In our 6 month old Montessori inspired floor bed setup we really didn’t have to worry about baby rolling out of it at night, but now that we’re at the 8 month mark things are a bit different! Our little one is on the move so here’s what our floor bed setup looks like at 8 months.
What is a Montessori Floor Bed?
Soon after my motherhood journey commenced, I started to listen to The Montessori Baby by Simone Davies on Audible. This wonderful book was such an eye opener to me that we adopted MANY of the approach in parenting and raising our daughter.
One of the aspects we love so much about the Montessori method is respecting the child and seeing them as a capable human being with feelings and all and the independence aspect which is why we chose to transition our daughter to a floor bed at six months of age.
Benefits of a Floor Bed
When we transitioned our daughter to her floor bed at six months of age, she wasn’t rolling in bed yet and we felt very comfortable placing her in the new floor bed, especially whilst being able to view her 24/7 on the baby monitor (which has face covering alert and rollover alert directly to your phone or watch).
We’ve tried and tested our floor bed for a few months now and here’s what we love about it:
- Very easy to soothe baby during night wakes, you just lay besides bub to settle them or breastfeed or co sleep.
- Once baby gets to an age where she will be crawling, she will be able to crawl out of bed by herself, without having to cry for help (like she would have in a cot for example).
What does a Montessori Floor Bed Setup Look Like for 8 Month Old Baby?
- Queen sized mattress with pillows along edges: We have used a queen sized mattress for our floor bed and have put pillows underneath the fitted sheet as to create a barrier to avoid bubs from falling out. The main difference for our 8 month old setup is that we have moved the mattress into the corner of the room, offering 2 walls, making it a little easier to avoid our little one falling out. We have also ordered 2 temporary barricades which we MAY end up using for safety purposes, even though we feel it’s not quite Montessori.
- CuboAI Camera – we love this camera so much we’re glad we spent the money. It wasn’t a cheap camera option but it meets all our needs, from newborn to now 8 months later, we’re still using it and using the different setups as required. This camera comes with a crib attachment, a floor stand and a stand alone option. We’re currently using the floor stand option which also monitors time asleep.
- Feeding glider chair – This was probably the best buy of all! Loved this chair since week 4 of having our daughter and it’s been a back saver for all those night feeds. Very comfy and easy to clean. Wonderful footrest but you have to put some hard work into it to close the footrest with your feet (this can be tough after having had a Caesar as your core muscles aren’t as functional still quite tender).
Where to place the Montessori floor bed?
When we were designing our room we weren’t quite sure where to place the floor bed. Ideally:
- Away from power points and cords / cables / trip hazards
- Away from things that could potentially fall on baby
- Away from direct heating / cooling / air flow
Tips for your Montessori floor bed
- Do whatever feels good for you and your family. There’s no rules, as long as bubs is safe and comfortable that’s all that matters
- Do some research. Find your inspiration on Pinterest, google, or social media and design a floor bed setup that works for you.
- Be prepared to change it up. As you start using the floor bed, you’ll soon learn what works and what doesn’t work and you’ll make some changes as required. You may change up the camera angle, the entire setup or location of the bed.
- Use white bed sheets which is much better to see at night on the camera with night view. That way you can easily see whether there’s vomit or a spider on the bed or whatever else. I used a dark sheet once on wash day, and noticed it was very hard to see what was going on, so I immediately changed to a white sheet which helped me keep track of dirt or fluff in the bed and take care of it.
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