How Will A Floor Bed Improve My Baby’s Sleep?
I talk about floor beds a lot. You have probably seen them talked about surrounding the “Montessori approach”. You have probably seen idyllic pictures of beautiful wooden floor beds and perfectly tidy minimalistic baby rooms. Yes they look beautiful and yes they aid Montessori independence, but also, you can skip all that meaningful crap and simply use them to get some more bloody sleep.
I’m Molly and I am a holistic sleep coach at Fox And The Moon sleep as well as a nanny and maternity nurse for the last 8 years. I particularly enjoy/specialise in helping families with things such as moving away from co sleeping, night time separation anxiety and of course, floor beds.
But why does my baby hate their cot?
We don’t often read things about babies who quite simply HATE a cot. We’re not warned about these cot hating mutant babies. We’re told early in pregnancy to buy a cot and this is where your baby will sleep. End of. No debate. No alternatives. And for some babies this works perfectly! And these parents who’s baby just *sleeps* in a cot will rarely understand how hard it is to gave a baby who just *wont*.
Firstly, its not your fault. You haven’t done anything wrong. You tried being firm, you have a consistent routine, but its just not working.
Well… there IS an alternative. Floor beds are fantastic and they do often work to get you more sleep. If your baby wakes frequently in their cot but sleeps sound in your bed then this could be a fantastic option for you.
Before we talk about why a baby might sleep better in a floor bed, let’s think about why they might not sleep well in a cot.
Simply, They have never ever seen you sleep in a cot. We know that babies learn best from their primary care giver through modelling. How can we expect them to believe this cot is a safe place when they have never seen you in one? Felt your comfort in one? They see you sleep in your bed every night. They have likely cuddled up to your comfort and warmth in your bed, they know this is a safe place. A cot literally is a physical (bars) and emotional separation from you for 50% of their 24 hour day.
A baby has no idea that they are “supposed” to sleep in a cot. They don’t realise that they were born in a westernised society determined to separate mother and baby and determined to strive for independence from day 1.
So how does a floor bed help?
Well, you can lie with them. You can show them its a safe place, you can set expectations, you can allow them to feel your comfort and warmth in a place that you want them to sleep. It removes the physical bars.
Some of the other key benefits:
- No cot transition. No leaning over the cot with your breath held and your palms sweating as you attempt to lunge them in.
- A safe, and comfortable place for you to fall asleep supporting or feeding them back to sleep. This = more sleep for you!
- A long term solution that can be used way into childhood. No more annoying transitions.
Want some support to introduce a floor bed and improve your little ones sleep? Get in touch with Molly for some personalised 1:2:1 support today!