Has anyone tried using a Montessori style floor bed with their baby?

[soandsosmum]

www.google.co.uk/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=floor+bed+montessori&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=29731fb098adeb02

I'm interested, but nervous as it's our first and I dont know anyone who's tried it.

Not exactly the same thing, but we have co-slept since birth on mattresses on the floor. One double and a single pushed together. Our dd slept really happily on her mattress and in retrospect it was definitely the right thing to do. She is SUCH a mobile sleeper (even now at 6 years) that she would have been constantly waking herself up bumping into the cot sides if we had used a cot!

What's a Montessori floor bed? We didn;t have cots and ours slept on futons - I can tell you about that if it's the same sort of thing?

I co-slept as well, although in a normal double bed (with a bedside cot). There was a blog linked to here ages ago where the family had a montessori bed for their baby, but they co-slept in the early months. I've never had problems with DS getting out of bed by himself and TBH it's been easy to transition to a single bed as he was already used to one. I do stay with him while he falls asleep though which I know is strange to most people as he's 2.6.

I do stay with him while he falls asleep though which I know is strange to most people as he's 2.6.

I don't think that's strange, i think it's lovely! My dd has only recently moved into her own room but until then i was with her when she fell asleep and she's six :)

Blog was probably sew liberated. you'll have to fish about for the bits about the Montessori bed etc.

The bit you want is here
The poor, poor DC with the mad mother! It has done the rounds on MN before and been ridiculed! She takes control to the nth degree-the room was chosen and arranged before he was born, is to last until he is at least 5yrs with no room for his own personality.

I have to say the room is lovely from an adult point of view.

i soooo want to go round with a Vtech baby walker and a packet of cheese strings

They have 2 DC now :)

seeker Did yours sleep on futons right from birth? Did you co sleep with them at first or have they always slept in their own beds/futons?

We're thinking about one as DS, 14 months, is v tall and already intent on scaling the cot. Twill watch this thread with interest

there is a bit about montessori floor beds here too
swissmama.momaroo.com/662173307/no-crib-for-a-bed-a-montessori-approach/

nappyaddict, ours had baskets, futons in theier rooms and slept with us.

At first, when they slept during the day (in the rare occasions they weren;t lying on one of us!) the slept in the basket wherever we were, and then came to bed with us at night. Then they gradually moved to sleepingon the futon during the day - often with me asleep next to them Then they started the night on the futon, and came into bed with us at first waking. Then, gradually (oh, god, so incredibly gradually!) they slept all night on the futon. And they slept on it until they were old enough for cabin beds to be built in ther rooms.

Roughly what age did you find they slept alone? DS is in a bed now but comes in to me in the night. I'm waiting for the day that "in the night" is 5 or 6am, but I suspect it might be a while. He's 2.6 now and when he slept with me up until a month or so ago if I slept downstairs for some reason, he was waking at 11pm and 4am (GMT). He's stirring now, so approx 12am (BST) ie his usual 11, (although it sounds like he's gone back to sleep, fingers crossed) but then him coming in to bed with me is more like 1,2, or 3am at the moment. So 2-4 hours earlier than his waking was previously.

I'm sure all children are different but a rough approximation would be helpful :)

I can't really remember - but we weren't trying to get them to. Once they were 5 months or so, we liked them to start the night on their futons - mostly so dp and I could have a cuddle, and an hour or two of sleep next to each other without a baby in the middle. But for as long as they were having night feeds they spent most of the night in with us. The beauty of the futon is that you can lie down next to them to feed them to sleep, and if you fall asleep you can just stay there. And if you don't, you don't have to move a sleeping baby. Ireally recommend it.

Oh, and once they are toddling, they can get themselves up and into "the big bed" without a parent having to go and get them. Another huge plus!

Yes that sounds like pretty much what I have done with DS. Actually I didn't even wake up when he came into bed last night so I've decided if he keeps that up, I don't mind when he stops either!

I wanted to get him a mattress on the floor for your futon reasons (Actually he did have a futon for a while but I found it really uncomfortable) and then transfer to a bed when he was 3 or so, but I was being watched by my HV at the time and she made it quite clear she thought it was more appropriate for him to have a bed so I thought I might as well play along. Just meant he slept with me for an extra 6 months or so until I was confident he could get in and out by himself.

I didn;t realiae that I was being a Montessori type. it just seemed to make sense to me when dd was born 15 years ago. I kept asking if I had to have a cot and nobody could tell me why, so I didn;t.

wow! that's great to hear others have done something other than a cot/cot bed.

Those of you who used futons, what size did you get them? single bed?

Yes DS had a single futon for a while.

Just bumping this as I now have 3 month old DD sleeping on her single futon bed for daytime maps and at night. She can't roll back to front or crawl yet so is pretty stationary but I'm nervous her room will need to be safer once she starts to move about.

How / did you make your babys room safe? In particular I'm thinking about a cast iron fire place (!) , a chest of draws with a space under it and wires for the baby monitor.