Sleeping In Swings?

[craftymissbeth]

Every year around Christmas, there's a SIDS get together type thing where we all celebrate the babies lost in our area. There is a surprising number of families who said they were holding their child when they died. I personally believe that there are babies that are simply higher risk all on their own. In the "perfect" condition that particular baby has a much greater chance of dying.

[nannyde]

Every year around Christmas, there's a SIDS get together type thing where we all celebrate the babies lost in our area. There is a surprising number of families who said they were holding their child when they died. I personally believe that there are babies that are simply higher risk all on their own. In the "perfect" condition that particular baby has a much greater chance of dying.

Holding them is only perfect when you are wide awake and staring at their chest rise and fall and their face. Holding them while you are exhausted on a cushion surface is deadly.

How many of the ones holding them were doing so while they were trying to get the baby to not cry? How many were in the middle of the night?

When a parent is tired they should not be holding them sitting down on a couch or a chair or in bed.

[Mom of 4]

I noticed that many of you are commenting that your dck's are sleeping at in a swing (at home). Is this a thing? I've never even heard of anyone doing this on a regular basis. Isn't that terrible for their backs?

My first child had severe apnea, and could not sleep on her back or side. She slept in a swing with monitors on her til about 6 months. My second got RSV, same problem, he was about 6 months when I stopped him there (RSV happened at 3 months and he was on oxygen for over 6 weeks) My twins were also in swings, but they preferred their basinettes. However, when my daughter had PDA diagnosed at 2 weeks, the nurse put her in her normal carseat and let her sleep in that and said til the PDA resolved OR surgery, she'd have to stay that way. The PDA (THANKFULLY) resolved on it's own and she did not need surgery. The confirmation was also at 6 months of age. Her twin brother preferred to lay down and was the ONLY one of 4 that did actually sleep on his back.

My foster child slept upright for a little bit, too, due to breathing issues. He only did that for about a month. Then slept on his back. The other foster child, I got in as an older, so don't know how she slept.

And of course, both of my surrogate babies parents sleep them semi upright with a white semi-soft foamy thing. They are from another country and they sleep their babies semi upright with it. It has a small hole in it too, so their babies don't get flat heads. It can also keep the babies side-sleeping for the parents who needed their babies to be side-sleepers. I never saw one in the US other than the one they brought.

So out of 8 children, all 8 had no issues with SIDS. All are healthy now. In the case of my dd with Apnea, the way she slept may very well have saved her life. We'll never know.

[Angelsj]

I think what's starting to change is how specific the cause of death is. Now more coroners know the difference between positional death and SIDS.

I don't do that level of supervision. The baby doesn't have that anywhere it goes. I do ten minute rounds and have the babies on a different level from me. I think the proper position in a flat surface bare crib or playpen with a dark cool room and a warm layer that is fitted over clothing is the best to increase the chances of survival. Also I keep the baby centered in the playpen and have open mesh on at least two sides.

I also think being very strict about not allowing sick babies helps too.

I don't think 10 mins is bad either. That is pretty good supervision. My concern with the simplicity of this latest campaign (ABC) is the parents may be thinking, "Ok, I did the alone, back, crib thing. Now I can leave the baby alone to sleep without checking on them." Or even listening on a monitor, shoot even a camera. I haven't found one yet that can see a small infant breathing.
I just don't feel we have enough info yet to make it so simple. It is also really confusing to parents to allow the baby to sleep in the car in a car seat, but not at home. Again, the reason is close supervision (we are right there in the car) but at home, we walk away and leave the baby to sleep.
We need to find a way to do a lot less cutesy little sayings and a lot more education on WHY these things save babies.

[Annalee]

Back when they had the loud wind-up swings, I used the swing some to help my son because the dr said the movement helped colic???? Not sure if it did or didn't but on certain afternoons the swing is the only relief I got. It seemed his screaming started at 5pm every day...so the swing is where he went and if he went to sleep I didn't bother him. I felt the swing helped he and I, but luckily the colic seemed to pass after a couple hours each afternoon....so night time went smoothly but if the crying from colic had persisted I probably would have used the swing at night, too. Education has come so far so I don't know what I would have done if the swing was considered like it is now for sleep, but I DO KNOW the swing helped my son calm down and it helped my nerves.

[Heidi]

God, there's so much conflicting information all the time, that it's hard to keep track. When my oldest was a baby, they were telling us to put them on their bellies to sleep and with my last, swaddling was all the rage. (I did swaddle him, with hands out and it worked great for us. That's him picking his nose in my pic.) We can't always just use our instincts anymore, as moms.

I just really want to say to everyone that's lost a little one, I'm so, so sorry. I can't even imagine the pain you must carry. Feel hugged.

This is so true..

This is not the original study, but it's cited by this organic mattress company.

http://www.healthychild.com/has-the-cause-of-crib-death-sids-been-found/

I don't know that it's ALL the reason for SIDS, but it's totally plausible to me that it contributes.

[nannyde]

I don't think 10 mins is bad either. That is pretty good supervision. My concern with the simplicity of this latest campaign (ABC) is the parents may be thinking, "Ok, I did the alone, back, crib thing. Now I can leave the baby alone to sleep without checking on them." Or even listening on a monitor, shoot even a camera. I haven't found one yet that can see a small infant breathing.
I just don't feel we have enough info yet to make it so simple. It is also really confusing to parents to allow the baby to sleep in the car in a car seat, but not at home. Again, the reason is close supervision (we are right there in the car) but at home, we walk away and leave the baby to sleep.
We need to find a way to do a lot less cutesy little sayings and a lot more education on WHY these things save babies.

