Dock-a-tot

11 Jul 2018

When I was pregnant with our firstborn, I thought that I’d be in a separate room from my child. Things didn’t work out that way (see more about that here) and we began searching for a co-sleeper. We were given a crib that wasn’t used by a friend. So I didn’t need another large piece of furniture in a 636 sq. ft. apartment. I was looking for versatility. Here are things I looked for:

  • Something I can use long term (whether for the child or for multiple children)
  • Something that can be used for various purposes
  • Something that didn’t take up so much floor space or to store

Enter in, the dock-a-tot. I found it online for co-sleeping on the same bed. It had everything I was looking for:

  • I can use it for the firstborn and any consecutive child
  • It’s easy to store and not too big (no pack and play)
  • It’s portable, has a carrier, and I can bring it to various places with me (my parents live 2 hours away so having something that I can bring into a rental car, regardless of the vehicle size was important; no matter where we were visiting, having a place for the baby to sleep that’s familiar was important)
  • It’s easy to wash and dry (majority of things we own are Asian/European clothing so everything is hang dry anyway)
  • We can put it on the bed so if a place/person we were visiting did not have a crib or a pack and play available, all we’d need is a queen/king size bed and we’d have space for baby to sleep as well

We’ve loved this product. We take it everywhere and can move it around anywhere in the apartment. Due to being on a main street and the layout of the apartment, we can’t hear him in a different room so we’re able to bring the dockatot into whichever room we’re in (living room/bedroom) and he can rest. Same at my parents’ home which is a two-story home. We don’t need a baby monitor often enough to see the point in investing in one so having a “mobile” sleep pad for baby works well for us.

Update (August 2020): We’ve now used it for two of our children. It stores well and we intend to use it for our third as well! We had placed all of our belongings in storage while we live with my parents in NJ. Although we have one already in storage, because of the pandemic and lock-downs as we prepared for baby, we decided not to go to the storage unit to pick things up. Instead, we decided to purchase the Dock-a-tot GRAND so that baby could grow into it. But, things don’t always work out how we plan, do they? As we were preparing for baby, our toddler decided he wanted to try it. He ended up fitting in it, liking it, sleeping really well in it so we decided we actually needed to purchase a Dock-a-tot for the baby. Our toddler is slender so width wise, he fits. Because he’s four, his feet come off of it but he doesn’t mind. So much for trying to save money! Actually we did in the long run because they happened to be on sale when we went to purchase it! The Dock-a-tot GRAND was a great investment as well. We were scheduled to go to a birthing center and we ended up not making it. Instead, it was a quick trip to the nearby hospital and our toddler ended up staying with my parents by himself for the first time. Having the dock-a-tot GRAND helped him feel safe as he slept without us for the first time.

Update (July 2022): Our second born has been using the Dock-a-tot GRAND for several months and has been sleeping well in it. We’ve placed it on top of a futon which is on the floor, so he can get in and out himself and knows it’s his bed. He’s taller at his age than our firstborn was, has a different build, and prefers to sleep sprawled out versus our firstborn who likes to sleep snuggled up, so he most likely will grow out of it in the next month or so. (Compared to our firstborn using it at age 4 for about a year).

Update (August 2022): Having purchased two dock-a-tot deluxe (one for the first born which was in storage when the second born was born and we purchased one for him), it has been the best thing. We leave one at our place while we keep the second at my parents’ place which is now an hour away. There’s already added luggage when we move around as a family of 5 that having one in each place helps baby feel safe and it’s similar to home. Really, one of the best investments we’ve made. 6 years later and we’re still using one and 2 years later, we’re still using the other. We highly recommend it. Use it as directed!!

Dock-a-tot

11 Jul 2018

When I was pregnant with our firstborn, I thought that I’d be in a separate room from my child. Things didn’t work out that way (see more about that here) and we began searching for a co-sleeper. We were given a crib that wasn’t used by a friend. So I didn’t need another large piece of furniture in a 636 sq. ft. apartment. I was looking for versatility. Here are things I looked for:

  • Something I can use long term (whether for the child or for multiple children)
  • Something that can be used for various purposes
  • Something that didn’t take up so much floor space or to store

Enter in, the dock-a-tot. I found it online for co-sleeping on the same bed. It had everything I was looking for:

  • I can use it for the firstborn and any consecutive child
  • It’s easy to store and not too big (no pack and play)
  • It’s portable, has a carrier, and I can bring it to various places with me (my parents live 2 hours away so having something that I can bring into a rental car, regardless of the vehicle size was important; no matter where we were visiting, having a place for the baby to sleep that’s familiar was important)
  • It’s easy to wash and dry (majority of things we own are Asian/European clothing so everything is hang dry anyway)
  • We can put it on the bed so if a place/person we were visiting did not have a crib or a pack and play available, all we’d need is a queen/king size bed and we’d have space for baby to sleep as well

We’ve loved this product. We take it everywhere and can move it around anywhere in the apartment. Due to being on a main street and the layout of the apartment, we can’t hear him in a different room so we’re able to bring the dockatot into whichever room we’re in (living room/bedroom) and he can rest. Same at my parents’ home which is a two-story home. We don’t need a baby monitor often enough to see the point in investing in one so having a “mobile” sleep pad for baby works well for us.

Update (August 2020): We’ve now used it for two of our children. It stores well and we intend to use it for our third as well! We had placed all of our belongings in storage while we live with my parents in NJ. Although we have one already in storage, because of the pandemic and lock-downs as we prepared for baby, we decided not to go to the storage unit to pick things up. Instead, we decided to purchase the Dock-a-tot GRAND so that baby could grow into it. But, things don’t always work out how we plan, do they? As we were preparing for baby, our toddler decided he wanted to try it. He ended up fitting in it, liking it, sleeping really well in it so we decided we actually needed to purchase a Dock-a-tot for the baby. Our toddler is slender so width wise, he fits. Because he’s four, his feet come off of it but he doesn’t mind. So much for trying to save money! Actually we did in the long run because they happened to be on sale when we went to purchase it! The Dock-a-tot GRAND was a great investment as well. We were scheduled to go to a birthing center and we ended up not making it. Instead, it was a quick trip to the nearby hospital and our toddler ended up staying with my parents by himself for the first time. Having the dock-a-tot GRAND helped him feel safe as he slept without us for the first time.

Update (July 2022): Our second born has been using the Dock-a-tot GRAND for several months and has been sleeping well in it. We’ve placed it on top of a futon which is on the floor, so he can get in and out himself and knows it’s his bed. He’s taller at his age than our firstborn was, has a different build, and prefers to sleep sprawled out versus our firstborn who likes to sleep snuggled up, so he most likely will grow out of it in the next month or so. (Compared to our firstborn using it at age 4 for about a year).

Update (August 2022): Having purchased two dock-a-tot deluxe (one for the first born which was in storage when the second born was born and we purchased one for him), it has been the best thing. We leave one at our place while we keep the second at my parents’ place which is now an hour away. There’s already added luggage when we move around as a family of 5 that having one in each place helps baby feel safe and it’s similar to home. Really, one of the best investments we’ve made. 6 years later and we’re still using one and 2 years later, we’re still using the other. We highly recommend it. Use it as directed!!