We don't believe in SIDS.
Just kidding. We moved Nolan from the bassinet to the crib! (And the bassinet has so generously turned into a hamper). The crib is great (nursery pictures to come). WE sleep better. And I'm pretty sure Nolan likes having his own room. Ok, I just like the fact that I can't hear every little movement or noise he makes. Mother's instinct includes eyes flying open at any change in baby's breathing pattern. Now, I can't hear him until he REALLY wants to be picked up.
Speaking of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), I think it's overrated. There is way more hype about it in the parent pop media than necessary. And it sure is freaking out this generation of moms. I know, in my internship days I even went around preaching to the new moms I visited about the importance of keeping loose items out of the crib and putting the baby to sleep on his back (NEVER THE STOMACH!).
But really.
Now that I'm a mom, I'm finding to just do what works. Confession time: Nolan sleeps SOOO much better on his tummy. When he's on his back he always manages to punch himself awake, even when he's swaddled. Call me a bad mom (I would have a year ago), but I sleep my kid on his stomach. And I know I'm not the only one.
Heck, weren't WE all put to sleep on our stomachs?? That was the trend 20 years ago. And WE survived. After questioning my mother and several other LDS women (who know a lot of people with a lot of kids), if they've ever personally known someone who's child died of SIDS, their answer was no. Has anyone reading this personally known someone??
And although it's true that the rate of SIDS has decreased by 50% since the Back to Sleep advice came out, it wasn't THAT common to start out with. So, by placing my infant on his stomach instead of his back, I'm increasing the rate of SIDS from 0.05% to a whoppin' 0.10%.
I have MUCH better chances of getting a good nigh'ts sleep to prevent THIS exhausted mom from throwing the kid out the window!
Whew! I feel much better getting all this off my chest. Thank you for listening. You can argue or agree with me. But I'll probably only read comments made by those who agree with me.
HAPPY SLEEPING!
17 comments:
If you read the wikipedia article about SIDS it does state that the number of cases was already declining when they started the back to bed program. This is probably related more to the other factors that cause it...a whole list of chemical substances. So maybe it is more modern health is getting better and moms are taking better care of themselves when they are pregnant.
Yeah I don't know anyone, either, come to think of it. I think I only know a few people who've had children die, period. I think the recovery part of child birth was much worse than actually giving birth. Maybe that was just me. Good luck with sleeping. Glad your kiddo gets his own room!
This just makes me giggle! I felt SO guilty about my "SIDS secret" with my first baby. He just slept better on his belly! One day I confessed to a girlfriend, she confirmed my feelings and I've since learned that many experienced moms have the same "dirty little secret." :) Good for you for researching it yourself & following your maternal instincts! :)
One more thought. Yes, I have personally known one baby who died of SIDS. Non-smoking family, baby on back, nothing in the crib. My major problem with SIDS (aside from the suspected causes such as smothering & smoking) is that as the name suggests THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT CAUSES IT! So how can we prevent that?!? Take percautions, do what you can, but sometimes something goes wrong and there isn't anything we can do. I'm sure glad it is happening less often though... .05% is still too high if it was one of my angels.
One of my Mom's friends had a little girl that died of SIDS. It was very sad.
I'll let you know what I think about it in a couple months ...
I have no experience so I can't really say! I'm glad you're so comfortable with it though. I just can't imagine how horrible it would be to have a baby die.
I do know someone who's baby dies of SIDS. It does happend it is real but here are my thoughts on it. I have done a lot of reading, as you probably have and here is my conclusion.
1. SIDS is actually a malfunction of the brain. SOME babies are born with out the sensor that says "i need oxygen turn your head." it is these babies that die of SIDS and smothering and so forth. You know how you toss and turn in the night or you randomly roll over without waking up... that is the sensor working its magic. This is the reason that SIDS cases go down after 6 months and the threat is virtually gone after one year, because that sensor in the brain develops... that is if they didn't die from it. This is why it is good to be cautious, because you never know.