The sleep in car seat in car needs to be added to the training. My understanding is that because the car bounces around on the surface of the road and goes.from start to stop and side to side that the baby is naturally bounced around often. This stimulates the repositioning of the head and neck and the baby to deep breathe.

I think parents need to understand that they don't get ALL the information of safety by one billboard or campaign. They have to educate themselves. With technology and content so accessible they are set better than ANY generation before us. They aren't limited to generational learning. They have the world wide web, telephones, and designated public health specialist to consult.

Do the work.

Seriously the amount of time the average parent spends on attachment care education and education education you would think they could spare some safe sleep education.

[Childminder]

I have that baby/family right now. The parent that sleeps the baby in the carrier.

She is single parent, three under 4 - so 6 weeks, 13month and 3yr old.

I get that she works full time, has three babies and wants to sleep. I get that babies like to feel secure and are used to being all tight in the womb.

But she is making it difficult for me to care for ALL of the children I have in my care if I canNOT hold baby all day long, sleep him in car seats, bouncy seats or in the swing.

Btw, she worked in a daycare for two years. She knows the rules. She knows what's safe!

[drseuss]

A related question for Nan or anyone else who might like to answer. When do you lay off the constant sleep supervison? Do you do it according to the peak ages for SIDS risk, or do you have a different timetable? Just wondering because I've got two 10-month old infants here.

[MaryF]

Wednesday, thanks to your story I've purchased 2 Snuza's, written up the parental permission forms, and now use them in my child care.

Could I please see your permission form? This thread convinced me to buy the Snuza for my daycare as well.

[Blackcat31]

A related question for Nan or anyone else who might like to answer. When do you lay off the constant sleep supervison? Do you do it according to the peak ages for SIDS risk, or do you have a different timetable? Just wondering because I've got two 10-month old infants here.

I provide CONSTANT supervision for sleeping children at ALL ages here.

Everyone sleeps within eye sight at all times.

I do NOT sleep anyone behind a closed door. Ever.

Too much liability for me.

Easier to just have them sleep where I can constantly see them.

I would probably do things differently in my own home with my own children but since the kids I have are not mine, I go above and beyond to ensure safe sleep....so I can sleep at night too.

[craftymissbeth]

A related question for Nan or anyone else who might like to answer. When do you lay off the constant sleep supervison? Do you do it according to the peak ages for SIDS risk, or do you have a different timetable? Just wondering because I've got two 10-month old infants here.

I check in all of my kids every 10 minutes, but I stop being obsessive about it once they're crawling and super mobile. I still check on them, but the littler non-mobile infants I check on far more often.

[Heidi]

A related question for Nan or anyone else who might like to answer. When do you lay off the constant sleep supervison? Do you do it according to the peak ages for SIDS risk, or do you have a different timetable? Just wondering because I've got two 10-month old infants here.

For me, it's a gradual process. At 6 weeks (the earliest I take them), I sleep them here in the main room with me. Once they seem to be bothered by noise, usually at 3 months or so, I move them to a room nearby and check on them frequently. By 7 or 8 months, they are in further rooms, and I don't really do a lot of checks; just listen at the door occasionally.

I keep them in pnp's as long as I can, and once they are on mats, they're back right near me again.

[drseuss]

I provide CONSTANT supervision for sleeping children at ALL ages here.

Everyone sleeps within eye sight at all times.

I do NOT sleep anyone behind a closed door. Ever.

Too much liability for me.

Easier to just have them sleep where I can constantly see them.

I would probably do things differently in my own home with my own children but since the kids I have are not mine, I go above and beyond to ensure safe sleep....so I can sleep at night too.

I have an open area where the non-infants sleep on mats, and an adjacent room where infants sleep in their PnPs, with the door open. I am not sitting in the doorway watching them and never leaving that doorway-I am prepping afternoon things and passing by looking in on them every so often. Are you saying that you are sitting there watching the whole nap without doing anything else?

Having mixed ages complicates the situation, but that is FCC.

The information we learn now in the SIDS classes is so frightening. We had some of this info when my children were babies, but I think that if we knew then what they are telling us now, I would have been out of my mind with fear. I had never even heard of positional asphyxiation fifteen years ago. Yikes. When our own babies were in a swing, if they fell asleep there we didn't really think anything of leaving them in the swing for half an hour.

[Annalee]

I have an open area where the non-infants sleep on mats, and an adjacent room where infants sleep in their PnPs, with the door open. I am not sitting in the doorway watching them and never leaving that doorway-I am prepping afternoon things and passing by looking in on them every so often. Are you saying that you are sitting there watching the whole nap without doing anything else?

Having mixed ages complicates the situation, but that is FCC.

The information we learn now in the SIDS classes is so frightening. We had some of this info when my children were babies, but I think that if we knew then what they are telling us now, I would have been out of my mind with fear. I had never even heard of positional asphyxiation fifteen years ago. Yikes. When our own babies were in a swing, if they fell asleep there we didn't really think anything of leaving them in the swing for half an hour.

My son (10 now) had his tonsils out when he was 5. When the dr was prepping him he asked me if he slept on a pillow at home which I told him no, he sleeps on his stomach with NO pillow. The dr told me he was surprised he could sleep like that and still get enough air to breath due to his tonsils being so large and near rotten. Point being, I guess there are things that can happen no matter how hard we try as parents...We just do the best we can!!!