Bedside cot?

[CalaLilly]

Is anyone else thinking of getting a bedside cot for their newborn? I am torn between an arms reach co-sleeper or a cot like the cosatto bedside that will last me longer. I am really keen to hear from anyone with experience of using them or who has recently bought one! (There is more info here if you don't know what I'm talking about: www.bedsidecot.org.uk/bedsidecots.html )

Also, if you're baby is an a bedside cot and not actually co-bedding, is it then safe for the adults to use a duvet or do they need to use sheets and blankets, as with actual co-bedding?

Thanks!

We have the cosatto one and love it, wish we had known when we had our first baby.

I wouldn't buy arms reach as IIRC it isn't totally flush with the mattress so there is a kind of hump to get over, whereas the cosatto is at the exact height of our mattress.

I think realistically you have to assume that the baby will sometimes stay cuddled in beside you, and make the bed safe as for co-sleeping. DD is breastfed and we often feed lying down at night and both fall asleep without her being put back in the cot. Even if you don't feed this way there may be times when you find for one reason or another that she is in and out of your bed; chances are she won't always be neatly on her side of the cot/bed divide :)

I'm also torn between these two cots!

I thought the bump in the arms reach cots was to stop baby getting squished between both mattresse.. Could this happen with the cosatto? Also, why would the arms reach not last through until toddler bed?

We had a bedside cot from John Lewis, where the side slid over the top (not necessarily when the baby was in it) and we loved it. DC had their own space but were close.
When they could climb out of the cot, we put it on the lowest setting with the side pushed over again so it became a cot bed.
Would fully recommend having one.

I've got the mothercare one and it's great. But unless you're planning to put the cot side up during the day, I'd just take the side off a normal cot, as there will be less of a gap between the bed and the cot mattress.

Baby sleeping bags are much easier to use than sheets if you have a bedside cot. Then you can have your baby sleeping at the top of the cot near your head, and not stuck down the bottom (feet to foot) next to your legs. I had a duvet on my bed, although probably best to make sure the duvet isn't too big for the bed so it's less likely to encroach on the cot.