What Is With These Parents Infants Sleeping On Stomach

[Willow]

Do you by any chance have any paperwork/web-sites stating the Sleep Directive needs to be signed by a doctor or that it is only for medical situations?

I have a parent that wants to sign the Sleep Directive and inquired through our licensing department as to what she needs to do to have this done and this is the information they gave her. It doesn't say anything about requiring a doctor's signature/permission and doesn't require anything (i.e. medical reasons) other than it is the parent's wishes.

https://edocs.dhs.state.mn.us/lfserv...y/DHS-5876-ENG

I don't, that's just always what I've been told!

I have the form and explain to parents of infants that if they want to enroll there needs to be a medical reason and the form filled out by the child's doctor.

I don't do just mere personal preference in this department.

If a child dies a SIDS death in my care I don't want parents saying they didn't know any better, the liability that goes along with that or me sitting here thinking I shouldn't have been wishy washy on the policy just because the parents had a tough time with a child crying for a minute at home.

[slpender]

Do you by any chance have any paperwork/web-sites stating the Sleep Directive needs to be signed by a doctor or that it is only for medical situations?

I have a parent that wants to sign the Sleep Directive and inquired through our licensing department as to what she needs to do to have this done and this is the information they gave her. It doesn't say anything about requiring a doctor's signature/permission and doesn't require anything (i.e. medical reasons) other than it is the parent's wishes.

https://edocs.dhs.state.mn.us/lfserv...y/DHS-5876-ENG

I have talk with my child care licensing office and I am required to have a doctors written orders for a child to sleep on their stomach (any child under 12 mnths it is ok if they roll over onto their backs on their own) stating the medical condition.

There is no medical issue with this child I have talked to the parents about this and I really don't think the doctor will write anything. I use the same doctor for my own child and they are big into babies sleeping on their backs at this practice.

[laundrymom]

I simply tell them that HERE they are on their backs. If they argue, I show them a pic of my cousins daughter Marie. And tell them SHE is the reason for my diligence. She died from SIDS, while sleeping in the crib beside her twin sister.

[Play Care]

I will be the one to admit that I was one of "those" parents. Both my children were belly sleepers. Up until they were about 6 weeks, they were swaddled and on their backs and slept fine. After 6 weeks, they fought being swaddled and would scream constantly for an hour or more. As soon as I flipped them over, they would calm down and fall right asleep. Believe me, I wanted to follow the new rules (I say new because I was raised as a belly sleeper) but it was just so stressful on my kids. Their pediatrician would ask if they slept on their backs and I would tell him "no". I would jokingly tell him that's the way they were used to sleeping because I slept on my stomach during my entire pregnancy. (which I really did) He would raise an eyebrow at me, but would tell me that my kids were healthy and were doing just fine. To this day, (3 & 5) they are still belly sleepers who completely cover their heads with their blankets while they sleep.

I know I may not be technically "right" in what I did, but I did what I thought was best for MY children. I have my own opinions on back/belly sleeping and the risk of SIDS, just as many parents have their own opinions on vaccinating their children and the risk of autism. There is no conclusive evidence on the cause of either of these, so the chances of the "rules" being changed are very real possibility in the future. As a provider, all you can do is follow the rules that have been given to you, and try not to judge what a parent does with their children unless it is proven to be detrimental to their health.

FWIW, I would NEVER put a dcb on their belly to sleep without written permission from their pediatrician.

I hope this didn't sound argumentative. I'm just sharing my opinion. lovethis

Edited to add: I just read the pp. I will say that I did think about the possibility of SIDS often but I still did what I thought was best for my kids. If anything terrible ever happened to any of our children , of course we would be devastated, but we would probably always end up playing the "what if" scenario. What if I had kept him home that day? What if I had left the house two minutes later? Why did I let him go down the slide by himself? Some things are just going to happen no matter what we do.

And again... I hope this didn't sound argumentative. I'm just sharing my opinion. lovethis

I hope you didn't think my post came across as judgemental, because that wasn't my intention at all! I DO think parents should do what they feel is best for their children - BUT if you are going to be sending your child into a day care situation, I do think there is responsiblity on the parent's part to make the transition as easy as possible for the baby - and this includes trying to find ways for them to sleep on their back. That said, I strongly feel that all children should spend the first year of their lives at HOME with mom or dad so in my perfect world, this would be a non dc issue
I mentioned the article because as a child care provider I have come across parents that seem to think that if the doctor is okaying it, then it must be safe. As a provider we need to be aware that this will not limit our liability should something happen is the baby is not sleeping on their back.
As for being devastated regardless, for me, the difference is "was this truly preventable?" If my child were biking without a helmet, fell, and recieved a serious brain injury I would obviously be devasted and probably feel terribly guilty. If my child was wearing a helmet and recieved the same injury I would probably still feel devastated but probably a little less guilty, KWIM?

