Prolonged use of a cosleeper / sidecar/bedside cot

[BillywigStings]

We have a Chicco next2me bedside sleeper and DS is just starting to learn to roll over. Crib says use until baby can pull himself up. However, in reality I know we are going to end up bed sharing with a bed guard and I am wondering how different it is just to keep him in the side car as the side is just as high as the bed guard. Any thoughts? I imagine it’s safe in the bed with the bed guard rail thing once he starts to pull himself up, as at least he’s close enough to me that I am likely to notice. Did anyone use a side car crib for longer than you are technically supposed to and were there any safety issues?

Mine rolls but doesn't crawl yet. She sleeps the wrong way in it with her legs on our bed. Currently all is fine.

Can you fit a proper cot in your room? If you google, you can get instructions to turn an IKEA cot into a side car one.

We have a wooden side car cot from Amazon, baby is 10.5 months and nearly walking. I would prefer it to a bed guard because it gives baby a bit of space for rolling about in, you just have to watch them when they're awake. Only downside is not being able to use it for naps (but then my baby won't nap unless she's fed to sleep and then held so it's not been an issue for us yet). We still haven't built the cotbed!

I've just stopped using our next2me and my son is 8 months, we used it more as a bed guard anyway as he was rarely asleep in it. But he was crawling and pulling himself up just never did it in the crib. We moved our room around to accommodate a cotbed now without the side but he's still actually in bed with me most nights. There is a weight limit on a next2me too which swayed my decision a bit

Thanks for the replies. Our room is tiny (we gave the kids the bigger room)...If we got a full sized cot in, we wouldn’t be able to open and shut the door, though I do like the sound of using the ikea cot without one side. I just wish we could fit a bed bigger than a double in as it feels overcrowded with the three of us in the bed but oh well I guess we will get used to it.

I suppose the best thing is to wait and see how safe it feels once DS starts to pull himself up. I’m a light sleeper so it might be ok but best just to see how it goes.