I didn’t realise that safety regulations mean there is no point to having a bedside crib

[Qnc12345]

I had thought that the whole point of a Snuzpod or Next to Me (etc) bedside crib, was that the mattress would be flush with mine and baby and I could co-sleep but with him in his own space.

I didn’t realise that a few years ago, a new safety standard came in which said that flush mattresses were no longer allowed and that the baby’s mattress had to be at least 12cm lower than the parents’ mattress.

I didn’t realise that having this 12cm tall lip/wall would be an absolute ball ache after a c-section as baby would need to be lifted over it rather than just slid across.

But mostly - and yes I do come from a place of late night annoyance here - I didn’t realise that the act of lowering baby down would wake him up no matter WHAT I do. And so because of this he hasn’t slept a single night in there and it’s been a huge waste of money.

There’s no point to buying a bedside crib any more as the whole point of it being a bed extension has been taken away by law.

by law?! Is it really the law?!

Look up safe cosleeping guidelines. it's fine to bedshare with your baby if you follow them.

Bedshare? As long as you adhere to the Safe Sleep guidelines, obviously.

It is the law for all bedside cribs on the market to have a 12cm lip, yes.

I do co-sleep - we’ve had no choice but to! As he simply will not sleep in the crib - his eyes flash wide awake the second he is lowered in there. For various reasons, I don’t feel co-sleeping is sustainable in the long term. I just wish this “bedside crib” we bought had a flush mattress.

@Qnc12345 I bedshared with all three of mine since birth...the 4.5 year-old still gets in every night. Didn't bother buying a cot for the youngest one.
The 14 and 17 yo less so nowadays 😆 😂 😆 😂

“From November 2020, all bedside cribs will need to meet the new crib safety standard BS EN 1130:2019, with a requirement for a 12cm barrier or wall when in bedside mode.”

The problem is this completely goes against the whole point of having a bedside crib. If only we had known / understood the implications of it we could have saved our money!

I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than co-sleep with a baby.

Thanks for your contribution to the thread!

@TheShellBeachI'd rather stick pins in my eyes than not bedshare 😆

Same OP. Had a Snuzpod 3 in 2020, delighted with it. Can hold baby’s hand, see their face without lifting head. Snuzpod 4 this year and I’m using it as a stand alone crib already. I didn’t have a CS and found it really hard to lift baby from the lower height. It’s easier to get out of bed with both feet on ground and pick up baby. I really don’t see how it’s safer, when lifting baby in and out their arms can get stuck as they flail. I hate it. Luckily

How is that enforced? I mean nobody but you knows what height your mattress is. Can you not just adjust it yourself to be flush. (I have never used a bedside crib so perhaps I'm not understanding it correctly.)

Aaaw, really? I loved having the next2me (or whatever it was called) for my two younger babies (2013 and 2018; both rented for six months from the NCT!) They were right there. My daughter always wriggled over to lie against my side 🥰 I loved it. It seems a bit pointless having the difference in heights, I agree. 😞

Possibly dilly but have you tried putting baby in opposite end to you? I had next to me crib next to bed even with the 'lip' I could get him in better if he went on feet point towards my head (still at bottom of crib) but it was less twisting for me of that makes sense

I stood it on books to be flush.

But there must be a safety reason as to the change?

Buy a second hand one made before 2020?
All of mine were second hand. Hand no idea about the rules regarding the newer ones.
I like them as they are safer than bed sharing imo as they are in their own specific space, and I'm not going to roll on them and can easily keep all bedding away from them. I had mine against the wall in between bed and wall.. so there was no chance of it somehow moving and their being a gap between the two mattresses etc.
One of the ones I had was a wooden one that just lay flush with my bed, no lip or anything, the side was just entirely removable. That was second hand.
Just go on Facebook selling or eBay ir vinted or local free pages on social media and find one I'm the old style.
Make sure you get a brand new mattress for it though as you don't want the sids risk of using an old mattress.

Perhaps it is to deter overlaying .
Incidents will have been analysed from inquests etc and best practice developed.

You’re talking about a British Standard, not the law. British Standards are not legislation.

FWIW, we happily co-slept with our babies. In our bed so I could bf lying down. It saved my sanity.

The thing about the new regulations is that it doesn't mean the old way is so unsafe that you can't do it any more, it just means they've decided that the new way is safer.

It's a bit like car seats. Each time the government introduces new regulations, it means that all new car seats must adhere to the new regulations, but existing car seats that meet the old regulations are not suddenly against the law, they just can't be manufactured any more. The older seats are not unsafe (if they were, they'd be recalled).

As with everything, really, it's a calculated risk. For example, the small risk of bed sharing, or having a baby in a bedside crib that is (shock! Horror! The same height as the adult bed) versus the risk of being so sleep deprived that you fall asleep on the sofa when holding your baby (which is MUCH higher risk).

It's also a convenient way for the Baby Stuff manufacturers to keep selling you new Baby Stuff, because it's sooo much safer than the old Baby Stuff...

Adjusting it to be flush with the mattress doesn't work because of the lip- so either the top of the lip would be flush with the bed in which case the crib mattress would be lower or the crib mattress would be flush and then the lip would stick up, if that makes sense.

I've side carred an IKEA cot to my bed. Cosleep with my 7 month old every night. It's utterly pointless tbh as she'll only sleep on my mattress not the cot one, but it feels a bit safer at least!

Just do what's comfortable for you. The baby isn't going to snitch.

The number of deaths linked to next to me type cribs is and was shockingly high
The height difference with the crib reduces the chance of overlay, of baby getting trapped or wedged anywhere, and of them accidentally ending up too close to a pillow or duvet or a too soft mattress.

It’s still a lot easier to use a next to me than it is to have to get up and walk across the room to a full size cot, or even just to get out of bed to lift baby in and out of a cot over the sides.

That's exactly what I was thinking.
It's either babies have rolled on to the bed or parents have accidentally rolled to the crib.
Something has brought about a change in the regs

We had a baby brought into A&E a few years ago who had managed to lift their head up over side rail ( may have been left half up or something) and then relaxed and suffocated themselves. I think the instructions had said to always put right up if not present/monitoring. It was heartbreaking and I think the rules may have changed after this.