Our First Floor Bed
Ahhhhh, the floor bed, one of the most trendy and instaworthy items associated with Montessori. And rightfully so, the floor bed is a staple of the Montessori designed nursery because it allows the child to move freely in and out of the bed from the time their able to do so. Now first let me back up and say that the concept of infants, children and adults sleeping on the floor is not a Montessori invention. People all over the world sleep on the floor or ground using mats and futon like bedding. As Westerners we kind of get the idea that everyone sleeps on a bed with four posts, and that simply isn’t true. Check out some links below for more information about how sleep looks around the world.
With that being said, our 3rd child is the only one who has had the opportunity to sleep on the floor bed. I didn’t know about floor beds when my oldest was a baby, and I was too scared to try it with my daughter. Looking back I’m not sure what I thought would happen, but there was a sense of security knowing she was behind the bars of that crib, it sounds somber, but it’s the truth.
Anyway, in the beginning, Baby #3 slept in his crib with the railing off, I know not very safe, during his naps for about 2 months. One Saturday morning, I asked my husband to take down the crib, and his exact words were “Why, did you buy another one?”. When I explained that I wanted the baby to sleep on a mattress on the floor, my husband begrudgingly dismantled the crib and said, “Well I sure hope this works.” And guess what, it has so far! Once we explained to the big kids that they couldn’t jump on the mattress, it’s been smooth sailing.
He even slept on the floor on our Family Vacation!
At this point we haven’t purchased a floor bed frame because I’m not sure if I want to stay with the crib mattress or purchase a twin mattress. I’ve read that to avoid mold growth on the mattress, it should be propped up when not in use. I’m not particularly worried about mold, but I have propped the mattress occasionally. We still use the baby monitor and truthfully this boy does not move while he is asleep, he’s been the least mobile of the three of them. I may however purchase an area rug so that when he does learn to get out of bed he’s not going straight to the hardwood floors.
Check out the links below to learn about how people sleep around the world!