Worst co-sleeping mom ever.

[ein328]

I feel terrible. For the past few weeks, I've been bugging DH about putting our bed on the floor (it's currently on a frame- a few feet up). He's been resistent to it, and kept saying that our DD was perfectly safe- she sleeps between us, and is a quiet sleeper- hardly moves around at all.

Last night, I woke up to a horrible "thud." You guessed it- she crawled off the bed and fell on the floor. Thank God she was alright- she sort of slid off the bed and landed on her back, but no injuries. I don't think I've ever gotten out of bed so fast! She only cried for a few minutes- I think it scared her more than anything. I just feel so grateful she wasn't hurt. My poor angel baby

Now I feel like the worst mom ever. I should have put my foot down with DH a while ago about the bed. Now he's pushing to put her in the crib, and I'm an anxious mess. Has anyone else ever gone through this?

[fruitfulmomma]

All 5 of my babies have fallen off the bed at one point. It happens.

If dh is reluctant to take your bed off the frame, could you place an toddler mattress on the floor at night to break the fall? Mine have never been injured falling but we are not quite that high up either.

[lynsage]

Mine fell off the bed a few times and she's fine. I expect this next one will too. I agree with the PP about the mattress on the floor, but in the meantime, try to relax and not worry so much! :

[rhiOrion]

So, does anybody NOT take their bed off the frame? Our bed is TALL. But the area under our bed serves as storage, of which we are woefully lacking in our house.

[ErinYay]

ACTUALLY...

my 7 month old crawled off our bed (which is pretty danged high off the ground) and landed with a *thud* on our hardwood floors this very morning!

It's the first time I didn't wake up when she did, which I think may be somewhat related to her sleeping very poorly last night... She cried a bit, but was more angry that she STILL couldn't have Daddy's alarm clock after all that drama than hurt. I couldn't see a red mark on her- she was on her hands and knees, so I don't know if she landed on her tummy or flipped herself in the micro-instant it took me to get her.

She's fine, I'm fine, and felt a little guilty, but not enough to ruin my day. We decided that she should probably go in her cosleeper when Daddy gets up to go to work and that's that.

Don't beat yourself up, momma! And be gentle with your husband, too! Things happen! So far, the worst bump V has gotten was clocking her forehead against my clavicle- left quite the bruise!

Hugs! I hope your day picks up!

[justKate]

Oh gosh, they all fall off the bed one way or another! Don't feel too badly.

DD (now 17 months) has done it 3 times. The first was when she first started crawling and fell while crawling in her sleep. The second time we didn't leave a night light on (on accident) and she fell behind the headboard. The third time I had taken a benadryl and was sleeping too soundly to notice her roll away from me. Now that she's old enough to lower herself out, I don't worry about her anymore.

If your huz is willing to put the mattress on the floor, go that route for a few months until she can lower herself out of the bed on her own. But seriously, children's bodies are built to sustain a lot. Having prosecuted domestic violence cases I can assure you of this. CHILD ABUSE MENTIONED-- highlight to read: I've seen (on video) a 3-4 month old baby thrown more than 20 feet across a room, hit the brick wall on the other side, fall in to a crib hitting the bars on the way down. Baby was FINE. THAT mom was the worst mom ever, not you. So trust me.

A PP suggested putting a crib mattress down in case of a fall, but a yoga mat might work too.

[broodymama]

The only one of my kids who hasn't fallen off the bed is DS2, and that's only because he's just now 1 month old and not crawling yet. I'm sure he'll fall off at some point too.

Originally Posted by rhiOrion

So, does anybody NOT take their bed off the frame? Our bed is TALL. But the area under our bed serves as storage, of which we are woefully lacking in our house.

Our bed is also rather tall and we leave it on the frame. We have a lot of stuff stored underneath it and really need that storage space.

[newmommy7-08]

DS has fallen out of his cosleeper, and then out of our bed 3 times in the last 2 years. I was extremely upset at the time, and each fall has caused us to make changes in our cosleeping practices. But it does happen. It's a tall bed and the underneath is storage. The last time he fell out was just a few weeks ago. I was up in the middle of the night, leaned forward to type something and he moved behind me and slid right off the bed. He luckily took my body pillow with him and landed on the open nightstand drawer. I was utterly horrified at the time, but he was fine. After that experience DH stopped 'forgetting' to put up the bedrail when he gets up in the morning!

