# 'Side-car' cribs and adult bedding



## SpringerS

I got a side-car crib (a three sided cot that clips onto the side of my bed) for the baby. What precautions should I take with my bedding when using this? I was planning on using 100% cotton covers on my duvet so the only coverings on the adult bed are a fitted bottom sheet and the duvet. I won't have any top sheet or comforter. The baby will have his own space on the cot, covered in a jersey cotton sheet and swaddled if he likes it or covered with a cellular blanket if he doesn't.

Is it ok if my husband and I still use our pillows? I know pillows aren't recommended for bed sharing but this isn't 100% bed-sharing as the baby will have his own space off the bed.


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## Rachel_C

I have always used a pillow while co-sleeping but I fold it in half (or use a smaller cushion) so that it's just big enough for my head and nothing further towards baby than my face. 

Bedding-wise, I've always used a duvet too, but I tuck it under the end of the bed so that it only comes up to my waist. I sleep on my side (or did when LO was younger anyway) with my knees bent up under LO's legs so she couldn't slip further down the bed. 

When a cot is side-carred I would say that every co-sleeping rule still applies in just the same way. You may find LO fully in your bed at some point so the bed needs to be as safe as you would make it if LO was in there full time. If you want to bend certain rules, like I do with the pillow, that's fine but I would only do it if you would also do it with LO properly in your bed, if that makes sense!


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## tu123

We use our normal bedding but have it tucked in on hubby's side. We are side carring with our second after bedsharing with our daughter till 14 mths. I use a small flat pillow.

My cot came with instructions to have the mattress 10cms higher than the top of our mattress too.


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## SpringerS

Thanks. I guess I'll try work out something with the pillows. Would you say that if I ensured a foot+ of space between the crib and my pillow that would be ok? I have a small memory foam pillow and a king-sized bed so I could set it up that there is a big space between them.


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## Rachel_C

Weeell, my LO frequently ventures right into our bed so I wouldn't say a particular distance would or wouldn't be safe. What I actually do is have the cot a little way down our bed, so the top of it isn't level with the bed, it's maybe a foot lower down. I did it because of the shape of our room (combination of chimney breast and bay window make for an odd shape in the corner!) but it works really well because my pillow is against the wall. LO would have to come into our bed and then work her way up to it which is very unlikely! However, before we moved house I slept in a single bed with her and I still used a pillow then. I just made sure that it wasn't anywhere near her. A newborn really doesn't move that much anyway so I think you will get a feel for what is safe and what isn't. I possibly wouldn't use the memory foam because it is quite heavy isn't it? If LO did somehow get it on top of him/her, they might not be able to push it off. I use a cheap flimsy pillow folded double. If it covered LO she would still be able to breathe even if she couldn't push it off. On the other hand, memory foam being heavier might mean it's less likely to flop around the bed... so I don't really have the answer. I think just trust your instincts when it comes to it - you have them for a reason :)


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## KerryGold

We didn't do anything special actually. I ensured my quilt didn't trail across into the cot but that was.it.

We moved her.into her own room at 7 months before she could crawl.out the cot.into.our bed. But by that point, I would have expected her to get out from under a quilt or pillow by that age anyway.

xXx


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## EveEnRoute

Thanks for the thread SpringerS, it's well timed for me!


tu123 said:


> We use our normal bedding but have it tucked in on hubby's side. We are side carring with our second after bedsharing with our daughter till 14 mths. I use a small flat pillow.
> 
> *My cot came with instructions to have the mattress 10cms higher than the top of our mattress too.*

Is that necessary? We're planning on setting up LO's cot as a sidecar very soon, and I was just going to have the mattress heights as close together as possible, with the cotbed very slightly higher maybe, but not 10cm higher.

Also, what do you do about any gap between the two beds?

I know all the usual bed sharing stuff, is there anything specific I need to know about having the sidecar? My LO has just learnt to roll back to front but can't yet do front to back, if that's relevant.


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## Rachel_C

I can't see why you would have one mattress higher than the other. To me, that seems like a hazard because baby will probably end up in your bed at some point (that's the whole point of the side car arrangement for me!) and if one is higher, there's a lip or ledge that a small baby could get stuck against. I think that is pretty dangerous. I made sure that the top of the mattresses was exactly the same height, drilling extra holes to make it perfect. 

For the gap between beds, there shouldn't be one. If there is, push the baby mattress tightly up against the bed mattress and wedge the gap on the far side with something like tightly rolled towels or you could get some foam cut and covered. I actually used the old mattress from the cot (my first daughters), though in hindsight when I bought the new mattress for the baby I should have just bought one that was too wide! Still, now we have the option to put the side back on the cot I suppose, not that we ever will. Doing that (pushing the baby mattress across) did mean that a couple of inches of the baby mattress weren't fully supported. After a few nights with a heavier baby I would notice the baby mattress start to sag a bit, so I used old blankets to support it from underneath, rolling them and laying them on the edge of our bed frame. Just improvise :)


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## EveEnRoute

Thank you! :flower:

Yeah I thought a lip would be dangerous too, so will make sure they're level.


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## patch2006uk

We had the cot sidecar until 6 months, and LO never slept in our bed. The whole point of the sidecar for me was to avoid having him in our bed! I'm not comfortable co-sleeping on the same mattress. 

We used our bedding as normal, I just made sure it was tucked underneath me or kicked off towards OH. LO was in a sleeping bag, so no extra bedding for him either. 

I wouldn't think having the mattresses at different heights is a great idea either - if their mattress is 10cm higher, how do you scoot across to do the night feeds?


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## KerryGold

We matched our heights as close as we could, but if anything, LO's mattress was marginally lower than ours. Stopped her adventuring off into our bed! :haha:

xXx


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