Cosleeping in bedside cot

[SophiePickle]

Hello all. I'm expecting my first baby and exploring sleeping arrangements. I'm hoping to breastfeed. Ideally I'd love for baby to sleep by the side of my bed in a 3 sided bedside cot.

You can buy ones specifically for this. The NCT bedside crib and the babybay both look great but are SO expensive even second hand!

Has anyone used an ordinary cot with one side taken off? How do you prevent baby rolling out and into your bed when you're not there?

Also, any general co sleeping hints and tips? I've not found many useful websites.

What other options are there for keeping baby close at night?

[IamMrsElf]

I had baby sleeping in a moses basket - that way we could keep baby downstairs with us before we went up to sleep. Then we would take basket upstairs and when baby woke we would change baby, baby would BF and mostly would sleep in our bed. It always seemed very natural and safe to us.

I did look at those cots and thought they were hugely expensive for what they were and the amount of time you use them.

Have you looked for second hand one at an NCT nearly new sale or on ebay?

[Blueberry75]

I used a normal cot with one side off from when DS was 4 months due to the amount of night feeds he was having. Rolling won't be a problem at first as they (generally!) can't roll till few months old. We tied the cot to our bed frame to prevent it moving and I put a cot sheet across bed and cot to bridge the join. My DS now tries to roll closer to me at night but its easy to just shift them back a bit if you want.

Learn to feed while lying down - you don't even have to sit up then! Practice it during the day first - less stressful. Also, you can feed baby with both boobs but keeping baby on one side (cot side) by turning your upper body towards them. This avoids having to keep swapping baby over to each side in bed. We also have a video monitor set up so I can keep an eye on DS if not in room.

It's also easy to keep baby's bedding separate from your own with a bedside coat. I have the duvet, he has his sleeping bag/blanket. Hope this helps!

[Bumbershoot]

We have! Baby mattress slightly lower than ours, bungee cords securing cot to our bed. Works really well!

[Bumbershoot]

Oh yeah and normal cot with one side off - then when DD is bigger well add the side on and then move her into her own room.

[MissMilliment]

I did this with dd. Worked a treat. Just be careful that you're not making the cot structure weaker by removing one long side. I had a cot bed, so I assembled it as a cot, then replaced one of the long barred sides with the plank that forms the side when it's in bed mode. Lashed it to my bed frame so it wouldn't move.

I also learned to feed lying down, and got dd in a sleeping bag as soon as she was big enough, so when she woke for a feed I'd just slide her over to me, feed her, then slide her back to her cot afterwards. She stayed warm in her bag the whole time. We both slept really well.

[BertieBottsJustGotMarried]

You can use the ikea cots, or any cotbed if you want a bigger space (and have room!) You might have to drill extra holes.

The secret is to push the mattress over to meet your bed and plug the gap at the far side.

[littleducks]

I bought a cossatto bedside cot, as I wanted to be able to put the side up when baby was napping and I wasn't there.

Three babies later I have never actually put the side up for naps as its too much hassle a d requires lots of space. Should have bought a normal cot

[NakedMum33And3rd]

I've just been thinking about getting a bedside cot too. I used a crib for DC1 and it was so annoying having to get out of bed to BF. Now pg with DC2 We have a drop side cot and am thinking I can just tie this to our bed with the side down? Probably not worth investing in a bedside cot. They are so expensive.

However if this doesn't work for us I will probably rent an NCT bednest for 6 months. it's £99 and you get a brand new mattress and sides with it.

[Cariad007]

I'm renting the NCT bednest atm as I figured there was no point buying it as bub would only fit it for six months. Problem is he's only slept in it once and cries at other times when we put him down in it!

[Bumbershoot]

Oh Bertiebotts makes a good point - if you go down the adapting a big cot route, you need to push the mattress right up next to your bed's mattress so there's absolutely no gap, and wedge it from the other side (i.e. the outside of your new giant bed where the cot bars are). We used books and a thin blanket on top - nothing squishy.

