# Attaching crib to adult bed



## filewizard25 (Jul 21, 2009)

So, we started our baby out in her bassinet and it worked well for awhile but she's outgrown it, and have just fallen into a pattern of co-sleeping after she wakes up to get some sleep. She is 3 months old now. DH is feeling kinda cramped with her in bed with us.. and I am too frankly. I love co-sleeping but I find myself waking up with a backache because of all the funky positions I've slept in overnight being so close to the baby. I'm thinking our best option to get a little more room without buying a king sized bed (we have a queen) is to "attach" the crib we have to the bed.
Has anyone done this and can explain how to do this so it is a safe sleeping environment? Do you actually attach the two mattresses together? Do you put a blanket over both the adult bed and crib to "join" the two mattress surfaces?


----------



## woodchick (Jan 5, 2007)

This link should be in a sticky up top!

How we sidecarred our crib

(the 'we' is not me, fyi. this site helped us side car our crib and we love it!)


----------



## voxana (Dec 24, 2009)

Hi,

Let me just say that I loooove the side-car crib arrangement. It does provide a lot more space on a queen-size bed and it gives baby option to be w/ mama or to have his/her own space. My baby (9mo) went through a short stage where he suckled a lot during the night (about a month ago), but other than that he has always liked and used his crib. At night he nurses for a while and then pops off and rolls into his crib to sleep. When he naps alone I block the opening from the crib to big bed w/ large, stiff heavy cushions...it works for now.

We attached our crib to the bed frame with clamps.
On the opposite side of the crib we put cushioning between the mattress and crib bars (like the foam in the link provided above) and then pushed the crib mattress tight right up against our mattress.
Conveniently, the crib had a mattress level that was exactly even with ours.
We didn't put common bedding and blankets over the two mattresses, because it just didn't need it.

Good luck working out your sleeping arrangement. Cosleeping sure is the way to go...nice 'n cozy.


----------



## Trinitty (Jul 15, 2004)

We did this and it was wonderful.

Gave us plenty of room and the safe option of baby having her own area - excellent for when you are exhausted and not able to be as aware as one should be while co-sleeping. Best of both worlds.

(Dh has his own room now, but that is because he is a night owl and wants to read until 3:00 AM.)

We used those same instructions linked above.

1) Take off the moveable rail of the crib.

2) Allign the open side of the crib with the Momma side of the bed.

3) Shove a very tightly rolled blanket on the RAIL side of the crib mattress, between the mattress and the railing, pushing the crib mattress up against the adult mattress, tight, flush and firm.

4) Lash the legs of the crib to the frame of the adult mattress using zip ties and c-clamps.

5) Place a blanket across the joint between the mattresses.

6) Fill in any corner gaps with very tightly rolled towels.

7) Make sure that the headboard on the adult bed is safe, no gaps.

8) Make sure the adult mattress does not drift away from the crib mattress.

- We lashed them together using bungee cords in the mattress handles, hooked onto the FRAME of the crib, under the crib mattress. I think that is included in the instructions.

9) Inspect the set up every day to make sure there are no gaps, dangers, etc.

I used a layer of firm foam underneath the blanket to reduce the friction from the cable-edge of the crib mattress... I always seemed to wind up sleeping on it!







When we have another baby, I am going to sew a fabric-covered foam T-shape insert that can slip inbetween the mattresses and cover the edging at the top.

Enjoy!

Trin.


----------



## MeISOE (Jan 13, 2009)

Has anyone ever had to raise the sidecar crib a little for a taller bed? I just jumped on for some research on this myself, so thanks OP for initiating the thread. We have the Ikea Gulliver crib, which I had seen used as a sidecar crib on numerous sites, but the bed we want to attach it to is a little taller. Any thoughts or suggestions?


----------



## Halfasianmomma (Nov 1, 2007)

You can either
a) raise the crib mattress, either by purchasing another crib mattress to put underneath the first (if the height difference is very big) or even some dense foam from a fabric store, the same size as your crib mattress.
OR
b) add some height to the crib mattress by purchasing some inexpensive plywood to slip underneath the mattress (if the height difference isn't very big).
OR
c) Put the piece(s) of plywood underneath the legs of the crib frame to raise the whole thing

I had to do a bit of a) and b) to get the height just right.


----------



## tbone_kneegrabber (Oct 16, 2007)

we used to have bed risers under the crib, like the ones they sell so that you can put more storage under your bed.

(we moved changed arrangement)

dp built a platform to raise the crib mattress to the same height as the bed,


----------



## karla413 (Feb 5, 2010)

We used a Arms Reach cosleeper until baby was 1! I had risers bought at Bed Bath and Beyond on it to match the height of the bed, but eventually just took the bed off the frame. Now she is two, we removed the crib side and put it next to the bed. Not so worried about the space in between except when she's in a jumping craze and could get a foot stuck... rolled up blankets works great to cover that space.


----------

