Sidecar sleeper info...

[sharr610]

So, I'm due with babe #2 in about 2.5 weeks. My nesting didn't kick in until super late .

DS is 3 and sleeps in his own bed. He co slept with us until about 18 months. He always slept in between DH and I in our king bed.

The in between thing was never super comfortable, but we made due until we all started seeming particularly uncomfortable. With this one, I thought a side car set up would feel a bit better, plus, DH has started smoking a couple of cigarettes a day, again(outside), and I'd like this kiddo to not be next to him sleeping.

Soooo...our crib that has never really been used(DS moved into the queen bed in the "guest" room) could work to sidecar, but it is really huge and we'd prefer not to use it.

My mom is now offering to by us an arms reach cosleeper. I'm waivering between the mini and the full size. I'm also wanting to be sure that either one will be generally flush with the bed so I can do roll over nursing eventually and let new babe feel like she can be right up next to me. Our king bed is about 32" tall.

I'm also wondering if there are "better" side car options I may not be considering. In otherwords, any info you have would be helpful! We want to decide in the next few days so we can order it before the birth. .

Thanks!

[cileag]

Either of the arm's reach cosleepers will require you to boost the mattress up since there is a lip that keeps it from being flush against your bed. I had one for the first three months and that really bugged me---not being able to just turn and nurse. I recommend just going with the side car arrangement. If you really dislike your current crib, we have a Gulliver one from IKEA that is pretty minimalist and non obstrusive. And we got it used for $50 so pretty darn cheap too. It has worked really well so far.

[YayJennie]

I side carred a crib that was given to us and it has worked great for me. We did have to adjust our bed frame so it was a bit higher (luckily it's a bed frame we made ourselves, so that wasn't very difficult to do), but it's worked great for us. Here's a video of what it looks like. That is me explaining how I can make it into a safe crib for nap times (which I used to do when my son was too little to get down off the bed without falling). I've never used the arm's reach sleepers, but I highly recommend the side car crib!