Before our babies are born, many of us have just one image of baby's sleeping: in a cot, alone. (Peacefully, and ideally all night. Hahaha!)
But did you know there are far more options? My own personal favourite has been a floor-bed, and this is such a useful option for so many families. You could have a floor bed in baby's room, in yours, or in both. You could stay with baby all night, some of the night, or just settle them to sleep and then sleep elsewhere.
Here's the angst you get to avoid by using a floor-bed:
- Unsustainable settling routines and responding to night wakes. The rocking and bouncing that feels so intuitive with a new born is a lot more backbreaking with an 18mo. A floor bed allows you to feed side-lying, or cuddle to settle, which are much more restful options for carers.
- The dreaded "cot transfer" (spending ages helping baby to sleep only for them to jolt awake as you c a r e f u l l y lower them into the cot)
- A difficult transition from bedsharing to a solo sleep space. A floor bed allows you to continue to soothe and nurture your little one to sleep as usual, then roll away easily.
- A difficult transition from cot to "big boy bed." This can be a daunting moment for many little ones and can play havoc with sleep. But it doesn't need to happen if they have always been used to sleeping on a mattress without cot bars.
And here's what you get to enjoy:
- Sustainable, restful settling and night feeds. Allowing you to continue to attend to your little one responsively and with nurture for as long as they need.
- Greater independence for your little person. Floor beds are recommended by the Montessori approach, which aims to foster developmentally-appropriate independence within daily activities.
-Hundreds of thousands of baby and toddler cuddles that you'd miss out on if you placed your baby down to get to sleep. These are a really significant contributor to optimal brain health and development for your baby. Their brains literally feed on loving touch!
This is just one simple change you can make that can buy your whole family happier, easier and more nourishing nighttimes. I wish more people knew it was an option!
