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Anyone use an Arms Reach co-sleeper?

1K views 22 replies 15 participants last post by  loving-my-babies 
#1 ·
With DS #1 we just coslept in the bed with a bedrail between me and him.

DS is now 2 1/2 years old and sleeps part of the night in his bed and part of the night with me, usually. It varies a bit.

Anyway, all we have is a full size bed. When DS comes to our bed now, DH leaves and goes to his bed.
DS is a wild man in bed and usually ends up sleeping sideways.

So I was thinking that maybe I should get a bedside co-sleeper for our new baby to give us more room. We can't afford to buy a bigger mattress at this time.

So I am leaning heavily towards the Arms Reach co-sleeper. I have also seen basinette/co-sleepers, but I am afraid they only go to about 15 lbs. or so. Does anyone know the weight limits on these?

Thanks for your feedback.
 
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#2 ·
I had the mini arm's reach when ds was a newborn. I think the weight limit for the small one is like 25-30lbs or something. Don't take my word for it though...it says on the arm's reach website what the limit is for both the regular and the mini.

I loved it for my boy when he was a newborn because I had to get up to change him anyway. But, if your baby is older/heavier and nurses at night, this might not work so well. The cosleeper is not exactly flush with the bed. Its about 2-3 inches below the bed surface so you just can't rollover and nurse. I had to grab the baby out of the cosleeper and either sit up or lay him in the bed with me.

Maybe someone else will have a better suggestion...
 
#3 ·
I had the small AR co-sleeper too. I used it the first 6-8 weeks when I was too afraid to have dd in bed with me because she was so small. Eventually I just always had her in bed with me so I took it down. It would be better if it was level with the bed so you could just roll over and reach them, without having to reach down and pick them up. I'm not sure of the weight limit on the small one, I know it's at least 20 lbs and I think a baby much bigger than that wouldn't fit that great anyway. At least if they sleep spread eagle like my dd.
 
#4 ·
I'm pretty sure the weight limit is 30-35 pounds for the regular model. I think for the mini, it's around 25 pounds - but all of that information is available on their website.

For me, the Arm's Reach has been great. Our bed isn't big enough to add a baby to the mix, so this has been the perfect solution for now. DD seems happy in there, and it's great to just look over to see her right next to me! I agree that it would be better if it were perfectly level with the bed. Mine is about 2-3 inches lower. To me it's not a huge deal, though.
 
#5 ·
I have a Graco 3 in 1 cosleeper, even though it's only for babies up to 15 lbs, I never used it for cosleeping. I recommend waiting until after the baby is born, because when I brought my ds home I couldn't put him in there! so, he just slept between me and the bedrail. Now, at 10 months and 26 lbs, he sleeps between me and dh. Oh and we also have a full size bed, and we were lucky because dd decided to leave our family bed and onto her toddler bed when ds was born.
 
#6 ·
i loved ours. had the regular size co-sleeper. used it for about 5 weeks and then she just started sleeping with us. i bet she could have stayed there for a lot longer though. i can't remember the weight limit, but i remember something about them only being able to sleep in there until they could push up or some milestone like that. i think the reason being they could fall out. i remember thinking it could be used for like 4-5 months.

i think i will use mine again next time for the same thing. later i used it as a huge toy box in the living room for quite awhile.

i did couldn't breastfeed over the rail, but it was much better than baby being in a crib or where i couldn't just open and eye and see that she was just fine. i really liked mine a lot and highly recommend it. with careful use it could probably be used longer if you aren't a heavy sleeper and would hear an older baby moving around and could make sure they aren't awake and trying to accidentally or intentionally go over the side.
 
#7 ·
We use one, although she starts out in it and ends up next to me when she first wakes up and I am in bed

HERE'S the HINT

Buy a portable crib mattress ($20 or so).... fold a blanket up, put that in the co-sleeper and then put the mattress in -it fits in the big co-sleeper almost perfectly.. the babe is more comfy AND at the right height to be "dragged" (for lack of a better word) into the big bed with ust a small lip there to stop her from rolling out when you don't want her to
 
#8 ·
We used the mini cosleeper for several months. It was great even when ds primarily coslept with us b/c he usually slept on the outside of me. With the cosleeper being right next to the edge of the bed, it gave me a sense of comfort knowing that he couldn't fall off the bed. I slept much more soundly this way. DS liked to sleep on cushy things so we put a bed pillow in there and he slept really well like that. I do NOT recommend doing this, as it could result in suffocation/SIDS (do as I say, not as I do) etc., but it raised the sleeping level up to the 2-3 inch lip so it was more even with our mattress. I wasn't comfortable with the bed rail attached to the big bed...I think I would have felt like I was more squished in there. The cosleeper made the bed feel bigger, and I could stretch out!

Good luck with your decision and finding the solution that best works for you and your family
 
#9 ·
Thanks to everyone for all the feedback.


Carmen, I do remember your bassinette/cosleeper now and I think it would be too small. I like that the A.R. is more open for easier access to the baby.

Lisa, that's a great hint about raising the level of the cosleeper mattress!

I think I've decided on the large (original) cosleeper so that we can use it longer than the mini version. My 2 year old takes up more than half of our full size bed, so we really need the space. I like that the cosleeper can also serve as a bedrail when baby is nursing in bed.


Thanks for helping me to make my decision!
 
