Side-car crib and safety, need advice please!

[blimbrick]

I know this subject has been posted before but I didn't want to look through a million posts...
We have DS's crib in a side-car with our bed, a bed that is over 3 feet off the ground. DS is 8.5 months now and crawling, pulling himself up, etc. Right now I use a body pillow to protect him from the open side of the crib when I am not in there before we go to bed. He is nursing so of course he wakes quite frequently and I am worried about him crawling off the bed. He almost always cries out for me but a few times I have gone up and he has been sitting up in his crib. I know it won't be long before he is trying to crawl around on the bed alone.
How do I keep him from getting out of his crib before we go to bed at night? We have thought about using one of those flexible retractable baby gates, that looks kind of like a window shade but they are VERY loud to open and close and quite expensive. I don't think a bed rail will work because they normally have openings at the foot and head.
Any ideas/suggestions??
Thanks in advance!!
~Bren
Mommy to Lucas Raymond 9.14.09

[snoopy5386]

I would get a video monitor so you can keep an eye on him.

[lovetoski]

I recommend a video monitor as well. It has worked very well for us. I make a wall of pillows so that when he starts to move around at least that slows him down and gives me time to get in to the room and help him re-settle. I also thought of wrapping a wide piece of fabric around the crib tightly after I put him down, then removing it when I go to bed. Baby might be able to pull it down though but I bet you could find a way to rig it up that would make it quite hard for baby to get out. Good luck!

[Louisep]

We used a video monitor too.