Safety of bedside cots?

[used2bthin]

Sorry I keep staring threads on these I really can't decide and am worried there would be a gap between the two mattresses that could cause a hazard. They are obviously safety tested though, does anyone have one of these and do you have gap between the mattresses?

Its the mothercare one I am looking at but mainly because I can't find much else-which makes me wonder why they are not more popular.

Also I would need the side to go up and down (or under or whatever) rather than being something to take off and on with screws etc because one day dd2 will (hopefully ) sleep before I go to bed so I need to be able to leave her.

We pushed our mothercare bedside cot against the wall and then the bed against that so that it couldn't move. There was a tiny gap between the bed and cot so we put a rolled up towel between the bars and the mattress (so that the mattress was pushed right against the bed with no gap iyswim)

We just left the bars down the whole time we used it as a bedside cot as DS couldn't roll so we didn't mind leaving him without the sides up. We moved him and his cot into his own room at around 6 months.

To be honest, I still sometimes leave him on our bed on his own now. He can crawl, walk, etc, but when he wakes and we're not there he just sits up and shouts for us, so hopefully your DD will be the same and you won't have to worry about putting bars up and down.

Thanks that is a good idea and I would do that but we actually don't have space as have a desk in there too. The gap thing sounds a bit worrying without pushing it against a wall.

DD2 has already rolled/propelled herself off a table so I am cautious about that now (DH was changing her nappy and walked off to the bin!)

Not sure about the mothercare cot, but the Bednest we had came with straps to attach to our bed and prevent any gap forming. With a Bednest it is also possible to put the side halfway up which prevents the baby from wriggling out.

I suspect that the main reason bedside cots are not more popular is their high price combined with the fact that the baby outgrows them after a few months, and then needs an ordinary cot. However our bedside cot was worth every penny!

Oh I see that sounds better. DD2 is four months though and has outgrown her crib so I need a full sized cot which the mothercare one is. I thought I would start the night with the side up and move it for the first feed-she is a dreadful sleeper and usually ends up in with me from 4 ish as I can't safely stay sitting up.

Argh I am tying myself in knots with this! Wondering if we can tye it onto our bed or something. We have a leather covered bed (hard to describe but not divan). Hmm. I am awful for night time anxiety so the last thing I want to do is spend lots of money then be more not less worried. Other option for now is maybe a normal drop side cot and have the side partially down so I can stick my arm over it but that isnt enough over the crib.

If the mothercare one is the same as ours (and it sounds it) then yes, you could have the side partly down and make it easier to get to her. I think we did this before we moved DS to his own room to get him used to the bars.

Honestly though, is she likely to roll out of her cot and out of bed in the time it would take you to hear her wake up on the monitor and get to the room? Our DS is one of the worst sleeping, most wakeful, active babies you could possibly imagine, but when he wakes overnight all he does is shout until we go to him

If you're just planning to move her after the first feed, would putting her in a fully enclosed cot for the start of the evening and then co-sleeping for the rest of the night be an option? You could put mattress on the floor if you're worried about the drop?

Thanks you are probably right, I am sure she couldn't roll all the way across . She is in her crib then co sleeping but I worry about rolling on her tbh or other catastrophes. I think we probably will go for it, its hard to envisage the joining bit on our bed. Mybe we can rearrange the room so it can go against the wall though.

We have a leather covered bed which I suspect is similar to yours because I wondered the same thing when we were buying a co sleeper crib.

We went for the NCT bed nest and it is strapped to our bed fine. The side comes down to bridge the gap between the leather frame and the crib if that's what you mean?

Sorry if that doesn't make sense - new baby feeding all the time so a bit tired!!

thank you and that does make sense. Wish bed nests did a cot sized one as it is better than any others I have seen I think. I could probably attach it somehow bbut then would have to have it with the side down all the time.

Argh am still obsessing over this! I think actually I will just get a sturdy cot-the john lewis Anna looks to be quite sturdy. Any recommendations appreciated.

We have the Cosatto Close to Me cot which is a full sized cot but one side of it can be removed so it goes right next to our bed. There is a small gap between the mattresses but the bed frames are flush and the cot is also height adjustable, so no risk of injury. I have heard that the Mothercare ones sometimes slip.

We got our Cosatto one on Ebay for about £50 and are really pleased with it.

We do leave her to sleep in there alone. I guess in theory she could wriggle out of the cot and into our bed and then off the edge but at 6 months there is no sign of her trying to do that yet. I guess we'll put the side back on when the time comes.

thanks,reveiws on the mothercare one do suggest a gap and it would worry me as I don't think we could secure it that easily, that dd would get caught between the mattresses. The cossato one sounds much better though I will look again but none on ebay atm afaik. Did you just buy a matress using he measurements?

Yes we got a new mattress, I think the size was 120 x 60 which is a pretty standard size for mattresses so we just got one on Amazon. It was the mothercare reviews which put me off that one. Hope you find something!

thanks that is the same as the mothercare ones so easy enough. Will have anothe rlook on ebay i think.