Mothercare Bedside cot

My DS was a seemingly constant night time feeder and I had read that co-sleeping would help with this. We didn't feel safe or confident enough to co-sleep in our bed so after some research we came across the concept of bedside cots. (They are apparently almost impossible to find for a reasonable price!)

We stumbled upon the Mothercare Bedside Cot which, at £200, is not the cheapest cot on the market but seemed to be a good price for a bedside cot.

The best feature of this cot is that it has 8 different levels so we could match the level to our bed easily. The cot can be used as a dropside cot and then the side can be slid completely under the cot for bedside sleeping.

We used it as a bedside cot for a few weeks and then used it with a dropside from then on, once my DS was waking less in the night.

All in all we are very happy with this and although it is not a cot bed and we will have to purchase a separate bed for our son, we will be very happy to store it in the loft for our next baby.

When it transpired our daughter was not a settled sleeper, we discovered the idea of bedside cots and were over the moon (in a frazzled, sleep-deprived state!) to be able to buy one easily from Mothercare, and to boot one that would also be big enough to use as a full-sized cot later - as we hadn't got one at all yet, and didn't want to feel we were wasting money.

Well, it wasn't the miracle in terms of sleep that we hoped it would be, but that was down to DD wanting to be in constant physical contact. Although she was rarely actually in it, it was still worth having it there as extra buffer space, either for her to be partially in it, or for me to put my head / arm / leg on :o)

It was really good value for money, a good normal cot when briefly used as such, and very useful to have the a cot with a side that can be completely removed to give us extra space in bed.

On the down side. The castors didn't roll well on floorboards or our rug (when I tried moving it).
The whole cot will slide on floorboards, and probably carpet, if knocked, irrespective of whether you lock the castors or take them off completely - you need to tie the cot to your bed frame to keep it absolutely stable.
There is a gap between the baby's mattress and your own - we solved this by sliding the cot mattress flush with ours, then padding the gap on the other side with rolled up blankets.

It is tricky to decide how best to prepare when you don't yet know what kind of a sleeper your baby will be - in my aquaintance I know people who have been dedicated long-term co-sleepers, but also those that say they tried to sleep with their baby, but their baby still slept better when given their own space in a separate cot!
This cot has the advantage of being multi-functional to some degree, but I there are improvements that need to be made before it starts getting better marks. I certainly would not trust it to stay put without fixing it in place - therefore a no-go with divan bases.

It's lovely sleeping next to my daughter... however it really is impossible to put the side down with one hand. You need both hands and all your muscle. Also one of the screws does not easily fit into the base. Mothercare sent us another one with no trouble (we bought online don't buy in-store or they will make you take it back to the shop) and it has the same problem with the screws but worse. My boyfriend has finally managed to screw it in but you obviously have to get the placement right to the millimetre. I wish Ikea did a bedside cot. Also we ordered the sprung mattress at the same time. It isn't that comfortable for her and the plastic covering makes her boiling hot and sticky where her body touches it (so she also can't sleep). I have turned it upside down and bought a terry waterproof cot protector from John Lewis. What a pallava.

A bedside cot is a wonderful thing!

Basically, a bedside cot is one where one side drops away and is stored underneath, and the mattress height adjusted to match your bed's mattress height, so that the cot can be 'parked' with three sides like a sidecar next to your bed.

So if you want to follow the advice about keeping baby in with you for the first six months, then it is easy peasy, and if you are breastfeeding and/or like lots of skin-to-skin contact and cuddles at night, but are nervous about sharing a bed with your baby... then this is one way to do it without the same worries. Your baby can be right next to you, in their sleeping bag or under blankets, and you can be under your duvet, and a quick breastfeed or nappy change or cuddle won't involve you getting out of bed if you don't want to.

I had this cot for my first daughter and she slept next to us for 20 months - much longer than expected, but it was so peaceful that we didn't change anything until daughter no.2 was on her way. I hardly ever got out of bed to sort her out, she slept very soundly from an early age and my husband's nights also were never disturbed. Plus you get to enjoy their cuteness whilst they are sleeping, and to have lovely morning cuddles.

There are other bedside cot models around, but the Mothercare one has been great for us and is now in service for 2nd child, and was at time of purchase the most economic of this type of cot, coming in at £150 (it is still around this price I think). The cot has four wheels, with brakes, and the brakes are my only complaint: our cot is lodged in place by a cupboard, as I think it might otherwise move as we just have floorboards. But you could always leave off the wheels if you aren't using them.

One piece of advice: when your child starts being able to roll around, put the cot mattress a couple of inches lower than your own, and spread a blanket across the cot and under your own body. That way, there is no gap between bed and cot, and the baby can roll into the cot from your bed - say after a feed - but can't roll back into your bed.

Happy sleeping! (Yes, really!)

A really good product. I used it next to my bed so I had my son next to me for his night feeds but at the same time, there was enough space for all of us as he wasn't in our bed either.
When he was ready to move to a 'big' bed, I just removed the side of the cot so he got used to the fact he could go in and out on his own and learn not to fall whilst still being in his usual bed. It made the transistion was very smooth.
The only downside is that it is impossible to put the side up and down with just one hand (I still found it difficult with two...) so I never used it like this. The fact that you can put the mattress much higher than in normal cot sort of compensates for it - you don't have to bend so far down - at least until they can sit up on their own.

A really good product. I used it next to my bed so I had my son next to me for his night feeds but at the same time, there was enough place for all of us as he wasn't in our bed either.
When he was ready to move to a 'big' bed, I just remove the side of the cot so he got used to the fact he could go in and out on his own and learn not to fall whilst still being in his usual bed. It made the transition was very smooth.
The only downside is that it is impossible to put the side put and down with just one hand (I still found it difficult with 2...) so I never used it like this. The fact that you can put the matress much higher than in normal cot sort of compensate for it(You don't have to bend so far down) at least until they can sit up on their own.