[jumpmama]

when I had a queen bed we put side rails on it so DS wouldnt fall out but, now that we have a king the side rails dont fit. DD has fallen out once. As soon as she started crawling we taught her to turn around and lower herself down. it only took a couple times showing her and she had it all figured out! Now she even lowers herself off and plays on the floor with DS until my eyes are awake and adjusted.

if your bed can fit the side rails i would do that. dont feel bad. it happens and babies love their parents no matter what

[Fujiko]

OP- My DD fell off the bed at least three times, and she was just fine after some mama milk. Take the precautions that you can, but everything is a balance.

justkate- If my mind were a PC, it would have just gotten the Blue Screen Of Death trying to comprehend that. Terrible. I hope justice was served.

[WindyCityMom]

My 2yo is in a toddler bed beside our bed, so that's the "fall breaker" for that side My 6mo is in a sidecarred crib at the opposite side though. If she somehow makes it all the way over there, big sister is going to have a rude awakening!

I still do put couch cushions beside DD1s bed though, she falls... alot. When DD2 becomes more mobile I intend to do the same at the foot of the bed

[Zoesmama]

Aww it happens. It will pass.

Maybe something like firm yet soft yoga blocks that might stop her from falling off. Was DH out of bed at that time? or did she crawl off the end? You could always put on at the foot of the bed and have one he puts next to her when he gets up. It may be a option to avoid taking it off the frame or putting her in a crib if you don't want that. Or one of those bed rails even?

I did a crib until she woke and I nursed in bed with her the rest of the night. When she was in toddler bed(17 months here) she was welcome to join us in bed. Never fell out but I taught her to get down feet first when she wasn't much over 1 yr.

[ChristyMarie]

When we moved DS from a queen with me to a full he had a little trouble with the adjustment and fell off. Stayed asleep too!

It happens.

We always used bed rails instead of lowering the bed.

[jellybeanmumma]

We co-sleep with DS 1yr and luckily no falls yet. Our bed is quite high as we have an awesome pocket spring with vital storage below. The floor is thick carpet though... He has been crawling since 6 months and every time he goes near the edge I show him how to shuffle round and slide down feet first. He picked it up pretty quickly and does it off the couch (which is a bit lower) every time he climbs up there. I also say "feet first" each time we practice so if he goes near the edge of the bed in the morning (DH and I loove the snooze button as DS still doesn't STTN) I say feet first and help him if necessary. We do have a crib as a side car but not much luck using it.. sometimes it works if he is put in fast asleep by DH. Something to think about if DH insists on the crib..also let him know that he'll have to all all the fetching to bring bub in to nurse..no fair if he gets to sleep just cause you are the milkbar! Good luck and don't worry too much I'm sure babies are built to bounce!

[ein328]

Thank you so much for the support, mamas!

I feel much better today. It was just such a scary experience!

As soon as I got home from work yesterday we worked on our "solution." Our bed is now on the floor- it does suck for storage, but we moved that stuff under the bed in the guest bedroom. And actually, I like it, because as a pregnant mama, it's much easier for me to get in and out of!

Once the bed was on the floor, we put DD's crib mattress on the floor between the bed and the wall (in the corner). Yes, we have a crib (gift from my MIL), but it's never been used for anything other than getting DD dressed. Everything is flush, with no spaces, and DD actually likes playing on "her" bed! It's really an ideal setup- I can still reach her, can still roll over and grab her onto our bed to nurse at night, but she's on her own space, and we won't have the worry about not having anyone in bed with her (i.e. naptime, and because she goes to bed earlier than us).

[russsk]

Ds fell of our bed once, off a hotel bed once, and off a friend's bed once. The hotel one was probably the worst, as that bed was very high and I wasn't there to soothe him, but he was fine. We never put our mattress on the floor. We just taught him as soon as we could to crawl off feet first and never had a problem after that.