Co-Sleeping Family - What we use

Carmen Fourie
Sep 28
5 min read

Updated: Sep 30

Bedroom with a large bed, blue blanket, books on a shelf. Text: "Co-Sleeping Family Room", "Bedsharing & Co-Sleeping". Bright window.

Note on co-sleeping / bedsharing: This is a parenting area with some strong opinions. We made the intentional choice to co-sleep before Elba was born and lots of research and consideration went into our set up and how we choose to bedshare & co-sleep. I highly recommend the book - Safe Infant Sleep by James J. Mckenna to unpack co-sleeping facts, the benefits for mom & baby of co-sleeping and the safety considerations. This blog is not advice - please consider your own circumstances to decide what is best for your family.

Introduction - Sharing what we use

I recently changed our co-sleeping family room as we prepare to expand our family and with Elba becoming older. This prompted me to share the room set up that has worked so well for over 2.5 years, as well as the changes we've made to transition now already to give Elba lots of time to get used to the new set up.

VIDEO showing our set up & talking through all the safety & practical considerations

This is our room set up as a co-sleeping family with only 1 kiddo that worked so well for us for so long! Details of all the items to follow.

A tidy bed with white sheets and a dark blue blanket. Books on wall shelves and a black dresser are visible in a neutral-toned room.

We've since added another bed and shifted a few things around with another baby on the way.

Minimalist bedroom with a blue and white bed on a brown carpet. Books on shelf by window. Black dresser on the left. Bright and cozy.

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What we use in our room

Here is a list of the practical things we use to safely and comfortably bedshare.

Mattress

We use the Silk & Snow Organic Mattress - the firm one (very important for bedsharing that the mattress be firm & not memory foam).

We wanted a mattress without endocrine disrupting chemicals and found that the Silk & Snow Organic one meets those requirements and is firm enough for co-sleeping and was the most affordable with good service. Another option that is slightly more, but very popular for co-sleeping is the Avocado one. Friends have this one and it seems great as well.

We have the King size & Twin size in our room, and we love them.

Mattress Protector

We use an organic cotton mattress protector. Ideally, we would like to sleep straight on the mattress, but practically it makes sense for us right now to use a protector.

Bed base

I am so happy with the base we found - it took me a really long time of searching and those hours paid off.

Minimalist bedroom with a low bed, blue and white bedding, dark dresser, and children's books on a shelf. Bright window with leafy view.

I wanted something that is low enough not to create height - the whole point of sleeping so low is that failing off is not a danger, therefore I wouldn't want a base that creates much height. Just something to allow airflow under the mattress and make sure it isn't directly on the floor.

I found this one on Amazon, and we've used the King size one for over a year and just purchased the twin one for the other bed. It is metal with wooden slates.

Bedding

For sheets on our King size bed, we use a Jersey Cotton set (because at the time I was pregnant and wanted something that felt like a slightly old t-shirt). We've used it for 3 years (we have 2 sets) & we use it in our spare room. It has a lovely soft feel and holds up well (and is really affordable).

For the twin bed we use organic cotton sheets. Not as soft, but organic which is nice.

As a pretend duvet (duvet or comforter is not safe for co-sleeping), I use a breathable coverlet. We sleep on this in summer and under it in winter. It's held up really well for over 1.5 years with regular washing.

As our blankets - we make sure to use breathable Muslin cotton blankets. The dark blue one is my cotton one and Ian uses a dark green colour one from a different brand. I bought two different ones to try different brands / quality and haven't noticed a difference between them. Both are great.

Bookshelves

I wanted something that Elba can take books off herself and put them back without the risk of it falling over. We decided to go with 24"clear acrylic shelves. The ones we have are no longer available, so I've linked similar ones. The linked ones are 15" though.

Neat bedroom with a white bed, blue blanket, and gray pillows. Shelves with children's books against a white wall by a window. Calm ambiance.

This has worked so well for all her bedtime books.

Safety things

Baby gate: Because our bedroom is open plan to our bathroom, we use a retractable baby gate that we close when sleeping. We have 3 of these gates - they are great. What I love is that you can buy additional hooks and then make it such that they open and close different areas with one gate (we have this downstairs where one gate can hook closed in two different places to open or close a specific space).

Plug covers: Our first set up required that I run a cable from a plug to behind the dresser. I used this large electrical outlet cover the outlet with an extension cord inside. I used this cable concealer to close up the cord. And all the items are plugged in neatly in the cable box on top of the dresser.

Minimalist bedroom with a black dresser holding plants, a glowing lamp, and a clock. A bed with white linens is in the foreground.

The way we've changed the room allowed us to anchor the dresser with an extension cord plugged in behind it.

Black dresser with a lamp, humidifier, and plant on top; carpeted floor, white walls, and closed door in a bright room.

Our other outlets are covered using clear plastic covers. One of the outlets (the previously covered one) is unusual and has USB ports as well - I have just ordered a full outlet cover for that one.

When we are in the room with Elba sleeping and it wouldn't be safe for her to walk out the room without us knowing - we have a baby safety clip on the door handle. I linked a similar one - I got ours 2nd hand.

White door with a brass knob covered by a clear plastic child safety lock. The door has rectangular panels and a smooth finish.

Because we rent, I cannot change the blinds and therefore we use cord safety things.

The drawers Elba could reach as a baby and small toddler are closed using child locks, but we haven't done the higher ones because she is now able to open the child locks.

Baby monitor: We need one with video because our kiddo doesn't wake up making many sounds. We only got one when she was older than a year (before that she was never alone in the room). Ours works without Wi-Fi which was a major draw factor for us. We use this one.

Additional things

We did elimination communication, and we have a potty station set up in the room. I highly recommend these reusable absorbent mats - we've used them so much through our parenting journey. We have them in blue and white, and the blue ones are thicker and firmer than the white ones.

Green potty on a blue mat in a carpeted room. White wall and door in the background. The mood is calm and organized.

Salt lamp: To have light in the room at all times we use a salt lamp. Set to dim.

Humidifier: We use a 6 liter humidifier in our room that is set to low all night.

Co-sleeping family room with large bed, blue bedding, books on shelves, a black dresser, and a window. Text: Co-Sleeping Family Room.

Reading light: The amber reading light that clips on to a book.

Adult sleep sacs: We use the Kyte Baby Adult Sleep Bag Walker, but I am sure by now there are Canadian options. At the time we purchased this from the US.

And that is all the things we use in our co-sleeping family room.

Watch Youtube video now - Showing the set up & all the safety & practical considerations

I hope you found this useful! Lots of thought went into sourcing the different things to make our room work for us.

Carmen