Arm's Reach Mini Co-Sleeper Bassinet - Natural
by Arm's Reach Concepts, Inc.
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Our Price: $149.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Arm's Reach Mini Co-Sleeper Bassinet - Natural
Customer Review: too bad they grow out of it eventually - we love it
Summary: 4 Stars
I love this product and feel lucky to have stumbled upon it. Like most people, I imagined that I'd have my baby in a crib, in his own room, from birth. My baby decided otherwise - even at the hospital, he was not content to sleep apart from us. The co-sleeper has not only made it easier to care for him in the first demanding weeks and months of life, but it has made us both happier and better sleepers.
The co-sleeper attaches securely to the side of the bed. However, it doesn't not have a flat connection - your baby is not going to roll into the adult bed. There is a bit of a ridge. With our high bed, it's also a bit lower even with three sets of leg extensions added. My only criticism is that the mattress feels a bit hard - as hard as a pack & play. It isn't as soft as a crib mattress. I know the professionals recommend hard mattresses, but I can't imagine myself sleeping on something this hard. Still, the baby seems to have gotten used to it and doesn't complain.
Leg extensions are recommended in case you ever want to put the co-sleeper in an incline position, for GERD or nasal congestion reasons. Multiple sheets are also recommended for obvious reasons. We went through three in one of our first nights before we figured out that we had leaky diapers.
I really like that I can easily pick him up and bring him into bed. I also like to be able to reach over, while still lying down, and pat him to comfort him. I've even fallen asleep holding his little hand. And yet I've never worried about rolling over him, or having him fall out of bed - things that one may worry about if the baby was actually in the bed. [And no judgement on that! Sometimes I've had the baby in bed with us for nursing or to console him, and slept ... the co-sleeper attachment just gives some extra feelings of security.] Our baby seems very comforted seeing one of his parents near him, just inches away. We cannot put him down in the crib awake, but he will look at us lying down on the big bed next to his co-sleeper and feel safe enough to fall back asleep. Also, if he wakes in the crib, he cries - if he wakes in the co-sleeper, he tends to "play" or at least chill out.
For myself, I do sleep better with him so close by. I know I will hear him if he needs me. I can sleep through the little night noises he makes, knowing I will hear any serious cries. We do not need a monitor, and with all the static on monitors, I don't need that keeping me awake. Also, with the monitor (we do have one), I would wake up for every sound and want to go into the nursery to check. With the co-sleeper, I can just look over - and most of the time - I will sleep through the minor grunts and sighs that babies make in the middle of the night.
Customer Review: Better sleep for baby & YOU
Summary: 5 Stars
We had already debated the co-sleeper versus play yard decision & chose a play yard, reasoning that we would use it longer & that it wouldn't be that big a deal to hop out of bed a few steps to grab the baby. Then I had a c-section & my husband ran out to get the co-sleeper after all. We got the mini because I just didn't want to have to crawl all the way to the foot of my bed to get up like I would have to with the full size.
I was just sure this would make night time breastfeeding much easier. (You know: grab the baby, latch her on & lay back & get a few more winks while she nurses.) If you haven't yet had your baby & you share this fantasy: get over it. You won't be laying down to nurse with a brand new baby. And if your baby is like mine (90% on the growth charts) she likely may have out-grown the mini by the time she can nurse successfully laying down.
But I still give this 5 stars because it made life so much easier. We chose to have our baby sleep in our room until 3 months. All those crazy sounds that you're not used to coming over a baby monitor from another room, mean you really won't get any sleep because you'll be trudging up & down the hall all night long, and not just for feedings. Likewise, a crib or play yard (even in the same room) has the problem that you'll be getting up dozens of times a night to check on her. But with the co-sleeper, I just had to turn my head & see that she was fine. It's a lot easier to get back to sleep if you haven't had to get out of bed.
We weren't prepared to commit long-term to co-sleeping or "the family bed." I always knew we would move her to her own room at some point. (It turned out to be 3 months, instead of the 2 I'd originally planned.) As a new, first time parent, I know I got a lot more sleep than I would have with any other set up. (And sleep is soooo precious in those first weeks!) By the time we were ready to move her to her own room, the mini was getting pretty tight, but it was just the right size for our needs & for the period of time we needed it. We didn't need the ability to use it as a play yard later, like the full size can, because we already own a Graco play yard. But, honestly, we've never even used it.
If you are planning to have your baby sleep in your room for 2 to 6 months, the mini co-sleeper will be perfect.
Customer Review: LOVE the MINI Co-Sleeper ...UNIQUE, MODERN, UNTRADITIONAL~
Summary: 5 Stars
[...]
I LOVE the MINI Co-Sleeper! I just put up my Co-Sleeper and I really have to say that it a GREAT purchace.
I am a VERY fussy shopper....I do a lot of research on products and will return items that I am not satisfied with and this product is a winner!
