co sleeping question

[littlealien01]

hi all,

expecting pfb very soon and trying to get my head around this so i understand our options.

were not currently planning to co sleep but im conscious my views may change with sleep deprivation so want to understand what the guidance means for us now

our bed is very low and has a chunky "lip" of wood around the edge and then the floor. theres also a gap between the mattress and the lip of wood around the edge about a finger width (and this can be more if for some reason the mattress is pushed up at one side).

does this mean our bed wouldnt be suitable for co sleeping because of the gap and the risk of baby rolling/banging into the wooden edge? if it would never be safe id like to know that so im not tempted, but if its less of an issue it would be good to know what id need to do for it to be safe in case we do get tempted.

all advice appreciated. i know about never doing it unplanned/after drugs or alcohol but less confident about anything else involved for now

The baby should only sleep next to the person breastfeeding it, so if you push the mattress up against the side you're on so there's no gap (and fill in the gap the other side with a rolled up blanket or something) it should be fine.

We had the cot up against my side of the bed so the baby couldn't roll out. Tbh you naturally sleep in quite a protective position around the baby and rolling was never an issue for us.

The other thing is to make sure the baby is sleeping on a firm surface (so not on top of a duvet or memory foam mattress) and keep all pillows and duvets away from the baby.

ok, that makes a lot of sense, in terms of wedging the mattress against one side by using blankets or something at the other side.

the wooden lip is lower than the mattress though, so there would still be a possibiliity of baby rolling off the mattress onto it (even of we pushed something against the bed so they couldnt fall out)....does that matter?

Is your bed an IKEA Malm one?
Here in Sweden they recommend co-sleeping if bf-ing. Have you seen the Sleepyhead mattresses in John Lewis? Great for when DC is tiny if you are nervous

Maybe you could roll something up and put it under the sheet to form a bit of a lip that the baby can't roll over?

Hi little. I had no intention of cosleeping before dc1, but he slept in 45 min blocks for about 5m so I soon changed my mind! Even if you don't intend to, working out the practicalities is very sensible. And don't forget to get someone to show you how to feed lying down (if bf), it's a complete lifesaver.

When I coslept with DS I used this cotside. With dd I used these under the sheet. The cot side probably works better tbh, though in reality babies snuggle into your warmth and don't really move far from you at all.

Another sensible option is a co sleeper cot but not sure if that would work with your bed style.

Cosleeping is actually wonderful IMO. I really miss it.

yes its an ikea malm bed.

will look at the sleepyhead mattress and experiment with what i can wedge in the sides.

off to look at barberryricepuds links.

thankyou for the suggestions

the bed bumper looks ideal, can totally see how that eould work and make it safe, will keep it in mind and get one if we do decide to cosleep. thankyou very much i had no idea such things existed!