam idea to raise the height. I guess I may get this co sleeper (after I make sure it will be long and wide enough) soon- wince I still have three months to go- and then take the time to mess with it and get it how I like it- ie, flush with the bed.
Just curious- what are the dimensions of your crib? It may say on there, but I am curious to compare it to the arm's reach one.

[LionessMom]

Originally Posted by Katie34

also, Lionessmom the sidecar'ed crib you have looks bigger than the cosleeper I am considering- I actually really like the size of yours.. I just read through your link again and I just love it! So cozy. I like the foam idea to raise the height. I guess I may get this co sleeper (after I make sure it will be long and wide enough) soon- wince I still have three months to go- and then take the time to mess with it and get it how I like it- ie, flush with the bed.
Just curious- what are the dimensions of your crib? It may say on there, but I am curious to compare it to the arm's reach one.

oh thats not my bed, that is a link i was given when i first had DD1 in '07.
mine looks like this
http://s366.photobucket.com/albums/o...t=100_0882.jpg
i took that picture when DD1 was a year. it looks like that now for DD2 but without a blanket for her.

i just bought a regular crib and mattress. the kind that turns into a toddler bed. ( i measured it and it is approx 51"long and 28"wide) i got lucky, the highest setting on my crib makes it the same height as my bed. i have a waterproof pad that goes across the seam too. i bought some hosp grade pad off amazon. it doesnt slide around. i used bungies to "tie" the crib legs to the bed. i am going to add a bungie that stretches across where the drop side used to be. well below where the mattress goes. i pull the crib and bed apart to change my sheets and i want to reinforce it.

if you get the co sleeper you can get some of that foam to put under it like in the link. then switch to a side carred crib when babe is bigger.

[seafox]

we had the arm's reach and yeah, the lower mattress was annoying. Even when raised up you have the divider preventing it from being flush with your bed. We thought about raising the mattress - I was thinking another mattress the same size would work and be safest, and I was also tempted to just try folded blankets in there though I think that might have made me more nervous.

that all said, we ended up just bringing DS into bed, and then eventually got a king size futon that's now on the floor I miss my nice queen size bed (four post, very pretty bed) but will maybe use it again in a year or two

[Snapdragon]

It seems like almost everyone I ask says that the arm's reach co sleeper just really isn't worth it.
Today I went to a great used baby clothes store and talked w-the lady there about it. she has a pretty decent crib for sale- way bigger than the co sleeper I linked. she also had an arms reach cosleeper for sale and it was tiny! IT measurede 33 inces long. the one I am considering is 41 inches long- but that is the outside height.
anyway- it made me consider just sidecarring the crib after all.
Because it seems like the arms reach would last for only a short time, also the sides aren't so high so maybe that would be another reason.
I don't know! Step by step- I am figuring it out.

Right now we have a full sized bed and this will be our first baby. My ideal is to get a QUeen sized bed, so husband and baby and I could sleep comfortably in it, but also have the crib or co sleeper or whatever I figure out- be attached to the bed and flush with it for easy nursing and cuddling but also to have some space if I need it.
I had thought the sleight bed co sleeper was ideal for that- but
1. There is no store near me to actually see it and
2.Maybe it is too small and
3. still figuring out the ledge thing.

[Viola]

I had an Arm's Reach Cosleeper and I didn't find it very useful with my first child. I had the mattress inside the cosleeper at the same level as my mattress using the leg extenders, but this meant that the short edge on the open side protuded above my mattress, which was a barrier. I ended up just putting my crib there.

With my second child, however, we had moved and there just was not room for a crib in the space we had. The Arms Reach was against the wall and there was no room to move the bed out any further. I didn't put all the leg extenders on it, I just had the edge of the cosleeper come flush with my mattress so there was a drop of several inches to the cosleeper mattress. It was much easier to get my baby in and out of it. She slept in the bed, but sometimes she'd roll away and just drop into the cosleeper and sleep there for awhile. I used it for quite awhile, even after she could sit up. Even though the sides were short, if she woke in the middle of the night, she'd just crawl up into bed with me.

[Snapdragon]

Viola So I think you are saying that you found the cosleeper more useful by leaving it at the height it came than adjusting it? Or is it just that the situation was different because it was a second baby so it worked better. why exactly did you find it useful the second time but not the first?

Added edit- after re reading your post I think you said it's because you had the top of it flush with your bed so there wasn't a ledge. got it, I think.

Is there any benefit to the arms reach cosleeper over sidecarring a crib, or is there more benefit to sidecarring a crib? Or is it just personal preference?

[Snapdragon]

Does anyone know until about what age a baby would fit comfortably in the arm's reach? It says the dimensions are:

41inches by 23 inches outside
with a "sleeping nest" of 31 inches by 21 inches.
So that might be kind of small, eh- and last only a few months?

[larzanna]

I have the universal arms reach co-sleeper, so the bigger size.
I got a piece of 4in thick foam from jo-anns and put it under the co-sleeper mattress. Works well. Its not PERFECT flush, like the little round ledge part still is there, but everything is the same height to my bed.
If i were to even get a thick mattress pad or thick towel and spread across both my bed and the baby bed, then the little edge would not even be noticable with this method.

I would rather have done the side car crib, but we have no room for that.

I will say that i really have liked my co-sleeper, but i got a good deal on it. Not sure that i would pay full price though. It made me feel ok when DS was really little and i didn't want him IN bed with me then. Now that he is 6 months, he starts the night in the co-sleeper and then spends the rest of the night in bed w/ me.

[henny penny]

Katie, there is a current post all about the Arm's Reach in the May 2010 Due Date Club. Lots of info you may be interested in:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...3#post14719233

Instead of investing time and money on the problematic Arm's Reach I would recommend going with a sidecar crib! It is a perfect solution!! We LOVE ours and still use it going on two years!

[lonegirl]

KAtie- the little ledge thing on the side I was able to lower and attach at the lower setting. the blanket wrapped around it was on top of the sheet (it added just a small amount of thickness to level it out with our bed.....still searching for a photo (the older onesare on my other computer)
I used the Universal (about the size of a pack and play) until he was about a year...(then we got a futon for beside or bed)

[Viola]

Originally Posted by Katie34

Added edit- after re reading your post I think you said it's because you had the top of it flush with your bed so there wasn't a ledge. got it, I think.

Yes, that was it. The first time the mattress was the same height, but the second time it was that ledge thing, so I'd have to lift her over it to get her in or out.

Is there any benefit to the arms reach cosleeper over sidecarring a crib, or is there more benefit to sidecarring a crib? Or is it just personal preference?

I think it's just a space and cost thing. If I were buying a crib, I'd not bother with the cosleeper. If I didn't have room for the crib, I'd probably go with the cosleeper. But my Arms Reach was the pack and play model, not the wooden crib looking model. I could technically have used it as a playpen without the cosleeper modifications. So maybe it would have a longer use, if you happened to use a playpen.

[KLM99]

We have the mini arms reach, but my bed is so high that it's even too high for the leg extenders. We've ended up just using it as a little crib since our room is too small for a normal crib. Although he sleeps with us at night anyway. So really we just use it for naps - basically instead of a little bassinet or something. I'm glad I got it second hand and only paid $20 for it!