Joy
Hi, we will be travelling around Japan with our six-month-old. Most of the hotels provide a crib except for one. That hotel says they can provide a bed guard to prevent my baby falling over when co-sleeping. Is there a safe baby guard (if it is a rail), or is it better to co-sleep (as safely as possible) without the bed guard? Alternatively we could bring just a travel cot mattress to place on the floor, would this be safer? Ideally, I'd like to avoid lugging a portacot to Japan seeing as we have paid extra to have a crib in most of our hotels. I have exhausted all resources to find rental options for travel cots for a short-stay in Japan.
Red Nose Education
Ensure the cots provided meet safety standards - whether a portacot or a standard cot - & that they are in good condition.
https://rednose.org.au/article/what-is-a-safe-cot
https://rednose.org.au/article/portable-cots
Another option, as you have mentioned, would be to use a mattress on the floor.
Check out what access baby might have (if mobile) to things in the room if not sleeping in a cot. (see cot to bed link below)
Portable bed railing - Red Nose has some information about bed rails in cot to bed information
https://rednose.org.au/downloads/RN0407_22_Cot-to-Bed.pdf see top right hand page 1.
Using you own portacot, that you know meets Mandatory Australian Standards, is probably the preferred option, even tho’ you have paid for use of a cot in other hotels.