Cosleeper Question

[LivingSky]

Another question from a newbie to this!

DH and I have a queen size bed. We're both big people and there's really not enough room in the bed for baby. But, we want baby with us at night.

I've heard of cosleepers but am not quite sure what they are/how they work. Do they attach to the bed? If you coslept with baby not in the bed, did you use a bassinette, or a crib beside the bed, or something else? Any and all suggestions welcome!

I'd prefer to just get a king size bed, but unfortunately we can't get one up the stairs to our bedroom

[tourist.]

We have a cosleeper and probably got more use out of it than we did any of our other baby equipment, besides maybe the carseat.  I loved it and am really happy to get to use it again. 

IIRC, to hook it to the bed, there's a tether that goes from the cosleeper across your bed under your mattress to the opposite side of the bed.  On the end of the tether is 6x6 (or so) flat plastic board that lays flat up against the outside of your mattress on the side opposite the cosleeper to hold it in place.  You aren't really "hooking" it to the bed, but the tether holds it quite snug. 

[melinstar]

We side-carred our crib.  I first borrowed an Arm's Reach co-sleeper, and it didn't work for me, as it had a 6" wall, which requires you to lift down your baby into the sleeper.  That movement just woke up my baby as soon as I laid her down.  What worked for me was setting up the crib with the mattress level with our mattress (there are many helpful instructions how to side-car on the internet, including photos and videos, and they all include strapping it securely to your bed to prevent any gapping).  That allowed me to nurse the baby laying down, and then just gently roll away, not disturbing my daughter at all (when she'd finally release!)

[AnnieA]

We're planning to get this crib: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60091931 from IKEA and side-car it to our bed. I've heard from other sources that this crib works really well as a side-car and it's cheap! We'll probably rearrange our bed so that the crib is squeezed between the wall and my side of the bed as well as tether it to the mattress.

[mugglesmom]

Originally Posted by AnnieA 

We're planning to get this crib: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60091931 from IKEA and side-car it to our bed. I've heard from other sources that this crib works really well as a side-car and it's cheap! We'll probably rearrange our bed so that the crib is squeezed between the wall and my side of the bed as well as tether it to the mattress.

This is exactly what we're planning too!
 

[LivingSky]

tourist: what brand of cosleeper did you use?

melinstar: what type of crib do you have?

AnnieA: how adjustable is the height of that crib? Will you be using it with one of the side rails removed or will the crib be lower than your mattress?

[motherhendoula]

My LO is in an Arms Reach co-sleeper right now ...i know what you mean OP by 'big people' my DH and I are a both plus sized parents.  The Co-sleeper is taller than our bed, which has no frame, its just on the floor - so it is awkward to gt him in to thing...but he doesnt wake up for that. While sometimes he IS in our bed,  I have found it to be very helpful to have a designated area for the baby, we are planning to put a futon in there soon as he is quickly outgrowing the co-sleeper!

[tea_time]

I used a Arm's Reach Co-sleeper with my DD for her first 4 months.  I had to buy extra "feet" for it to get it high enough to match our bed (at the time).  It worked great!  This time we have a new King Mattress that's on the floor (haven't found a bed yet that we like) so I think I'll just use a Moses bed or something on the floor.  I'll still use my Co-sleeper though, in a different part of the house as a temporary bed (the side can be put up so it's like a little bassinet).

[tourist.]

Originally Posted by LivingSky 

tourist: what brand of cosleeper did you use?

 

We use the Original Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper.  Similar to one of the pp's, our mattress is higher than the side of the co-sleeper so I might buy the leg extensions to bring it to a few inches higher, but I might not.  As DS got bigger, it did eventually get a slight bit difficult to move DS from the bed and moved into the (5 inch or so) lower co-sleeper without needing to sit up, but it was never a problem.  It was just the way it was. 

[AnnieA]

Originally Posted by LivingSky 

tourist: what brand of cosleeper did you use?

melinstar: what type of crib do you have?

AnnieA: how adjustable is the height of that crib? Will you be using it with one of the side rails removed or will the crib be lower than your mattress?

We'll be using it with one of the sides removed. The crib itself does not adjust in height but the mattress can be adjusted. It has two settings but I've seen/heard of other people using this crib as a side-car that said they just needed to drill new screw holes to get the mattress at the height they needed to match their mattress. Our bed is not that tall so I think it should work.

[melinstar]

We have a platform bed (no boxspring), and use an inexpensive Cosco metal crib (it has a drop down side that we removed).  I did have to use bed risers (cone shaped things that you get at Bed Bath & Beyond) on the crib legs, and a memory foam mattress topper under the crib mattress to get it all level (and to fill the gap between the crib mattress and the crib wall), but it works great (we also used used cargo ratchet staps to secure the crib to our bed frame--it has no movement whatsoever).   I should take a photo, so that if I disassemble, I'll know how to get it back together in the right way.

