Bed-sharing has been great for us. But, over the past month or two, Linus has started moving and a-shaking. And that's made our bed-sharing experience a lot scarier! Even in the middle of the night, in his sleep, he flips and twists and ends up in the weirdest places and positions!
We have a king-sized bed, and often I keep Linus on the outside of the bed. My husband sleeps more soundly than I do, and he moves in his sleep. I worry that he'll pull blankets over Linus's head accidentally. So, I put Linus on the outside, and then pull the blankets way down after my body so he's nowhere near them.
Our first investment for safe bed-sharing was a mesh toddler rail. This has provided me with great peace of mind. The only worry is that when Linus is awake, he likes to use it to bring himself to a standing position. So, we've been learning what the word "No" means, and I describe to him why it is unsafe to do so and why I'm saying he can't do it. He's figured it out and he doesn't do it anymore.
Last weekend, we finally de-adult-ed our bedroom. You see, my husband always said that you knew it was an adult bedroom because the bed was only against one wall. We each had a nightstand. The bed wasn't against two walls. Well, last weekend we undid all of that. We now have a bed in the corner of our room. Linus sleeps closest to the wall, or sometimes in the middle of the bed. The bed has a toddler mesh bed rail on the far side just in case. And that bed no longer is on a bed frame. We wanted to make it lower so if Linus managed to fall out, he wouldn't fall as far. Plus, right now we have the dog bed at the foot of the bed, so if he does manage to fall out, he'll likely fall on that (or one of our dog's many cushy blankets... seriously, this dog is pampered).
In the morning, I help Linus climb out of bed so hopefully he'll figure out the proper way to get down. Right now, he still thinks that trying to go down the stairs head-first is a good idea, so hopefully he'll figure out soon that turning around to get out of bed is a better way.
Plus, now we can say good morning to the world right from our bed in the morning. Here's Linus doing that:
It's only been a few days, but this is a much better bed-sharing arrangement. I feel like we're safer and that Linus is less likely to dive head-first into danger at night. I still won't leave him unattended in bed for naps or in the morning. Instead of crying or talking loudly when he wakes up, now he goes to try to pet the cat or play with the blinds. So, it's better if an adult is present for his waking up.
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