Co-Sleeping with a Side Car Cot

Both Steve and I are comfortable and believe in the benefits of the co-sleeping family bed. However we actually started kind of by accident because we didn't have enough room in our one bedroom apartment! We literally only had enough room to squeeze a cot in, pressed right up against the bed. So we decided the side car set-up might suits us. There are specific cots on the market that are for this purpose however are very expensive. So to reduce costs I researched all the safety issues and came up with our own solution. This involved removing one side of an Ikea Gulliver cot, aligning the mattresses at the same height and ensuring they were as tightly pressed together as much as possible. This was done by wedging the cot against the wall and using rolled foam in a cotton case to hold the mattress in place. I referred to a very helpful website about how to side car a crib. It's very important to have the surfaces at the same height and with no gaps in between, to do so increases the risk of the baby getting stuck in the crevice.

At 4mths it's working very well. Odessa begins the night in the cot and is moved to the bed for feeds and sometimes moves back. So far I have NEVER had to get out of bed for a feed in the night and instead drop back to sleep very easily after we are done. I really think this has aided in the fact that as parents we haven't felt too sleep deprived so far. I can also settle her very easily at an arms reach while maintaing my own space.

She doesn't sleep with sheets (she hates anything on her legs) so we don't have any issues with having to tuck them in down the side. She is also not sitting up on her own or standing yet so we may have to re-think the set up by then.