5 Sidecar Cribs for Cosleeping
I will do anything to avoid having to physically stand up in the middle of the night. Even if it’s just to walk the 2 steps from my bed to my baby’s crib, getting vertical at 3am feels like torture.
Which is why I’m such a huge fan of bedsharing. As soon as my baby starts to stir I can snuggle her, latch her, burp her, and even change her diaper… all without having to get up. It helps me feel (relatively) well rested even though we’re in a season of multiple wakes a night.
Having said that, I know bedsharing isn’t the right fit for everyone all the time. When that’s the case, it’s nice to have a safe spot to put the baby that’s still right next to me, so I can touch and respond to her. We’ve used the same sidecar crib for all three of my babies and have loved it.
The obvious benefit to a sidecar crib is the proximity to a caregiver. This means we each have our own sleep space, but I can still reach over and hold my baby’s hand, pat her bum, or scooch all the way over and nurse her… all without leaving my bed.
Unfortunately, sidecar cribs aren’t as popular in other parts of the world as they are in Central Europe. Many manufacturers only sell sidecar bassinets…as if once a baby passes the newborn stage, they don’t need to be close to us anymore?! In any case, I’ve included a variety of options below so you can chose the one that best fits your family’s needs.
BabyBay $285 (Europe and North America)
The babybay is what we used for all three of our kids and loved it. In North America, they’re sold with a wooden ‘half wall’, supposedly to keep your baby from rolling onto your bed. In my opinion this sort of defeats the purpose, as it creates a barrier between you and your baby, but if this doesn’t bother you (or if you choose to install it without the half wall, which is easy to do), I think this brand is a great choice.
Angel Bliss Bassinet $190 (North America)
The Angel Bliss is a bassinet, not a crib, so it’s not going to fit your baby for more than a few months. But it opens on one side, and when it’s used in the bassinet mode, has a rocking feature which is a huge plus for babies who love motion!
Snuzpod Bedside Sleeper £219 (UK)
The Snuzpod model can be used as a sidecar sleeper or a bassinet, is on a rocking stand, and can even be lifted off it’s stand to be used as a portable bassinet. They’re based in the UK but will ship some models to the US and Central Europe.
The Paidi Sidecar Crib €334 (Central Europe)
The Paidi Sidecar Crib can be set up two ways: with the side railing that lifts and lowers as you need (pictured below), or without the side railing, attaching directly to your bed. This is handy if your bedframe doesn’t support an attached sidecar crib, but you still want something bigger than a bassinet.
Ikea Sniglar Crib Hack $70
Like I said, full-sized sidecar sleepers are still pretty hard to come by in North America. As a result, a lot of families have taken to creating their own. The Ikea Sniglar Crib can be set up with one side of the rails left off. When it’s fastened to your bed using zip ties or ratchet straps, it becomes a sturdy sidecar crib for your baby that they’ll fit in well into the toddler years.
(Depending on the height of your bed, you might need to use furniture lifters to raise the height of the crib so the mattress height matches yours. If your bed has a frame around it, you might need to push the crib mattress next to your mattress and place a furniture wedge or pool noodle in the space created between the crib mattress and crib rails.)
As great as these sidecars are, many babies will still want to be in our bed, snuggled in next to us. If this is your baby, make sure to brush up on the safe bedsharing guidelines so you can be sure you’re sleeping as safe as possible.
If you’re currently bedsharing but would like support moving your little one into their own sleep space, be sure to check out the Grow With Me Supportive Sleep Course .
What makes my approach different:
The whole gist behind most sleep training programs is that you have to follow their rules for it to work… even if it feels awful.
That’s not what we do here. I will never ask you to do anything that goes against your intuition.
You’re the expert, and you get to call the shots.
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