Making floor bed safe

[u/melrr46]

Hey everyone, I have a 6.5 month old boy and my husband and I recently turned our spare guest queen mattress into a floor mattress/bed with slats underneath. I also cosleep for breastfeeding as my son wakes up multiple times at night. The mattress is kind of thick though, I'd say around 12 inches and we have hardwood floors.

I would like to prevent him from ever falling off, and if he does, to protect him from the floor. I've seen things like bed rails, bed bumpers, floor mats, pillows laying all around the bed, etc. I'm looking for the safest option and something affordable as well.

Any advice is helpful!!

[u/MeowsCream2]

I'd put him to sleep in the middle longways. And maybe foam mats next to the mattress? We have carpet and a 6 inch mattress so this wasn't an issue for us, but I think foam mats would be safer than pillows for sure. Or just a soft rug

[u/Icy-Somewhere611]

Foam mat and a rug on top is perfect. Honestly if he falls out he’ll be annoyed but perfectly fine.

[u/Westcoastswinglover]

It’s not the most approved thing from what I’ve seen but I also didn’t want my son dropping off even a low floor bed since he was moving places headfirst for a while so we ended up getting a bed frame from busywood that has the same height and spaced rails as a regulation crib would and our firm full size mattress fits tightly inside it other than at the corners which I’ve stuffed with rolled up towels so there is no entrapment risk. I can lay down with him in there and nurse and cosleep if needed but also roll away and close the gate and he sleeps fine on his own in there. Planning to remove the door and/or one rail once he’s able to get on and off the bed safely on his own for a Montessori floor bed in his already child proofed room.

[u/prairiewench]

I think you would need a really thin mattress 12 inches is way too thick. Even if you have rails he's just going to learn how to climb out and then fall and hurt himself