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Whether you have a floor bed, are curious about a floor bed, or have never even given a floor bed a thought, this post will hopefully give you some insight on the benefits of having one. We love our floor beds! They’re awesome for both babies and older kiddos.
When my daughter was a baby, she never slept in her crib. We had the cutest nursery all set up and decorated before she was born, only to basically use it as a changing room for a few months when she was a newborn. She slept in our room, either in a bedside bassinet or in our bed. As a breastfeeding momma, safely cosleeping was a lifesaver. (Make sure to understand safe cosleeping and bed sharing practices! Check out this article here for more information. This post is not pushing for bed sharing, it’s just what worked for our family.) Anyway, as my daughter got older and more mobile, we had to think of a way to make the bed safer. I’ll be honest, there was one day she rolled right off the bed. This momma panicked, but she could care less. Kids are too funny. Anyway, it did scare me. So when looking up ways to make a bed safer for mobile kiddos, I came across the idea of a floor bed.
A floor bed is just that… a bed either on the floor or on a very, very low bed frame. I did a 180 with my daughter’s nursery… I took out her crib and all her big, unsafe furniture. Instead, her room had only the floor bed and a safe, low shelf with some safe playthings and books. Her room was child proofed, too, of course. I went from cosleeping with her in our room to cosleeping with her in her room. In the morning, I had to quietly sneak away to work from home. When she woke up, she was able to safely move off the bed and go play while I finished up. It worked out so well! She learned to play independently from a very young age. (:
So that being said, it’s great when children are able to safely sleep on a floor bed without the risk of falling off and hurting themselves. They can independently crawl off or get down from the bed instead of having to wait for a caregiver to come to get them. This allows kiddos to feel more independent and gives them the ability to go explore and play. It also may give caregivers a little more free time, as children can play for a bit in the morning when they wake up instead of immediately needing some love and attention. Again, just make sure spaces are child-proofed and safe for children.
I felt better as a mom knowing my now mobile daughter wouldn’t roll or crawl off the bed and hurt herself. It was also wonderful for diaper changes! I kept a changing mat next to the bed (with a garbage baggie for number 2’s, so I could tie up a dirty diaper). If I had to change my daughter during the night, I could simply roll over, sit up for a second, and change my daughter right there. I didn’t need to sleepily get out of bed, lug her to a changing area, change her, and try to lay back down and get settled. It was so much quicker and easier to just change her next to the floor bed and keep both of us in more of a sleepier, settled state.
I love the idea of floor beds for older kids, too. They’re just fun! It can double as a little reading or play space. My daughter is almost four now and loves to bring a handful of books into her bed to cuddle up and look at. Older kids can feel like their bed is a fun place to rest, read, and just hang out. You can get a cool floor bed frame, have some open-faced bookshelves next to the bed, or have a basket of books next to the bed. You can have fun gathering some fluffy pillows and blankets to put together a nice little, cozy, special space.
We have our second bundle of joy now and decided again against the crib. We have a safe bedside bassinet for the early months (switching off between the bassinet and safely nursing and bed sharing), but otherwise, we’re going to approach his bedroom less like an impractical baby nursery and more like a safe playroom space… like we ended up doing with my daughter. He has a safe floor bed and besides that, the only things in his room are a floor changing mat, a low shelf with safe playthings and board books, and his little tummy time mat with a little baby play gym. Check out my other post for more information on a crib-less bedroom!
So… providing safer sleep, independence, easier diaper changes, and providing a comfy space to play and hang out… floor beds are the best! It can also be less expensive, you don’t need to spend money on a big, pricey, chunky bed frame. (:
Just be mindful to keep things clean, too, of course. You can use a very low bed frame to keep the mattress off the floor. If you put the mattress on the floor, I recommend propping it up against the wall for a bit whenever you wash the bedding. This allows some air flow to get through the mattress, which is especially important if you live somewhere hot and humid. You don’t want the mattress getting moldy from lack of airflow. Blah! (:
I actually like the mattress directly on the floor because I can just prop it up while the sheets are washing and then easily vacuum the whole room. It helps me feel like things are cleaner!
Give the floor bed a try, it’s practical, safe, and fun! It’s an approach that’s been wonderful for our family! (:
As always, thanks for reading!
Anna