[Soupqueen]

I'm renting the NCT bednest. Its working really well for us and I'm dreading the day, very soon, when DD outgrows it.

[Cariad007]

What oh what is your secret Soupqueen? My baby just screams when we put him in it and so we end up co-sleeping. Which means I get no sleep as I worry I'm going to roll over and squash him.

[moosemama]

I bought one of these (it doesn't come with all the bedding and drapes) which clamped onto the side of our wooden bedframe.

I then had a mattress made by these people to fit and bridge the slight gap between the mattresses.

The resale value for bedside cribs is great on Ebay, so you can make most of the cost back - although I gave mine to my niece when dd had outgrown hers.

It was great, only wish I'd done it for ds1 and ds2, as it made night feeds so much easier, if she was unsettled I could sleep with one hand on her to soothe her and dh and I slept so much better than we ever did with the boys when they were tiny.

[crashbangboom]

Yep we HB ave twice used normal cot bed sized cots.

Side off. Mattresses pushed over to create no gap between ours and baby (we have wooden framed bed) We stuffed the gap with firm towels rolled.

You could also use some pool noodles or cut some polystyrene blocks.

This arrangement worked well from 6mths til 18mths. We had previously just ended up co sleeping and she fell out one night (partner had her post my op when I was on drugs) Wish we had done full side car arrangement from birth...

[NomDeClavier]

We have a snuzpod which is cosleeper, rocking cradle and oversize Moses basket with stand all in one. Definitely worth the money.

Did the sidecar normal cot thing with DS but as soon as he was mobile we had to put the side on anyway and it was essentially a very expensive bed guard when he was in our bed. I should have put him in his cot and then brought him in with us as needed!

[noblegiraffe]

I hired one from the NCT, it was great. You get a month's grace to return it at the end so DD was 7 months when we finally sent it back and put her in her own room. She was quite diddy though (25th centile) so a larger baby might grow out of it sooner.

[Jenijena]

The John Lewis basic cot with adjustable sides, cot at highest setting, side at lowest, leaves a slight lip but put the mattress at exactly the right height to our bed. I quite liked having the lip as it was easy to have my hand on baby from the bed but did separate the space a little easier.

[Soupqueen]

cariad, no secret just luck! She refused to sleep in it for the first 4 weeks or so and then decided she liked it. Nothing to do with us at all.

[Cariad007]

Ah right. My LO is only 10 days old so you have given me hope!!

[stitchedupbelow]

Baby bay is cheaper if you buy it from German eBay. It worked ok but I'm sure they're are cheaper options which are just as effective. She's in a standard ikea cot with one side off which fits nicely wedged between bed and wall now.

As an aside it's a pain in the arse getting in and out of bed with a sidecar!

[Wearegoingtobedlehem]

I bought a cosatto close to me bedside cot. I bought it second hand from eBay at £75- and resold it for the same ( a year later). I can honestly say it was a godsend and can't rate the ability to safely co sleep enough. Didn't have it for DD1 which was a shame!!

[missmargot]

I've hired a bednest for six months, didn't see the point in buying something we wouldn't use long term.

[chickabilla]

We had a dropside cot with the side down so there was a lip between our bed and the cot. We could put our hands on DD to soothe her but she wasn't likely to roll onto our bed.

[SophiePickle]

Thank you all for this excellent info! I was really worried about modifying a cot or plugging holes with towels etc but you've put my mind at rest! Our bedroom is pretty small so I think we're going to have to rethink the cot idea.
A bed nest holds the value so well I'm considering buying one with the hope of using it if we have more and selling it on later..

Thanks again! :)

[missmargot]

If you're not sure on the Bednest there is an option to hire it and then if you want to keep it you can purchase it minus the price of the hire, might be worth considering.

We did buy the Arms Reach initially but it isn't as height adjustable as the Bednest and it was too high for our bed, whereas the Bednest will fit any height.