I need tips on how to make my bed safer.

[KeanusMomma]

I started with a queen size memory foam mattress on top of box spring on top of other wooden things with a wood sleigh style bed frame. The head and foot is really high, and then there are lower wood panels under box spring along the side, a lot like this. I really like that bed, I bought it new, and I got my changing table the same color wood. I could even store stuff underneath. When dd started rolling over and getting mobile, she fell off the bed once (while playing) so I removed the wooden lifter things from the bottom and found another spot to put the storage things. The box spring wouldn't quite fit into it without, so I took that aside too.

So now I have the mattress and frame only. The sides of the frame are higher than the mattress, and it's harsh corners, so I slit some pool noodles open for bumpers to go over them (works really well). My apartment is small, so I have nowhere to put the box spring or lifters. I can't even use my changing table or bedroom window right now because those things are taking up space in my room.

Dd keeps reaching for things off my nightstand while she is in bed, and the height of the side panels are just tall enough for her to fall over onto the carpet and hit her head. I don't have her in bed just to play anymore, but sometimes while she's trying to get to sleep she needs time to crawl around between nursings. Or when she wakes up and I am in the process of prying my eyes open, she will be crawling around and pulling up on the side panels.

My question is, should I get rid of my bed frame, etc. altogether? (I reeeeeealy don't want to, I love my bed, and want to use it again, but have no where to store it.) Is there any way I can make my current bed safer so I don't have to?

If I can put it all back together that would be best. Are there bed rails that aren't too expensive that work really well for 8 month old babies? Also I'm broke. Maybe I could get rid of box spring and find a place for the lifters, then buy a thrift store box spring in a few years?

[lauren]

Would it help to get a bed rail? Just wondering if that would help contain her to the bed.
 

[kythe]

Falling off the bed isn't always harmful, especially if your baby rolls off of the bedding onto a carpet.  Putting bed rails up can be harmful, as people have been known to get trapped between the bed rail and the bed and suffocate.  In the case of an older baby or toddler who isn't as likely to get caught in it, it still won't prevent them from falling out.  But since they have to climb over the side rails, it makes them fall from a higher level than if they just rolled off the bed.

[lauren]

It's a pretty high bed though, by the picture. I'd just put the bed frame away for a while and put the mattress on the floor.
 

[KeanusMomma]

Originally Posted by lauren 

It's a pretty high bed though, by the picture. I'd just put the bed frame away for a while and put the mattress on the floor.
 

I can't put the bed frame away for awhile. I don't have anywhere to put it. That's why I have been keeping it around and why I am asking for advice so that all that money I spent on a bed that could be used for many more years doesn't go to waste.

I don't know how rolling out of bed isn't harmful--she could get breath knocked out of her from the fall, etc. I would say it's extremely harmful. I'm just going to suck it up and make room in my budget for a bed rail, and find a long one. True, someone could still fall from a bed with a rail, but highly unlikely when they are asleep or half asleep.

[Littlebmama]

I think safety has to trump money here. Try to sell it so you can recoup some of the money. When you and your little one are safely snuggling the money will be the furthest thing from your mind.

[lauren]

For what it's worth (I had not heard that bed rails were considered dangerous, perhaps this was not in the news when my little ones were small), we draped a medium thickness quilt over the bed rail so that it acted as a soft 'bumper' if the baby was on that side. The quilt also prohibited any body parts from getting in the bed rail.
 

[JollyGG]

Honestly, we just lined the floor with pillows. Then when babe tumbled out of bed they tumbled onto a nice soft surface. Also pillows are relatively inexpensive and the cheap ones work just fine for this purpose.

[Honey693]

We have a no gap bed rail.  Wal-Mart sells them and they're pretty cheap.  http://www.safety1st.com/usa/eng/Products/Home-Safety/Bed-Rails/Details/1907-09022-Secure-Top-Bed-Rail

I don't see how anyone could get stuck.  It does make making the bed a pita though so I just stopped making it and took it completely off when the sheets had to be changed.