Arms Reach or Bednest-what's the advantage over a DIY co-sleeper cot?

[spinosaurus]

I'm definitely going to get a bedside co-sleeper this time around. I've looked at the Arm's Reach one and the Bednest online, and also read a blog about an IKEA cot with the side off, attached with bungee cords and some foam in the gap.

I'm happy to splash out if there are advantages to the Arm's Reach or Bednest ones, but otherwise improvising with the IKEA one is going to be much cheaper.

Can anyone who's had one of these advise? What's the advantage of the more expensive ones? Thanks!

Not sure there is one. Other than they're smaller than a cot, so take up less space.

We've cobbled together a home made one from an adapted crib and its worked really well, (plus half the time she ends up sleeping in our bed anyway so I'm glad we didn't spend money on one)

Definitely get a bedside crib- they are amazing! And so much easier to look after your baby. We rented the Bednest, it was only £99. I wouldn't feel happy about taking a side off a cot - how do you know its secure and wouldn't you still have to bend over to reach your baby?
The Bednest came with straps to secure it to the bed and it has sliders on the stand so you can adjust it to make sure your mattress fits next to the bednest one - i literally slid my baby from the bednest to me and back.
Bednest also tilts and it folds flat so we took it stay with my parents.

I would say it was worth every penny of the £99
HTH xx

Thanks for the replies. Jennie, that is a good point about being able to transport it easily and take to grandparents etc. I think I preferred the Bednest because it was totally flat with the bed, the Arms Reach seems to have a little lip that you still have to lift baby over. How big is the Bednest and how long did you have your baby in it? DS was a big baby, grew out of his Moses basket pretty quickly, and I think this one will be similar!

I didn't explain very well about the IKEA DIY one. It's a cot bed that you take one side off for when it's a bed. We would have to drill some holes to make it the exact height of our bed probably, but it would still be safely held together. The only problem is then a small gap between our bed and the cot but apparently you can have a piece of foam cut to size or just stuff it with towels.

TiredFeet-what did you do about the gap?

Yep I converted an ikea cot and it was easy peasy.

Push the mattress over to cover the gap, though, and put the foam or towels (I used towels) on the far side. It stops it falling out and becoming a gap which is unsafe.

Ikea ones are very sturdy because they are designed to stand up with only 3 sides.

Can I just ask- I'm pretty sure dd pooed during the night for the first while. Did anyone else's dc? I'm just wondering, if I have to get up to change a nappy, whether I'd need a co sleeper cot?

We have the arms reach one and it does have a lip, which I quite like in a way because it stops dd from rolling into our bed without me knowing, but it does make it slightly more separate from the bed if that makes sense. We have the large one and it did ds from birth till over 2 years, until we put him in a proper single bed (and only then it was to free up the co-sleeper for dd coming) so never needed to buy any other cot. Also, it folds away into a bag like a (slightly chunky) travel cot so you can take it everywhere.

Ah, good tip about putting the gap on the other side. Did you fasten the mattress to your mattress with bungee cords, or no need?

ThisIsMeNow-yes, DS did nocturnal poos, in fact sometimes two per feed for the first few weeks! I am planning to just change him in the cot, will have a towel at hand to protect the sheet, a dimmer for my bedside lamp and some antibac gel for my hands. Is that really gross?!

I just changed DS on the bed. Cot barely got used until he could roll anyway so it was a good place to keep the wipes, nappies and spare clothes!

You can't fasten the mattress. But if the frame is held tight against your bed and the towels are wedged then you don't need to because the pressure holds it in place. But I didn't know about using bungee cords at the time so I just had the cot positioned as close to the bed as it could go and the carpet stopped it from moving away. I did check it every single night which you would be advised to do even with bunjee cords.

For nappy changes the arm's reach ones have got pockets to stuff nappies, wipes and changing mat for quick middle of the night changes. I just do them on the bed too.

Good plan re changing in the bed. Why did I want to get up to do it?!
Have been looking online at the ikea DIY one and just wondered if it had to be the gulliver or would any that have a drop side be used? Just thinking of getting a cot frame from eBay and a new mattress?

I know! With PFB DS I used to get up, take him into the lounge, sit there feeding him for bloody ages , take him into his room for a nappy change, take him back into our room, rock him to sleep, gradually lower him into the basket…

What was I thinking?! This time, I'm going to do everything I can to maximise sleep for all of us.

I didn't realise the Arms Reach was such a good size, that's a definite advantage if it lasts that long. Also, the pockets.

I think any cot where the side drops would be ok, if you can safely adjust the height. It's just DS now has the Gulliver cot so I know it can be done because I've seen how it is constructed.

You sound pretty handy with your tools, so you could probably make a great ikea hack.

For us fingers-as-thumbs types the advantage is the more precisely adjustable height, and the fact that it is constructed to be a rigid rectangle plus a side iykwim. Just taking the side off leaves you with a C shape, which is less rigid, unless you reinforce it.

Spine, I was exactly the same! Took dd into her room to change her, sat and fed for ages, winded changed another bloody nappy then spent ages trying to coerce her back into moses basket. She was so much happier and slept better when in with us.
I've just told dp my plans and he was very wen I started but when I told him the price explained it all he seemed to thin it was a good idea

I'm glas that it sounds like I've made a good decision ordering the NCT bednest this weekend! My DH works away a lot, so I need things to be as easy as possible for me when I'm on my own, and I want to be able to go home to stay with my parents, so the Bednest folding up for travel is a huge bonus. Once the baby gets older we can then go for a Gulliver cot if need be :)