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Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.

Sleep

Sidecar cot logistics - help

12 replies

Ughnotagain · 15/02/2016 23:22

So we used to have DD in a Babybay bedside crib until she got too big for it.

We've now gone down the route of taking the side off her cot and putting it alongside the bed but I can't seem to get the mattresses completely flush because we have a wooden frame bed with a bit of a lip.

DH drilled extra holes in the cot frame so the two mattresses are level, but there's a very slight gap. I feel like it's not necessarily safe to plug that gap, but doing it at the far side shoves the cot mattress up onto the lip and makes it slanted iyswim.

I don't know how to get round it! []m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/spr/69019790/ This is our bed]] and this is the cot. Any tips welcome...

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Ughnotagain · 15/02/2016 23:24

Oops, click link fail. Bed

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BunloafAndCrumpets · 15/02/2016 23:30

How about something like this?

www.amazon.co.uk/Create-King-Create-King-Natural-mattress/dp/B00438S56Q?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

If you google 'mattress gap filler' there are a few different ones; maybe you could cut it to the right length. I guess it would need to be under a sheet to hold it in place so that might take a bit of figuring out..?

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Skiptonlass · 16/02/2016 08:27

Ok two things.
One:attach the beds to each other or they will eventually move apart and create a gap. Bodge it however you need to - there's done good tips on ikea hackers but the beds need to be attached, not just pushed up against each other
Two get a mattress bridge - ikea do them (SIGGERUD)
Good blog on it here : fromheretomaternityeventually.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/how-we-converted-out-cot-into-a-co-sleeper/

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Ughnotagain · 16/02/2016 10:33

SkiptonLass you're a star. I can't find the Siggerud on the IKEA UK website, how annoying! I'll look for something similar though.

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BunloafAndCrumpets · 16/02/2016 13:15

I think what I posted above is similar?

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FATEdestiny · 16/02/2016 13:58

You want to either lash the bed and cot together so that they cannot pull apart, or (because I have a divan bed so lashing not easy) wedge the cot against the bed. I had bed pushed against cot pushed against wall. If you just put the bed next to the cot and that's it then as you get jiggy with DH move around in bed, the cot can move away.

I plugged the gap with a rolled up blanket.

Another DIY option is a pool noodle that children use in swimming pools. Placed under a fitted sheet at the open side of the cot makes a ridge hard enough that baby wouldn't just roll over it. This tactic also works when you have a baby in bed with you and want to make a rim.

Otherwise you don't overly need to buy a special product. Any cheap foam mattress would do. Then get out the scissors and cut to size, layering a few layers on-top of each other to match the mattress height.

How old is baby Ughnotagain? Because you want to bear in mind that the ages from when baby can deliberately move around by rolling, up until baby can safely get off the bed herself, then leaving baby unattended in a side-off cot becomes dangerous. Mine were about 5 months old when the side had to go back on the cot. Its only a problem if being left unattended though.

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Ughnotagain · 16/02/2016 16:02

Sorry Bunloaf yes you're right it is!

FATEdestiny she's nearly 9 months. At the minute rolling isnt an issue because she's still in her Sleepyhead but she's nearly outgrown it.

Tbh we're considering putting her in her own room (in the cot) and then setting up a floor bed in there for me and her when she won't settle. We don't have room in our bedroom for her cot with both sides on unfortunately (wouldn't be able to reach into it without standing on our bed!).

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fluffikins · 16/02/2016 16:38

My 8 month old is in her own cot but I've just stuck a bed guard on my bed for when she won't settle so I can bring her straight in with me so I don't have to have the big cot on the side.

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Ughnotagain · 16/02/2016 17:57

fluffikins that's a good idea.

I just don't know what to do for the best; if she goes in her own room it's on another bloody floor as well so I'm gonna be knackered in the night! But we can't keep squashing the poor thing into the Sleepyhead

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FATEdestiny · 16/02/2016 18:01

If she's in a sleepyhead ten you don't need to worry about the bed-cot gap?

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fluffikins · 16/02/2016 18:02

We have the sleepyhead grand in her cot. Sometimes I bring that and her in with us because it means I can roll onto my other side and therefore I'm more comfy.

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Ughnotagain · 16/02/2016 19:21

FATE I don't at the minute but she's still in the smaller size one and she's getting too big for it really. She doesn't spend all night in it and most nights will come into our bed.

I'm dreading transitioning her just into the cot but don't know if we can afford the next size Sleepyhead right now.