[Scout]

This is from my fb page after I posted a link about the infants sleeping in swings. I had no idea that was dangerous and I figured some of my friends didn't as well. This reply is from a fb friend who is an investigator with the morgue. This was his reply to it: Scary!!

There's a lot to it & if there's interest I could start posting some stuff on my wall or people can message me.

There is only one safe sleeping environment for infants. In a crib with a firm mattress and single tight fitting sheet. Infant on his/her back in middle of crib. NOTHING else in the crib. Not a single blanket, toy, stuffed animal...nothing.

There are some things that are sold that are unsafe. Why these things are available is beyond comprehension & include wedges and bumper pads.

To give you an idea of how real this is, we have 20-30 infant sleep related deaths per year in one County alone. I can't recall the national stats off the top of my head.

Maybe these parents think the risk is less than it is. 20-30 infant deaths in one large county a year is very real and very scary IMO! I am not judging any parent that does this but, I was just not comfortable doing this...that being said, I swaddled my last until 7 mos!

[mamac]

I hope you didn't think my post came across as judgemental, because that wasn't my intention at all! I DO think parents should do what they feel is best for their children - BUT if you are going to be sending your child into a day care situation, I do think there is responsiblity on the parent's part to make the transition as easy as possible for the baby - and this includes trying to find ways for them to sleep on their back. That said, I strongly feel that all children should spend the first year of their lives at HOME with mom or dad so in my perfect world, this would be a non dc issue
I mentioned the article because as a child care provider I have come across parents that seem to think that if the doctor is okaying it, then it must be safe. As a provider we need to be aware that this will not limit our liability should something happen is the baby is not sleeping on their back.
As for being devastated regardless, for me, the difference is "was this truly preventable?" If my child were biking without a helmet, fell, and recieved a serious brain injury I would obviously be devasted and probably feel terribly guilty. If my child was wearing a helmet and recieved the same injury I would probably still feel devastated but probably a little less guilty, KWIM?

No worries. I didn't think you were being judgmental at all! I have noticed that there have been a few threads that when a differing opinion comes along it becomes an issue so I was just trying to make it clear that this was just MY opinion and I wasn't judging anyone else on theirs, nor was I trying to start an argument. lovethis This topic seemed like it may be one where it could get a little heated due to people having opposing viewpoints on something as important as a child's well-being.

I completely see your point on the helmet issue, but helmets have been proven to help prevent injury to the wearer. The cause of sids has not been proven to me, so I chose to weigh the "risk" against the benefits to my child. Plus, there has also been research showing that there are actually benefits to children sleeping on their bellies which have to do with motor development. (which is why infants require "tummy time") This is why I also mentioned vaccinations. I believe their may be some truth to the increase in autism due to immunization but I weighed the risk of that maybe happening to the proven fact that immunizations do protect against diseases. (and yet there are parents who choose not to do this.) :confused:

I was very fortunate enough to have been able to spend most of the first 2 1/2 years at home with both of my kids so I didn't have an issue with sending them to DC with a belly sleeping habit. Now that I will soon be a provider, I can see where this might become an issue for the DC to have to deal with a child who is not used to sleeping on their back. I would like to think that all kids would be able to adjust to sleeping on their backs, but I have a very hard time based on my experience as a mom. Believe me, I let them both lie on their backs for much longer than a minute or two while trying to get them to sleep. As mentioned in my pp, they fought relentlessly until they were placed on their bellies, which made for very tiring days and nights for dh and I. They were able to roll over on their own by about 3 months, so the belly sleeping (thankfully) became a non-issue early on.

I will be doing everything "by the book" when it comes to running my business though. My opinions on any given matter won't CMA if I start breaking the rules.

[Angelsj]

That's where I am at too...if the parent wants to have their baby sleep on their tummy just because, I don't want to take the baby....even though the paper says it releases us from any liability, I just don't want to go there.

I know it is their choice but I feel it is MY choice to be able to protect myself and my business.

I slept with my babies (on a waterbed )
However, if I can't get a tiny one to sleep on their back, I just wear them. We work on napping in the pack n play later on.

