Arm's Reach - Securing to Bed Question

CactusGirl

I searched previous posts and couldn't find an answer to my question, so here it is:

We purchased the Arm's Reach Mini Co-Sleeper, which I was pretty excited about. I'm just about to get it out and put it together, but realized you have to anchor it between the mattress and boxspring of your bed. Yeah.. we don't have a boxspring. We just have the bed and a really tall mattress, that's it.

So, does it have to be secured or can it sit by the bed without being anchored (and still be safe)? Or will it work without boxspring? Or should I just take the whole damn thing back and get something else? TIA

ETA: Aaaand another question. It says it goes to 24" height, is that to the lowered mattress part of the co sleeper, or the top of the rail of the cosleeper? Basically our bed is 31" and I am not buying the extenders. I may just need to take this back and go for something else completely.

vvvvvfee

if you have the side lowered, it has to be anchored to the bed in order to be safe. if you keep the side raised, you can have it standing alone, separate from the bed. can you put the anchor between the mattress and your bed frame? what the anchor is, if you haven't opened the box, is basically a long strap with a flat plastic piece on the end of it. the strap goes between the mattress and box spring, and the plastic piece goes flat against the sides of mattress/box spring to hold it in place.

yes, a major complaint about the ARCS is that it is too short for many beds. you can either buy plastic bed risers, or you can put foam pads (or anything else you would put underneath of furniture to keep it from damaging floors) underneath the legs to raise them up a smaller amount.

i was really not impressed with the thing and only used it for about 6 weeks until we ended up bedsharing with DS. luckily i only borrowed it. my major complaint about it was that you can't really slide your LO over from the cosleeper into your bed for nursing. you really have to get into a sitting position and pick them up and transfer them into your bed. so, as an alternative, you could just get a pack n play that has an infant insert and put that next to your bed. at least the pack n play has a useful life beyond the first few months, and it's way less expensive.

Emerald27

If you have a crib too, you could skip the ARCS and just set up the crib next to your bed with one side off, pushed up against your bed, with the mattress raised or lowered to the level of your mattress. This is my go-to suggestion for mamas who don't want the extra baby gear but want to keep LO close at night: