How do you "share the bed" with your child?

[camdensmom]

I recently posted about my concerns that DS will have outgrown the pack n play before our next trip. I'm not so much concerned with him "falling out" of the trundle bed as I am concerned that he will wake up an "wander the room." At 20 months that is the last thing we need.

So, I'm assuming that he will be sharing the bed with us or at least with one of us. Since he has only slept in our bed one time, we have no real experience with co-sleeping. Right now he sleeps in his crib with no blankets or pillows (just a fuzzy sleeper and a stuffed dog).

For those of you who have co-slept with a toddler how do you go about doing so. I'm so afraid of one of our pillows going over his head while he's sleeping or him getting out of the bed without us waking up. So as crazy as it sounds...how do you do it?

 

[learnhome]

I have always slept with my children (two are older now, but DD still sleeps with me Anyway, you might want to have your child have their own blankie (in case you roll around and don't want to pull covers off), and you might put a pillow or two on the edge of the bed or even move the bed to the edge of a wall for extra assurance that they don't "fall" off the bed as you sleep.....

good luck

Chrissy

 

[tjmw2727]

Honestly, at 20 mos I would keep him in the PnP unless he is very big for his age. Although my dd's loved them even when they were too big because they felt cozy, they never tried to climb out. Even if you totally childproof the room I personally wouldn't be able to sleep with a toddler that young not in a crib.

If you do think he is just too big for the PnP and it is not going to be safe for him to be in one then I would rent a full size crib from one of the orlando rental agencies. My sil rented from abbf.com, aka a babies best friend, she got a full size crib for my neice and was very happy with it.

TJ

 

[peemagg]

As far as outgrowing the pack and play, my niece is now 20 months and still uses her pack and play to sleep in sometimes at Grandma's. She has no problem with it. Sometimes she joins me in my bed (queen size). What we do is place chairs with the backs to the bed to act as a rail. I think that you can also request a bed rail if you need one. I would call the resort and see if that is an option. If not there are places around Orlando that rents everything you need from cribs to high chairs, and they deliver it to your room. That could be another option. I believe that the cribs are regular cribs.

 

[marcyinPA]

We requested (and received) a bed rail when we stayed in a FW cabin when my DS turned 3. I noted our need for one on our reservation, and it was there waiting for us when we arrived (and was free of charge).

 

[Colinsmom]

How big is he? My DS slept fine in the PNP at AKL when he was 27 months old, and he is 100th percentile for height. On our next trip, we got bedrails (free) from BCR and he slept fine there, too. I find that my mommy radar is pretty darn good, and I would wake up soon after he'd start rustling, certainly long before he'd start wandering the room.

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

My dd was 24 months the last time we were there. I requested bed rails for her. They went ahead and put a pack-n-play in the room anyway. We didn't use it though. I might be remembering wrong but aren't the pack-n-plays a bit smaller than ones you can buy?

I slept with dd some nights and some nights she slept in the bed by herself. We didn't have any issues with it. She hadn't really slept with us many times before that, just when she was sick.

Have a fun trip!

 

[MinnieGi]

While we were at Disney in July our then 22 month old refused to sleep in the pack 'n play. He still fit but absolutly refused it. At home he slept in his crib and had slept in the pack 'n play on vacations before. He wanted to sleep in a big bed too like his big sister. So we let him sleep on the sofabed with our DD. On his side we put chairs on the side and extra pillow on the floor at the end of the bed. He did great!!! He never fell off and loved it!! Actually he and his sister cuddled close to each other every night. When he awoke he called out to us or ran into our room. At that age I wouldn't be worried about too much wandering around, they want to know immediately where mommy or daddy is when they wake up. Besides if you are right in the room with them, you'll hear him wake up!

Our DS after his big boy bed experience in Disney refused his crib at home!! Luckily DD's toddler bed was waiting for him. So we set it up and he took right to it.

