Can't afford chicco next 2 me

[Vics100pink]

I would love one, but can't afford one, could I use a low sided travel cot with the sleepyhead inside it, what do other mums use

Took the side off my normal cot, attached it to my bed with bungee cords, pushed the cot mattress tight up against mine (and put the sheet over the join for safety) and used tightly rolled up towels and blankets to fill the gaps round the edges. Same effect but for free (assuming you're getting a normal cot anyway).

You can rent a Bednest for as long as you need it for about £80. You get a new mattress and new fabric sides. They'll probably grow out of it by 6-7 months so what FifthKey suggests may be preferable.

I was thinking of doing this with the cot but I have a duvan bed so wouldn't be able to strap it too the bed :(

I have a sidecar cot (it's actually a cotbed) with a divan bed.

You can just remove one side off most cots and they will be stable 3-sided. More so with cotbeds since they are designed to have the sides removed, plus you get a much bigger space to cuddle into to settle baby.

I just wedged the cot to the bed, rather than lashing the legs together. You need a way so the cot doesn't jiggle away from the bed as you all move. So pushing the cot up to a wall and then bed pushed up to the cot would work.

You could lash the cot legs to the wheels on your divan, if you wish.

Or you can use a large sheet tucked in over both your mattress and the cot mattress together.

I have taken one side off the cot/cot bed but it isn't supported enough without it the middle part and mattress are just held by metal pins I'm not sure if all cots are like this

Im not sure what you mean by middle piece? Assuming the cot is flat-pack, it's usually made of 5 pieces of wood:

• two end pieces, head and feet ends
• two side pieces, longer than end pieces.
• one mattress base

I've had three different cots in my time. There are usually four bolts, two each side, that go through the end prices and into the mattress base to provide the structure. There's usually several holes in the end pieces, for different mattress heights. Then you add the sides onto this by 2 bolts each end connecting end piece to side piece - but these side pieces aren't needed to attach to the base, creating the structure.

But regardless, if you don't feel it's safe, certainly don't do it on my say-so. It's just a simple and inexpensive 'parenting hack' many people use.

People sell them on eBay or Facebook selling sites a lot! I recently sold mine for £65, could probably have got more but the lady seemed really nice and I genuinely believed she couldn't afford more if not the cot up to the bed with a side removed is a good idea and would last a lot longer! There's loads of tutorials online which would give you a better idea which cots would work best

• if you have a big bed you could put the Sleepyhead on your bed, you would just need to follow safe bedsharing guidelines.

• if you have space in your bedroom you could use a standard cot with one side removed and put it next to your bed

• or you could buy a second hand bedside crib on eBay, Gumtree or at an NCT nearly new sale, if there are any near you. You could keep an eye out for others as well as the Next2Me (e.g. Snuzpod, Knuma, Baby Bay, etc.)