# best bed rail for co-sleeping?



## guerrillamama

it's a little early, ds can't even roll over yet, but i was procrastinating on e-bay and started looking at bed rails. seems like safety 1st is the most popular, but can anyone offer any reviews on any brand?


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## Sustainer

May I suggest an alternative to a rail?

http://www.humanityinfantandherbal.com/HTML/fambed.html


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## guerrillamama

looks cool, but that's $200 compared to 20 or so for the rail...


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## Sustainer

True. But it's organic cotton!


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## Megs Mom

I would love that bed topper but there is no way we'd be able to swing the price.

We have two Safety 1st rails. Don't know the exact name but they come with flashlights in the middle of the top rail. We like them just fine and they are quite reasonably priced.


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## Achelois72

We couldn't afford anything but the 1 Safety first one, but if we had an extra $40, I'd buy one of these:

http://www.snugtuckpillow.com/

So cool! I think someone here at MDC even sent her a sheet and she made one to match her bed ensemble!









Susan


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## sugarmoon

hmm, we had a really difficult time finding a bed rail that was high enough over our mattress (king sized, but not pillow top or anything). We bought a mesh one (the first years, maybe?) at toys r us, and it was useless, stuck up only about an inch over the mattress. I ended up getting a wooden one made by Gerry at a consignment store that sticks up about 4 inches. I wish it were higher though.









So, I'd say measure the height of your mattress before you start shopping!


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## LambQueen

As much as I love my king sized pillow top bed, it has caused us so many problems. First it was finding sheets that would fit the mattress - only deep pockets work for the fitted sheets. Then it was worrying about the cosleeping - Dr. Sears doesn't say anything about pillowtops, my midwife said it seemed it would be ok, but now in the NCSS Pantley says no to pillowtop (we are still cosleeping on the pillowtop mattress though)

And now this! I bought a bed rail, haven't put it on yet since DD isn't yet mobile, but I didn't think about the fact that our pillowtop would yet again cause us problems.

Good thing it's so comfortable though, or it wouldn't be worth it. Now I just need to get DD out of our bed so I can enjoy sleep again.


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## sugarmoon

Well, I hate to be a grinch, RachelMolly, but feel like I'd be remiss if I didn't say something. I have been doing some reading/research lately about the real risk-benefit balance of co-sleeping, and pillowtop mattresses are definitely not safe for infants (not sure how old your dd is -- if she is old enough to roll over etc, I'd *personally* not worry). Really, no adult mattresses are anywhere near firm enough to be officially safe









Again, not trying to be a party-pooper, just wanted to let you know









edited cause I messed up your user name


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## Kam

Gus's mom, you said:

Quote:

Really, no adult mattresses are anywhere near firm enough to be officially safe
Could you say a little bit more about this? Who says this? And what is it based on? What does "official" mean? If it is true, I guess I've not been reading very carefully.

warmly,
Kam, mamamama! to Meg, who co-sleeps on a regular old futon


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## DreamsInDigital

Then what are we supposed to co-sleep on, a piece of plywood?


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## sugarmoon

Sorry







Really not trying to upset anyone. FTR, I have had my son sleeping w/ me on my adult mattress which is not, to quote myself "officially" safe since day one. I was given that info from a friend who is a very committed AP mom who lost a baby to SIDS while co-sleeping and has since become very active in SIDS organizations and research. I *don't* always, or often, like the info she shares, but it does give me much food for thought, and I do think it is important to know all sides, even the ones that I'd rather not think about.

Quote:

Then what are we supposed to co-sleep on, a piece of plywood?
Well, that's the problem really, isn't it? There are clearly a lot of different messages out there regarding co-sleeping, sleep safety in general, and SIDS prevention. I don't really know what the ideal solution is. I wish I did







The info my friend has shared with me is making me think long and hard about my choices. It would be *much* easier if I didn't know anything about the risks, and only knew of the benefits (as was the case w/ ds).

I hope I'm not angering anyone, or coming across as anti-co-sleeping. Believe me, I am not anti co-sleeping. My ds has never slept anywhere but with us, and I can't imagine it any other way.


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## Kam

Oh, no, Gus's mom, I didn't think you were trying to bash co-sleeping or to anger anyone! I'm just looking for information, like you! Meg is getting old enough that we don't really have to worry about SIDS, but I recommend the family bed so often that I want to be certain that what I'm recommending is safe! And if we have any more children, it will certainly be an important issue for us again.

Can you give us the source for the "officially hard enough" standard, or tell us more about it? This is likely to put a lot of mamas and papas in doubt, and it would be good to have something concrete to back it up with. Sorry to burden you. When you have time, of course.

Thanks,
Kam


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## sugarmoon

I don't really have a source for the "offically firm enough" comment, except for the word of my friend, who I do believe knows. It just made sense to me when she said it. We bought the firmest mattress we could find (just b/c thats what we like) and it is significatly softer than any crib mattress I've ever felt. That's all I'm saying









Anyway, I didn't mean to take this all so far off-topic. Maybe I should start another thread: "for everyone who can't make any decisions without agonizing"

:LOL


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## DreamsInDigital

Sorry, I got a little snarky with my response. I'm just feeling frustrated because all these "experts" keep saying what's not safe and never bother saying what they consider safe, as far as co-sleeping is concerned.
So my frustration was not directed at you.


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## AP Momma

To answer the original question. We use the crib as the railing. It's wedged against the bed by a dresser. Our toddler starts out in the crib and when she wakes after we go to bed she comes into bed with us. Usually it's between her dad and I, but on the rare occasions when it's just one of us in the bed then she's on the side of the crib.


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## RubyV

I use a snoogle body pillow under a sheet, which we lay down on top of. It looks similar to the 200 buck pillow thing.


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