In addition to the floor bed, we do also own a Moses basket. When baby wakes at night, I go in to feed and care for them as needed, then return to my room in between wakeups. Once I’ve decided we’re ready to separate, I continue with the same routine - get baby into pajamas, feed and put to bed - but rather than going to bed there, I move back to my own room. I can check on the baby via the video if I’m not sure whether they’re really awake or not. Our bedrooms are all nearby so it’s easy to hear when baby wakes at night - I don’t even use the sound on our monitors since they’re nearby. Once I have a decent idea of baby’s nighttime routine, I transition myself out of the room. It’s easy to respond when baby needs to feed at night, I’m right there near the changing area for changes and everyone’s able to sleep safely and comfortably. I keep the blanket below my chest which is well below baby’s feet. I bring a blanket and pillow that I keep on my side of the bed, and baby sleeps on the other side, a good few feet away from me. It’s easy to follow safe bedsharing guidelines when it’s the child’s room rather than your own bed. All four of our kids have slept in their floor beds right away.įor the first 4-6 weeks, when the baby is very unpredictable and needing frequent feeds and changes at night, I have bedshared with my babies. ![]() I’ll share the process that has worked well for us over the years. Many people transition their child to a floor bed at an older age, but I’m a big believer in using them from birth. A floor bed removes all these risks, as well as eliminating the need for the parents to pay attention to things like changing the settings of the crib to lower it as the baby start to sit and stand and climb. Cribs provide hazards of their own - babies can get their limbs stuck in the slats, if bumpers are used they can cause suffocation, and eventually most babies start to climb out of cribs, potentially leading to falls. If they’re not quite tired yet, they have the freedom to do other things before going to sleep if they awake and they’re content, they can choose to play on their own rather than crying for someone to rescue them.Ĭribs are mostly designed to keep the baby safe - but if the whole room is safe, then there’s no reason to have bars. Why cage them off from the rest of their room and home? Why make them dependent on an adult to put them in and get them out of bed? The floor bed allows the child to have ownership over their sleep experience from the beginning. We don’t just use a floor bed to save money and avoid transitions though! The main reason is because we believe in the inherent capability of our children from birth. ![]() It even doubles as an extra guest sleeping option when we have family in town (can’t really stick the grandparents in a crib!) The floor bed is great fun for playing as well - you can use it like a trampoline, a practice mat for somersaults and cartwheels, or just overall rambunctious kid play. Another bonus: it’s easy for us parents to join her in bed for things like nighttime nursing, reading books before bed, or snuggling when they’re sick. Buying a full size mattress from the beginning not only keeps things consistent - a child can sleep on the same bed from birth through adulthood, maintaining continuity and comfortability - but cuts out all those extra purchases.Ī larger mattress also meant that our babies were very unlikely to roll off at a young age because there was plenty of room. ![]() The transition from one to another is often difficult for young children and can affect their sleep habits. Many parents buy a bassinet, crib, toddler bed, twin bed and maybe eventually a larger bed. Transitions are difficult for children, not to mention it’s expensive to buy a series of items rather than one long-lasting one. First of all, one of my parenting mottos is “start as you’d like to continue”. I chose a full size bed for a number of reasons. There are lots of different ways to approach the floor bed concept, from different sizes, to frame vs no frame, to where you place them. When we were preparing a bedroom for our first child, the main purchase we made was a full size Ikea mattress. As an AMI trained Montessorian, I knew I’d use a floor bed before I ever had children. One of the most radical choices we’ve made right from the beginning is to use a floor bed rather than a crib.
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