Bed-sharing set up pictures please?

[GreyGirl]

I've read the guideline but I can't fathom how it actually looks in real life. I'm considering bed-sharing in our spare bed with LO. We have a bed like this https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S79887690/ in the spare room. Would those metal bars be any good or not safe? I don't smoke or drink.
I haven't talked to DH yet about the idea, but I'm thinking about it and if it'll help when LO waked between 2.30-4.30 and sometimes wants to be up for the day - I need sleep! Sometimes I only get to bed at midnight because I have to catch up on the work I couldn't do while LO is awake.

If you have a picture of your set up, or could describe how you do it, I appreciate it Don't know if I'm going to try it yet, but would like to find out more so I can make a more informed decision

 

[Rachel_C]

I'm not sure how big the gaps between the bars on that bed are - if they're big enough for LO to possibly get stuck, either her head or arms or legs, I wouldn't have her sleeping next to them. I don't suppose it would be a suffocation risk or anything and if the rails were against the wall she wouldn't be able to fall out, but it could hurt her if she got stuck. You could still make it work - get a bed rail and put that against the side with the bars already there, to provide a better barrier for her to sleep next to, or put the rail on the other side and have her sleep on that side. We have a bed rail from Boots, I think it is a Lindam one or is very similar. I think I saw them in a Tesco baby event too. Ours was only £15 ish.

Our set up is as follows:

At home, we have her normal dropside cot sidecarred to our bed with the drop side removed, the mattress pushed flush to ours and the gap at the other side padded (most people use rolled towels, we used a bit we cut off the old cot mattress we were throwing away when new baby arrived). The cot and the bed frame are securely fastened together. So basically we have our double bed with an extension.

Away from home, we either push the bed against the wall if possible or use our bedrail, which folds down to make it easier to transport. We've used the bed rail on probably 5 different beds and been able to make it work on all of them. Then, we just have a double bed (or if we're lucky a king) with a rail down one side. I don't mind doing it for a few nights but I'm always glad to get back to the extra space of our bed + cot.

 

[misspriss]

We have a crib sidecarred, but it is not stable and sometimes has a crack between the mattresses. LO cannot roll over yet, so we don't have rails or anything. When we travel, we just use the bed. When LO can roll I guess we will have to buy rails. I am thinking convincing DH that we should just put the mattress on the floor, that seems infinitely easier...