#10 ·
We had to get the universal co-sleeper because our mattress and box springs sit right on the floor and the reg arms-reach products are higher. My husband was convinced he wouldn't be able to sleep with the baby directly in the bed so we got the sleeper. Turns out Lukas slept in it for one night and we've had him in bed ever since. He usually sleeps at least half the night curled up with hubby. The one nice thing about it is it's a play yard as well so it's right next to me here in the office and it's getting some use.

It's large and up to 40 lbs. It is a few inches under the bed which is a little annoying but if you feel you need to use a co-sleeper it's not a problem and definitely better then a bassinett. Because of it's size it takes up a lot of space next to the bed. I had it up as far to my head as it would go but I also kept the night stand there because it has the night light on it and space for all my other baby things. (I bottle feed because my boobs came up empty) The biggest problem was the first weeks or so. I tore during delivery so my stitches felt like there being pulled when I had to scootch up to get the floor.

For the 200 dollars that it cost you might want to consider buying an extra single size mattress and box springs. It's cheaper and will probably get more long term use. We figure we may end up using it when we have our next baby but we have a king size bed so I doubt it.
 
#11 ·
I have never seen a mattress and boxspring for as low as $200. Also I would worry about the off-gassing from the mattress.

We used to have our full and twin size bed together. But now the twin size bed is in DS's room and he usually spends half the night in his room.
 
#13 ·
new mattresses off-gas fumes from manufacture.

A note on those side rails... they are meant for preschoolers and larger toddlers, NOT infants. I had one on the side of my queen when my oldest ds was a baby, and luckily I'm a very light sleeper, because he managed to squeeze himself between the rail and the mattress, and was making very, very muffled protests. I woke and pulled him up out of there, but he could have suffocated easily.

I have a cosleeper next to my bed, but it's insurance that baby won't slide or roll off the bed, he doesn't actually sleep in it. But even so, he can be much closer to the edge of our bed because if he slide or rolls, it's only 2" down into the cosleeper, not 2.5' to the floor!
 
#16 ·
i actually contacted the manufacturer via the email link on their website to ask them that question - i believe they said it was good till 30 lbs, though you should check because it was 2 years ago that i asked. but it was for the mini.

we wound up not using ours, it was a bedside cloth diaper station, and she slept in the bed with us. but it sounds like for your situation that it would work nicely. i liked that it attaches to the bed, so there's no risk of the baby falling between the cracks. and you can adjust the height to make it match up with your mattress. the specs are on the website, and they even have extensions for taller beds.

the mattress is like a crib mattress, it doesn't seem overly comfy to me, so you might want to put a lambskin down - especially if you lay on it a while and get it smelling like mommy, it'll likely help the little one to sleep easier. and lambskins are like always having their bed with them, since it's what they lay on and what they're used to feeling/smelling. DD still sleeps with her lambskin at 19 mo.
 
#18 ·
LMB--do you have the brand name, or maybe a link
, for that infant side rail? I did a search, but didn't come up with anything specific for infants.

I am ttc, and sleep part of the night with dh (qu size bed), and part of the night in dd's full size bed. I have been considering the minisleeper, cause I don't think we have room for anything larger. But I would *love* to feel comfortable with a tiny babe in the bed.
 
#19 ·
sunnmama.. I searched for the one that I have, and it does give a warning against using it with babies, but maybe because they have to? Anyway, the one I have is the Safety First Safe Lock Bed Rail. It does lock and it is VERY secure, I definetely recommend it, but again in it's website it says it's "for older children" which is weird because there was a baby sleeping on the box.
anyway, oops, I didn't know that. But I can assure you IME it is very safe and I trust it.
 
#21 ·
When DS was a baby we just had him sleep between DH & I Now DD has arrived nad DS still sleeps with us and is a sideways sleeper DH has been bumped to the couch (his choice). I borrowed my sister's Arm's Reach Co-sleeper for DD. She spent about 2 nights in it and now just sleeps in the bed. I didn't like that I had to lift her out of the co-sleepr just to feed her and then lift her up tp put her back in. So our sleeping arrangment is DD sleeps on my side next to the co-sleeper and DS sleeps on the other side w/ the bed rail. We bought the double bed rails that are adjustable. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=baby&n=507846

When DS was an infant we used these on our bed (queen size) so when it was just him and I in the bed I could get up and let him sleep without worrying about him falling out. We still use this bed rail but only have one side attached. I've also used the Safety First bed rail that locks and attaches to the bed. That is really good too. Both bed rails are mesh so no worries about suffocating.

Hope that helps!
 
#22 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by loving-my-babies
sunnmama.. I searched for the one that I have, and it does give a warning against using it with babies, but maybe because they have to? Anyway, the one I have is the Safety First Safe Lock Bed Rail. It does lock and it is VERY secure, I definetely recommend it, but again in it's website it says it's "for older children" which is weird because there was a baby sleeping on the box.
anyway, oops, I didn't know that. But I can assure you IME it is very safe and I trust it.
Thank you!
I will try to find that one when the time comes
Hopefully sooner than later!


ETA: Just looked it up, and, yes, that looks much, much safer than the bedrail I had for dd when she was a toddler. I love how it rests on top of the mattress, rather than along the side (with a risk of getting trapped). We will so be getting one of these, if/when the time comes. Thanks for the tip!
 
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