4 Sidecar Sleepers 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 helped me feel (relatively) well rested even when we were in a season of multiple wakes a night.
Having said that, I know bedsharing isn’t the right fit for everyone. When that’s the case, the sidecar cribs that open up on one side are an amazing middle ground. We’ve used the same one for all three of my babies and have loved it it (I’ll admit my babies spend verrrrrry little time actually sleeping in it, but it’s super handy for keeping diapers / wipes / nursing pillows / change of clothes / breastpump and whatever else I might need in the night within arm’s reach.)
The obvious benefit to a sidecar crib is that there’s no bars separating us and our baby. This means we each have our own sleep space, but we can still reach over and hold our baby’s hand, pat their bum, or scooch all the way over and nurse them… all without leaving our beds.
BabyBay $285
This is what we used for all three of our kids and loved it. In North America, they’re only 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), I think this brand is a great choice.
AngelBliss Bassinet $190
This is a bassinet, not a crib, so it’s not going to fit your baby for more than a few months. On the plus side, it has a rocking feature when it’s used in the bassinet mode, which could be handy for babies who love motion.
Snuzpod Bedside Sleeper £219
This 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.
Ikea Sniglar Crib Hack $70
Since full-sized sidecar sleepers are still pretty hard to come by in North America, 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, 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, the reality is that many babies (and parents!) find that even this is too much separation. Even though we can reach over and touch them, many little ones will still want to be in 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 all snuggling as safe as possible.
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.
parents like you are loving
THE 0-5 SUPPORTIVE SLEEP COURSE ➞
BESPOKE WORKSHOPS ➞
ONE TO ONE CONSULTS ➞more on the blog
It’s giving GROUP CHAT
with YOUR BESTIES.
Get my weekly newsletter, where I go to share honest sleep updates, musings about parenthood, favourite podcasts and articles, discounts and more.