Co-sleeping Personal Posts

Co-Sleeping and Arm’s Reach

Hopefully you have already read my post about Co-Sleeping: My Story as well as part 2, Co-sleeping: Facts and Expert Opinions. If not, I hope you do!

If we play a word association game and you say “co-sleeping” to me, I immediately think “co-sleeper” followed by “Arm’s Reach.” Though I had heard of Arm’s Reach Co-Sleepers, I didn’t actually know much about them until my desperate search when my son was an infant. I’ve had an Arm’s Reach Co-sleeper on my Amazon wish list since before my current bun was in the oven!

If you’re not familiar with them, they are a Baby Bassinet that safely and securely attaches to a parent’s bed, to keep baby within an “arm’s reach” all night. The co-sleepers can be used as a free standing bassinet, a co-sleeper bassinet (attached to your bed) for infants up to 5 months old/30 lbs, or as a play yard after that (up to 50 lbs.) They have full size versions, mini versions, beautiful colors prints, and even gorgeous wooden sleigh bed bassinets. While they are certainly not inexpensive, they are comparable to many “pack n play” play yards, but do much more. Even the priciest sleigh bed is far less than many cribs (it is 41 1/4″L x 23 1/2″ W x 30 1/4″H, made of solid wood and capable of holding 500 pounds.) They also come with a mattress, liner, sheet and carry bag, which makes them an even better value. There are organic mattresses and sheets available too.

Dr. James McKenna recommends Arm’s Reach: “I recommend “ArmsReach Cosleeper (http://www.armsreach.com/) which is a bedside bassinet” which attaches to the parents bed but provides a separate sleep space for the infant. I don’t usually recommend products but I sure recommend this product and have so since I started researching the risks of SIDS and the importance of breastfeeding. The ArmsReach Cosleeper attaches tightly and firmly to the parental bed by way of a tight cord, pulling it to the bed, preventing gaps, or movement of the bassinet away from the bed, and has a small drop of about four inches to the mattress that permits infant separation but only slight, four inches down from the adult mattress as the baby sleeps in its own “nest”. The bassinet has a rail facing the side of the adult bed (see photo on my homepage) preventing a parents body (or blankets or mother’s limbs) from drooping over the infant, that could represent a potential risk.

The really good news is that over a million of these bassinets have been sold over the last fifteen to twenty years without one infant dying or being injured! There is no crib I can think of that has this safety record. The ArmsReach Cosleeper is, as it turns out, is about as safe as safe can be. And that’s why I so enthusiastically and proudly recommend them.http://cosleeping.nd.edu/frequently-asked-questions/

So does Dr. Sears: “Use an Arm’s Reach® Co-Sleeper® Bassinet. An alternative to sleeping with baby in your bed is the Arm’s Reach® Co-Sleeper®. This crib-like bed fits safely and snuggly adjacent to parent’s bed. The co-sleeper® arrangement gives parents and baby their own separate sleeping spaces yet, keeps baby within arm’s reach for easy nighttime care.http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/co-sleeping-yes-no-sometimes

The Arm’s Reach FAQs list co-sleeping benefits:

Benefits for the Mother:
– More sleep and increased nightly satisfaction
– Increased sensitivity to infant’s physiological-social needs
– Increased comfort with and ability to interpret behavioral clues
– Increased nursing maintains milk supply

Benefits for your Baby:
– Increased breast feeding
– Increased sleep duration and quality
– Less crying time
– Increased sensitivity to mother’s communication

I was already sold. Heck, the idea of not having to stagger out of bed and down a hallway 20 times a night is a pretty big benefit in my book!

Then I got to talk to Arm’s Reach’s VP of Operations. He is actually finishing up a 3 week trip to their office in China to oversee operations there. Arm’s Reach takes the safety of their product (and your baby) so seriously, that the VP of operations actually has a background in physics! Obviously every company hopes that they will sell their product. That’s a no-brainer. But for Arm’s Reach, that’s actually secondary. First, they want to educate. They want all parents to know about the science behind co-sleeping, why it’s a wonderful choice and yes, why their product can help them do it safely. They recently started the Arm’s Reach Blog to reach out (pardon the pun) to and educate new (and veteran!) parents. Check out their blog, and also “like” Arm’s Reach on Facebook and follow Arm’s Reach on Twitter for discounts, great articles and tips!

