question for co-sleeping gurus

[lindaflinda76]

We have reluctantly ended up co-sleeping at least part of the night with DD (7.5 months, crap sleeper). I know all the safety guidelines etc., but am confused about bed rails. All the ones I've seen for sale seem to be designed for preventing toddlers falling out of their junior beds-- are these sufficient on a typical bed?

I don't think they're recommended for younger children as I suspect there could be safety issues with a baby getting caught between the bed and guard. There is an inflatable guard but I haven't been able to find the version for double beds.

I co-slept with both my children without a bed guard. I put the (otherwise redundant) cot next to the bed with the side off which works well. You may need to take extra care when your DD starts crawling as I found DS1 tended to practice crawling in his sleep! Some parents just choose to dismantle and store the bed frame and put the matress on the floor.

Just to say ditto to what TheHouseofMirth has written really, we had ds in between dh and I when he outgrew the co-sleeper cot we'd bought.

When I went to stay at my mum's I pushed the bed up to the wall and put large pillows up to protect him (he does somersaults in his sleep !?!)

Dh was dead against cosleeping at first but after months and months of ds waking every 2 hours or so it become a life saver.

We have since got him in his cot in his own room (was next to us with the side off, then on, then at the foot of our bed then further away in our room then into his room... slowly slowly catchy monkey!!!)

Even though we're all utterly exhausted we'd be awake in milli-seconds if our dc were to get too near to the edge of the bed or be in any danger at all. Just make sure you feel safe in the bed with your dd and you'll get a half decent nights sleep xXx

We had a second hand bed rail that was just a slatted board thing, no fixings...I shoved it between the mattress and the side of the frame, adnd it mainly stayed there.

Worked pretty well.

Thanks all for your replies. I already had the thought that I'd be awake instantly if she started to move! Will have a look at putting the cot next to the bed, although it will be a tight squeeze...

The toddler rails say don't use for infants as an adult bed with a toddler rail is not a safe subsitute for a cot - the baby could still wriggle off the bed at the ends for example. But to just stop the baby rolling off the side near you, they're fine.

Do be aware though that many of the under-mattress straps to make them extra secure aren't long enough for double beds so you have to jury-rig them with a bit of rope or strapping. They're quite secure without though as you're not expecting them to support the full weight of a toddler!

I much prefer using a mesh rail than having DD between DH and I as he tends to fling pillows around in his sleep and isn't anywhere near as aware of her as I am.