Baby sleeping arrangements

[Bennybristol]

Dear All,

We have recently bought a Cali SE and would like to gather some suggestions about how to accommodate 2 adults and a 7 month old baby when it comes to sleeping arrangements. Am I correct in thinking sharing the bottom bunk, with the usual co-sleeping precautions, is a good option?

 

[jeff]

Hi we swivelled the front seats round put a piece of hard board over the gap and made a bed . Used a small memory mattress that we cut to size.

 

[Hotel California]

There have been people using a hammock in the cabin area ...

 

[Meoncoast]

http://www.vw-beds.com/products/cab_bunk.html

 

[Lewis]

Just booked our first family night away for half term in a few weeks. Anxiety about how our 2yr old daughter will sleep is the main reason it's taken us this long. Our plan at the moment is to try her on the parcel shelf and for the two of us to sleep up top. I reckon she'll probably be so excited though that we all end up piled in the lower bunk and awake all night

I wish we could have started her at 7months and got her used to it before she got this 'lively'

 

[Stuart]

We have two kids (1 & 6) and usually have 1 adult upstairs with the 6 y.o. and 1 downstairs with the 1 y.o. We actually slept in the van last night like this - first trip of the year

However when away last summer we actually put up a travel cot downstairs and put the 1 y.o. in that. Good for long stays but a hassle for one night.

There's no way one of those cab bunks would work for us. He would either accidentally roll off or deliberately climb off!!

 

[reserves]

Our little girl slept in her moses basket across the front seats (swivelled) at 6 weeks and we slept downstairs with her.

She's 5 months now, thinking we'd probably sleep upstairs and either let her have the whole downstairs bed or put up a travel cot in the middle of it.

Something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007Y2P58O/?tag=eliteelect-21

 

[Bennybristol]

Many thanks everyone. I think we will end up trying all these suggestions during the years ahead. I will let you know what we end up with, and more importantly, how peaceful the nights are.

 

[Open_road!]

Perfect use of the boot!

 

[Lewis]

Perfect use of the boot!

This does look like a really good option for us. Can I ask what the access is like from the vehicle cabin though? I see you've stood the parcel shelf upright. Does this mean you can't access the cot from inside the vehicle? That seems like a good idea to stop them escaping but I'm concerned that on a freezing winter night it wouldn't be practical to go outside and open the tailgate to access the child!

Hopefully I've got this wrong somewhere!

 

[NZCol]

Phil and teds travel cot fits on the roof bed, easy to get in and out and leaves downstairs open for you to use

 

[Lewis]

Phil and teds travel cot fits on the roof bed, easy to get in and out and leaves downstairs open for you to use

Thank you for posting this - will be useful to others I'm sure and made me remember we do have a not dissimilar alternative - the Littlelife Arc 2 that we've barely used. I'll try this inside the roof bed and parcel shelf and report back!

 

[soulstyledevon]

Check out this thread buddy


https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/volkswagen-california-camping-with-babies.15687/

 

[Open_road!]

Thank you for posting this - will be useful to others I'm sure and made me remember we do have a not dissimilar alternative - the Littlelife Arc 2 that we've barely used. I'll try this inside the roof bed and parcel shelf and report back!

So Lewis. How did you get on? What was your set up?

 

[Lewis]

So Lewis. How did you get on? What was your set up?

We went for child on the parcel shelf and it worked a treat. Tried to use as much of our usual bedtime routine as possible beforehand and brought the bedding from her bed that morning so instantly she saw it on the shelf and said 'that's my bed'. One headrest up and the other down so we could reach over and she settled quickly. Turned all of the lights off downstairs and went upstairs to avoid distractions. Could easily have gone back down afterwards with lights on but we were enjoying an early night.

She slept through until 6:30 (and hadn't been at home recently). We thought it was too good to be true so went away again later in the week and she did it again. Such a relief!

We left the heater on 2 all night and it kept the cabin at a nice temperature. No cold hands or feet in the morning and she only had her usual attire of long sleeve vest, sleepsuit and grobag. Heater fired up periodically and I thought it was quite noisy but didn't disturb her.

I'm anticipating that she's going to discover the light above the parcel shelf so may have to disconnect it at some point to avoid a game that'll keep her awake.

Next time the three of us will be away together will be for 9 nights at Easter so I'll post an update after that.

 

[Lewis]

ps. The Littlelife Arc 2 was a no go - poles make it too big to assemble in the Cali and it just feels too cumbersome even when assembled outside

 

[Open_road!]

Thanks Lewis's for the update! We hope to put the cot in the boot for the rest of this season as per the photo- but thanks for the heads up on the boot light! You've saved me the inevitable job of disconnecting it late at night on a dark camp site!!

 

[Dannyc]

Hi after lots of looking could not find a travel cot to fit. So I got one of them folding ones that go into a bag and marked and cut the poles down and re drilled some holes with bolts ect and job done. Our travel cot now fits in the van with our bed down so everyon can stay warm inside the van.

 

[Dannyc]

 

[Aubisque]

ps. The Littlelife Arc 2 was a no go - poles make it too big to assemble in the Cali and it just feels too cumbersome even when assembled outside

We got on well with a LL Arc 2, poles half assembled before putting up top and then completed in position. And folds up to nothing when not in use.

 

[Blue Yonder]

Our solution, which makes use of the safety net that came with the van.