Questions for those who bed share

What do you do when:

1. Bubs goes down at night but you're not ready for bed

2. You get up in the morning and bubs is still sleeping

So far I'm putting Miss A to bed in her hammock first off at night and then just bringing her into bed with us once she wakes around 3am for a feed. That will probably continue for a little while yet but I'm not sure how much longer she'll be in her hammock for (she's already rolling relatively easily), and I'm not sure if I should then put her in her cot (would rather that wasn't in our room), or if I just put her down straight in our bed.

My biggest concern at the moment though is what to do with her in the mornings. This morning when I got up she was still sound asleep and on the outside edge of the bed having fed that side last. She wasn't right on the edge but close enough that given her ability to roll a bit now it got me worried leaving her there. Do you drag bubs back into the middle of the bed, use pillows down her side or something else? Putting the mattress on the floor is really not an option for us.

I drag DD to the middle (she's always in the middle anyway, but when I was BF she'd be on whatever side I fed off), put pillows on the edges of the bed, and on the floor. Then pop the baby monitor on. DD is the type that will make a noise or cry before she gets up 99% of the time, and she also very rarely rolls by herself in bed, she wakes up and cries to be moved instead, so I've always been fairly happy that she won't fall out.

If I can sneak out without them waking then there is no way in hell I am touching them! If they are close to the edge I put a pillow in the way, usually tucked in under the blankets which in theory should act as a net to catch them lol. Mine have never been rollers in bed so like PZ's DD they tend to call out for me.

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1. Bubs goes down at night but you're not ready for bed

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I have always put DD in her cot at first and moved when she wakes during the night.

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2. You get up in the morning and bubs is still sleeping

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DD is a light sleeper so moving her tends to wake her. If I think moving her will wake her, I put a pillow on the floor beside the bed and one beside her as close to her as I could get without disturbing her. When she woke, she would just start crying to be picked up, usually without moving. Now she can get herself down. I usually have the opposite problem in the morning though ;)

Not something that will suit everyone but basically whenever I'm not in bed with DD2 then she is sleeping on me or DP lol. Either in my lap or in the carrier (or in the car/pram occasionally) depending on what we're doing. Did the same with DD1.

Maybe go and buy a bed rail? They are not that expensive, and they are mesh, so that if she rolled into it, it doesn't compromise her airways

With Ds he stays up with me till I go to bed (around midnight) and he then goes into the cot which has the side off against our bed and it just so happens they are at the same height. He usually sleeps all night to early morning which then I feed him and he then stays in bed with me until I have to get up with DD so I sneak out and because the cot is there I don't have to worry.

When mine were really little I'd usually put them in the cot next to my bed first, then move them in with us later when they woke. But not all the time.

They usually went to bed before me, so if I didn't put them in the cot, I just put them in the middle of my bed with a pillow either side. I'm usually awake before them in the mornings too, so I might risk moving them, but I'd try not too. Again, pillows.

DD3 has never fallen out of bed. She's slept with me most of every night since birth. Its more often just been me & her, so noone on the other side to stop her. I did put a pillow on that side when she was a few months old though. Just to be sure.

DS has fallen out a couple times. Once at 4 months old he rolled over the pillow, but he was right on the side & we had the mattress on the floor. I only got up for 10 minutes to get ex off to work. & the other times have only been recently. I think DD kicks him out :p

We had the cot side-car (and still do) so DD goes down in there (then rolls over during the night).
She has fallen out of bed a few times, but they soon get the idea and stop doing it :) Having said that, I'd be mroe careful with a little baby. We had a little bumper between the bed and cot (firm foam) so she couldn't get out when she was little.

I used a bed rail. DD2 doesn't roll yet, but it's ready to go back on when she does

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We had a little bumper between the bed and cot (firm foam) so she couldn't get out when she was little.

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Did you use the foam because there was a height difference between the bed and the cot, or just because you wanted to keep her in the cot?

I think we still have the bedrails from DDs 1 and 2 so I'll have to dig them out. Thanks everyone

We altered our bed frame so it has no legs but still has the mattresses slightly elevated so air can flow under it and I have a bed rail from Kmart on the side e sleeps on. He knows how to climb out safely if he wakes up and he never rolls more than once so I'm not worried about him rolling out the other side.

There was a gap between the mattresses. The foam is now on the other side of the cot (against the rails) since she can climb over it anyway.

DS goes to bed in his hammock and at first wake up comes in to our bed.
In the morning, I try to move him away from edge when I bf him if I am going to try to get up alone. I put a pillow along the edge, but si far he doesn t move too far.
We have a rail but I am reluctant to put it on cos I will have to climb over out or around it and therefore more likely to ,wake him up.
DS rolls and sits and now pulls to stand but doesnt do any of these in hammock, so he will stay in there bit longer.

We taught dd to climb off the bed backwards around 9 months and will do same again with ds

1. Bubs goes down at night but you're not ready for bed

DS always falls asleep on me and I just transfer him to my bed.. I have a pillow under the sheet to act as a bumper on one side and put him right in the middle of the bed.. I'm in a small house and the bedroom is right next to the lounge room, so I hear him pretty quickly when he wakes.. He can roll, but he's not much of a roller when he wakes up so I have a bit of time to get to him. When he learns to crawl I'll probably use a bed rail or put the mattress on the floor.

2. You get up in the morning and bubs is still sleeping

Pfft.. NEVER HAPPENS lol

I put this question up a few months ago when my DD started rolling. A few things we tried/did
- cot side car - shes just a bit too long and trashes everywhere
- looked at rails, they don't work with futons very well
- got the lowest futon base we could find and have been using that
- put her in sleeping bag - she doesn't roll as much nor move fast enuf (at the moment)
- teach her to get off backwards (per what Hotl suggested)
- pillows at the edge
- shes usually in the middle

So far she's not fallen off. She also calls out when she wakes and if nobody comes to her she just calls louder. Every time we remember when there's a chance we teach her how to come down backwards. Shes getting the hang of it. Just couldn't quite get herself in the right position sometimes. But she is getting more right than wrong.

Btw I found swimming lessons also teach the same 'movement' for getting into water safely from the edge.


Sorry, fat fingers syndrome might occur.

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DS rolls and sits and now pulls to stand but doesnt do any of these in hammock, so he will stay in there bit longer.

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Maybe there's hope then that Miss A will be in her hammock quite a bit longer then.

Thanks everyone. Will see how we go

With DS2 he usually started the night sleeping in his bassinet in the lounge while I was watching tv (I'm a night owl) the. When he woke for night/early morning feeds I would just take him back to bed and feed him there- trying to stay awake enough to put him in the middle before I fell asleep again. At the time we were sleeping on a mattress on the floor due to it being better for my and DHs backs. (plus our old cheap bed had broken) on the rare occasions that I woke first and had to get the older kids ready for school I would put DS in the middle with my pillow underneath where his armpits. Usually he woke within the next 30 min anyway for a feed.

Once he was rolling around too much (ie DH and I couldn't sleep because he wanted to roll around and play) we found it easier to put him to sleep in his own cot, especially as when there was someone else in bed with him he just wanted to play not sleep. :D

Go with your gut.


DS1- 2.8kgs 37+4 weeks
DD - 2.9kgs 38+2 weeks
DS2 - 2.7kgs 33+3 weeks
Baby 4 - due sep 14.