What would I do without this?

This is possibly my most treasured baby gear item from the first few days of my baby's life! We used it a total of 7 months and loved it! It was wonderful to be so close to our baby that I could literally roll over and put my hand on her or just listen to her breath. She is now in her own room and we miss her terribly. If we had it to do it all over again, the only thing I would change would be to buy the bigger version of this instead of the mini because the regular version can be converted into it's own version of the pack n play. The mini is only a bassinet.

What we loved
- From the first day home, our baby was right by our side. We could hear her breath and know she was okay. Thankfully she is a quiet sleeper.
- It's convenient. When that newborn wakes in the middle of the nigh, and we all know they wake up a lot, she was right there for me to reach in and get her. My feet never felt a cold floor and I never had to lay in bed having the "do I really have to get up" conversation in my head while listening to my baby scream over the monitor.
- We all got more sleep. I never experienced the newborn haze that many mothers talk about. We were all fairly well rested considering we had a newborn in the house. Once my baby and I learned to nurse in the side-lying position, we were able to put our daughter to sleep in the co-sleeper at the beginning of the night and when she woke, I would bring her into bed with us and nurse her back to sleep. I was awake a total of maybe 2 minutes to make sure everyone was situated safely and then it was back to sleep for everyone.
- A safe place to lay - This product allows mother who choose not to sleep while nursing to have a safe but separate place for baby to sleep while still keeping them close so as not to have to get up and run to the other room to nurse the baby back to sleep. Even if you don't sleep while nursing, you can sit in bed and nurse your baby, put them back in the Arms' Reach Co-Sleeper and get back to sleep yourself...complete with warm feet.
- Travels well - This co-sleeper is easy to transport, but it can be a pain to fold down. I had to search the internet for directions on how to collapse the thing. You have to push so hard on the sides that I thought I was going to break it. After finding clear directions on the internet, I had no further problems breaking it down. The mattress is used to surround the frame and give you a handle with which to carry the whole thing, but it is a tight fit. You really have to work at it to get the velcro closed. Once it is done and you have broken a little sweat, it's not bad to actually travel with. It is a bit heavier than you would expect. Maybe this also belongs on the list of things I don't like...
- Zip pouch below is great for storing extra sheets and the carry case as well as the instruction booklet.
- Side pockets are awesome for putting a few spare diapers, a pack of wipes and some lanolin in. Even a bottle of water to get you through the night.

What we didn't like
- See traveling section above!
- The sheets that come with the Arms Reach Co-sleeper and not very soft and they have velcro that helps to attach it to the frame of the co-sleeper but it also helps to attach it to everything else in the laundry when it is washed. They have to be hung to dry rather than tossed in the dryer. Overall, I really did not like the sheets at all. Fortunately, I learned that a King size pillow case works wonderfully for a sheet! It is much softer and east to get on the mattress. The excess at the end folds under and tucks away to create a safe sleeping environment.
- It's only a bassinet. It cannot convert to a pack n play style playpen like the larger size co-sleeper can. We ended up buying an additional pack n play to travel with now that she is too old for the bassinet.
- The lighter colors show stains. We have the fern and have had no problems.

Overall, I love the Arms' Reach Mini Co-sleeper. If you have the space and the money, I would suggest getting the regular sized one instead of the mini because of it's ability to handle older children rather than just the young ones in the bassinet. Either way, I don’t know what we would have done without it!