The Side-Car Crib and the Floor Bed
It doesn’t have to be independent sleep or bedsharing.
There are options in between!
I think our society has entered a land of extremes. You have two extreme choices at opposite ends of the spectrum, black and white, and you have to choose one.
An example of this when it comes to the world of infant sleep: many parents feel they either have to get their child to sleep independently for the duration of the night, or they have to exclusively bedshare. This just simply isn’t the case. Obviously, if you are in one of these “extreme” camps and are enjoying it, that’s fantastic! There’s never a need to change something that is working for your family. But I want you to know you don’t have to suffer through anything, whether it’s trying to get your baby to sleep in their crib all night, or if you are totally touched out and want to stop bedsharing all night.
There are middle-of-the-road options that may work for your family. Not everything is black and white in this world, including the world of infant and toddler sleep. There are always gray areas.
Here are some “gray area” options when it comes to where your little one sleeps:
Independent sleep for part of the night, bedsharing for part of the night
The Side-Car Crib
The Floor Bed
One of the best decisions we have made for our family was deciding to implement a side-car crib. My daughter, Q, was having a really hard time with sleep when she was about 8 months old. The only way any of us were getting any sleep would be when I bedshared with Q, and my partner slept in another room. This was a short-term solution, but ideally, we wanted to get back in the same bed as soon as possible.
I began working with a Baby-Led Sleep™️ coach, and we decided a side-car crib would be a nice compromise if we could set it up safely. Babies face huge leaps in development at this age, and separation anxiety is at an all time high. Q would not sleep unless I was physically touching her for most of the night.
Here is a photo of our current setup:
What’s so perfect about this setup is that Q is in her own sleep space for a majority of the night, which allows me to feel much less touched out than I was while exclusively bedsharing. Since she still breastfeeds once or twice at night, she crawls over to me when she needs me, nurses, and then crawls back to her own space when she’s done. I hardly wake at all! It hasn’t always been this way, and we’ve struggled through some periods of clinginess when she’s going through something developmentally, but that’s the glory of it. Good nights are great, but as is the case with all children, she has rough nights. And it’s great that I am right there for her when she needs me to be.
I acknowledge my privilege in this situation. I realize not all families have the space in their room for the bed and crib to be placed next to each other. If you do, this may be a great option for you to explore. A few things to keep in mind with a side-car crib:
Make sure you adjust the crib mattress to align with the bed mattress as much as possible. In our case, the crib mattress falls just below the bed mattress.
Follow the Safe Sleep 7 just as you would with bedsharing.
No extra objects should be in the crib space before age 1. (My daughter does have a stuffed bunny, as she will be 2 next month).
The last option I’d like to talk about is the floor bed. This option could be a great compromise for a family that does not have the space for a side-car crib, but who has a child that may need extra support at night.
The floor bed is a great option for children who need to be supported to sleep. You can lie next to your child and nurse or rub their back, and you are able roll away once they are asleep. This eliminates the need to transfer them after they fall asleep, which can be helpful in a lot of cases. Additionally, if the child is having an especially rough night, you have the option to sleep next to them. Since they’re ultimately still in their own sleep space, it may stop children from coming into your bed if that option is not for you.
Some things to keep in mind with a floor bed:
The entire room must be baby-proofed (Furniture mounted to the walls, outlet covers, no loose cords, etc.).
The mattress should be as close to the floor as possible so the child will not get injured if they roll off.
The mattress should be far enough away from a wall that they will not get lodged between the bed and the wall.
Make the space a positive place for your little one to be by spending lots of time there during the day.
These options can be game-changers for a lot of families who want to get more sleep without resorting to bedsharing. Again, these solutions may not work for every family. Choose what feels right for you and your unique situation!!
This is a very brief overview of a few wonderful options that may work for your family. If you have any questions, or if you feel you may need guidance with transitioning to one of these options, please reach out. I’d be happy to help you navigate this change!