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When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, there were so many decisions to make. Many things I always assumed I would do, I wasn’t so sure about anymore. One of those things was having my baby sleep in a crib. There isn’t anything wrong with a crib, but after working at a Montessori school I was intrigued by the idea of a floor bed.

But before we started my daughter in a floor bed, I needed to figure out where to have her sleep until she was old enough. I knew that I wanted her nearby, but I had some anxiety about bed sharing with her. So after some research, I decided to try a co-sleeper bassinet. (We bought an Arm’s Reach Euro Mini Co-Sleeper Bassinet. That exact style is no longer available, but the Arm’s Reach Mini Ezee 2-in-1 seems like almost the same thing!)

(If you are more intrigued by the floor bed, you can read about what a floor bed is, how we shared a room with a floor bed, and how Mac has her own floor bed room now. We do bed share part-time now that she is a toddler.)

At first, I was going to try to make a sidecar crib. There are plenty of DIY instructions on Pinterest and Google to describe the process, but I just wasn’t certain we were handy enough to make it work. So instead, I found the Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper Bedside Bassinet. We ended up using it for both of our children so far. (Make sure you check out this co-sleeper bassinet by the same company. It looks almost identical!) Here are a few reasons why we love it.

Proximity

Being close to Mac when she was young was really important to me. I liked being able to wake up and have her right there. Sometimes I would wake up with some anxiety, but after a brief glance over for some assurance that she was alright, I was able to fall back to sleep quickly. I have been feeling the same way with Leroy. It is so reassuring to have him close to me.

Easy Nighttime Nursing

My #1 tip for all new, breastfeeding mothers is to figure out how to nurse while laying on your side. When Mac would wake up wanting to nurse in the middle of the night, all I had to do was pull her over to me. I would even fall asleep and when I would wake up a short time later, put her back in her bassinet.

Leroy was the same way. He was a champion sleeper and I was able to get so much good sleep because I didn’t have to interrupt it by actually getting out of bed.

Perfect for Small Spaces

Our townhouse was pretty small. We only had two bedrooms and when Mac was born, our second bedroom was being used as a guest room and storage room. Since I already knew I wanted her close by, I wasn’t going to clean out the guest room so she would have a nursery that she would never use. The co-sleeper bassinet fit perfectly right next to my side of the bed.

Even now, our master bedroom is not that big. But the co-sleeper bassinet still fits next to my side of the bed without looking too out of place or bulky.

Safety

Now, I believe there is definitely a safe way to bed share. In fact, Mac ends up sleeping in our bed several times a week. But for someone who is nervous or unsure, this was a safe way to facilitate bed sharing. Baby is in their own bed with defined space, but still close enough to reach over and soothe back to sleep without even lifting your head from the pillow.

Overall, I am really pleased with our choice. The Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper Bedside Bassinet was the perfect choice for us. It is small, both when set up and when it is in the bag (and stored in your small garage like ours was.) It was easy to clean when dirty and Mac really enjoyed sleeping in it.

Floor Bed

Click to read about our decision to have Mac sleep in a floor bed. She has been sleeping in a floor bed from the time she was about 5 months old. We even shared a room with her floor bed for a while. Now, Mac sleeps in her own room in a larger floor bed but she does occasionally bed share with us.

Have any of you used a co-sleeper bassinet? Did you have a good experience like we did?