Pros: keeps baby close but seperate, can take it on vacation
Cons: may not be able to nurse while baby is laying in it
The bottom line: I like this as the perfect best of cosleeping but seperate sleeping
Never thought there was a need for the "other" world. Keeping baby seperate that is. Cosleeping was the perfect solution to get more sleep for a nursing mom at night. My first 2 transitioned fine to their own beds. But seeing as my 2 yr old is still cosleeping. She slept horribly until we sidecarred her crib and kept that mattress a tad lower than ours as a "seperateness" for her to get used to being away from us a bit. So I decided that maybe a "division" was best for the new baby. But a seperate bassinette where I had to get my tired body out of bed wasn't working, I never got up to put him back. At the same time we were also planning our holiday travel. My 2 year old's sidecarred crib could never make the trip. But there was no way my husband, my 2 yr old, my 6 wk old and I were going to fit in a queen bed together. So we took our gift card money and bought the Arm's Reach Cosleeper.

First I want to note that the cosleeper is not meant to be used by a child that can rollover and sit up alone per the instructions so us using it for our 2 year old was at our own discretion. But our daughter is used to an even less "safe" in the eyes of "experts" sleeping arrangement, a sidecarred crib, so we decided it would be fine for us. The weight limit is 30 lbs and she is under that.

OK that out of the way. The Arm's Reach cosleeper is basically a modified pack and play. When set up as such it is exactly like a pack and play. It also folds and assembles like a pack and play. You add the liner and you now have the bassinette portion of the pack and play. But the uniqeness is in the side. One side of the cosleeper can be set to a lower setting to allow easy access and to be closer to level with the bed. When you lower that there is still a 4" side to it to keep baby in and offer some division. You put the top of the lowered side level to or lower than your mattress top so therefore the baby's mattress is still 4" lower than your matress again offering some division. When set next to your bed and connected with the included straps you have the cosleeper. When away from the bed this setting is what the manufacturer's deem the "changing table" setting.

The item is heavy but not too heavy or too large to take on a trip. We managed to put the cosleeper in the back of our minivan standing up with the stroller (we have a Peg Perego P3 so it ends up being close to the same width) in front of it and they fit just perfectly at one end of the cargo space leaving the rest of the space for luggage and such.

Once we arrived at our destination I proceeded to set up the cosleeper. I had practiced assembly by using it at home so expected this to go much faster because I knew exactly what I was doing. However I ran into the problem other reviewers talked of, the top rails wouldn't latch closed. This was quite surprising as I had not a single problem when I did it at home. My husband who is stronger managed to get them latched though and all was well. When I reassembled it at home I again did not have this problem so I am guessing it was a fluke or a tired mommy who just drove 7 hours with 4 kids, visited with her inlaws and was not only past her kids bedtimes but her own bedtime as well. After the pack and play portion was set up it was quite easy to finish. You snap together 2 bassinette supports and put them on. You then lower the one side and snap on the fabric bassinette lining. Then insert the mattress and attach it to the bed. It might be a hassle to use for only 1 night but we were there 4 nights and it was well worth having.

When leaving it was quite easy to disassemble. However fitting ALL pieces into the travel bag is not as easy. The cosleeper, sheet, and supports fit in fine but I have trouble with the lining. My husband on the other hand is able to fold it into a small tight package and wedge it in one end of the folded cosleeper and all is well.

I use it at home for my 2 month old and it is easy to reach him to bring him to bed to nurse and just as easy to return him. He is close enough I can touch him and hear him breath but he isn't snuggled up next to me. If I wanted to nurse him lying down while he is in that it might be a challenge since the mattress is 4" lower than my mattress. I have not however tried this yet. I am hoping not to do this though as I know I would fall asleep so he would get used to sleeping while eating and not want it any other way.

There are many accessories also available for the cosleeper. I did purchase leg extensions, these are sold in a pack of 12, 3 for each leg. You can use one or all 3 per leg. Each raises the cosleeper 2". These are ONLY meant to be used with the cosleeper to raise it up so the side rail is level to your mattress height. They are not meant to raise the mattress to yor mattress height, the siderail past the level of your mattress or when used in bassinette or pack and play mode. It also says you should never use more than 3 per leg. I only need to use 1 on each leg as that makes it about an inch below the level of my mattress, that was more comfortable than when I tried to use 2 per leg. Without that extra 2" though it was a bit of a reach to pick him up. These are very easy to just pop on the legs. They also sell a tent/canopy so your pillows and blankets don't accidentally land on baby, we do not have this though.

All in all if you want the feel of baby being in bed with you and want to be able to nurse them laying down this may not be the item for you. If you want easy access to them while laying in bed though as well as them being closer than in a seperate bassinette then this will be perfect. I also like that it is larger than a bassinette so my 2 year old did fit and my 2 month old has room to grow. Plus if I ever wanted for some reason (I can't think of now) a playpen I have this to use as well.

update 3/07: I wanted to update since we have since taken it on another trip so disassembled and assembled again. Once you know what to do (I place my foot on the bottom rail and pull up hard on the top rail) to latch the top rails they latch fairly easily and quickly. I also found once you know how to get it all in the case (I slide the pole bag in one end and roll then shove in the liner in the other) that part is also easy. As a matter of fact it is so easy to assemble I just did it in a mostly dark room while my son slept in the bed I was putting it against.