Bed-sharing and Naps question

jaymiegerard

I recently started bed-sharing at night with my almost 9 month old to help with his frequent wake-ups.  We sleep together in our guest room on a queen-sized bed. 

He's been moving around so much in bed that I bought two bed rails, which are now on either side (and the head of the bed is against the wall - only way the bed will fit in room).

 This morning when we woke up, my son crawled to one of the bed rails and pulled himself up to look over it.  I'm really not feeling like the rail are safe anymore, at least not when I'm not in bed with him.

My question is - for those who bed share, where does your LO nap?  If it's in the family bed, how do you keep him/her safe from falling out?

He was napping in his crib exclusively, but since nights have changed it's been really challenging to get him to stay in his crib with out 30+ min of hysteria before each nap. I don't mind napping with him in bed during the afternoons (I need the rest) but I'd his morning nap time to be "me time."

Thanks!

skyejo

I let LO nap in our bed and watched her on the video monitor.  As soon as she would sit up I would get her.  We did this until around 16 months when she started napping in her crib.  Now she naps on a floor mattress in her own room but I still keep the video monitor on her.

jaymiegerard

Ah video monitor... Great idea! 

skyejo

Oh yes, it's been a necessity in our house

pixieprincss

We started DS on a floor bed in his baby-proofed room when he started crawling at 9 months for naps and first run of nighttime sleep. Once he wakes after we're in bed we bring him in with us.  We also taught him how to scale the side of our bed. It took him awhile to get it (and to grow taller), but we just kept practicing. At 9 months, he didn't get it at all. By 11 months he could do it, but was so little it was still quite a drop. These days, we do let him nap in our beds because he knows how to get down safely or to call out if he gets "stuck" or wants help. He's never been a sleep roller, so we didn't worry about that. In either place we have to lay down with him to get him to go to sleep, but we are able to inch away once he's asleep.

tinaraye

We stay with DD the whole time she naps. I'm intrigued by the video monitor idea.