Arms Reach Mini Question

[KittyDanger]

I am due with DS2 at the end of March. We co slept with DS1 but not with a cosleeper bc I was too terrified to sleep with him until he was no longer a newborn and I didn't feel the need to have a cosleeper then.

With DS2 I would like to use one. I need a mini bc our room is small. I was looking online yesterday and the Arms Reach mini said it fits beds up to 24 in high...our bed is taller than that and doesn't lower. I don't think my husband will go for putting the bed on the floor.

I always thought that the baby's sleeping surface in the cosleeper was supposed to be level with the adult bed? There also seems to be a rail on the bed-side of the cosleeper- it IS lower than the other three, but I wonder why it is there at all. Anyone ever just used those mesh side rails for toddler beds for their infant? Are they a suffocation hazard? I really just dont want to buy a cosleeper that doesn't work for us and that is expensive.


http://www.armsreach.com/shop-3/the-...7b6d9554f20c88

[KittyDanger]

no one?

[Jacqui]

I have an arms-reach mini and it is wonderful! I can usually put DS in when he is ready for bed around 7 and know that he is safe! He usually joins us in bed after his first or second night waking. The company actually sells kits that you can buy that will raise the co-sleeper to the level of the bed. Just look on their website for the leg extensions under accessories. I actually have my sons co-sleeper mattress leveled a couple inches below mine. It is easier on my arms to reach over and grab him this way. I don't have much input on the lowered side except that it has not made much of a difference for us.

[gbutterflykissesm]

I had the regular cosleeper, and used it as a bassinette, not as a sidecar to the bed for exactly the reasons you mention in your post. My bed was too high and the cosleeper was lower. We did lower the one rail and attach it to the bed, which was nice because I could look in on sleeping baby really easily, but it was very hard to pick up baby from a semi-reclined position on my bed, especially with weak pp abs! After about a week, I ended up using it as a bassinette next to the bed, with about 2 feet of space in between it and the bed because it was so much easier to swing my legs over and stand up to pick up the baby.

Also, I just realized that it DOES have a short little rail so even if it did meet the height of your bed, you would not be able to just scoop baby up and pull him/her closer to you. If you could borrow one instead, I would try that. I think it's expensive for something that doesn't work exactly as you want and baby grows out of quickly.

There are other cosleeping options available. I think a side rail to your bed would be fine if it's good and tight against the bed. There is also the cosleeping booster pillow, but that would take up too much precious space in my bed! There is also the snuggle nest, but I think that would have the same issue as the cosleeper - can't just roll baby over to you.

[KittyDanger]

Thanks!

[dollyanna]

We just used these to make it taller http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2267620

I would not recommend using the cosleeper detatched from the bed. We had to do that for reasons I won't go into here,and the cosleeper started to sag on the "bed side" - I think it needs the support of the straps to keep it from doing that.

[cileag]

We've used the mini since our daughter was born and she is now 9 weeks old. I too was surprised that it isn't level with our mattress and has a little rail there. For the first few weeks, I often brought her into bed with us and had her between the cosleeper and me, feeling better about if she were to accidently roll she's only "fall" four inches or so. But there is a small gap between our mattress and the half rail of the cosleeper, so it really isn't best practice for safe cosleeping that way.

We borrowed this one and I'm glad we got to see how it works before investing in one. I'm torn right now between getting a convertible crib and side carring it to our bed for when she outgrows the mini (which I anticipate to be at about 4-6 months) or another borrowed pack and play set up in our room.

Overall, I do like the armsreach, but the mini sure doesn't last very long and I didn't realize that.

[colsxjack]

We have the regular sized co-sleeper. Like other posters have said, you can get leg extensions for it to fit taller beds.

We have a small room too. But we didn't want to spend that much money on something that wouldn't last very long. We are glad we bought the larger one. Our DD is 6 months old and large for her age. 98% in weight and height. She still fits in the co-sleeper and will for months still. The rail on the bed side should be level with your mattress and the co-sleeper mattress should be a couple of inches lower than that. This makes it safe.

We find it is very easy to use. Our DD always starts off in the co-sleeper and is brought into our bed for my wife to nurse laying down throughout the night. She is then returned to her bed after nursing or when my wife wakes back up and moves her. My wife picks her up in and out of the co-sleeper 2-4 times per night without any problems and without having to even really sit up fully.

We do have a very small room and still decided on getting the full sized one. We just moved out dresser out of the room for now. We like it for many reasons.
1) will last longer as a co-sleeper
2) easy to find bedding as it is the same size as a play yard.
3) can be used as a play yard when no longer useful as a co-sleeper

We think it is the best purchase we have made for our DD so far.

[Kreeblim]

We have had the mini since 2004 and I love love love it! We had two kids that coslept in it, and I will say that I was also suprised that it has the little shelf and isn't level with the bed...however I take insomnia meds on occassion and it was the safest cosleeping set-up we could have had. On regular nights I didn't find it too much of a bother to scoop him close for feeding (or to snuggle with when he got a bit bigger).

As PP mentioned, Arm's reach makes a height kit, and the mini size was great for our small room. We were able to use it as a freestanding basinet a few times for overnights at gramma's or elsewhere without a problem (obviously we got the non-wood one). It was nice to have a cosleeper next to the couch I slept on and the baby seemed to feel right at home. He was a big boy though and only made it most of the way to a year in it.