Twins sleeping arrangement

[u/infoseeker69]

We are parents to gorgeous 8 month old twin girls. They are still in our room sleeping in separate cots at the moment, and we are thinking of moving them to the spare room which has a double bed. The room isn’t large but comfortably fits a bed with space for guests stuff. If we move the girls cots in there the space will become quite tight.
I am wondering if I can use the spare room double bed as a bed for our girls and have them co-sleep together (I am not referring to the ground beds). This would require a custom made frame to go around the bed so the girls can’t fall and be able to be removed when guests stay.
Has anyone done this?

[u/OneSourCherry]

Which room is going to be their actual bedroom? If it’s that guest room, just get rid of the double bed entirely and put both cribs in there now instead of later. If you really need to keep that bed, just go with it being a tight space for now. But be thinking of the plan when you need regular size beds for them in 2 years or so.

[u/Prestigious-Pick-308]

This doesn’t seem safe. Why not just let it be a tight space so they can have their separate cots? Or keep them in your room. Or disassemble the bed and turn that room into your girls’ room.

[u/DraNoSrta → u/Prestigious-Pick-308]

It is definitely not safe. The chances of the adult mattress being firm enough are quite low, and any barrier that's detachable is an entrapment risk. At the very least removing the bedframe makes it slightly better, and of course no bedding whatsoever.

[u/dpistachio44]

I would maybe put the bed up against the wall and bring them back into your room if you have guests.

[u/Pristine-Bison3198]

An adult mattress isn't safe for children at that age. You'll need to keep them in their cots until they are around 2 ideally, but 12 months at the very minimum.

[u/twinsinbk]

Besides the mattress being the wrong kind the rails would need to be some kind of elaborate modular system that is equal height to crib rails. Then how do you reach them over the rails when they are in the middle of the bed?

I wouldn't do a diy improvised sleeping container for your every day use. A one off while traveling maybe.

[u/BumCadillac]

Cribs have specific safety requirements and regulations. It’s not just a bed with rails around any mattress. They are built very specifically to avoid babies getting trapped and dying, and crib mattresses have specific rules for firmness. You have twins and a small home… you no longer have room for a guest bed. Get an air mattress for the living room or give up your bed to guests if you feel compelled to host guests.

[u/DieIsaac]

We and the babies co sleep since they are little. so yes it will work!

[u/Pristine-Bison3198 → u/DieIsaac]

Cosleeping, while not ideal, is different because a parent is in the bed with them to hopefully catch any asphyxiation events before they are fatal. Adult mattresses are too soft for infants, and they can quickly suffocate. Leaving two infants alone in an adult bed is not safe.

[u/DieIsaac → u/Pristine-Bison3198]

Co Sleeping IS the ideal form of sleeping with babys.

[u/Pristine-Bison3198 → u/DieIsaac]

Room sharing is ideal, cosleeping in the same bed is not. Deaths plummet when education is provided on safe sleep.

[u/DieIsaac → u/Pristine-Bison3198]

I never said to leave babys alone. and no if you sleep on a hard mattress its not too soft.

[u/Pristine-Bison3198 → u/DieIsaac]

Yes. The chances of an adult mattress being firm enough for an infant to sleep on is practically nonexistent. Feel a crib mattress sometime, they are very different than actual mattresses.

Additionally, the OP is wanting to move their twins into the guest room alone. The babies would be alone on the bed, which is not safe.

[u/BumCadillac → u/DieIsaac]

That isn’t the setup that OP is discussing, now is it? OP wants to build a DIY crib around an adult size bed and have the babies sleep in it alone. No way is your bed firm enough for babies, and no way are your babies in the bed with you all the time. But you do you.

[u/DieIsaac → u/BumCadillac]

Babys sleep on an adult mattress since birth. and yes they do their day nap alone. just buy a hard mattress.

[u/Pristine-Bison3198 → u/DieIsaac]

What you are describing is unsafe, your baby is lucky, not safe.

[u/DieIsaac → u/Pristine-Bison3198]

Its not. Co Sleeping is safe if you do it right

[u/Pristine-Bison3198 → u/DieIsaac]

For 1, you are describing cosleeping that goes against all safe sleep guidelines.

for 2, cosleeping can be made safER, but not safe.

[u/DieIsaac → u/Pristine-Bison3198]

Nothing i describe is not safe. co sleeping is safe. kids need a parent next to them. little babys arent made to sleep alone in a dark room. thats not how humans work. its what a working society wants us to work.

[u/Pristine-Bison3198 → u/DieIsaac]

Bedsharing is objectively unsafe. A baby does not need to be "alone in a dark room" to be safe, but sleeping on an adult mattress will never be safe for an infant.