Newborn Cosleeping- bed on the floor?

[Partaria]

We're expecting our first in May and really want to cosleep. We have a queen size bed on a plain frame now.

Do we have to put the bed on the floor to make cosleeping safe? We won't be sleeping with the little one in between us- my husband is a really heavy sleeper and said he would feel more comfortable if the order was him, me, baby. But that puts the little one with me on one side and the edge of the bed on the other.

I've read a bit about bed rails, but was thinking they weren't recommended since babies can get "stuck" between mattress and rail.

[crunchy_mommy]

I slept way better with our mattress on the floor, just so I didn't have to be worried about him rolling off.

I wouldn't do bedrails for the exact reason you mentioned.

For a while, we did have a cosleeper set up... not for him to actually sleep in, but for him to roll into should he go off the edge. I've also put a pillow on the outside edge of the bed to stop him from rolling (only once he was old enough for it not to be a suffocation hazard, and kept it below head level). They sell bolsters which are basically long firm pillows that act as a bedrail, so that's an option.

In reality, DS mostly slept right up against me, although he did roll off a few times as he got older, so I really liked the peace of mind of the mattress being on the floor. He just turned 2 and we only recently put the boxspring back under the mattress (still not on a bedframe).

[Partaria]

Thanks for the advice. :)

I've heard other mamas say the same thing- that they baby generally snuggles next to you like a heat-guided missile. But I can imagine myself being unable to sleep just worrying that the little one is too close to the edge. Started looking around at bolsters- that's a great suggestion.

[treemom2]

When DS was a newborn we moved the bed against the wall and I shoved pillows in the gap between the wall and the bed so there wasn't any way he would get caught in that gap.  My DH is also a very deep sleeper and couldn't sleep safely next to a newborn.  Also, as a newborn, he was born in October and I put him in one of those sleepsacks to keep him warm without putting covers over him.  As he got older and started rolling more, we moved the mattress to the floor and slept like that until, well, I think he was 4 or 5. . .then I moved him to a futon next to our bed where he still sleeps today.  

[mamaforever]

Hi!  When we have a second baby, we plan to use a sidecar crib arrangement.  This may be a good option for you too so you don't have to worry about the baby rolling off, and it gives you more room for the 3 of you to sleep.  Here is a website that gives some good detail to set up a sidecar crib:

http://www.freewebs.com/sidecarcrib/ 

[~Amy~]

We used a bed rail with DS and will again this time.  It's the type that sits on top of the mattress and I can barely fit a finger between the mattress & the rail.  There's no way a baby could get trapped between the 2.

[macandcheese]

DS slept on my chest or DH's chest for the first couple of weeks. This worked really well, and I was able to sleep soundly knowing that he wasn't going to get his face up against the mattress or blanket. When he was bigger and I was more comfortable with nursing and with co-sleeping in general, I started keeping him all night in the crook of my arm. We usually go to sleep with him nursing in the side-lying position, and then when he wakes to eat at night I flip him over to the other side. He is only two months old and isn't rolling at all yet, especially not at night (he sleeps like a rock), so time will tell if we need to make adjustments. 

We had a sidecar set up, but it ended up being used as a dumping ground for clothes, books, extra diapers ... we disassembled it last weekend ;o)

[BrennaRawks]

Like macandcheese, with all my babies, I've spent the early weeks with them on my chest, and then next to me in my arms. I'm lucky though, in that DH works night shift so it's just me and baby in bed.