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

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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.

That is what I did too - although I just used a regular cot and rolled a blanket to smooth the gap - worked a treat.. DD slept in it for months..

Not so much for DS - as soon as he could roll - he rolled right into bed and bedshared!

As other people have said if you want it flush just raise it , problem solved .

The construction prevents doing just that.

In the new type you can't lower one side all the way down to the level of the mattress, after lowering the lowerable part of the side there will be those lower 15 centimetres of the side left. If you raise the whole construction, the child's mattress and parents mattress will be in the same high, but there will be 15 cm high barrier separating those two spaces.

Get a regular cot - and raise it - Get an older second hand one? Buy a new one before the regs come in?

There are ways around it if you want there to be.

This. I co-slept with mine until he was three. He's a happy, healthy 6' now.

I agree it's pointless so we didn't bother with DC3, he's been in a standard cot bed since birth.

We got an secondhand cot, took the side off and adjusted it so the mattress was flush with ours. Much cheaper.

I felt this was a far safer option then the number of times I'd almost fallen asleep with my first in the rocking chair. If your tired you need to work out how to all sleep as safety as possible.

I'm surprised the number happy to encourage co sleeping and diy jobs on equipment whilst not knowing anything about the OPs situation or liklihood that they'd read the guidance about this.

A baby sleeping does not have to be this complicated

We had a Snuzpod and I unpicked the fabric on the lip so it was flush. Instant game changer for getting my newborn to sleep - she was having none of it before then!

I'd laugh at this, but then I'd wake my co sleeping toddler who's been up four times already from the cold / seperation anxiety / god knows what else.

The OP is reading up about the safety requirements of a bedside crib. They are clearly 'thinking about the future'. I'd say they are likely to be mindful and work out the best route.

It might be reassuring to them that others have had a 'cot at the bedside' which is not a 'bespoke bedside cot'.

It is far safer for a baby to sleep in with its parents for the first 6 months at least.
I bet there are many who have a nursery and put the baby out of sight for the first 6 months.

It is also IMO to put the baby in their 'own' space within that room - with minimum disruption to mums sleep.

I agree OP this is so frustrating, I co sleep with my DD from birth. She slept well generally but would wake up immediately when put down.

I was so annoyed when I found out about the British standard, I needed to be able to breastfeed baby to sleep and then roll away a bit if I wanted.

I bought a second hand baby bay crib and it’s been brilliant!! It extends the bed and that is exactly what I wanted. We still use it and DD has just turned 1.

I don’t know if you can order a new one on their European website and ship to the U.K..

Yes this annoyed me, I couldn't understand why I couldn't find one that was flush. Mone never could sleep in it though. It think it's too cold and the mattress was too hard. We co sleep and once I learnt to do the side boob whilst lying down then there was no worry about putting him back down as he was already down and just fell back to sleep easy.

Much easier just to put the baby on the bed itself. Mine wouldn't sleep in it anyway.

The bedside crib is useful for laundry though and as a barrier... although maybe expensive for this purpose.

Can you raise the crib mattress OP, without raising the actual crib? Use two mattresses? Use a thick board under it? Or take a saw to the lip edge you don't want and sand it smooth after?

Exactly. Safety regulations don't change for nothing SOMETHING has triggered that change.
Most likely babies getting hurt or worse.

Why encourage Op to make something less safe than it already is?

I co slept with mine, they hadn't invented next to me cribs yet, it was perfect all sharing a bed

I've read up on why the safety reg changed. It's because babies were placed in the next to me and then ending up in the adult bed accidentally. So unexpected bedsharing which of course is potentially dangerous if not all safety guidelines adhered to.
Planned bedsharing would therefore ultimately be safer in this scenario.

I agree. As part of my job I work in a unit that deals with and reviews all sudden deaths in childhood and the number of babies linked to overlays, suffocation and unsafe sleeping practice is frightening

It is not and has never been an issue of parents who practice safe co-sleeping that causes most of these SIDS cases. In continues where co-sleeping is normal their SIDS deaths are often lower then ours. It is often the case that these tragic incidents happen when parents are tired and practice unsafe unplanned co-sleeping. Smoking and alcohol are big risk factor as well.

Why will still insist on trying to totally prevent co-sleeping and not educated on how to do it safely for those who wish to is beyond me.

My first child almost drove me mad with sleep deprivation and I was to scared to co-sleep with her thanks to all the stuff we get told about during pregnancy, yet I almost fell asleep in a chair a number of times with her. This is totally unsafe and I realised that safe planned co-sleeping was a much better option. I don't think the way we try and deliver the message in the UK is working.

Some health visitors will give advice about safe co sleeping when specifically requested to as they recognise it as an issue. Most parents won't volunteer to professionals that they co sleep and therefore it falls under the net. I always make a point to ask parents are you bed sharing, does baby end up in with you, is she sleeping in her cot or are you co sleeping etc..because then the right advice can be given but it would be better if that advice was given as standard as unplanned co sleeping is so so unsafe. I've been involved in some absolutely horrific incidents as they're unfolding at A&E and the devastation of a mum who's found out she accidentally suffocated her baby and there's nothing medics can do is something you can never ever forget.
I'm not a health visitor! Just work with them a lot.

We slept on a mattress on the floor with a cot mattress next to it on a pallet so it was the same height. It worked really well for us.