PFB was dreadful sleeper - advice on bed for DC2 - co sleeper cot/Amby?

[LenniEd]

Have posted this in sleep but no responses yet so am shamelessly posting it here too...

DD is now 18mo and still wakes in the night most of the time. Am resigned to it. Can't be @rsed trying anything else, am content to wait it out now and she is getting better albeit slowly. We co-slept with her most nights until she was about 9mo when she decided she no longer wanted to sleep in our bed, just play. We all loved co-sleeping....but....
when we moved DD into her own bed DH started having major anxiety attacks in the night, thinking he had rolled on her or suffocated her with the bedding. I think he was ok when he could just reach out and check she was alright, but it took him 6 months to stop waking in the night sweating and shouting. What with DD waking anyway, and DH waking several times screaming at me that she had suffocated things got a bit fraught.

Am now expecting DC2 and we can't go through that again with DH so aren't planning on co-sleeping in one bed. Am considering a co-sleeper cot and like the look of the Arms Reach ones (although don't like the look of the pricetag). Am also considering an Amby. DD is out of the cot so it only needs to last 6 months ish while in our room. I was wondering if anyone had any experience of anything like this with themselves/their partner? And any advice on whether we will get on with either of these beds/your own experiences with them would be great. Thanks

You've just made me & DH laugh in self-recognition. He used to leap up in his sleep, convinced DD had fallen out of bed or whatever. And we were using a sidecar cot, so I don't know that it would necessarily solve your/your DH's problem!

FWIW, our sidecar cot was from John Lewis and we were very happy with it. I thought it was a nice compromise on the sleeping arrangements. I don't know what an Arms Reach or Amby is, I'm afraid.

read healthy sleep habits, healthy child, bought it from amazon. move baby out of your room at 6 months into its own cot, and teach them how to sleep by themselves. this book is amazing. our son has been sleeping through the night from 5months. just so you know, he was a colicky baby and is still a headstrong toddler, so all credit really goes to the book, not his personality!

I'm not a big fan of the Amby (although some people are). I'd go with a bedside crib/ cot if I were you. The best of both worlds, as your baby is right beside you, you can reach over and hold his/ her hand, but not actually in your bed so you can sleep soundly without worrying about squashing them/ overheating etc.

What was it you didn't like about the Amby?

Some babies struggle to transfer to a cot when they outgrow a hammock and also they imho, are not really suitable for as long as Amby market them as for. Also a few babies really don't like them and it's hard to predict.

That said, some people swear by them. I'd say, if you found you have a very hard to settle baby, give it a go if you can afford one. They hold their value well second hand so worst case you can sell it on without losing much.

Also they are made out to be really portable, like you can cart them round instead of a travel cot, but they are actually quite heavy so you could only do so if going by car.