Sleep pod on the bed next to me?

[68degreesnorth]

Hi

I'm 17 weeks pregnant and trying to plan the sleeping arrangements... I already have a cot at the other end of my bedroom, but am thinking I'll need something closer for the first 6 months. There's no space for one of those next to me cots by my bed, but I'm wondering if I could get one of those Purflo pods or something similar and put that on top of the duvet in the space next to me? It's a king sized bed so plenty of space (and I'm alone in it). Would that be safe? And work? I'm thinking it will be too draining if I have to drag myself to the far end of the room (it's an open plan loft) every time I need to check on or feed the baby.

What do you ladies think??

🤎

Lots of people on here seem to like co-sleeping. Personally I think it's dangerous.

Mine went into a cot from day one & coped OK. I don't think they are supposed to go in own room as soon as mine did (couple of weeks) but we had monitor & they slept much better in own room.

I think being in own cot is safer than co sleeping.

@DressedUpAtAnIvy yes good point, it's worth a try. I hardly get much sleep anyway, you never know, a baby might cure me 😅

We used a Moses basket as she wouldn’t sleep in the next to me as it was too big. We had a stand, but you can just use it in the cot. She then went straight into the cot after that (still in our room). She’s an amazing sleeper now (slept through 6hrs at 8wks, then went on to do 10-12 hours consistently). I would be so wary of cosleeping when they’re tiny. My husband woke me up as I had nearly fallen into her (followed all the safe guidelines, breastfed etc). It scared me so much I didn’t do it again. Now she’s older I do cosleep for an afternoon nap, but she always has her own bed at night (in our room), and I think it means we all sleep better (she’s a fidget!).

So, we never really used the next to me in the end - just used it as a travel cot!

@converseandjeans yeah I never thought it was safe either! But if the PurFlo is as safe as all the safety tests suggests then co-sleeping but with a PurFlo might work.

@68degreesnorth

Here it is

Can you get a snuzpod or similar and not use the stand, just put the crib bit on the bed next to you?

Obviously you’d have to be sure you wouldn’t accidentally knock it off the bed and would only work when the baby is small enough so they can’t wriggle enough to move the crib.

*p.s, and keep duvet well away too

@Dobbyafreeelf thank you so much 🙏

@Miliao thank you - all great experiences and advice - grateful to hear everything! 🙏

Ok, so realistically your baby is unlikely to sleep anywhere except on you for a really long time. I spent 8 weeks sleeping sitting up on a sofa holding her. Read up on safe co sleeping for sure but really I think upill be exhausted enough that if baby does sleep in their own space you'll happily skip back to bed without it being the massive effort you think it'll be

Someone also suggested travel cot & that would be safe. We used baby sleeping bags which are really cosy.

@GemmaRuby yes that's a good idea actually- I hadn't thought about that! 🙏 But I think the PurFlo might work better in this scenario. As has been suggested further down the thread, the PurFlo is safe, and if keeping the duvet down low like the co-sleepers on here, it should work! So I think I'm re-considering my original option, and failing that it'll be a next to me crib.

kitkatsky that sounds really dangerous. Mine didn't sleep on me - they slept in cot.

@converseandjeans that's a good idea too 🙏

@kitkatsky yes I probably wouldn't notice the few steps across the floor by then 😅

Sleeping sitting up with them on you is the worst of all worlds. It's very dangerous - much better to do safe bedsharing or at least prepare for it and know how to do it. That way, if you need to do it, you don't have to try to learn about when exhausted or risk falling asleep in a non-safe sleep environment. If your baby settles in the cot then great.

@converseandjeans I really like the idea of a travel cot actually 🙏

@kitkatsky

Ok, so realistically your baby is unlikely to sleep anywhere except on you for a really long time. I spent 8 weeks sleeping sitting up on a sofa holding her. Read up on safe co sleeping for sure but really I think upill be exhausted enough that if baby does sleep in their own space you'll happily skip back to bed without it being the massive effort you think it'll be

Eh? I don’t know anyone whose baby has had to sleep on them for weeks on end!

That Purflo Baby Bed is interesting, I've not seen it before and read up now. Will certainly watch this one if we have another DC. I read it is tested to the same standard as carrycots suitable for overnight sleeping. That's another alternative OP - I have the Uppababy pram with a carrycot suitable for overnight sleeping and a stand. This takes less space than a Next to Me and is portable. However, it's likely that your baby will outgrow it faster than a Next to Me. Also if you decide to buy a Next to Me, pay attention to the sizing - for example Chicco are bigger than Snuzpod and likely to last longer. Reclining Next to Mes are a useful feature if your baby suffers from reflux (as a parent to a refluxy baby I can tell you it does help my DS).

Next to Mes are advertised as great following a C section. My experience is the opposite, actually. I have a Super King bed and dragging myself out of it to get up with the crib attached to it was a nightmare and contributed to all sorts of issues with recovery after the birth. So it's no longer attached, I have it separate near the bed.

With the Purflo, my only thought would be that it can have all the standards, but I wouldn't trust myself not to snuggle up to it which would reduce the air flow for the baby. We were given a baby nest which is the same shape as the Purflo and it's basically a mini pregnancy pillow and I would be concerned I'd end up snuggling up to a product like that. But maybe I'm wrong.

In any event, just be aware if you end up with a refluxy baby they'll likely won't sleep lying down flat, they might need a slightly reclined position on a flat, firm mattress.

Also I really think it's best if you read and follow The Lullaby Trust safe sleep guidance rather than what some posters talked about, luckily not many, but it frightens me to read some of the comment which are clearly unsafe sleep practices.

Travel cot mattresses are much harder and my kids woke up a lot more with them. You can get an extra mattress but I wouldn’t do that before 6 months because you then aren’t using the cot as it has been safety certified.
People can think cosleeping following the guidelines is dangerous all they like but the data isn’t there to back that opinion up. Cosleeping after alcohol or drugs is very dangerous but then so are most aspects of baby care.

@DressedUpAtAnIvy that's a very good point about the mattress, thank you! 🙏

@Soontobe60 well it's unlikely you know me in real life, though not impossible, but it was certainly true for me and a number of other people i know who had babies at the same time

@converseandjeans

Lots of people on here seem to like co-sleeping. Personally I think it's dangerous.

Mine went into a cot from day one & coped OK. I don't think they are supposed to go in own room as soon as mine did (couple of weeks) but we had monitor & they slept much better in own room.

I think being in own cot is safer than co sleeping.

No it's not. As long as you do it safely it's fine. So sleep on top of duvet; baby in grow bag. No loose clothing. Breastfed babies only. Have a co sleeping bed on the side. No swaddles. Don't be overtired in bed. etc.

Even guidelines don't say it's unsafe,but it's a safer bet to put baby in a separate cot because there's a lot more factors to consider.

I personally think safe bedsharing is brilliant for both mums and babies