WHY I LOVE the Mini-Co Sleeper~
It is:
-Sturdy
-Unique
-Modern
-Untraditional-(contrasting the bassinet)
-VERY nice, soft material
-Roomy
-Perfect size for bedside in room
-Husband loves it- loves the color too...I bought it in FERN
-Like the Natural Color too...saw it displayed at Babiesrus
-Roomy pockets on side for storage
-Spaceous underneath compartment for storage
-I also purchased extra sheets along with the mini Co-sleeper. I bought mine from babybungalow.com which I researched as having the best price for the Mini-Co sleeper and sheets. $116.00 for the Mini Co-Sleeper and $13.89 for an additional sheet, and free shipping with purchases of $125.00 or more....So, If you get the co-sleeper and the sheet, you get free shipping which is comparible to all the other prices I have seen...All in all..**** you are ending up with the Mini Co-Sleeper and an extra sheet for the price of most websites and stores price of just the Mini-Co Sleeper alone!~
The only downside...It is a bit difficult to put up....but I rather have a sturdy, dependable product rather than a cheap item that could fall apart....***
ANOTHER GREAT BUY:
I also purchased a PLAYPEN/BASSINET/CHANGING TABLE Called the "COMPASS P100" in Latte color from:
[...]
Price- $104.95, Free Shipping! Most playards are 28 x 40 - the Compass P100 playard is
32 x 40 LOVE IT!!! It is a very roomy, comfortable, playpen/bassinet/changing table all in one. It comes with a bassinet sheet and a changing table sheet that are so soft and nice!
Quality of product is much better than what is shown online.
I heard some people say that they were dissapointed that the Mini-Co Sleeper did not turn into a playpen, The "COMPASS p100" in latte color is the best product that I found that solved this problem~
Love Both Products!
Sandra
Customer Review: Great for breastfeeding moms!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the perfect bed for us! I wanted our baby as close as possible, and would have liked to have her IN bed with us, but my husband was not comfortable with that. This bed was the perfect solution.
The height is exactly right for our mattress on a regular bed frame, but someone with a "real" bed might need the leg extentions. The size of the mini is great for our small bedroom, but still plenty big enough. My baby is 3 months old and about 14 pounds, and I expect her to still fit comfortably in it for another couple of months.
It's very easy to put up and down, and we've taken it with us to my grandmother's house. We found it more portable than the pack n' play!
My baby is about 6 inches away from me, so I can see her at all times. (which is nice at first, when you're paranoid and you need to check to make sure she's breathing every hour or so) I can reach over and touch her face to see if she's too hot or cold, and I can see if she's actually awake when she's wiggling around and grunting. I'm a nervous mom, and she's a restless sleeper, so I'd probably get out of bed needlessly about 10 times a night otherwise!
But the best part is that when she really is waking up, I can just pick her up quickly and nurse her in bed without her ever having to fuss to get my attention! This keeps her from waking herself up too much, so she always goes right back to sleep when she's done eating. I don't have to get out of bed, so I can go right back to sleep, too. My husband rarely wakes up at all.
The only thing I don't like is the sheets. It comes with one, and extra sheets are around $15, plus shipping, because I never found a store that carried them. Plus, the one it came with was very thin, and shrunk when we washed it. However, rather than buying extras, I discovered that a king sized pillowcase fits the mattress perfectly! There is a lot of extra fabric at the end of the pillowcase, so I fold it under the mattress and I sewed snaps in to keep it in place. This is a cheaper and safe alternative to buying extra sheets for the mini co-sleeper.
Customer Review: Great bassinet but baby may outgrow it sooner than you'd like
Summary: 4 Stars
I really like this bassinet. When my daughter was first born, she would sleep part of the night in my bed and part of the night in the bassinet. The bassinet was a nice option when I didn't want her in the bed with me but I could still be close enough to see her, hear her, pat and console her, and get to her easily to nurse her (although you do have to sit up to pick the baby out of the bassinet--you can't just reach over and bring the baby to you while you're lying down). Eventually she spent the entire night in the bassinet.
The one thing that I wasn't anticipating, however, is that she outgrew the bassinet months before I thought she would. When she was 3 months old she weighed well under the 23 pound weight limit (she was 13 lbs), but she became too squirmy of a sleeper and could no longer sleep in the bassinet. She turned herself sideways while she slept and her legs hung over the side and she would wake up. She also likes to flail her legs and arms around while she sleeps and she would bang into the side of the bassinet which also woke her up. A final problem is that while she was flailing around and banging her legs up and down, because the co-sleeper was attached to the bed, my bed would shake and vibrate and it would wake ME up (not a good thing when you're already sleep-deprived!).
She now sleeps in a crib and has much more room to squirm around (she often wakes up completely turned around with her head at the place where her feet were!). I do still get a lot of use out of the co-sleeper as a changing table, though, and as a place to put her and know she is secure while I take a shower and get dressed and do other things in my bedroom.
Overall, I really like the co-sleeper and am glad I purchased it (I would use it again for a second child) but parents who have babies who are active and squirrely sleepers might not be able to use it for as long as they hope. We had to give it up well before she reached the 23 lb. weight limit. A non-active baby could use it for much longer.