As you know, my husband and I cosleep with our six-month old baby, Phoenix. Sleep is a precious commodity in any house with a baby, and cosleeping gives me the luxury of nighttime nursing without having to get out of bed. However, as our daughter is getting older, she is naturally getting more mobile, and our all-night cuddling sessions are rapidly getting cut short with a toss of her sweaty head or her tiny fists of fury. Add a sleep regression or three into the mix and it’s easy to think we did make a mistake cosleeping after all.
Now enter the DockATot, a little life-raft shaped mattress that goes right in the middle of the bed. I was very doubtful that it would make any difference at all, since the baby had gotten so used to sleeping on me. However, the raised sides seem to give her the feeling of being cradled. Whenever she stirs, she settles herself right back to sleep with little fuss. On those occasions where she’s hungry in the middle of the night, I’m still close enough to hear her cues, and I can nurse her without having to take her out of the DockATot. She and I both sleep more soundly, as she has a little space all her own, and I don’t have to worry about the covers being pulled over her head or her father rolling over on her. It’s especially timely, as she’s begun to prove that she can roll into danger at will.
The price tag on the DockATot Deluxe seems a bit steep, but the high-quality materials it’s made from convinced me of its value. I found it especially cool that after a couple weeks of drooling milk and nighttime poop blowouts, not one drop had soaked through to the inserts. For something that we use literally every night, and even on trips, we’ve found it to be well worth the cost.
Despite my initial belief that I would never get her to sleep anywhere else, I am completely won over by the DockATot’s design and effectiveness. This definitely makes this list for my must have baby items and could be my go-to mama gift (but only for people I really, really love).
I received no compensation for this post, just the product for testing. As always, all opinions are true and 100% my own.
SO great to hear, I’ve been considering purchasing a dock a tot but my little one is 7 months old – I know they come with two options, one 0-8 months and the other 8+ months. We cosleep as well and I’m worried about spending the money and having it not work, you’re finding that it’s a good product? Would you recommend I get the 8+ month one?
My baby is seven months old as well–she’s still sleeping comfortably in the smaller version. It’s meant to be snug so that they feel cradled while they sleep. She’s a big girl too–over 17 lbs and almost 30 inches–so your little one would probably get at least 3-4 months out of the Deluxe, depending on their size. If your baby is a little smaller, maybe even longer!
I don’t think you’d go wrong by purchasing the 8+ month one. It may not be as snug now (so I won’t guarantee the same awesome result right away) BUT if it it works, it works, and it will definitely feel nice and cozy as your little one grows.