The bottom line is that I’ve loved and wanted (needed!) the product for a long time. After actually talking with Arm’s Reach, I can say they are one of a handful of companies that have really blown me away. I’m not sure I can really explain it. I will have to keep thinking about it. I guess it’s the sincerity, putting education, mothers and babies and the co-sleeping cause first. Not to mention the care & attention put into their product. They’re not just after a buck. For more than 14 years they have been keeping babies safe and happy because it is the right thing to do. Though Dr. McKenna pointed out that no babies have been injured using an Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper, I have no doubt at all that Arm’s Reach would take a single injury seriously and immediately investigate it fully. You would never be waiting for them to be forced to recall a product.

Now that I’ve been looking around their website, I really want to buy a pet bunk bed for my doggie niece! 😀

Have you ever used an Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper?

FTC compliance: I was not asked to write this post, nor was I compensated for it in any way. All opinions are my own.


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Maria
Maria is an aspiring "fit mom" of 3 children, writing about cloth diapers, going green, and her life as a single mom. Maria works with many companies within the cloth diaper industry and beyond, providing social media management, product development, and other services.
10 Comments
  • Alma
    August 18, 2013 at 12:49 pm
    Reply

    I researched several co-sleepers and I found that the Arms Reach was by far a better product. We purchased it for our son and we loved it. I highly recommend!

    • August 18, 2013 at 12:50 pm
      Reply

      Thanks for the comment, we loved ours too!

  • January 20, 2012 at 9:47 pm
    Reply

    […] been talking about co-sleeping for a while, including my story, why I’ve wanted an Arm’s Reach co-sleeper, and why co-sleeping experts endorse Arm’s Reach. Please view those posts for all the […]

  • December 15, 2011 at 10:41 am
    Reply

    We have a hanging hammock bed that I would like to use for my next child. But I have seen these co-sleepers before and really want to try one. My husband and I were talking about it and he surprised me by saying that he liked co-sleeping with our first.

  • Leslie Guenther
    December 4, 2011 at 1:42 pm
    Reply

    Oh how I want one of these. I just have not been able to afford one yet. My first son only slept in my bed but at that time my husband was deployed and it was just him and I in a queen size bed. With my second son he never slept in the bed with me because my husband was home and a hard sleeper. I really want this baby to be closer at hand and getting in and out of a crib to feed all the time is a huge pain. Thank you for the wonderful review and all the facts.

  • grace
    November 23, 2011 at 5:37 pm
    Reply

    We had the Original, the bigger size, which used with the MamaDoo Kids mattress topper for much needed extra comfort. Then moved our son to his crib at 5 months. The mattress topper works with our Chicco play yard when we travel so we are happy!

  • November 23, 2011 at 3:10 pm
    Reply

    We used the Arm’s Reach Mini co-sleeper and loved it. We moved my daughter to her crib at 6 months as the Mini started seeming too small … and she wouldn’t have it … and like you, it was our bed or no sleep. I wish I had bought the full sized one to keep her in it longer 🙂

  • Maria D.
    November 23, 2011 at 1:42 pm
    Reply

    Well…. we tried using one. My son decided that the only thing he would settle for was sleeping IN the bed next to me. The Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper made an excellent stuffed animal holder. LOL! Here’s hoping your new baby will actually sleep in yours!

  • November 23, 2011 at 11:04 am
    Reply

    We had and used one for my daughter, it was great in the early days. Eventually she decided she could only sleep right up against me and just came into the bed and the co-sleeper became the place that I stored junk that would have otherwise been on my nightstand.

    The only problem I had with the Arm’s Reach was that it was very difficult to around it and out of bed in those early days post C-section. Hopefully, C-section pain won’t be an issue for me this time around as I plan to VBAC.

  • November 23, 2011 at 9:27 am
    Reply

    We never used an arm’s reach co-sleeper, but my downstairs neighbors did and i was so jealous! We had a mini crib that we pushed up against our bed, but the mini crib still had a top rail that made it impossible to lay the babies down without getting up to do it. It was also difficult to check on them cause I had to peak up over the rail. We just disassembled out mini crib and converted it into a twin so next time we have a baby I’d love to get an arm’s reach!

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