our 7.5 month old is having trouble sleeping through the night. we think it's a combination of recently being sick and sleeping in my bed during that period and teething. she has just tonight learned to fall asleep on her stomach. we will take what we can get at this point even though that makes us nervous. but more so, my husband and i can't decide if it's ok to leave her lovey in there with her. it's a super soft mushy small elephant that she loves to turn her face into as she falls asleep. but SIDS scares tell us NO items allowed with her in crib, especially once she starts rolling around and you can no longer control which side they sleep on.
My 8 month old sleeps with one and has since she was 7 months old. Once she could roll over and pull herself up on her own very well I wasn't scared anymore. Maybe thats being naive but she seems to like the soft mini blanket in her hand sometimes. I say go for it!
Can she roll over? I would say leave the lovey until she falls asleep and then take it out. Just to be safe.
Sleeping on the stomach is a more natural way for babies to sleep, but the increased rate of SIDS had the powers-that-be recommending that babies sleep on their backs and without blankets and stuffed toys. If your baby has never received vaccinations, the chances of falling victim to SIDS is extremely low. Many of the cases of SIDS I've read about in VAERS took place shortly after a vaccination.
I've also read about where a child's death was connected to something being left in the crib was due to infants becoming trapped in fitted sheets where the pockets flipped up and trapped the child's head or blankets that somehow end up over the infants face.
A few years ago we were told to put our babies on their stomachs so they don't die of SIDS or aspirating vomit/spit up. Now we are told to put them on their backs and SIDS rates have really not changed. Many SIDS deaths have been tracked to the day of or a few days after vaccinations, but are still labeled SIDS. (I'm not here to get into a vaccine debate.) SIDS seesm to be a catch-all when they have no idea what happened.
Our first son would flip over on his stomach and he always slep better on his stomach. Our second son sleeps on his side exclusively. As long as she has head/neck control - and at 7 months - she should be just fine.
Listen to your intuition as a mom - it NEVER steers us wrong. If it feels wrong, it probably is for your child. if it feels right, then go with it. Too many parents second guess their decisions based on "expert" or "scientific" opinions.
My son is the same age. He has been sleeping on his stomach since he was 4 months old - that's when he finally learned to nap on his own! I give him a lovey (the same one with the elephant) and it isn't a problem. When I check in on him he never has his face in the lovey, it's usually just near by or underneath him. Most of the mom's I know also give their babies loveys to sleep with.
Hi K., In my opinion, never put any of your kids in bed with you, first of all once you start, if she is 7.5 months old, rock her to sleep, the more peaceful they fall asleep, the more peaceful they do sleep. I'm an old school mom, my youngest is almost 19, and I never ever put an awake baby down for a nap or down for the night, when they got older the rocking changed to a story and prayer time, and then even older they never had a problem going to sleep on their own. Parents form habits that are hard to break, doing what is easiest for them, which is hardly ever what is best for baby/child. If you would like further advice or chit chat, you can reach me at ____@____.com J. L.
Hello, i'm K. H.I'm a mom of 4. (2 boys-(2yrs&5)and
2 girls(8yrs&9months).every child is different,but all my children slept on there stomaches also.even at a younger age than yours.it is scary only if they dont have good head strength.but i think by the age of 7m. they should not have a problem.my kids all rolled around, so it didnt matter if i put them on there backs. they'd end up on there stomachs.my 9m old loves a blanket in her face to sleep, i think as long as there noses are not stuffed there ok.babies find ways to breathe.So i think a lovey is ok as long as its not too squishy, or like a pillow.
my mother made me this cute little thin blanket and a little animals upper body was attached to it.my baby loves chewing on it and it compforts her.you might feel safer w/one of those.they are sold in stores.hope this helps a little 4u.take care, K. H
At her age, she's not at risk for SIDS, but to be safe, lt her fall asleep with it, then try removing it or move it to the corner.
