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Co-Sleeping w/sidecar

1K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  SuperKitten 
#1 ·
Hello! I've posted here only a few times, but I read my email updates every day.


For the first few months we'll be using an Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper only when necessary. I really like having baby in bed with me, but I also like the option of a safe place for her to be if I have to get out of bed for any reason, or if any of the other little ones climb into bed with us. After the Co-Sleeper we want to sidecar a crib for longer use (higher weight limit than the Arm's Reach), but I've never done that before. We have a crib that converts into a toddler bed, so it's structurally sound without the front panel. My question is; what is the best way to secure it to the side of the bed? I was thinking of keeping it tight between the wall and my side of the bed. Is that enough? Is there anything else I should be doing?

I've only ever co-slept with the bay solely IN bed with me before, so adding co-sleepers and a sidecar is new territory for me.


TIA!
 
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#3 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Lit Chick View Post
You might want to check the nighttime parenting forum. I have no experience in this area, but I'm sure I've seen a lot of discussion on it over there.
I browse there. I only asked here because I remember there being a thread on it in the not too distant past, but I can't find it.
 
#5 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl View Post
most mamas ive seen use bungee cords to hold the crib firmly to the bed so that if anything moves, it all moves, and does not create a gap between the crib and the bed.

like http://www.freewebs.com/sidecarcrib/
That's JUST what I was looking for!


Thank you so much.
 
#6 ·
I used that site to sidecar the crib with ds.

I used bungee cords then, and, well, didn't like it much. I felt like there was too much 'give'.

This time around, I used zip ties and they are AWESOME! Cheap. And the fit is much tighter. Now our bed and the crib move as a unit, no matter what. I just wrap tons of zip ties between the bed railing and the crib legs so it forms an X shape.

Hope that's clear.


Ami
 
#7 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by JTA Mom View Post
I used that site to sidecar the crib with ds.

I used bungee cords then, and, well, didn't like it much. I felt like there was too much 'give'.

This time around, I used zip ties and they are AWESOME! Cheap. And the fit is much tighter. Now our bed and the crib move as a unit, no matter what. I just wrap tons of zip ties between the bed railing and the crib legs so it forms an X shape.

Hope that's clear.


Ami
Oh! Thank you! I'll definitely keep that in mind!
 
#8 ·
We had some mesh rails that we had bought while we were co-sleeping. We actually ended up using one of those to attach the crib to the bed. There's a piece that goes under the adult mattress and it seemed very stable. Plus, bungee cords square me for some reason!

Though I loved the idea of the side car, it never worked that well for us. I could never get it to be even with the bed so my baby kept rolling into the crack between the bed and the sidecar, which worried me. We ended up just ditching both the Arm's Reach and the Side Car and co-sleeping until about 6 months. There are tons of great pictures and blogs on the internet with detailed instructions about side-carring if you're interested. Good luck!
 
#9 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl View Post
most mamas ive seen use bungee cords to hold the crib firmly to the bed so that if anything moves, it all moves, and does not create a gap between the crib and the bed.

like http://www.freewebs.com/sidecarcrib/
This is the website that I've been looking at for my instructions... haven't done it yet, but we just got the crib last week!

Our DD just slept in the bed with us, but we don't want to kick her out due to new baby, so we've decided to try the sidecar.
 
#10 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by JTA Mom View Post
I used that site to sidecar the crib with ds.

I used bungee cords then, and, well, didn't like it much. I felt like there was too much 'give'.

This time around, I used zip ties and they are AWESOME! Cheap. And the fit is much tighter. Now our bed and the crib move as a unit, no matter what. I just wrap tons of zip ties between the bed railing and the crib legs so it forms an X shape.

Hope that's clear.


Ami
Hmm... I'd wondered about the "give" in the bungee cords as well. I'll tell DH about the zip ties. Bet he'll think it's a great idea
 
#11 ·
Not sure what kind of crib you have, but here's some food for thought....we have a drop-side crib, and with the side dropped it was only a couple inches above the height of our mattress. So while I could never actually just roll DD from the crib into our bed, picking her up and moving her over was still really easy since I only had to lift her up a few inches. So we never ending up having to worry about attaching the crib to the bed.
 
#12 ·
we are getting our crib at the end of this month. We are also going to sidecar it. I was going to use bungee cords but now i think of it there's too much give in those and it would seperate from our bed...so i think i am going to talk to dh about getting zip ties instead and do like the PP said with tying a bunch to create an X on the legs.

Can you post a picture by any chance? So i can see exactly what i am looking at/going to do. Thanks
 
#13 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Mommie020307 View Post

Can you post a picture by any chance? So i can see exactly what i am looking at/going to do. Thanks
Oh yes! A pic would be very helpful.
 
#14 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Momma Heathen View Post
Oh yes! A pic would be very helpful.

I will try. Dh works until late tonight, so I'll have him do it tomorrow. We have a dresser nearby, and there's no way I can squish my 28wk belly in between to take a good pic.
I'll have him lift the mattresses too so you guys can get a better pic.

Ami
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by JTA Mom View Post
I will try. Dh works until late tonight, so I'll have him do it tomorrow. We have a dresser nearby, and there's no way I can squish my 28wk belly in between to take a good pic.
I'll have him lift the mattresses too so you guys can get a better pic.

Ami
Bumping this, I would also love to see a picture. Our DD sleeps with us in our Queen sized bed, but there just won't be enough room for all four of us to sleep safely in the bed, so we want to try the side car.
 
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