BUNK BEDS & KEEPING A BABY/TODDLER CONTAINED

We left on our trip around Australia when our youngest was 6 months old. Because our other two kids aged, 2 years and 3.5 years they were to sleep on the middle and top bunks. Therefore our little babe was on the very bottom.

I decided to do it this way, incase she was to ever fall out, it wouldn’t be too far of a drop!

Our 2 year old (Billy) had already been sleeping in a bed for about 8 months prior to hitting the road, so he was familiar with being in a ‘big boy’ bed. The top 2 bunks both have a bed rail built into the bed and a ladder down the end, so it looked pretty safe for them. Over 2 years on the road and we’ve only had two falls out of the bunks from Billy (middle bunk).

When we first left we didn’t have anything on our youngest, Charli’s bed to keep her from falling out of her bed. Because she was so young it wasn’t an issue initially, but as the months passed on, it was time to keep her contained.

I did loads of research. A bed rail would work as she would climb out and over it. I was particularly keen on anything with zippers, as I know that with three kids on board, for sure they would bust! We tried a cargo net, but we couldn’t manage to secure it properly without it falling off occasionally. With a baby yanking on it and pushing her body weight onto the netting, it really wasn’t working. I wasn’t able to find anything affordable, durable and easy enough to get her in and out. I was still breastfeeding and when teething (and just being a baby), she would wake through the night, therefore I needed something that was easy to manoeuvre in the dark.

So, after a light bulb moment chatting with my handy husband, he suggested we get a baby gate. Hallelujah!! So in a bout 3 seconds flat I jumped in the car and headed for BigW. Straight into the baby section to purchase a safety gate for $40. Now, let me tell you, this is by far, money well spent!

It was super easy to install and if you’ve ever put up a safety gate, you’ll have it up in no time. We used the extender bars so it reached the whole length of the bunk bed. I loved it as it was easy to get her in and out if she was sleeping and often she fell asleep feeding, so I was able to open the gate and pop her in without getting her in over a bed rail or unzipping.