9mo fell out of bed whilst co-sleeping

[MrsB902]

I’ve been co-sleeping with my 9mo since she was around 6m as she wakes so frequently when in her cot / own room. This had been working perfectly well until last night when I woke to her crying and found her on the floor - luckily I’d put cushions there so they broke her fall and she wasn’t hurt or upset.

I’m just wondering if anyone has any suggestions how to prevent this from happening again - my husband is in a camp bed on the floor as often goes to join our 4yo during the night, I know bed guards aren’t recommended at this age and due to the set up of our bedroom it’s not possible to move the bed so one side is against the wall. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Maybe now is the natural time to start gravitating to her own cot

Your husband sleeps on a camp bed?! What?!

Are you sure it’s not possible to rearrange the room? I have done it on holiday before (put the bed back at the end) it wasn’t the ideal set up for the room but this would be the best solution if you want to keep cosleeping. I actually didn’t co sleep when they were babies but when they were toddlers I would sleep in with them when we were away.

We dismantled our bed and put the mattress on the floor and had a single mattress next to it for DS.

This happened to me at a similar age. I put a bed guard on as I thought that was safer than falling off the (fairly high) bed again. Also took steps to reduce cosleeping from then on, it was bad for my back and neck anyway. Within 2-3 months he was in his cot sleeping fine for most of the night and just coming in to bed for a feed once or twice a night, so the bed guard was mostly there in case I drifted off while feeding x

We used a bed guard, bought on Amazon.

I used a foam bed bumper, like a long soft block that goes under your sheet, when co sleeping with my two

https://amzn.eu/d/093izJRv

This. Safer all round.

Yes, that’s what the post states. Is there an issue with this?

I did sleep on mattress on floor for a while op - not ideal but was fine

I’d probably use a bed guard though at that age

Even if it's a bit awkward, could you rearrange the furniture to put the bed against the wall? If not, I'd go for the mattress on the floor. You could always buy a futon, if you fancied that.

I was so worried about this happening, so now my partner sleeps in our usual bed and me and 10 month old baby co-sleep on a double mattress on the floor next to the bed. Seemed like the safest option for us! We have been doing this for a few months now.

We do try to get baby to sleep in her cot in her own room, and she usually stays there for a few hours at the start of the night. But there’s only so many times I can face sitting up resettling her. We both sleep so much better when she comes in with me for the rest of the night.

Thank you for all of the helpful responses. Ideally I would prefer her to be in her own cot but she wakes every 40 minutes when she is so it’s just not sustainable. Will have a look at a bed guard I was just worried about her possibly falling down the gap. The long foam block is a good idea too, thank you!

Don't worry, many of us have been though the same and similar! If you're hesitant about the bed guard, a mattress on the floor is a solution.

Is the cot bed in your bedroom? I wonder if being in the same room might help the baby sleep better in the cot bed.
I would absolutely move the furniture around even if it ends up looking weird just to have a safer setup.

You can get wedge foam blocks to put under the sheet - that or you + your baby sleep on a floor mattress

We dismantled the bed and put the mattress on the floor. I bought bed guards, but they're not high enough for adult mattresses. Baby sleeps between us so he can't escape, but we didn't start cosleeping until he could already roll and commando crawl at about 6 months.

Okay so my kids are now 18, 16 & 15. I think you are all absolutely bonkers.
Your bed is your sanctuary. It where you go to rest. Honestly you're just elongating sleep problems by co-sleeping.
Just go through the couple of months of restlessness getting them to sleep in thier own bed. It won't destroy your connection or love or any of the other rubbish that's spurted out. You'll all have your own peaceful resting area and will all get some sleep! I listen to Parenting Hell Podcast with Rob Beckett & Josh Widdecombe and I'm astounded by all thier sleeping arrangements.... seriously guys....just parent your children. Absolutely bonkers

Yes

@MrsB902 yes it’s madness that a grown man is relegated to a camp bed while a baby with their own bed & own room takes his spot in the bed. You need to get baby back in own room. Could you put a mattress on floor in there and let DH have his bed back?

Bed guards are fine. I've used them with both mine while co-sleeping as babies

If the ideal is for her In own cot then I would use this as the motivation to address the waking every forty mins and gravitate to own cot

I wonder if they’d be happy in a cot next to you, which you could start to inch away over time?

I ended up getting rid of my bed and just putting a mattress on the floor. I put pillows down her side to keep her in but she still sometimes found her way over them (still does - she’s nearly 3 now) but at least it wasn’t a long way down 😂

Of course it’s not madness! Different things work for different families. I did safest practice co sleeping with my babies - putting babies to sleep alone is a modern Western approach, my Asian relatives had different ideas.