Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Sleep Safe Bed




I am in the midst of trying to figure out what to do for Peanut's sleep environment. She is in a crib still, but she'll be 5 next week .. and it's starting to not be such a great thing anymore. She turns around too much in her sleep and gets her legs stuck out the bars. Then she wakes up screaming because she can't figure out how to free herself. I tried a bumper guard thing, but then the railing doesn't go up and down so how do you change diapers or cath in the crib? Also she got her legs even more tangled in the bumper guard than in the bars themselves.

She can't go in a normal bed, she has no safety reflexes. She'd fall right out. And the bed rails that they make for kids aren't big enough. She would roll the the end of them and fall out. She likes to get up on her knees and kneel (tall kneel, for those who know LOL). She would topple right over the bed rail.

So I thought about my blog-friend Tamara, and her daughter Abby. She is in a gorgeous daybed that is turned around to face the wall, in a sense making a giant crib. But how do you change diapers? I assume I would then need a changing table in the room, but Peanut is too long for those. Her room is fairly small also. And as I priced day beds that would work (meaning, solid wood backs and not slats or bars) .. they are expensive.

So I am looking at SleepSafe Beds. I want a Sleep Safe HiLo for Peanut. Has ANYONE ever gotten one of these approved by their insurance? They offer letters on their website for you to modify to your child, to help get it approved. These beds are AWESOME, and would be perfect!! I am going to start working on it now, but I was looking for some encouragement from anyone that has actually gotten one before.

So let's hear it. How does your special needs child sleep? Is it working for you??

3 comments:

Anxious AF said...

We are still in a crib, so Im not much help, and you already mentioned Tamara, she was the first person I thought of when I started to read your post.
Im interested to see what you come up with.

Auburn Rose said...

A friend of mine assembled a perfect child's bed for her son with special needs. She purchased this bed (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00032586) at Ikea and then purchased two of their youth bed rails. They then put the bed in a corner so one side is against the wall (a natural barrier) and one end so that as he grows they can lower an end without difficulty. Finally they attached one complete rail and then a portion of another to completely block off the side of the bed. I think the height of the rails can be modified as needed with some minor "tweaking". The bed is low enough to the ground that it is very easy to change diapers, position him in bed, etc. The bed is big enough for someone to join him when he is having a rough seizure night. I am not sure if this would work for you, but it was a beautiful solution for their son that was cost effective and met his needs perfectly.
I do also know of families that have had adapted beds covered by insurance companies (I teach special education); some insurance companies are more receptive than others and a strong justification can go a long way.
I hope this info. helps! :)

Tamara said...

Hey there! Go to this site, http://www.efurnitureshowroom.com/emily-trundle-day-bed/prod_2998.html?gdftrk=gdfV2405_a_7c480_a_7c1516_a_7c2998

Its almost the same bed that Abby has. I don't know how much you are willing to pay but its listed for $591.00 I believe that I paid $300.00 for Abbys, waited until it went on sale. I don't have a changing table and just change Abbs in the bed or take her out and we end up on the floor. You can see how deep this is so Peanut will not be able to stand on her knees and tumble out.

I am all about not having medical looking things in my house if I can help it, so thus our beautiful day bed and I love it and It works perfect for Abbs!

Let me know what you think? You can call them and explain your situation and see if there are any discounts that they would be willing to give you... our market right now is not good so everyone is willing to bargin which is good for the purchaser!

Tam :)