baby sleeping in crib dangerous..?

Question

i'm 23 wks pregnant and this is my first pregnancy ever and i'm more lost than anything. i live alone in germany because my hubby is deployed in iraq. anyways, i was showing my mother in law a pic of the crib bedding we bought for our baby online. but then she said, "don't let the baby sleep in the crib until she's 7 months because she can die." i'm here thinking, "WTF?!" i mean i have heard of SIDS but the way she said it, scared me. i'm the oldest of 5 kids, my sibs always slept in the crib with no problem. and i believe it's a parent's choice if they choose to have the baby sleep in their bed. i'm going to be alone until nov '08 but i don't want to accustom her to our bed. but why did she say my baby could die?! that really scared me :'( anyone?! thx :|

ok now im talking to my hubby about it. he's telling me something that happend to his grandma and a baby dying.

the thing is, his family is REALLY superstitious and i don't like it at all. i don't take it as advice. it really pisses me off.

Answer 1

I have three children and they all slept in either thier crib or a cradle they are all healthy happy children. As long as you arent includina pillow or stuffed animals in the crid it should be fine. When you have your baby the hospital staff will show you how to swaddle and position your baby on its side so its healthy and all that should be in the babies crib is its bumper pad and the baby with its swaddling blankets. After the baby becomes to big to swaddle just a blanket is fine until they are old enough for pillow like when he/ she can roll over and turn his/her head on their own. I am sorry you were scared by this comment by your mother in law. Also I have always been told that sids is a disease so it shouldnt depend on where the baby sleeps. Best of luck with you MIL and congrats on the baby. Also thank your husband for me. SUPPORTING ALL OUR TROOPS!!!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Most parents keep a newborn in a bassinet in their bedroom for a couple of months just so the baby is near and the mom needs to nurse the baby. A baby is perfectly safe in a crib as well. Just make sure you always put the baby on his/her back, not on their belly, and make sure there isn't fluffy comforters or bumpers in the crib so that the baby can somehow get twisted up in or have her/his head covered with. Having a tiny baby sleeping in the parent's bed can be very dangerous-rolling on the baby or accidentally covering their face so they can't breath. I'd ask your mother-in-law for an explanation. Do some research on SIDS. Congrats and best wishes on the baby.

Answer 4

Do more research but your baby is not going to die from sleeping in a crib. If the bedding you have is very frilly and thick you might want to be careful to not the let the baby sleep too close where she can suffocate. Don't put blankets or toys in the crib that can get in her way. My daughter slept in the bassinet next to my bed for 4 months before switching her to the crib. She never had any problems. Good luck!

Answer 5

She might have been assuming that you'll put baby face down on the quilt that usually comes with crib bedding and thus suffocate the baby since young infants are unable to move their face out of something soft and can suffocate that way.
Until baby is able to pick up her head easily you shouldn't put anything soft in her crib...keep all blankets, pillows, the pumper pad and stuffed animals out of the crib. They have sleep sacks on the market that will keep her warm so she doesn't unravel the blanket and get stuck in it.
As for her whole 7 month thing I'd go bonkers...where on earth is baby going to sleep? by 7 months most infants are quite capable of crawling.....Which means they'll end up falling off your bed since they have no idea that the end of the bed means stop! Or worse if you put them on the floor what are they going to get into while you are sleeping?
Try not to stress to much over MIL advice...I found early on that things have changed so much between this generation and the last generation and so many things have been discovered that alot of the advice is down right bad for babies now.
Try checking out some websites like babycenter.com also your pediatrician/family practice doctor will have much sounder advice. Also trust your instincts! You'll know if something doesn't sound right and what works for one baby doesn't always work for another!

Answer 6

I co-sleep with my son and so does everyone I know. It is not dangerous if you take the right precautions. Sleep with no more than a thin blanket (no quilts!) and lay him on top of the blanket so you cant accidentally pull it over his head. Position his so that his head is bellow the bottom of your pillows so that he cant somehow roll over onto the pillows and suffocate. I am transitioning my son into his crib and I put him down in his crib for his first stretch of sleep at night (the first stretch is the most important in sleep training) and then if he wont go down in the middle of the night I let him sleep with me. I also put him in his crib for naps, no exceptions since its not 1am and Im not so exhausted I feel like a zombie. It took my son a week and a hakf of doing this and now he almost always sleeps in his crib and he does great! Good luck and happy and safe co-sleeping to the both of you!

Answer 7

Sleeping in a crib is safe, no need to worry. Just remember to put your baby on his or her back to sleep. There are some studies that suggest SAFE co-sleeping may slightly reduce the risk of SIDS, but sleeping in a crib certainly doesn't increase it.
New research is showing what parents the world over have long suspected: infants who sleep safely nestled next to parents are less likely to succumb to the tragedy of SIDS. Yet, because SIDS is so rare (.5 to 1 case per 1,000 infants), this worry should not be a reason to sleep with your baby. (For in depth information on the science of sleepsharing and the experiments showing how sleep benefits a baby's nighttime physiology. (See SIDS)

Here are a few things that will reduce the risk of SIDS just to help ease your mind.
No smoking while pregnant
No smoking around baby
No stuffed animals in crib
Breastfeeding
Using a pacifier

Answer 8

Make the transition easy on both you and the baby.

Most playpens nowadays have a bassinett type thing that will hold up to 15lbs. Ours is a Graco Pack N Play.

You can use it at night...baby could be in the room with you, but not in a baby bed and you could put her in the baby bed during the day when she naps and you're awake. That way she'll be used to her baby bed when you feel comfortable enough for her to be in there at night.

As for the baby bed issue, the only major concern is removing everything but the bumpers so that she can't possibly move and get a blanket over her nose and mouth. Generally, once a baby gets good head control and/or body movement, it's alot safer to be in a baby bed.

Answer 9

It is items that might be placed in the crib or crib bedding that are associated with an increased the risk of SIDS, not the crib itself. It is recommended that you DO NOT use bumper pads, pillows, blankets, positioners, stuffed animals, etc...

It is recommended that the crib be in the parents room for the first 6 months as well.

Here is a link to things you can do to reduce the risk of SIDS:
http://www.sids.org/nprevent.htm

Answer 10

It sounds like she is getting confused from all the information she has heard about SIDS. It is perfectly fine for a baby to sleep in a crib on their own (actually, most Dr's don't recommend family bed as there is a concern that one of the parents could accidentally roll on baby and suffocate him/her). If baby is sleeping in a crib and not a bassinet (where there is less room for rolling over) try to keep baby on his/her back (if you need it, Jolly Jumper makes a padded pillow-type thing that will wedge baby on her back and keep her from rolling onto her tummy) and don't put stuffed animals or any bumper pads/blankets in the crib until baby can roll over on their own. The concern is that baby may pull one of these items over their face, or roll into them, and cannot roll away from them. Don't let her fears get to you; as long as you are careful with baby he/she will be fine. If you start dwelling on everything that could go wrong you'll drive yourself crazy!
Congratulations on your upcoming arrival!!