Customer Reviews

The First Years Close and Secure Sleeper, Colors May Vary

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

BEWARE to parents of larger and/or longer babies!!

My daughter weighed 11+ pounds and was 23.5 inches long when she was born, so while this is a GREAT sleep positioner or portable bassinet (it's soft, secure, portable, etc.), the actual interior length is ONLY 24 inches.

There is also a NON-removeable wedge at the end of the sleeping surface that impedes foot room, if there was some way to remove it I would have done so, if only to get more use out of it and to prevent her from throwing her legs over the sides (which she does in her bassinet as well).

As a result, my 8 week old daughter outgrew this long ago which was a major disappointment since I was hoping to use it for the transition to her crib. This wasn't exactly an inexpensive item either, so unless your baby is MUCH smaller than mine, I would suggest finding a sleep positioner that has an open end so that you can get more use out of it, for a longer period of time.

Well, before my baby was born, I never understood why anyone would need something like this. But, as everyone told me, you never really know until it happens to you!<br /> <br /> This is such a great product for helping EVERYONE in the family get a great night's sleep. There is a lot of research showing how babies have more oxygen in their blood when they sleep in close proximity to their mother. From personal experience, I can tell you that mothers sleep better, too, when they can hear and touch their babies. No getting up in the middle of the night, either. You can stay in your warm bed.<br /> <br /> We used ours until our daughter was 4 months old, then we switched to the Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper. If you don't want to buy both, I'd recommend the Co-Sleeper. It also converts to a playpen.

We LOVED this item. We were concerned about rolling over on our daughter while we had her sleeping in our bed, so this item avoided that problem. We could check on her during the night and feed her without getting out of bed. We used it for the first nearly 4 months, until she actually got so big that we cut the end off (obviously, not recommended) so she could stretch her legs for the last few weeks (she was unusually tall at 4 months, at 27"). I can see using this only with a king-sized bed. One would be too cramped in a queen-sized bed. Note that each parent will have to use separate top blankets and sheets on either side of the sleeper. The only downsides were (1) the nightlight, which I found useless because the light points up and so did not illuminate her face. However, the light is removable, so I suppose one could use it by taking it out. And (2), the manufacturer did not make extra fitted sheets last time I checked. The sheet has velcro which keeps the little mattress in place (although it does not move much), and loose sheets are not recommended for reasons of safety. Therefore, if the sheet gets soiled in the middle of the night, then good luck. The mattress did flatten a little where her head was by the end of 4 months. I have seen comments that the mattress is not soft, but it's really softer than our crib mattress. The entire unit is machine washable (once certain parts are removed, which is easy), and we dried the whole thing in the dryer. We would have brought the sleeper with us on a trip we took after she turned 4 months if she hadn't grown out of it so early. The item was perfect until we transitioned her to her crib at 4 months.

This item looks like a great solution as a co-sleeper but it is not. Problem #1: It's 17inches wide & only fits on a Eastern King size bed if there is a normal size parent on either side of this sleeper. Problem #2: Sheet is not standard & contains long strip of velcro that attaches to everything else in your laundry & has to be discarded since becomes tangled mess. Problem #3: It's interior is only 24 inches long, so baby quickly outgrows it. Problem #4: Exterior wall is very hard so parent's head can hit not to mention baby's head as well. What to buy instead: a changing pad that is cradle shaped to fit between the parents for about $25. It takes standard sheets (without velcro) & is soft, allowing parents to curl up with their baby while in bed & allows baby to still have her/his own space & be secure.

I bought this bed so that our baby could co-sleep with us. The top of the bed is very well constructed - it has a firm, secure edge around baby. The bottom half of the bed is simply some flimsy mesh and a small footrest. Simply put, this bed does not keep baby inside!! Even a newborn! Every time I would come to check on my baby, she would have slid halfway down, and her legs were hanging out the side. I do not recommend this product for use in an adult bed.

That being said, I do use it with a sleep positioner in her cradle (where she is sleeping all the time now, at 5 months). She is very close to growing out of it, so we will then transition her to a full-size crib.

This is a great product but I wish it was just a little longer. It only has about 24 inches of length available inside and my daughter is 23 inches long at just seven weeks. If they could put Velcro on the footrest so it could be moved back and snaps on the mesh netting so you could expand it out, this would be a really fabulous product. I will say I bought a Deluxe Snuggle Nest which has the open foot and the Secure Sleeper is a much sturdier and more expensive looking sleeper. The thing that goes across the mattress to hold it in place is super smart and the main reason I reviewed it so highly. I had initially planned on returning it due to the lack of space but after trying the Snuggle Nest, I wound up removing the plastic peace out of the footrest and just keeping it instead.

Dear prospective buyer,
I was recently on the market for a co-sleeper so that my baby could sleep with us in the same bed and not have to worry about rolling over. I saw this secure sleeper on amazon.com and the price was reasonable so i decided to give it a shot. Lemme start with some Pros.

PROS
-slimmer in width as opposed the the Summer Infant brand co-sleeper. It fits between us on a Queen size bed easily and we don't feel squished.

-strong UV nightlight

-very lightweight, easy to fold and go

CONS
-too short. the product says its could till 4 months, but my baby is only two months old and if he lies straight he can't fit his whole body in

-footrest is immovable so even if you wanted to make it fit a baby bigger than 23", u would have to physically cut off the footrest

-not even suitable for newborns, because it has an incline that causes babys to slide down during the night

-non breathable mattress. When we were using it, my baby woke up every day with a puddle of sweat on his back and forehead -and he's a SUMMER baby!

in short, i suggest you try summer infants sleeper instead. It's 29" long, which should definitly last till 4 months old, and has a much more breathable mattress. (but buy it from Babys R us - they have it for 59.99)

When cosleeping with an infant, this adds and extra sense of security. The top half of the sleeper is great, formed out of a rigid plastic tray, but the bottom half is just the this foam mattress with no support underneath. Because of this, it tends to cause a downhill slope, and baby slides down.
We gave up on using this within a week, and just put him in bed with us until we could buy an Arms Reach Mini Cosleeper.
The Close and Secure Sleeper might be helpful when used in a crib and when travelling, but it has limited value in an adult bed, or at least it did for us.

like many new parents, I had lots of plans including my newborn sleeping by himself in a charming bassinet and later a crib... WELL... upon his arrival, my son showed us that he slept better between my husband and I for the first 6 weeks, plus he helped my husband and I sleep better not having to get up at every new and strange sound he made (for a new parent all the sounds are scary). we just lifted our heads and knew he was fine, and went back to sleep. Yes, it was a bit tight in a queen size bed, but most importantly, he was safe and we did not have to get up. We used in bed until 6 weeks old, and then used it to transition him to his crib for the next 2 weeks. overall, well worth it, plus easy to transport if need to spend the night at someone elses house during the first 2-3 months.

I received this for a gift with our changing table from my in-laws. I know it is supposed to be a sleeper, but I want to let you all know that it works excellent on top of a changing table for changing diapers on. It fits perfect on there too!! It has a nice little light on the top of it by the head and it is absolutely adorable in person. it also folds up very nice to take with you on trips if you do want to use it as a sleeper. Great product, well made!