Floor bed vs bed sharing - safer?

[vinhhali]

A lot of people have suggested for me to transition my 10 month old to a floor bed to get my bed back.

Aside from the fact that I’d probably have to get up to nurse constantly, I’m really not understanding how it’s safer.

We do the safe sleep 7 and I can feel any time my daughter moves in bed at night. We have a heavy pillow at the foot of the bed between mine and my husband’s feet which is a backup in case she were to slide down the bed or crawl, but she never has. She sleeps 12 hours with lots of rolling over to nurse in her sleep. We don’t use blankets other than up to our knees and tucked between our knees / under the foot of the bed pillow so they can’t slide up. We each use one lightweight pillow and squish it under our heads so the fabric isn’t near her face at any point. She sleeps with her head at my breast level and I sleep in a C.

In a floor bed I’m almost positive she would just crawl right out of bed and there’s no way I’d know, as compared to my sensitivity to her movement in our own bed. With or without the white noise machine I likely wouldn’t hear it. No room is sufficiently baby proofed for an infant crawling around at night…

So how do people with floor beds make it work?

 

[mattom]

@vinhhali My son has been in a floor bed in his own room since he was that age. His room is super baby proofed. Everything is secured to studs, no loose cables, outlets protected, everything. If you wanted baby to be in your room you could put her in a XXL playpen on a mattress.

We start the night in his room and then ninja roll out and listen for him via baby monitor. It works really well.

@heysleepybaby has a highlight on this

 

[vinhhali]

@mattom Thank you! For the mattress in the playpen, does it need to line up perfectly or is it considered safe to have floor space around the mattress?

To be honest, we live in an arid area where spiders and scorpions occasionally get in. Sleeping on the crib mattress on the floor is going to create a higher risk for encountering them.

I’m a little more comfortable with using her convertible crib in the toddler bed setting for this reason, as it’s at least more elevated from bugs on the ground. But that also means she can escape.

Sadly our nursery is also our guest room with a double bed in it and I just can’t take the risk of her crawling under the bed / climbing onto it and falling off etc.

 

[mattom]

@vinhhali Totally fine to have space! I’m not sure about the bug problem though sorry.

Could also look into the Guava pack and play (or similar). You can lay inside with her to breastfeed/ lay next to her, and then zip up once she’s asleep.

 

[vinhhali]

@mattom I have the Guava lotus. I may need to start trying that again. It would have her on the floor re: the big problem, but at least with some barrier…

Maybe I’m not being realistic about how sensitive my baby is to sleeping alone in the first place. I’m assuming she’ll even stay a sleep for more than an hour alone, which has never really happened!

Thank you for your input and suggestions!

 

[starsilver117]

@vinhhali My daughter is 2,5 and doesn’t leave the floor bed on her own. We never said she needs to stay in bed she just like that. We never used white noise so we hear her.

I wouldn’t be sure the floor bed is the alternative to ci sleeping. It’s usually about a parent being close. Our daughter always started the night in the floor bed and co slept with us after her first wake up until she decided to sttn.

Floor beds are great but aren’t for everyone and clearly not the solution for everything.

 

[vinhhali]

@starsilver117 Thank you, that’s a good point that it may not be the next step for cosleeping. We thought she hates being contained by the crib, but it may be that she just hates being alone.

 

[zach0024]

@vinhhali I’d stick with what you’re comfortable with! That might change in a year, who knows, but if you doubt right now, then don’t.