Second-hand mattress & co-sleeping options

[tavamom]

I'm getting ready to have baby #3 in/around May and we were just gifted a California King double pillowtop mattress.  Two issues here...

1 - I don't like the idea of the pillowtop with a co-sleeping newborn.  Our current bed, the one being replaced, was also a pillowtop, which was bad enough, but I believe the new one is a double pillow top.  Are there any mattress covers or things that I could use to negate some of the "pillow" and make it safer?  

2 - I'm not sure what to do for a bedrail (we had the bed snugly against the wall with DS1 and we used a horrible bedrail with DS2 that created a depression and was a constant source of concern until we moved the bed against the wall).  I've seen a lot of folks on this forum recommending things like the Bed Bug bumpers, the SnugTuck Pillow, and the Humanity Family Sleeper.  I've always seen those as potentially problematic because of suffocation issues with the babe up against them.  How do these avoid that possibility?  Any good recommendations for bedrails that don't squeeze the sides of the mattress, are safe with a baby, and are high enough to work with a full-thickness mattress?  Would a bolster like those I mentioned be a better option than a bed rail?  Why?  The Humanity Family Sleeper is pricier than I want, and I'm worried that the part you lie on would get scrunched up and be a source of annoyances and possible suffocation hazard.  Any good experiences with this one or any of the others?  Any ideas on how these might work on a Cal King vs other bed sizes?  A Cal King is 4" longer than a Queen or regular King mattress.  I'm worried the SnugTuck wouldn't fit right because of the extra 4".

Thanks so much!

[mamaforever]

Hmmm I don't know too much about all those questions you asked.  But if you can find something to make the pillow top mattress safer for a newborn, then what about pushing the mattress to the wall again like you did with DD1?  Then if there's still a small gap, tuck in blankets or some other material into the gap to make it safe?  I researched bed rails for a long time trying to find one high enough to work on our queen bed (it's not pillowtop, but still pretty thick as most queen/king beds are now days).  The one I ended buying was the Dex Products Safe Sleeper Bed Rail Ultra.  It worked for our bed, but I don't think it would be tall enough for a pillowtop mattress.  I'm sure there has to be one out there that would work, but I couldn't find one any taller.

Another option that may work better for you is to use a cosleeper or sidecar a crib.  The disadvantage to the cosleeper is that it works only for maybe the first 3 months because baby outgrows/outweighs it quickly.  But the sidecar crib (which is basically an "extra large cosleeper") would work for as long as needed.  Here are pictures and instructions on safely sidecarring a crib:

http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/turn-your-crib-into-cosleeper.html

Sorry I can't be more help.  I hope you find something that works best for your family!

[tavamom]

We're moving in the next couple weeks and I'm worried there won't be a place to put the bed against a wall without a window there.  

The sidecar crib looks nice, but I don't have a crib.  >.<

[mamaforever]

If you can make the pillowtop safer for the newborn, but you fear that there will be a window in the way to push it against the wall, then what about putting the mattress on the floor against the wall?  And if you are interested in the sidecar crib arrangement, do you know anyone who has a crib in storage you could borrow?  Or you could check out used cribs for sale and just make sure you follow a safety checklist for finding a safe used crib.