# Extra padding in Arm's Reach Co-sleeper?



## NYCVeg (Jan 31, 2005)

We got an Arm's Reach co-sleeper for our bun-in-the-oven. The mattress seems a little hard, though, and we've heard others complain that there isn't enough padding. We got a thin, quilted pad that we could use under the co-sleeper sheet (which velcros in place, so I think there isn't too much chance of the pad of sheet getting loose). The pad bills itself as a changing table-bassinet-cradle pad.

There are, however, dire warnings on the co-sleeper about all the bad things that will happen if we add any extra padding (actually, there are dire warnings about just about everything one might do or not do with it--gotta love product liability!).

I'm curious if people think there is really a serious risk of suffocation if we use an additional thin pad under the sheet. Or, has anyone else added their own adding to the co-sleeper? Since the pad is labelled as a "bassinet" pad, it seems to me that it's not the scariest thing to put in an infant bed, but who knows.

And another, related question, out of curiosity...at what age/developmental stage CAN you start using blankets or what not in a crib/sleeper? Dd may be in our bed by then (the co-sleeper is a compromise between me and dh...we'll see what happens







), but it seems like useful information, just in case.

Thanks!


----------



## SweetPotato (Apr 29, 2006)

Hi







We have one of these and have always had a pretty tough time getting dd to sleep in it. I think you're right on that the "mattress" in it is just way too hard (either she wakes up immediately or sleeps for only like 15minutes) - and I think that your idea sounds great! We had thought about doing something similar, but she sleeps so well in our bed that it just hasn't been a big enough priority and now she's almost too big for it, so why bother?! Dh is the one who mentions moving her out of our bed, but then I'd be the one up a gazillion times nursing her back to sleep--so our compromise has been for what gets me the most sleep







(and I think his enjoyment of cosleeping is sort of sneaking up on him, too-- your dh might find it hard to resist that little cuddly sweetie, too!)

I don't know about the blanket question. I probably wouldn't put one in with dd,but I do wrap our sheet over her belly and tuck it under her. With your baby coming with the warm weather, you probably won't need a blanket for awhile!


----------



## cyndimo (Jul 20, 2005)

Hi -
We have the Arm's Reach and we also got an organic mattress from ecobaby.com for DS. We never used the Arm's Reach without the additional mattress because we didn't want him breathing the plastic directly, and, as you say, it was really hard.
We haven't had any problems with it this way... but there is a bit of a gap between the mattress and the sides. We also added a few towels under the mattress to elevate the head (instead of a pillow) and this did make the gap worse.
DS didn't spend a whole lot of time in there anyway... he's mostly in our bed, but it did make the bed feel more room-y, even when he was sleeping in the middle. Now he can roll over, crawl, pull up, so we put it into play yard mode and still use the mattress.
Re blankets, etc: I don't know the party line, but for our DS, he's been in our bed with our blankets for just about his whole 9mo, so I'm not too concerned about it when he is in his bed. For any blanket I use, I test it by trying to breathe through it... if my breath goes through, I use it in his bed.
Anyway, HTH... I totally love the organic mattress, though!








Cyndi


----------



## cyndimo (Jul 20, 2005)

Oh - one other thing, we got organic sheets from ecobaby.com as well... they seemed so much cozier than the sheets from Arm's Reach! I know it's against all the warnings, but they did fit the mattress better.


----------



## LadyButler (Sep 16, 2005)

I used the Arm's Reach... I can tell you that although it was probably semi-dangerous... I used a porta-crib mattress with a cut egg crate pad. In order to "seal" the tiny gap, I stuck a crib bumper around the edges down in the crack. It worked perfectly. (It also raised the sleeping surface a bit so I didn't have to reach down to get her when she fussed. She was right next to me...)


----------



## InDaPhunk (Jun 24, 2005)

I put a 4" piece of foam underneath the mattress to raise it up to the same level as the bed. That made scooting him back and forth easier.

I also put some soft material under the sheet to make that rock hard "mattress" softer. In fact, I think after awhile I just put in some blanket or something.

All that being said, after a couple of weeks or so, DS basically did a 2 two hour stint at the beginning of the night in the thing







, then spent the rest of the time in bed with me, ready to nurse. Having it did make me feel a little more comfortable at first until I got completely at ease with co sleeping.


----------



## gen_here (Dec 31, 2005)

Well, when my son slept in it (which wasn't much - he'd rather sleep ON mama), we were obviously negligent and trying to kill him. That mattress seemed, to me, like asking him to sleep on plywood, so we used a very thin quilt he was given for his baptism and folded it in half (it was a perfect fit for the mini that we had) and put that on top of the mattress/sheet.

We also let him sleep on his stomach *gasp*

No, I'm not making fun of SIDS - I know it's a very real thing. But I also am a very light sleeper and he was, literally, inches from my head when he was in there, so I wasn't worried about not hearing him if something was wrong.

(Should I put in the typical Pharm. warning... this is not medical advice, ask your physician if putting a blanket in your baby's bed is right for you!) =)


----------



## NYCVeg (Jan 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gen_here*
(Should I put in the typical Pharm. warning... this is not medical advice, ask your physician if putting a blanket in your baby's bed is right for you!) =)











Well, it seems like a lot of people jerry-rigged their cosleepers to make them more comfy. I'll start with the little pad we have, and see how it goes. Thanks!


----------



## claras_mom (Apr 25, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NYCVeg*
Well, it seems like a lot of people jerry-rigged their cosleepers to make them more comfy. I'll start with the little pad we have, and see how it goes. Thanks!

Yup. I think I mentioned this in another thread, recently--we actually had an inexpensive moses basket in the arms reach when dd was really young. Lined it with a quilt. (insert disclaimer here







) Later, when she outgrew the moses basket, I always had at least one thin quilt folded in half, on top of the mattress.


----------

