Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper: Nap use and problems with tilt?

[eileen_michelle]

DH and I are expecting our first baby in October. We're leaning toward the Arm's Reach Mini Co-Sleeper, but after seeing it at Babies R Us, we have a few questions.
1. The manual says never to leave the baby unattended in the co-sleeper. However, we want a bed that baby can use for naps (without us) as well as nighttime sleeping (with us). Is it practical to have the baby sleep in the co-sleeper solo during the day? Is this warning just the company's lawyers trying avoid any possibility of being sued, or should we pay attention to it?
2. The mattress of the model co-sleeper in the store (which was not attached to a bed) seemed to be slanting a bit toward the open side, so the baby's body would be a bit lower on the side that's closer to the bed. Not sure if this would be fixed by attaching the unit to the bed. Has anyone had this problem with a co-sleeper they were using?
Thanks much!

[Java]

I have the full size Arm's Reach and have used it for both my kids.

In answer to your questions:
1) I did leave my kids to nap alone. I used the co-sleeper for naps until they were able to roll over. Once they rolled, I moved them to the crib. This was only for naps. I used the co-sleeper at night well into age 5 or 6 months - when they started moving and pulling up. This also allowed me to get them used to sleeping both places.

2) My mattress didn't slant. Keep in mind too that people are all over the displays at the store and it was out together by people who did it to get it done fast. I will say the pad seemed a little hard so I covered it with a thicker blanket and tucked it on for a little cush.

HTH.

[jellytalk23]

1) it's fine to leave baby... i think they have to state that on all baby products.
2) yes, i have the same problem. it's b/c when you lower that one side, it reduces the amount of support on that side. so i just left it up and reached over to scoop up the baby.

[lunarcleo]

We have the mini co-sleeper and I noticed that slanting problem the first night we brought dd home from the hospital. It really freaked both me and dh out and we had a rough night not feeling confident putting her in the co-sleeper. We bought one of the small sleep positioners, which worked quite well.

We also found (at least with the mini) that the sheets sold by Arm's Reach were a little rough. We bought a yard of a fleece material at a fabric store and tucked it securely under the mattress. This also seemed to help with the tilt problem, since there was now something under the mattress to help balance out any tilt.