[jenn]

We are required to put them on their back to sleep. They can have a pacifier and a sleep sack. Once they can roll on their own, I still place them on their back, but if they roll over I leave them alone and just check more frequently. I no longer use the sleep sack once they can roll. We are required to have a safe sleep policy, so parents learn the rules and regulations we are forced to follow.

[Blackcat31]

I slept with my babies (on a waterbed )
However, if I can't get a tiny one to sleep on their back, I just wear them. We work on napping in the pack n play later on.

See, this is where I find our regulation language to be very confusing. I am told we CAN wear babies in slings or wraps but also told that infants can NOT sleep in any of those.

When I asked my licensor what I was suppose to do if they fall asleep in the wrap/sling and she said we are remove them immediately and place them in a crib/PNP.

Ugh, when the regs/rules get too complicated for infants it seems to me it would be easier to simply avoid. (atleast for me).

fwiw~ When my oldest was a baby, we owned a waterbed too and she LOVED sleeping there...

[SilverSabre25]

From day one both my kids would turn up on their sides to sleep. Lay them down on back, flip to side. Once they got proficient at rolling they both started flipping all the way to their tummies most of the time.

[Angelsj]

See, this is where I find our regulation language to be very confusing. I am told we CAN wear babies in slings or wraps but also told that infants can NOT sleep in any of those.

When I asked my licensor what I was suppose to do if they fall asleep in the wrap/sling and she said we are remove them immediately and place them in a crib/PNP.

Ugh, when the regs/rules get too complicated for infants it seems to me it would be easier to simply avoid. (atleast for me).

fwiw~ When my oldest was a baby, we owned a waterbed too and she LOVED sleeping there...

Seriously? Good grief. I was told that a sling/wrap is the only place they can sleep (other than the approved pack n play or crib) because you are holding them. And we are in the same state. Mercy. If the licensers can't figure it out, what are we supposed to do?

[mema]

See, this is where I find our regulation language to be very confusing. I am told we CAN wear babies in slings or wraps but also told that infants can NOT sleep in any of those.

When I asked my licensor what I was suppose to do if they fall asleep in the wrap/sling and she said we are remove them immediately and place them in a crib/PNP.

Ugh, when the regs/rules get too complicated for infants it seems to me it would be easier to simply avoid. (atleast for me).

fwiw~ When my oldest was a baby, we owned a waterbed too and she LOVED sleeping there...

Seriously? Good grief. I was told that a sling/wrap is the only place they can sleep (other than the approved pack n play or crib) because you are holding them. And we are in the same state. Mercy. If the licensers can't figure it out, what are we supposed to do?

Same state here. We are no for sleeping in a sling also. I asked what if baby falls asleep in stroller and we are headed to the park. I was told I have to head home and put the baby in a pnp. They can't hang out in the stroller or my arms sleeping at the park for 15-20 minutes. Another reason to not take any more infants because we lovethis our park time!

[SilverSabre25]

Same state here. We are no for sleeping in a sling also. I asked what if baby falls asleep in stroller and we are headed to the park. I was told I have to head home and put the baby in a pnp. They can't hang out in the stroller or my arms sleeping at the park for 15-20 minutes. Another reason to not take any more infants because we lovethis our park time!

i'm sorry, but that is so stupid.

this country is seriously getting insane.

[Orie]

I totally parent my own kids in a way that I couldn't have my daycare kids parented. Lol. I let my own infants sleep on their tummies. I weighed the benefits and the actual risk and decided in favour of tummy. But I couldn't accept that liability with a dck.

In our state, providers are not allowed to even let their own infants sleep on their stomachs, or use any blankets in their crib. They will give a $200 fine if they came to inspect a home day care and found any infants sleeping on their stomachs, or have blankets, regardless if it was your own infant, sleeping in your own home. I am thankful my children are all older now, because that would really bother me that I couldn't make that decision on how my own children could sleep in my own home, while they are in my care.

[Angelsj]

Same state here. We are no for sleeping in a sling also. I asked what if baby falls asleep in stroller and we are headed to the park. I was told I have to head home and put the baby in a pnp. They can't hang out in the stroller or my arms sleeping at the park for 15-20 minutes. Another reason to not take any more infants because we lovethis our park time!

I agree, it is stupid. No way I am going to head home with everyone just because the baby fell asleep! How much safer could they be than in my arms? Or even in a stroller that lays back? They are right there. But take them home and put them in a pack n play in another room and they are safer? Really? Common sense has flown the coop.