putting my mattress on the floor?

[nervousnelle]

Okay, so I posted about this in Nighttime Parenting too, but you ladies always tell me like it is so please..

We're moving and I'm wondering whether I should just put our bed frame in storage and put the mattress on the floor for a while? We're very happily co-sleeping and so far have avoided falls, but Baby is starting to really roll over so I'm getting nervous (of course, that's what I do). So, please tell me.. have you done this? Would you do this? Is it tacky? Should I care that my friends and family will think I'm crazy? Or should I just do it because it's safe and enjoy sleeping with my baby safely?

Fire away, please. I don't know what to do.

[quantumleap]

I'm totally DDC crashing. We have our mattress on the floor, and have loved it. DD was never really one to fall out of our bed when we had the frame, but it's nice to just not worry about it. As she's grown and moved in to her own bed (she's 21 months), it's also really nice that she can get IN to our bed by herself.
I say, who cares what people think! Actually, we've had a couple of people tell us it looks really cool, so maybe the comments will balance themselves out?
The only negative is the whole getting your pregnant self out of bed thing. I'm not due until late December, and granted I do have SPD, but whoa. There is a great deal of extra effort required when you not only have to roll to the edge of the bed without waking your sleeping toddler, but also manage to get yourself off the FLOOR in the dark with all your added bulk and the hips/pelvis that resist movement, especially when half asleep!

[livelovelaugh]

we put a single mattress on the floor next to our bed with ds, against the wall and on a box spring, so he has a little nook, and it was awesome. such peace of mind, and I could nurse him there and he would all asleep, I could get up and we could stretch out in bed, right back down when he woke up. It was a great set up for us. My friends who co-sleep definitely put their matress on the floor w/ box spring or do the single next to the bed thing. It is so worth it once they start moving - too scary to leave them way up high!

[expat-mama]

NAK

DH and I have been talking about this same issue with dread.
DS is not rolling over yet, but we have hard ceramic floors (standard in this climate) with just a thin rug cover on them. if DS were to fall it would be a long way down and a really hard landing.
but we HATE having our mattress on the floor- did this for 2 yrs when we were in uni, until we realized we hated it.

we bought a bed rail for one side of our bed that will go on my side- i think that'll be sufficient until DS starts crawling around, then we'll have to think of something else.

sure it might be tacky (it just reminds me of uni when all our furniture was salvaged from goodwill or the side of the road) but if it works for you, who cares what others think? and who comes in your bedroom all that often anyhow?

[Terrilein]

back in the day with dd we had a low bed frame. It was so low that DD was able to easily climb in and out of our bed as soon as she learned how to crawl. We got it at IKEA, but that was long ago and far away. Might be a cheaper solution until the kiddos stop rolling/falling out of bed or start sleeping in their own beds. Check out what they have to offer!
As for us, our current bed is higher than that old IKEA bed, but it's still on the low side when I remember American beds. I'm not too worried at the moment. Our bed is pushed into a corner with one wall at the head and another at one far side. On the other side of the bed is my bedstand and the sidecar. The only way this bub is going to roll out is at the foot of the bed and he's going to have to manage rolling over my huge fluffy down blanket and feet to get there.

[nervousnelle]

Last night as we got into bed I was thinking about how tall our bed is proportionately to her little body - it's about two of her body-lengths off the floor. So, it would be like putting me on a 10-12 foot high bed and then taking away all of my depth perception and balance and adult knowledge, and in its place putting excellent rolling skills and innate curiosity. Recipe for disaster. I would fall and really hurt myself. She could fall and really hurt herself. I personally know two babies her age who already have. Hmm.

So, I hear ya Expat.. it would look very college dorm-ish. I know, who the heck cares? I need to get better at that mentality.

I thought about buying a platform bed, something low to the ground, but that's still a fall. I suppose even from the surface of the mattress on the floor to the floor is also a fall.

Maybe the very safest and most aesthetically pleasant answer is a platform bed pushed against the wall on two sides with her sleeping between the wall and me? And then for daytime naps (when not in a sling - rare) put a guardrail on the edge not against the wall, and pillows/blankets at the bottom?

Thanks for helping me think my neurotic thoughts out loud.

[Terrilein]

There's a slight problem with guard rails, though. Some kids will try to climb over them and therefore fall from an even higher point than without the guardrail. I'd really go for a low bed/futon thingy maybe. As soon as the can roll, lay out obstacles like a boppy pillow to keep the baby from rolling off the bed. When the baby learns to crawl, teach it how to properly climb out of bed. When all your babies have moved out of your room in 10+ years then you can go back to your old bed set-up.

[nervousnelle]

Mattress on the floor. Case closed.

[craft_media_hero]

Originally Posted by nervousnelle

Mattress on the floor. Case closed.

with soft padded things next to it for independent nap sessions

[nervousnelle]

Originally Posted by craft_media_hero

with soft padded things next to it for independent nap sessions

Good point!