Sleeping with Blankets - Columbia Falls, MT

I don't believe the advice to prevent SIDS is not to use blankets, but not to use "redundant soft bedding" which would be too many or too fluffy blankets. There are not a lot of good alternatives to blankets. Your baby will be cold without a blanket. Here is the October 2005 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Policy Statement on reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/ped...

I don't think i used blankets until they were going to a toddler bed and nearly 2 years old. Mine always slept in a fleece sleep sack or footed sleeper. In the summer, they actually wore pants to keepthe chill off of the air conditioner. they had blankies and some dolls. When they were about 18 months, I trained then to slep under covers by using a quilt that I tucked in at the bottom and sides. this worked very well and let them get used to sleeping in one direction before trying to sleep in a bed.

Due to not having an insulated house, and not being able to afford to heat the house enough, our kids always slept with blankets. We just tucked them in low in the crib so they only came to the shoulders and then put the baby down at the bottom. We never found them with their heads covered. Once they could move, we just covered them normal and then checked them before going to bed. I had a friend who used a sheet to "short-sheet" the crib so the baby couldn't crawl under the blanket. That also worked well.

My daughter has ALWAYS slept with a blanket on her tummy. She would never sleep on her back. She is now 2. My son is 5 months, and exactly the same. He will only sleep on his back when he is snuggled next to me in bed after nursing - which doesn't last long. Then I turn him to his tummy where he'll sleep for hours. When I lay them down I pull the blanket up to their shoulders and tuck it in all the way around. The two year old gets up at night, puts herself back to bed, puts the blanket back on - no prob! My son wakes up, plays and sucks on the blanket. He has enough head strength to keep it up and maneuver around the blanket. I think "SIDS" is misadvertised as to it's causes. A blanket is NOT a deathtrap to children - nor is a pillow. Didn't you sleep with one? What about the hundred of generations before you? Humans have managed to get this far with them until now.

Have you tried swaddling your baby for sleep time? I completely understand the fear of SIDS as I have had two babies, but I never wanted them to be too cold at night. I always had an infant hat on them when they were really little, and my husband was the KING of swaddling. When they were swaddled and asleep, I would lay them on their backs in the crib with one of those head support foamy things they have in infant car seats, and they would only wake when hungry. Even then, they didn't kick too much out of their blanket. If your little one is too big for swaddling, try covering him/her up at nap time during the day so you can see how your baby reacts or handles having a blanket. If you live in a colder climate you can't go forever without blankets. As for space heaters, I am more fearful of them. They can short out and cause fires. I would never leave one on in the night, especially in my baby's room.

I have always used spaced heaters in my house, can't really afford oil for the furnace and we live in a drafty old house....which I love! And in the 4 years we have been using them I have never had a problem, And I have always used blankets on my kids around 3-4 months old, most of mine are summer babies so we really didn't have a need for them until winter hit. I think a lot of it depends on what you are comfotable with and how much your baby moves in his sleep, mine are not big movers until about about 7-8 months and then they are capable of untangling themselve IF it happened, and it never did.

My doctor said at one they can have blankets, but my daughter is almost 16 months and I am still too scared.

If you're swaddling the baby and the baby isn't wiggling out of it, then you should be fine. After my baby didn't want to be swaddled anymore, we took the blankets out and wrapped him up in more pajamas.

Once your baby is able to roll over on its own and you can tell that they can take a blanket off their head when they don't want it there, you should be okay. My advise is - don't use the fluffy blankets until they are quite a bit older. SIDS cautions against fluffy blankets and stuffed animals. We've only started using blankets again a couple months ago and my baby is 19 months old. So, about the year mark would be a completely safe estimate.

Hi Lori!! I too was afraid of this! We started letting our daughter sleep with blankets at 1 year...I have read that a lot too, that at 1 it is safe! Our daughter use to hate them at first and kicked them off for about the first 5 or 6 months...now she is usually all wrapped up in them and has her little head peeking out and she is 22 months! Good Luck!! S.

I'm sorry but I have NEVER denied my children of a blanket in bed. If you elevate the bed at birth, no matter where they are, tuck in the blanket or something that makes them feel secure in their beds, then you will be OK - Give them a blanket. KK

We always had a blanket in the crib with my son (who's now just about 4yo). He was a tummy sleeper from the very beginning (wouldn't go to sleep on his back even for a little bit) and didn't like to be swaddled. We would tuck the blanket in tight on either side of the crib and make sure it went no higher then his waist.

