Loving the Floor Bed

I posted before that we were going to be using a floor bed (Montessori philosophy) and so far I have to say that I am loving it!

The first month Ryan slept in a bassinet in our room, but that didn't seem to be working well once Jeremy returned to work. So then we tried the bassinet in the nursery, with me sleeping on Ryan's floor bed. This was great for me, and allowed Jeremy some rest. After about a week of this though, I missed my husband -- so back to my room. After I started sleeping in our room again, I moved Ryan to napping and sleeping on his bed.

Reasons this is working well for our family so far:

1) It is very easy to put Ryan in bed, and pick him up without hurting my back.

2) We can lay down with him and soothe, while being comfortable ourselves.

3) I can nurse very easily without much disruption to Ryan's sleep in the middle of the night.

4) If the sheet gets soiled in one area, we just move Ryan to avoid changing the sheets and disrupting his sleep.

5) It has been MUCH cheaper to do the floor bed than a crib.

That isn't to say it is completely without challenges. Ryan has rolled off of the bed a few times (no more than 5) but it happens less now that he controls his movements more. I put pillows down around the mattress and that helps ease the transition to the floor. It scares him, but doesn't hurt him. The last time, he didn't even really cry when he rolled off.

Jeremy and I are going to tackle building a Montessori bed frame sometime soon. It gives just a little lip around the mattress, with a lower area in the center to still allow movement in and out of bed.

Ryan's nursery:

On another note I love, love, love this Michael Olaf mobile that I ordered from "The Joyful Child". Ryan is so smitten!

It moves with the air currents of the room, and we can use it for years. Now as a mobile for his development, and as time passes it will just be some really cool art for his room.