co-sleeping in adult baby crib

OK, I have a bit of an unusual question. I'm not an adult baby, but I think I might want to put a 'real' baby (is that the proper term here? I mean someone who is actually chronological under aged 1) in a crib designed to fit an adult.

You see, I'm planning on becoming a single mother by choice, and I'd really like to co-sleep (share a bed) with my child. However, due to joint problems, I find it painful to sleep on a regular bed, as I need support against my back as I sleep (I sleep on my side). I usually sleep on a couch, but from researching co-sleeping I've found that co-sleeping on a couch is very dangerous. (Co-sleeping on a regular bed with a breastfeeding, nonsmoking mother is actually safer than sleeping alone, though.)

So, I've come up with the oddball idea of getting an adult-sized crib for me & my baby to sleep in together. Do you guys think it would work? I'm thinking if it has all the features of a safe baby crib, only upsized, it should be just fine. Do you have any suggestions regarding how to buy or make such a crib? (Note: I'd like it not to be too expensive - the cribs I've seen on websites are pretty high-priced!)

Some things I'm planning:

* I'd like padded slats if possible, since that would be more comfortable for me
* I will not be using blankets (risk of smothering)
* I'm hoping for the mattress to rise like a pillow instead of using an actual pillow (again, risk of smothering)
* I want the sides to be lowerable so I don't have to climb in and out (I hated doing it back when I had a regular crib as a toddler, and I'm less spry now)

I know this isn't exactly on topic, but I hope you guys don't mind giving me some advice. I figured there'd probably be plenty of people here who have experience with adult-sized cribs.

This is an amazing idea omg I can't even imagine. I must remark how blessed you are able to find someone who truly shares the same "quirk" as you - that's gotta be quite a love story. For me, the size of the crib doesn't matter, so it could be a king size crib and it wouldn't change the "regressive" aspect of it. I think if you had a full or queen size mattress inside a crib that would essentially be heaven hahah. Keep us updated!

noahVmiller said:

This is an amazing idea omg I can't even imagine. I must remark how blessed you are able to find someone who truly shares the same "quirk" as you - that's gotta be quite a love story. For me, the size of the crib doesn't matter, so it could be a king size crib and it wouldn't change the "regressive" aspect of it. I think if you had a full or queen size mattress inside a crib that would essentially be heaven hahah. Keep us updated!

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I'm confused by your response.

I'm not in any relationship and don't plan to be. I'm planning to use sperm donation to conceive a child, and considering using a giant crib as a safe place for my baby to sleep with me once he or she is born.

I'm not talking about an AB/DL partner, but a literal baby. My post actually has nothing to do with AB/DL, except for thinking AB/DLs might know more about adult-sized cribs than most people do.

noahVmiller said:

I must remark how blessed you are able to find someone who truly shares the same "quirk" as you

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I think you missed the point Noah, lol.

She is looking for info on adult sized cribs so that she can comfortably sleep in it with her soon to be born biological infant.


To the OP: I am sure there are some here that can help you find what you are looking for

How much do you move around when you sleep? My concern would be rolling onto the baby. I actually sleep on my back and don't move much at all, but everyone is different. My other concern is that your baby will grow quickly. As parents, we generally want our children to learn to sleep independently. Once children become toddlers and are mobile, they often want to crawl into bed with us, and sometimes that's okay. Most of the time we want them to sleep in their own bed so that we can get some sleep. It's something to think about.

This:

dogboy said:

My concern would be rolling onto the baby.

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In my opinion, adults are not to sleep in a bed of any kind with a baby. The chances of injury or death to the child is too high. Wait until he/she is at least two. Doing a quick Google search has pros and cons for this.

As an alternative, get a big crib for you but get a bassinet for the baby. As mentioned before, babies grow up fast and you may have some explaining to do in a few years.

Like dogboy above, my main concern would be rolling over onto the baby. Have you heard of a co-sleeper crib? It's like a crib with three walls, so the baby can lie next to you in bed, but without you being able to unintentionally harm him or her. As for your own issues, you might want to try a daybed, as it has a back. You could prop pillows against it to make it softer.

And usually babies aren't in cribs for more than a couple years or so, so you'd have to decide what to do afterwards.

Not to be unsupportive but that is a bad idea I can say from first hand experience with my little brother. He was only 1 year old and I had him on my bed with me and I had fell asleep and rolled onto his arm by acident and broke it his screams woke me up and it's a sound I will never forget. Being just 15 at the time CPS figured due to time of day, my age and habits that it was just a ill timed accident and nothing ever came of it. But in your case with those conditions you are asking for a very public court case and unintentional child abuse charges. I got away because I was also still a child and had no prior experiance or knowledge of infants being the fact that before him I was the baby of the family I only have one younger sibling and he's it.

Here are some alternatives that are inexpensive.

Co-sleeper Cribs

On the idea of cosleeping with an infant:
I do see why some people do it - hubby and I plan to cosleep once this awful struggle with infertility ends.
We did have one time, when we had a registry going ... for a child that did not come home.

We were going to buy a cosleeper. I;m sure you've seen them if you have researched cosleeping. But there are several different varieties.
We really liked the ones that physically stayed on the bed but had shallow but sturdy raised sides, so we wouldn't be able to roll over unknowingly.

The other thing I've seen is the Halo Swivel Bassinet, which is more of a combination deal, it swivels over to be on top of the bed, with a side that just pushes down ... It looked awesome, and offered a safe way to sleep next to baby ... look for the youtube video ... my description there was awful.

Not wise to sleep with an infant. Many have died that way.

An adult sized crib is often made by a local carpenter using a real bed as the foundation. Padding and such would have to be custom made by some sort of seamstress / upholstery person. A sliding front would be special. We would all love to know how that can be done on an adult sized crib. Not sure of your budget, or how long you plan to use this thing, but not quick, cheap, or easy. Some here have found local craftsman willing to make a deal and got good results. Took effort.

A current co-sleeper design may prove more feasable.

Please let us know what you figure out. Best of luck in your search.

Wow, I had to read this thread a couple of times to make sure the OP wasn't just trolling.

Not only would co-sleeping with an actual infant be dangerous, but have you considered how having a giant crib is going to confuse the fuck out of the kid when they are older? Have you considered what you'd tell family or Child Protection Services?

This idea is stupid, dangerous and a bit on the extreme side of insanity. Get a regular co-sleeping crib.

BTW, for those of you saying it's dangerous, I've done the research, and it all depends on the individual situation. It ranges from safer than sleeping alone to more dangerous, all depending on the mother's characteristics and the kind of bed they sleep in. See this article for a discussion.

I'm a non-smoker, never use drugs or alcohol and am planning to breastfeed, all things that have been found to make co-sleeping safer. Those are all the mother's characteristics that have been found to be relevant, so now I just need to have the right bed.

I hadn't known about co-sleepers, though. That could work out well - except, what's to stop the baby from ending up on my bed anyway? Or is it that a newborn won't move enough and an older baby is safer sleeping in any environment?

Very good idea I think. Might be expensive however getting a crib but they can be made to your liking.

my self I would be worried about "SIDS" sudden Infant Death Syndrome. and I don't think it would help if and adult is sleeping with an infant under 1 year old. as for me I wouldn't do it.