Friday, July 11, 2008

The Blanket Dilemma

So my question is...at what age is it OK for Eliza to sleep with a blanket?

I am one of those mom's who took the no loose blankets thing very seriously. I am very afraid of SIDS. Attending the funeral of a baby who died of SIDS was one of the worst experiences in my life. You can really never be too safe. However, Eliza does sleep in our bed with blankets but we keep them away from her. Although some believe co-sleeping is dangerous I do believe it is safe if done correctly- but that is a whole different blog post. Now I am wondering when it is OK for Eliza to sleep in her crib with a blanket. She does sometimes nap in her crib and I am thinking if she had a lovey or a blanket it might make her enjoy her crib a little more. Just like if I could have a mid afternoon lovey glass of wine- I might feel better.

I did a little digging and pretty much came up with the same answer-NO blankets in the crib until 12 months of age.

According to Parenting.com

Transitional objects like a teddy bear or blankie help make bedtime less lonely for babies. The AAP doesn't recommend that babies sleep with loveys in the crib until they're 1, so remove them after she's asleep. But if your baby rolls over regularly (usually at around 5 months old), she's capable of moving away from a suffocation hazard, so there's less risk of SIDS. A small, crib-size blanket is also fine for a baby 6 months and older, who can push it off or crawl from under it.


So for two more months no blankets for Eliza at night. During the day I watch her on the video monitor so I am guessing it is OK. I would love for her to have a lovey that didn't involve pulling my hair. When Pete brings her in the bed at night she immediately comforts herself by yanking my hair out of my head. It does wonders for her -but for me- not so much. I try giving her all different types of blankets hoping she will fall madly in love and become sleepy and relaxed at the site of her new found lovey. It hasn't happened yet but I will sure let you all know if it does.

Now where did I put that darn wine opener?

Hope you all have a fab weekend!

14 comments:

Lori said...

just remember that the chance of SIDS goes down with every month. I can't remember when Blake started sleeping with a blanket, but I know once he was moving around at night and could get himself off the object I started letting him have the blanket

Marni's Organized Mess said...

I completely respect your views and agree the no blanket is not a great idea. BUT... I did it.

What made me feel nice though, was that I used crotched blankets with VERY decent size breathing holes. Worst comes to worst the max they could get tied, I doubt they suffocate.

Just an idea. :)

Pam said...

I'll bring the wine opener if you have the wine - don't worry about glasses- I can drink from the bottle ;)

oh- that wasn't the point of the post- ooops! - sorry- I'll focus more next time!

Amanda-The Family News! said...

I was just having this same conversation with someone at work earlier this week.... I can't remember how old Avery was - I think he was very near to a year old. I'll have to dig thru pictures because I KNOW I have a ton of him sleeping!!! Lauren - she has one in her crib, but I only cover her feet and she usually just kicks it off.

Tracy said...

Sorry once again I am of no help in this situation. Madison is an anti-blanket kind of kid!

Andrea said...

Hmmm...that's interesting...the no blanket until 12 months idea. We let Tate have a blanket in his bed when he was about 6 months old and had his beloved stuffed puppy dog too. I used to watch Tate when he was sleeping sometimes because he was also old enough at this point to flip onto his tummy (which did all the time!) and every time that his face would get covered with the blanket or would be buried in the mattress a bit too much, he would always, always turn his head so he could breathe better - just a natural instinct I think!

Dawn Hudson said...

I have always felt that if it's God's plan involves taking a child of SIDS its going to happen with a blanket or not. My boys have always slept with their blankets and are blanky babies still at the ages of 5 and 3. No, they don't carry them around anymore but they do still sleep with them. I love that they have them and love that they have always had them snuggled up to their faces. They just look so darn cute and comfy!

Missy said...

Although I was also a worried SIDS mom, I think that Emmy and Pook both had a fleece blanket in their beds, starting very early, maybe starting at 3 or 4 months. Especially Emmy, she seemed to sleep a lot better when she was snuggled in her blanket. And it always seems like my kids' bedrooms are freezing cold at night, winter or summer.

Anonymous said...

I took it very seriously like you, too. It's great that K now has blankies and a couple of bears and dollies...she loves snuggling with them!

Andrew W. Larrison said...

I like Marni's idea re: crocheted blankets. Interesting.

We co-sleep with Elizabeth and I agree that it is pretty safe if done right.

Good luck and let me know how things shake out.

Mozi Esme said...

Very interesting info!

I intuitively decided blankets were safe once Esme was rolling easily, which kind of fits the Parenting quote.

But she HATES them! Even when she's sleeping with us (like every single night) - she crawls up above the blankets and lies across the head of the bed to avoid them. (That's why I get foot in mouth so much.) No such thing as tucking in this little baby!

Anonymous said...

Young children don't need blankets to sleep. Their metabolism is high enough that blankets are unnecessary and can be hazardous. Better to use a blanket sleep or feetie jammies.

A small receiving blanket is OK if tucked into the foot of the crib so that it cannot become loose, but no blankets are best.

Home made blankets that are made of knitted yarn do have good breathing holes, but you should be aware that they are not made of fire retardant materials. So weigh your dangers carefully.

A small lovey is OK for a baby that needs one. We suggest that if it's made of cloth, nothing bigger than a pre-folded diaper. A small stuffed animal is probably OK but we really prefer nothing in the crib but baby.

Place baby's crib in your room so that you can attend them quickly and easily if needed but you all are in your own sleep place.

By 6 months old, 95% of the babies that are going to die of SIDS have already died. So, practice safe sleep, but ENJOY your baby.

Anonymous said...

Hi there - I am terrified of SIDS too, so we sleep our toddler (and have since she arrived) in Halo sleepsacks. They have won some awards and are endorsed by First Candle (SIDS alliance) and are SOOOO Much safer than a loose blanket. I get wonderful sleep knowing that she is safe and ironically, her "night night" (her sleepsack) IS her lovey. She won't nap or go to bed without it. they have tons of cute patterns and weights of the fabrics so in the summer we can have her in the lightweight ones and in the winter. they have tiny ones for little babies and even big kid sizes! we love them! we bought ours from halosleep.com - try them! i think you will LOVE them!

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