I always had a blanket with my daughter but that was because she was born in December and slept in a sleep positioner so she couldn't really move in a way that the blanket would be over her face. Then once summer hit she didn't need one. But by fall she would have been about 9 months and she had a blanket again and was too big for a sleep positioner but i didn't worry because she was walking and i figured she was capable to move if she needed to. So I guess if you are worried i would just wait until your baby is rolling around and crawling some so you know that they can move if the blanket is covering them. And if you are still unsure about a blanket but are worried about your little one getting too cold just put them in warm p.j.'s and maybe get a little space heater for the room. They make really nice ones now that run on a thermostat so they only turn on when the room starts to get too cold, Which is nice because then you don't have to worry about them running all night long. and they are cool to the touch so if anyone touches it they won't get burned. They are much safer now then the old ones that did start fires. But don't worry about it too much.

I have always let my baby sleep with a blanket, but if you are worried, try one of the wearable blankets, then they have the warmth of the blanket but can't get it over their head, here's a link to Babies R Us wearable blankets, http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2256260

I have always put blankets in with my children. I was always more worried about them getting cold than anything else. I just made sure that they were thin blankets, nothing fluffy. By the time my girls were 3 months old they would pull the blankets over their head to sleep, and they still do that! That's the way they like to sleep. If you are worried though, I personally think by about the time they can sit up they should be okay. They are usually smart enough to pull off the blankets by then. Trust your mommy instincts! You know if your baby is smart enough to pull blankets off! Otherwise ask your doctor.

HI!
I started putting a blanket in my Daughter's crib when she was a year old! I put in a very light weight one and somewhat small. Just recently I put in a bigger and heavier one in and she loves it. She is 18 months now!
C. :)

well the real question is how old is your kid. I was lucky and my daughter allowed me to swaddle her for 6 months. Then I started giving her a crocheted blanket after that. The nice thing was that it had holes in it to make it breathable still and yet it could keep her warm. My theory is keep it breathable.

SIDS is not caused by fluffy animals or blankets in bed. I am so surprised that this was not widely publicized given the anxiety it has caused so many mothers. I heard on the news about a year+ ago that studies have shown that SIDS is caused by a lack of seritonin in the baby's brain, not caused by outside forces. I wish I had the link, but go ask your doc's about it and search it out for yourself. I wish this information was out and in plain sight for all those SIDS mothers who have been blaming themselves or others. Research it out, I hope this eases your mind.
N.

6 or 7 months is ok. If Your baby is old enough to roll on his own, then it should be fine. At about 6 months a baby can start to have an attachment to a certain blanket or stuffed animal. It's a good time to foster that attachment. Blankets or teddy bears can really help a baby when he goes thru separation anxiety. Research has even shown it's healthy for little boys especially to have a lovey until they are 7 or 8! You didn't mention if you have a girl or boy. I actually gave my son a blanket from day 1 and by 4 months he was in love it and still sleeps with it at night. He's 4 now. But for sure by 6 months it's ok to give your baby a blanket. Just don't fill his crib with stuffies and blankets. One blanket and one stuffed toy should be just fine.

Wow- maybe I'm not getting advice the same as you guys all did, or maybe (just maybe) I'm trusting my daughter's cues, but she's had a blanket since she was born! True, it started as a swaddling with the positioner so she couldn't move, like the other mother suggested- but she never slept more than 20 minutes before she was awake. She didn't like being swaddled because she couldn't reach her hands, and she didn't like to sleep on her back- turns out she's a tummy sleeper like her mommy. I was terrified the first time she did this, and what I found out was; THEY ONLY THINK THAT'S WHAT CAUSES SIDS!!! My mom said I slept on my tummy- and I'm still here. So I asked her doctor. He said to follow her cues. Well, ladies, my daugeter is a happy, HEALTHY 9-month-old girl who curls her blankie in her hand before flip-floping all over her crib at night, and when she wakes up in the mornings, she has conversations with her TEDDY BEAR (that's right- I have a stuffed animal in there too- along with her blankie). So if you're scared, then don't do it- no one can make you. But just be aware- you're baby could just as easily suffocate by not picking his/her face up from the crib mattress. I'm not saying not to try to protect your little one- follow your heart. But remember, you're gonna have to let go sometime....

How old is your baby? I always swaddled my baby and then when he was to a point where he was almost crawling I just put him in bed with a blanket. some mile stones I watched for go as follows (not in any particular order) strong enough to hold himself up on hands and knees, strong enough to roll over, strong enough to lift his head up by himself, and strong enough to sit by himself. Oh, and by the way, just lay your baby on the floor with a blanket and see how they do! If they roll over into it but can get themselves untangled I'd say your just about there.

There is a product called a Halo Sleep Sack, which is basically a wearable blanket that goes over the jammies. My kids used them until they were almost a year. I never felt comfortable putting a blanket in the crib (aside from swaddling them the first few weeks of life)until about 12 months. But I am overly cautious; I know plenty of friends who used blankets from the beginning, and just kept them tucked tightly under the baby.