Cosleepers--do you attach yours to your bed?

[boogiemomz]

I have the Arms Reach mini co-sleeper and I was planning to just leave all the sides up and keep it next to my bed so it can be moved easily in and out of the room if i need it around the house during the day. will it make that much of a difference at night if it is attached to the bed or if it is just right next to it? i know if it were attached i could simply roll over and pick up my baby to nurse at night, but if i'm getting up often to change her anyway, what's the difference? it seems like such a hassle to have it attached to the bed, but would it be SO much nicer to have it that much closer? doesn't seem worth it to me but i'm wondering if anyone thinks it's definitely worth it to have it attached.

TIA:)

[amldaley]

You need to attach it to the bed for safety, not just convenience. You don't want a gap between your bed and the open side of the Co-sleeper. It can get pushed away from the bed inadvertantly, baby falls in, the open side is too low to be safe, baby goes over the edge, etc etc.

If you want something you can move around the house, I recommend a bassinette on wheels or using the bassinette top of a pack-n-play.

I loved the co-sleeper (despite our incident with it which was totally our fault and based on improper set up). I do NOT recommend using ANY product contrary to its design for safety reasons.

[kijip]

After the newborn stage, we don't change diapers in the middle of the night so we do stay in bed and I just nurse there without getting up.

If the Co-sleeper is set up in its bassinet/play-yard mode it does not need to be attached to the bed for safety because it is essentially a PNP at that point. (first reply see this:
http://www.armsreach.com/shop-3/the-original-1/aqua-dot-short-liner-15.html it can be used either with the side completely up like a PNP or down when attached to the bed) If you don't plan on using the attach to bed feature of a co-sleeper, don't pay the comparatively higher price of the co-sleeper to a full featured PNP. You can have a changing table top and a bunch of other nice to have features in a PNP for the same or less $$.

We never got much use out of the co-sleeper. We found that baby was mostly in bed with us anyway and now is mostly in the PNP attached near the bed. I just donated our Arm's Reach Co-sleeper. Hindsight being 20-20, I would not have bought both it and the PNP and if I was getting 1 instead of the other, I would get the PNP.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

You need to attach it to the bed for safety, not just convenience. You don't want a gap between your bed and the open side of the Co-sleeper. It can get pushed away from the bed inadvertantly, baby falls in, the open side is too low to be safe, baby goes over the edge, etc etc.

If you want something you can move around the house, I recommend a bassinette on wheels or using the bassinette top of a pack-n-play.

I loved the co-sleeper (despite our incident with it which was totally our fault and based on improper set up). I do NOT recommend using ANY product contrary to its design for safety reasons.

:yeahthat:

[pastrygirl]

I'm not sure if the full-size is the same, but the Mini can easily be detached from the bed. The straps go under your mattress and attach to the mini with clips (just like high chair harness clips). I unclip mine when I have to make my bed.

[catsnkid]

You need to attach it. Honestly, I think I only changed DS once at night during the first few weeks, only changed him if he was poopy. I have one and love it. Even if the baby ends up in bed with us because i fell asleep nursing, I know if he is on that side of the bed, he isn't going to roll off. It is totally a sleep saver. BTW it is pretty easilty detached, as the clips on the side can come off and you don't need to pick up the mattress or anything. I am planning on using it as a playpen for downstairs when he goes to his crib- we have a full basement. We have another playard on the main floor with the changing station. It is has worked out pretty well.

[boogiemomz]

the reason i got the co-sleeper in addition to the PNP is because our bedroom is so small the PNP will not fit in there next to the bed. we are treating the PNP as a crib for the first 7 months until we move into a bigger place, then we will reevaluate furniture needs. from what you've all shared, i think probably i will leave it detached for the first little while until i am not getting up to change her and then maybe think about attaching it when it will really allow me to stay in bed most of the night.

any more comments/suggestions welcome! thanks!

[kijip]

Just to underscore: if the co-sleeper is the Arm's Reach (the most common arrangement designed to have the sidecar sleeping arrangement/attach to parent(s) bed), then is can be used next to the bed while not attached to the bed if set up like a PNP, with the side up. It has more than 1 mode, see the link above for clarification. If that is being done, the side needs to be up like a PNP and not lowered like a co-sleeper than opens to the bed. In that case, it is no less safe than having a crib or PNP directly adjacent to the bed.

[hellokitty]

Yes, use the strap. A friend lent their mini-arms reach to us for DS3. I loved it. Unfortunately, out of all of my kids, DS3 ended up being my girnormous baby. We just moved him out of the co-sleeper last wk, b/c at 3 mo old age, he is has almost outgrown it. I hope you get more use out of it than 3 mo. With my older two, b/c they were smaller, I could have used it much longer. It just figures that the time I do get to use one, I get a baby who is really big and outgrew it, even though we would have been happy continuing to use it.

[NewMom2007]

If you are keeping all the sides up and using it like a PNP, you don't have to attach it. I'd recommend using it as a cosleeper with one side down/off and attaching it. We have the sleigh version, which is really heavy. I admit I don't think we had it attached at all times with DS....but, with our next one, we will have the side off and have it attached. It is safer, and our toddler comes into our bed whenever he wants, so I want there to be no chance he could move the cosleeper on his own in the middle of the night.

Like a PP, our DS outgrew the cosleeper really quickly. I lent it to a friend between babies and will probably try to sell it after this baby outgrows it. My DH prefers it to having the baby in bed early on, but I have a feeling this baby will make its way into the bed, just like DS :-)