Co Sleeper cots

How Strange

I'm looking at cots at the moment and will be breastfeeding so I'm considering co sleeping cots. The arms reach claims to be very versatile. - playpen, cot, travel cot but it's expensive. I'm wondeing if the baby would grow out of it quickly so in the long run you spend twice as much because you have to buy another cot.

I've seen a cossatto co sleeper cot, again it's expensive but perhaps more practical in the sense it's a proper wooden cot..

Has anyone any experience or opinions on co sleeper cots versus normal cribs for newborns moving onto a cot after a couple of months.

Cat Melodeon

I had the Arms Reach co-sleeper (mini) from birth and loved it. It did exactly what it said on the tin. It attached to the bed safely and was simple to move the baby in and out of for breastfeeding. It was easy to detach from the bed and had wheels on one end, so could be wheeled to different parts of the house for naps. It was light and easy to carry, yet I never once felt it was flimsy or unsafe. It actually folded up into a tidier size than the travel cot my sister gave me, so we brought it with us anytime we were away overnight.

My son is a big lad (9lb 6 born and grew like a weed) but he was fine in the cosleeper until about 7.5 months. I had thought at one point he would be out of it before then, but he didn't start rolling over until he was that age so it was fine. We then moved him straight to a cot-bed, which should do him until he's 4.

My only criticism of the cosleeper is that I thought the mattress was a bit hard. We got a memory foam sleep poitioner thing from Amazon for around €18 which solved that problem - I wanted to use a positioner anyway as he liked to sleep on his side, so two problems solved in one.

I don't normally rave about products, but I would score the cosleeper 10/10. It made the first few months much easier than I thought they would be (I had plenty of sleep!) and definitely helped with breastfeeding.

inigo

We have the cosatto and are very happy with it, particularly mummy. It has a nice finish and it was very easy to assemble. Our little man is 17 months and still sleeps in it (we moved him to his bedroom about a month ago). I'd say he will be using it for a while yet.

schnorkleborg

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

My only criticism of the cosleeper is that I thought the mattress was a bit hard.

I had to get a crib mattress to fit in it cos the mattress is really hard. I got just over 6 months out of it but it was the nearest thing to having my little one in the bed beside me. It was such a life saver. I used it a couple of times as a travel cot too which was great.

Shelli2

I got the full size arms reach, my mother brought it from the states for me, and I got 2 years out of it, until I bought his toddler bed. It's still in perfect condition and is tucked away ready for number 2 when the times comes. I cannot rave enough about it. Again, we got a second matress, but that was very cheap and easily replaceable for the next tot.

Co-sleeping was the best choice ever, I got so much more sleep than some of my friends.:)

caprilicious

I have both the Cosatto co sleeper cot (in my sisters place) and in our house the Arms reach mini co sleeper.

I picked up the Arms reach one second hand for €100. My daughter is nearly 9 months old & still sleeps in it, though I'm going to bring the Cosatto cot over to our house soon as I'm worried when she starts sitting up that she'll be able to climb out!

Would you consider looking for one second hand? The Cosatto cot I picked up for €60 though needed to buy a new mattress for it, still a lot cheaper than buying it new.

The Arms reach cot are excellent, but you're right when baby gets a bit older you do end up needing to change it (the mini one anyway) so it could work out more expensive.

The co sleeper cots are absolutely excellent, it was lovely having baby so close & it was brilliant to get baby to sleep.
My little girl slept through the night from 8 weeks old, I contribute part of this to having her in the co-sleeper, as if her soother fell out during the night I could pop it back in/rub her tummy to settle her while she and I were still half asleep

How Strange

caprilicious I've absolutely no problem with 2nd hand, I must have a look on gumtree and a few other places. Space in our bedroom is limited so it's good to hear the arms reach mini has lasted so long as it's probably the best one for us size wise.

Also we'll be doing overnights in
my parents and the grannies may do overnight babysitting for us too so something portable would be handy.

Squiggler

Those of you who had the Cosatto Co Sleeper, what was the highest matress height. Our bed is very high so we'll need the height increaser kit for the Armsreach.

Cat Melodeon

caprilicious wrote: »

My daughter is nearly 9 months old & still sleeps in it, though I'm going to bring the Cosatto cot over to our house soon as I'm worried when she starts sitting up that she'll be able to climb out!

They do say that once your baby can pull up they need to be moved from the mini. Once they start seriously rolling about you'll see it rocking - it'll be fairly obvious when it's time to move, your nerves will tell you!

Cat Melodeon

Squiggler wrote: »

Those of you who had the Cosatto Co Sleeper, what was the highest matress height. Our bed is very high so we'll need the height increaser kit for the Armsreach.

Squiggler, we have a very high bed too - there was a height difference of about 10 inches between the Armsreach cosleeper mattress and our bed's mattress. We probably should have gotten the extensions, but didn't bother. It just meant I had to lower the baby into the crib rather than just slide him over, but it didn't really matter and didn't affect the stability of the crib or the convenience of the set-up in any way.

simu

I had the mini Arms Reach for my daughter and found it great. I 'd have gotten the full sized one but we didn't have the space.

How Strange

Did any one use the arms reach as a changing table? I've done some google searches and while the manufacturer and stockists say you use it as a changing table I can't find any information on how to use it as one.

silja

Didn't use it purely as a changing table, but have used it to change my twins on. It's a little low for my liking, as it is the same level as your bed, but has the advantage of raised sides for when baby is starting to move/roll.

I'd recommend the full sized version if you do that (which we had as both twins slept in it together till 8 months), otherwise you need a desk or similar beside it for supplies.

How Strange

Thanks Silja, thats what I thought alright.

We measured our room on Saturday and we couldn't fit the universal on either side of our bed.

LegacyUser

Sorry to jump in on the thread but I am planning on getting the cosatto co sleeper for bump but have a couple of concerns re: risks of co-sleeping.
I often wake up with my arm out of the bed and the duvet all out of the bed on the floor (on the side where the cot will be!)- I am now worried that I could punch the baby in the head or I could smother the baby with the duvet!

On the other hand, if cosleeping, I probably wont be in a deep enough sleep to pose any danger!

Has anyone had any difficulties like this with cosleeping?

Would love to feel comfortable enough to do it...

Please advise!

mum2be!

caprilicious

mum2b2011, I was a very deep sleeper before I had my daughter, but I found after the first few weeks of waking every few hours for night feeds that deep sleeps were a thing of the past

liliq

These things look amazing!!
I'd be the same as yourself mum2be- I'm a fairly chaotic sleeper and would be worried about co- sleeping.
Definitely going to have to check these out!!!

How Strange

I'm a new first time mum, 8days to be exact, and believe me you won't be getting into any deep sleeps. Even if your little one is as goos as gold and sleeps through the night you'll be asleep with one eye open and always listening for the slightest movement. If you can't hear anything you'll find yourself jumping up to check their ok. I've even heard babies crying in my sleep which have woken me up to find a sound asleep baba.

Squiggler

Mum2be2011, friends of mine have a cosatto (and co-slept 2 children) and recommended it highly.

LegacyUser

Thanks ladies!

Had thought I was being over anxious (imagine what I'll be like when I have the poor baby!)

Will have to order the cosatto and get used to sleepless nights!!

mum2be2011