Montessori floor bed in action

Posted on 22. Oct, 2008 by admin in Baby Stuff, Parenting

I’m no expert in Montessori but I’m extremely interested and have been trying to put fold some principles in to the way we are raising our daughter.  I know, I know, you probably can’t cherry pick these things but for what it’s worth, I am and it seems to be working OK for us.  So, here’s our experience with the Montessori floor bed and how we incorporated the idea into a room that is actually quite cute.

Why a floor bed?  As my cousin (the real expert and the one I look to for advice – her blog is www.mommybahn.blogspot.com) says “a montessori infant should be able to get in and out of bed on her own power.”    A crib hampers a child from making their own decisions.  Essentially, you’ve made all the decisions for them – you put them in the crib and you take them out.  With a floor bed, they are empowered.  A double edge sword, you might say.  Nonetheless, a floor bed allows your child to begin to understand their power.

We put a single futon on the floor and placed it in the corner of the room, up against 2 walls.  I contemplated getting a floor bed frame but decided a futon on the floor would suffice.  Yes, it’s a little college for an infant.  But, for us, the frame wasn’t necessary to the principle or the design.  I must say it has far exceeded my expectations and my daughter loves loves loves it!  She sleeps soundly, hasn’t rolled off on to the floor yet (except when she intends to) and can entertain herself in the mornings quite well.  I should mention here that we close her bedroom door because her room is on the 2nd floor and ours in on the first so I can’t have her roaming about the house on her own…one reason why I cherry pick what principles we follow and what we don’t.  That said, the entire room is baby proofed.  You could, I guess, call the whole room her crib but that is getting way too technical for this mom and there are way more qualified Montessori gurus out there.  I offer this just as a real world implementation of the Montessori floor bed. Our family couldn’t be happier with this sleep solution.




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10 Responses to “Montessori floor bed in action”

  1. Finding a modern co-sleeper or bassinet: they are out there « design + photography at home

    15. Jan, 2009

    [...] All three of us loved it.  We each had our own space to sleep but we were all cozy next to each other.  I didn’t have to get out of bed in the night to check on my baby and we all slept as good as can be expected those first three months.  Really, with just a few hiccups, we slept pretty much right on her feeding schedule: at first every three hours we woke, then every four, then we made it to six (what a night!) and then we were getting through from about 11 pm to 7 am. We used the bunk for roughly 4 months, until our little climber started to sit up and try to pull on the edges to investigate the other side…then, she went straight to the floor bed (see post). [...]

  2. 365 days of the Montessori Floor Bed: is it still working? « modern home. modern baby.

    29. Jan, 2009

    [...] the Montessori floor bed and a little of why we chose to go that route instead of with a crib (see post). Well, the decision was made and we have never looked [...]

  3. Teresa

    31. Jan, 2009

    I really appreciate your posts about sleeping Montessori-style. I’m not a parent, but instead an infant teacher working in a classroom where we have been napping the children on mattresses on the floor. Though we’re not a Montessori school, we do believe that children should have the freedom to move about and make decisions about sleep and their own bodies. It’s definitely been a challenge, especially as they get older and want to get off their beds and crawl around the naproom! (The six children are between nine and eleven months old now.) I happened upon your site because I was looking for people who had tried floor sleeping with the children and what their experiences were, so we could perhaps get some insight into helping these little ones sleep!

  4. ktpix

    11. Feb, 2009

    Thanks! It’s true that the little ones do love to explore and sometimes nap time gets in the way of that. But, I’m so glad to hear you are trying out the floor bed idea, even if you’re not a Montessori school. Since I’m a Montessori cherry picker myself I love to hear how other people incorporate her principles in to their own routines. While I don’t really have any advice on how to keep your kids on their beds during nap time, maybe playing some soft music to relax them a bit may help. And, if all else fails, try running them a bit before nap time…sometimes that is what I do with my daughter and when her head hits that bed she’s OUT!

  5. The Montessori Method for the Infant/Toddler (Birth to Age Three) | Montessori Education

    18. Mar, 2009

    [...] Montessori Floor Bed and More notes [...]

  6. The Montessori Method for the Infant/Toddler (Birth to Age Three) | Early Childhood Education

    18. Mar, 2009

    [...] Montessori Floor Bed and More notes [...]

  7. marie

    13. Oct, 2009

    I will have a newborn in about 4 weeks. Where do I find information on how to sleep a new baby if you do not use a crib. All my friends think I am crazy for not wanting a crib…..

  8. admin

    13. Oct, 2009

    Don’t let any one else’s expectations get in your way! If you want to forego the crib, then do it. There is tons of information out there on alternative sleeping arrangements – I would start with investigating co-sleeping. Families the world over have co-slept and it wasn’t until relatively recently (think last 200 years or so) that we have begun to move our babies out of the family bed and in to their own rooms. Many many cultures still sleep together for years!

    I would start with BabyCenter – they have good information on safety precautions as well as the pros and cons of co-sleeping, or as they call it, “the family bed.” There is always wikipedia, too.

    As for my personal experience, we opted to use a “co-sleeper” so that we could keep our baby in our room and right next to me for as long as possible. The one we chose is called a BabyBunk and it worked absolutely great. In fact, we’re having our second child soon and I’m looking forward to using it again. Our co-sleeper basically allows the baby to sleep next to me but within her own defined space. This is a great situation for nighttime breastfeeding, soothing, and general staring in disbelief that there is a tiny human breathing right next to you. Believe me, you WILL check to see that your baby is still breathing during the night until you get used to the fact that he or she is actually living outside of you. Doing this without having to physically get up and out of bed is a blessing. And amazingly you will learn to do this all in the dark!

    There are some co-sleepers that fit inside your bed (in between you and your partner) as well as other bassinets that can be placed near your bed. So, you will have many options to choose from. I wrote a little review of co-sleeper choices out there – well, at least a handful of them.

    You should also know that we went straight from the co-sleeper to the floor bed, with a few nights in a pack and play just to get our daughter used to her new room and me used to not having her right next to me. To be honest, I think the pack and play was more for me because I couldn’t stop my brain from thinking about all of the bad things that could happen simply because I couldn’t see her all night long. She and I adjusted beautifully and she was sleeping soundly in her floor bed within days of the “big move.”

    Actually, she is still using her floor bed at 2 years. I think a big girl bed is right around the corner as she’s expressing an interest in being tucked in to sheets and a blanket just like Mommy and Daddy have. But that said, I’m a huge fan of both the co-sleeper and the floor bed and am so happy we decided against a traditional crib.

    Don’t let peer pressure steer you away from what you really want. I, too, got a few choice comments when I told my friends and family what we were doing. Good luck!

  9. heather

    28. Feb, 2010

    my parents are concerned with the lack of airflow under the floorbed. have you experienced the baby getting too cold? i figure there are many ways around this potential problem. what is your experience?

  10. admin

    02. Mar, 2010

    Hi Heather,

    I have not really experienced that the baby gets cold on a floor bed. Of course, we live in the Bay Area so our temperature doesn’t get super cold. If you are in an especially cold climate this might be a concern, although I doubt the temperature difference is very large between being on a floor bed vs. being in a crib or regular bed. One easy way to test whether a floor bed will work for you is to simply take out the crib mattress and place it on the ground. Lay your baby down on it for a night and see what happens. If she wakes up a lot and seems to be too cold, then either you’ll have to raise her up a bit or turn up the thermostat at night. Good luck!

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