2. Kroten never liked his stomach so I dont know how that is, but I agree that what ever works. I think you will be okay, and I also think that in a few months he is going to sleep however he wants, so he will go to his tummy by himself.
3. Something els that I have read is that a majority of SIDS cases were babies who died of other reasons (including heaven forbid, murder.) and the doctors just say... "oh its just SIDS." Therefor it may be a lot more rare than recorded.
TADA!!
PS... these are just my theories on the subject. To be perfectly honest, I am still scared to death of it.
I have put both of my girls on their backs, but they also liked being wrapped up like burritos, so they didn't wake themselves up with the flailing arms. However, my opnion on all of that has changed since Liz developed a flat spot from always laying on her back. Plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) has increased dramatically since the "Back to Sleep" initiative in the early '90s. I would probably put our next kid on it's tummy just to prevent having to do the helmet again. We'll see - that hopefully won't be a for a few more years!
Glad you are sleeping better.
My seminary teacher had a little girl that died from SIDS. They had left her sleeping and came back and she was completely blue. I am not completely sure, but she may have been sleeping on her tummy. They aren't completely sure what happened but their baby just stopped breathing. It was an awful ordeal for them to go through and brought my teacher tears during almost every class. I personally would never want to risk having to go through that, but it's not much of a concern for us because James hates sleeping on his tummy. I know my mom did that with all of my family and we're definitely a little weird but fine ;)
One of my mom's friends had a baby who died of SIDS, and a friend I went to school with had a niece who died of it. BUT, my 3-week old baby spends a lot of nights in bed with me (loose bedding and all) because most of the time I'm too tired to even get her from the nearby bassinet to feed her. She loves sleeping on her tummy on my chest---that's how she sleeps best right now.
I personally don't know much about SIDS, what I do know is that I've heard of more babies sleeping comfortably on their tummies than dying of SIDS. You know your baby best!
Personally, Ben hates being on his tummy! When it comes time for "tummy time" he is so lazy!!! He'll just lay there with his head to the side...or he'll just start crying! (He gets his neck excercises else where!) He's just never been comfy on his tummy!
I have also learned that although he was kicking himself out of being swaddled in a blanket, he still needed it! I'm borrowing a "kiddopotamus" it's this swaddler thingy and he sleeps really well in it! ALL NIGHT LONG!!
Oh I forgot to add- Yay for Nolan sleeping in his own room!!
As soon as I could I got Ben in his own room! I just didn't sleep well with him in our room...moving a lot, being a lite sleeper...ugh...it was agonizing!
I'm not sure what we're going to do when we go on vacation... :-)
Well, i do back sleeping, but I am ultra paranoid, overprotective worry wort, freako. i even made my son sleep in his carseat for 4 months! (which isn't good either, but I was terrified to let him sleep on his tummy.) I think I may just have mental problems...lol.
Anyway, i think motherly instincts are what keeps everyone alive, so, if your instinct is to let him sleep on his tummy, as mine was to sleep mine in his carseat, go for it! You know him best! and he is even cuter in person! I'm So glad i got to see you and meet him last weekend!
my thought is just don't put the kid to sleep on one of those infant water beds, and try not to give him little plastic bags to play with. Avoid carbon monoxide leaks whenever possible.
"Heck, weren't WE all put to sleep on our stomachs?? That was the trend 20 years ago. And WE survived."
We all survived, but none of the babies that didn't survive are here to register their vote for not surviving. You could also say that we never used car seats growing up, and we all survived. But that's only because we never got in a car crash where we would have been thrown from from the vehicle.
Having said that, I do think that they stress a little too much the importance of having your baby sleep on its back every night. They make it seem like you are murdering your baby if you put it on its stomach. And if you feed your baby anything but breast milk before they are six months old, you are going to stunt their growth, their brain development, and their immune system. Absolute poppycock!
Mother's instinct manifests the force that anticipates the unknown event that maybe harmful or useful to her children and family. Sometimes it is misunderstood as paranoia but it's unavoidable especially if a woman becomes a mother.
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