Snuggle Nest or Changing Table Pad for an in-bed cosleeper?

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I'm having my second and coslept with DC for many, many years. I'm considering an in-bed type cosleeper for DC#2 for a couple of reasons:

1. I am hyper responsive / light sleeper and I think that the way I am does not help the child sleep as best as she/he could. I feel that a little bed within a bed would help with that.

2. I think I would sleep better as would DH if the baby was in a little "nest" within our bed.

3. I would like to transition this baby out of our bed sooner than we did with DD (at 7 years old).

I looked at the snuggle nest, which seems like such a gimmic but it looks interesting just the same. That got me wondering though why not use a contoured changing pad - especially if I can find one made with nice materials. What do you think of all of this? Do you know of any other options for having a baby in a bed within a bed in the middle of a king sized bed?

[odoole]

We had a snuggle nest and it worked really well for us. But they're small and babies grow out of them really fast. I don't think it would work really past 3 months. But they are nice for transitioning out. We put it in my son's crib for a couple weeks before we put him directly in the crib. He sleeps really well in the crib, which we have right next to our bed.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Were the sides of the snuggle nest rigid plastic? I was thinking that wouldn't be so nice to sleep next to and that maybe a nice latex or cotton type contoured mat would be nicer for all. How do you think that would have worked for you? This is the product that I am thinking of: http://www.babyearth.com/naturepedic...contoured.html

[noobmom]

All the changing pads I know are pretty big, so it would be like having a third adult in the bed with you, space-wise. I have heard of people using a clean cardboard box lined with a blanket, but since cardboard usually has a smell to it, I don't know if it would work.

My personal vote is for a sidecar arrangement if you happen to have a crib around, we didn't try that until DS was over a year old and it was so great. I don't know why we didn't try it sooner.

[Aimsley9]

We used a contoured changing pad and it worked great. We had a pack-n-play with the bassinet in it next to our bed, but our ds wanted to sleep right in our bed. We were going to buy a snuggle nest, but my dh had the idea of trying the changing pad since we had it already.

We used it until we our ds was older and we were more comfortable with co-sleeping. We now have a crib side-carred to our bed, but ds still sleeps in our bed. He must knows the difference in the mattress because if you lay him down in the crib he will roll over into our bed, and then go right to sleep.

Aimee

[CrunchyMamaB]

We used a contoured changing pad for DS's bed when we went camping once. He's a tummy sleeper. In the night, I woke to find that he had wriggled (he was about 4 months old at the time) up to the top of the pad, and his head was practically hanging off of it. Since the pad was made of firm foam, I was worried that it could have cut off his airway if his head had been totally off and the edge compressing against his throat. So...I would probably play it safe and use something that's DESIGNED specifically for sleeping...I agree that a cosleeper sounds like a great option for you!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

CMB & Noob, I was thinking of the fact a changing pad isn't made for sleeping but did you see the link to the one above? It's contoured on 4 sides! I'm not too conserned with the size. IME, even and infant takes up quite a bit of space in the bed. ; - ) I'm probably not going to do a co-sleeper. Those seem even more gimmiky (to me!) than a snuggle nest. I've read some threads about those and I think that it will fall the way of the crib we had on loan last time - fancy laundry basket. ; - ) I also don't think one would work with our bed anyway (we don't have "top" mattress - just a mattress, yk?)

A9 & Odoole, thanks for your reviews. Though I do think the snuggle nest would be nice for us I don't want to get something for 3 months. I probably won't make much use of a changing pad if I didn't get it for sleeping (especially not a super expensive one) but I can see more uses for that than the snuggle nest...though we may be traveling with new DC before 3 months and in that case maybe we'll splurge.

[justKate]

I actually really liked the sunggle nest. We used it through about 5 mos. You can take the little side pads off to make more room, and it doesn't really matter if baby's legs hang out the bottom. It worked well for us because Huz and I were both afraid of co-sleeping with such a small baby, and this transitioned us in to it. I put it up at our heads so that I could sleep with one arm in it with the baby, or on her legs. It was also good in that after my c-section I wasn't afraid to take some pain meds because I knew baby was a little separate from me.

JME.

[Baby Makes 4]

I will be the lone dissenter on the Snuggle Nest. The sides are a very hard plastic and it takes up a surprising amount of space. Every time I moved the plastic wall of the nest would dig into my back. When DD wanted to nurse I had to take her out of the nest and then the nest was in the way so we could cuddle and nurse without moving it.

Half way through the second night with the nest I hurled it into the closet. We returned it the next day and sidecarred our crib.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Babymakes4, that's kind of what I was afraid of. It seems more comfy to sleep next to a squishy latex thing than a rigid plastic. Hum...

[Sazmataz]

I am so glad you guys mentioned sidecarring your cribs.  I had never heard of that!!  I have a spare crib that was given to me by a friend and I am going to convert the sucker TO-DAY!!!  Thank you!!
 

[sonjagrabel]

I tried something similar to the Snuggle Nest, I think it was called Rest Assured something or other. I found it too big for the bed and too difficult to nurse - had to lift her out, not very convienient. (I ended up using it basically as a tabletop bassinet in other rooms in the house for nap times, though.) I also recommend using a crib as a side car. That has worked out GREAT for us.  I use a mini-crib as a side car.  Just removed one side, strapped it to the underside of my bed, and used foam to fill the gap between beds.  I also use a piece of that flannel/rubber water-proof fabric over where the two beds meet to make a smooth surface.

[crunchyruchie]

Okay, so this is an older thread, but did you end up using the changing pad for the purposes of cosleeping, Identity crisis mama? I was planning on buying the naturepedic changing pad for diaper changes, and I wonder if this might solve the cosleeping dilemma, too. I, like you, am a light sleeper who tosses and turns. For that reason, once the baby gets here, dh and I will be sleeping in separate beds in separate rooms. I was planning on buying and using this: http://www.gobedbug.com/GOPAGES/infantcosleep.htm

Please let me know how/if the changing pad worked for you!
 

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Oh, how funny to find this thread. I was in the forum looking for ideas about transitioning my DC into her own room and I find this old thread. 

I did end up fining a second hand Snugglenest but didn't end up using it really at all. I had hoped to have some better sleep habits this time around but we're pretty much in the same situation as DC number one.  Things are a bit better this time around because of some different approaches to night feeding but all in all it's similar. I do think this new baby sleeps far better alone than my first did. Maybe it's because we have a larger bed and I find myself turning away from her after nursing rather than snuggling all night for years like I did with my first. 

At least I also have the perspective of how fast these years fly....I didn't even remember stressing over the snuggle nest until I read this thread. 

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Oh...and I just reread my comments on this thread - funny, indeed. I said I wasn't going to buy a cosleeper....we ended up with a full sized side-car crib attached to our kind sized bed that just the baby and I sleep in. It's A LOT of room. I attribute that a bit to her sleeping a bit better. 

She's 21 months now and I am considering putting her in her own bed for the first sleep and after the first nursing and then seeing how it goes. I'm not opposed to bringing her in my bed but I really think she may be a kid who sleeps better alone for a good bit of the evening.