I think I might have used this website as inspiration.  My set up kind of looks like this, too.  http://www.freewebs.com/sidecarcrib/ 

Originally Posted by LivingSky 

tourist: what brand of cosleeper did you use?

melinstar: what type of crib do you have?

AnnieA: how adjustable is the height of that crib? Will you be using it with one of the side rails removed or will the crib be lower than your mattress?

[DrBrockBaca]

I urge you all to be extremely cautious when choosing co-sleeper set-ups or cribs for your babies. I was also considering the Arm's Reach co-sleeper for my baby, but it is made in China from polyester fabrics, and even the "organic" mattress is made in China and comes packaged in plastic that is highly toxic. We are now planning to side-car our wrought iron crib with a yet-to-be-purchased organic mattress. If you do this also, make sure you use safe materials, unlike the website posted above that recommends high density foam and plywood.

Anything with plastic, vinyl, plywood (especially!), foam (especially!), or polyester should be NOWHERE near your baby's sleeping space. All of these materials emit highly toxic volatile organic compounds (VOC's) that are very dangerous to a young infant's developing lungs. Research has linked these compounds and materials to asthma and breathing difficulties in infants, and animal studies have also demonstrated that these compounds cause cancer and other problems. Other major sources of these indoor air pollutants are paint and carpet.

A really good book on keeping your baby's toxin load as low as possible is The Complete Organic Pregnancy by Deidre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu. 

If you can't afford organic mattresses, cribs, co-sleepers, etc., the next best thing is to find something used that has been around for at least a few years. Most of the toxins from cribs, mattress, foam, etc. will off-gas in the first few years, so they become less toxic after they have been airing out for a long time. 

If you are purchasing new items, look for those that are Greenguard certified as safe for children. At present, the only cribs that have certification are made by Q Collection and Young America. 

Here are some articles that may be helpful resources:

http://www.greenguard.org/en/consumers/consumers_childrensHealth.aspx

http://www.airqualitytips.com/106/how-air-quality-affects-your-baby/

http://children.webmd.com/environmental-exposure-head2toe/vocs

http://www.greenguard.org/files/toxic_formaldehyde_found_in_baby_cribs.pdf

[tourist.]

I agree with what you said DrBrockBaca.  I have that book, it's a fantastic resource.  Even though we did buy the Co-Sleeper, we did what we could to air it out, wash it down, and prevent the baby from being on the mattress without a barrier of some sort.  It's hard to navigate all the potential contaminants, but you really just do the best you can. 

[happysmileylady]

Due Date Crashing...

I do not have baby in bed with us at all.  She doesn't sleep in bed at all with us, and I do not nurse her in bed for fear of falling alseep with her in our bed.

However, I have a cradle that we keep right next to my side of the bed that baby sleeps in.  We have a mattress in a queen size waterbed frame, so a bit lower to the ground and the cradle just happens to be at that same height.  This makes it easy to roll over and touch baby whenever I "need" to. Because we don't nurse in bed, the lifting her over the sides isn't a big deal.

I got the cradle at goodwill.  It's solid wood, I think it's someone's homemade hand me down.  I only paid $25 for it, it was a great find.  Finding a mattress for it was a little difficult because it didn't come with one, but we did manage to find one.  It's been through 2 kids and a few daycare kids too, I really like it.

[DrBrockBaca]

I agree with what you said DrBrockBaca.  I have that book, it's a fantastic resource.  Even though we did buy the Co-Sleeper, we did what we could to air it out, wash it down, and prevent the baby from being on the mattress without a barrier of some sort.  It's hard to navigate all the potential contaminants, but you really just do the best you can. 

It is very difficult to eliminate toxins from your baby's environment, and you can totally drive yourself crazy trying to do so. But I think it is really important to at least avoid the most major sources of indoor air pollution. And it is really helpful to air things out in advance (preferably for several months) OUTDOORS (otherwise you are just polluting the air inside your home before the baby gets there). We are checking in to some indoor air filters as well - I'll post an update if I come across something helpful.

A general rule of thumb is to air out anything that has fumes or a vinyl or plastic smell a long time before your baby arrives. Smell everything you buy for your baby (or yourself, for that matter), and if it smells like a shower curtain or a new car or compressed wood furniture or anything like that, AIR IT OUT. OUTSIDE. Until the smell goes away, at least.

There are definitely some products that not available in any nontoxic form, like car seats. You aren't supposed to buy used ones because they may not meet current safety standards, but all car seats are mostly made out of plastic. We got ours last month and have it airing out on the porch now. Just do the best you can!