Hey K.,
I am right with you on the SIDS thing. My motto is to be safe rather than sorry. I am sure from the tone I see of other responses many will disagree with me, but to each his own. : ) I would say no to sleeping with anything like that. My understanding is that it has nothing to do with being able to lift or turn their heads. It has to do with breathing back in the carbon monoxide that we breathe when we exhale. If your babies face is smooshed up against something, they will be breathing back in the "bad" air. My little girl loves a bunny she has, but I just can't let her sleep with it. My main way of thinking is that I would rather follow all guidlines and be on the paranoid side as opposed to loosing my child and blaming myself for the rest of my life. If you do all you can, if something were to happen you would know you went by the book. I know it is hard. Good luck and soon enough you will be past the "danger" zone. : )
Ok people! Our doctors and the media have all worked realy hard to show us that they are trying to eliminate SIDS. What they are not doing is fixing it. Also they are not telling us when the "fixes" stop being effective.
When your child can lift his/her head well even when tired, when your child can roll over well there is nothing more you can do to avoid SIDS (assuming your child is healthy).
Relax!! Besides, your constant worry and sleepless nights do not benifit your child.
My son is almost 7 months and sleeps on his stomach and a "lovey". We purchased a crib sleep sensor that you put under the mattress and alarms if it doesn't detect breath/movement after 10 and 20 seconds. This has helped relieve any anxiety about SIDS and suffocation due to blankets or toys. We bought this sensor (looks like a normal baby monitor)at Babies R Us. We absolutely love it.
Jen
You don't really need to worry about SIDS at this age. Give her the lovey, she needs her comfort item! And there is nothing wrong with her sleeping with you. That is what nature intended, after all. Cribs are a relatively new human invention. Babies and mommies were meant to be a unit.
Hi K. congrats one your beautiful baby. My kids are growned know but I used to stay with them till they fell asleep and then take that confort toy away. Also when they were sick I would get a pillow and sleep by his crib letting him know that mommy was their. I would then leave in the middle of the night. I am sure you being a new mom got a monitor for her room. If you have not get one they are live savors. You can rest easy with that while you are in the confort of your own room. I hope this helps my kids are know 16 and 14. Good luck.
D. K.
I asked our pediatritian yesterday and he said to wait until they're one year old.
I had the same worries, and bought the angel care baby monitor from babies r us. it goes under the mattress and senses babies breathing. if the sensor doesn't detect breathing movement for 20 seconds, the alarm goes off. this has saved our lives. my husband and I sleep just as well as the baby does now, knowing that if there's a breathing problem, we will know right away. :)
Hi!
Check out http://www.healthychild.com/cribdeathcause.htm. It is so interesting - a completely new theory for SIDS. It has to do with the combination of the flame retardant chemicals in mattresses (that outgas and hover around the mattress a bit)AND fungus from moisture (like saliva, spit up, bottles, etc.) They have done a major public service push to wrap the mattresses in New Zealand (to trap the toxic gasses) and it has virtually wiped out SIDS there. I think it's worth reading. Good luck!
My son has slept on his stomach from day one. Now I don't put anything in the crib with him. To be honest, I think babies would be fine on their tummies and that the whole SIDS thing comes from Vaccines. My great granny always told me that she never had any problem with her babies and they always slept on their tummies. She didn't vaccinate. Same with my granny. It's only been somewhat recently that doctors have insisted on babies sleeping on their backs. My recommendation to you is to let her sleep with her lovey if it comforts her. If she is old enough to roll around she's old enough to roll away from it if it's over her nose. However, if it makes you more comfortable, then let her fall asleep with it and then maybe put it at the opposite end of her crib... or take it out all together. Just know that she might wake up in the middle of the night crying for it. They also have alarms that you can put under the mattress that will ring in your room if she doesn't move after 20 minutes. Babies will normally wiggle a little within that time period.
After about 6 months, they're not really at risk for SIDS anymore if they can roll over. And this elephant doesn't sound suffocating like a pillow could be. Unless your baby was preemie or has other health issues, you should be fine.
If she can roll both ways very easily, why not? The idea that items in a crib can contribute to SIDS is based on the idea that a baby could be smothered and unable to move off of whatever is in there. If she is able to roll off of an obstruction, it's a moot point.
That said, most children don't become really attached to an object until later, so she might not really *need* a lovey.
I personally wouldn't want to put anything in the crib with my baby, especially if she likes it near her face. I would think it would be ok when she can roll around because she will move away from anything uncomfortable to her. But if she can't roll over yet it may get too close to her mouth and nose and she wont be able to do anything about it.
once they are moving around, the risk is sids is gone. They wont suffocate if they can turn their head.