 

[noahynav]

I have slept with my 2 and 1/2 yo son every night since he was born. There is nothing sweeter than snuggle up to him all night long.
You have nothing to worry about as far as pillows go. It is a concern for newborns, but by the time they are toddlers they know how to move the pillows off of themselves, even if they are sleeping.

 

[connorsmom911]

On our first trip with Connor, he was 20 mo and slept in the pack n play, even though it was a tight squeeze (he's a tall boy like daddy). Our trip in April he was 3. First night we were late getting back to the room, so he slept in bed with me with pillows on the side. I didn't sleep much at all for fear I'd roll over on him or he'd fall out of bed. Sure enough, I think when I finally did fall asleep at 5am, he rolled over and fell out! But he thought it was pretty funny! The next night we set up the air mattress and spare bedding we brought with us between the two beds so he'd be safe. Worked like a charm.

I don't think your little one could wander out of the room if you put the latch across. It's pretty high up on the door. And even with Connor being pretty big and strong for his age, he couldn't open the door himself during the day.

 

[northriver]

Hi Op, you have gotten some good responses, I don't have much too add except that I have a 17 month dd who sleeps in a big girl bed at home - also no pillows or blankies. She hates cribs and pack n plays. She is also kind of a light sleeper and I'm thinking about making a little "bed" for her on on the floor at Disney only because I have slept with her in hotels and we kind of keep each other awake, but we've had no other problems. If your little one sleeps in bed with you, I'd either request a bed rail, or put the pillows on the floor beside him so if he falls he has a soft landing. At 20 months, you get to make a BIG deal about how he gets to sleep in a "big kid" bed, too! Also will be doing some baby proofing in the hotel room- bringing outlet plugs - and an power strip for all our chargers that we can hopefully put up high so she can't get into that.

 

[Ariel8676]

Definitely request bed rails..thats what we do and it makes things so much easier...

 

[blessedby3]

Request the bedrail and put it up on the side without the nightstand. (Im always afraid my kids will hit their heads on the corner during the night) You sleep on the other side with the nightstand. I put the pillow all the way at the top ot the headboard- dont use extras. You can pull the covers back and only use a sheet. Put DS next to the rail and after a hard day at Disney Im sure he wont move an inch!!

 

[katerkat]

We generally let Russ sleep in between us, that way Mom and Dad are the buffers between the floor. I also sometimes use a bedrail on my side of the bed and then I get to be the one in the middle.

Russ is 20 months and he won't sleep in a PNP - I think it's the mattress more than the size. We requested a larger crib at SoG and I'm hoping he sleeps in it. Because while I understand the concept of bed sharing, he doesn't. Last night he came in for a cuddle and we woke up to find him horizontal, stretched across more than half the bed.

 

[MSSANDRA]

If he will sleep in it I too would stick to a porta crib. If however it is just the three of you, Ask for a king bed and put him between you and DH. Doubt he would crawl over with out your knowing it. No matter where he sleeps be sure to still child proof the room including not leaving medication in a suitcase. Kids are too smart and too fast!!

 

[kohlby]

We push the bed to the wall and the child sleeps between the wall and me. With DS, I even put a crib with one side off of it, at the foot of our bed in case he went exploring. When traveling, you could put the pack 'n play there to create another wall. That way, the only way out is to crawl over a person.

About pillow, I've co-slept with my kids since newborns. I use a pillow but have my arm between the pillow and child. I breastfeed so I sleep on only one side for easier half-asleep access. At your child's age, I wouldn't worry so much about the pillow. Just keep it high enough that it's more for you. We tuck the blankets off center so they are diagonal and only cover most of me - and then the edge stops before that baby. Once again, your child is older so you don't have to be as careful. Do be careful if the blanket is heavy though. I use the Halo sleep sacks for my kids at that age. They're wonderful! My son was 36" at 18 months old - and he still fit in his sleep sack. (They make different sizes).

I looked into buying a bedrail when my first child moved into a twin bed for naps at 18 months old. I decided against them. He was a child who would likely see them as a challenge to climb over and do just that. A barrier like a wall worked much better.