S.i.d.s - Austin,TX

2-4 months is the peak time...but it is the leading cause of death among infants up till a year :(. I believe it tapers off after a year. If you are wondering when you can lay her on her stomach (because like most babies, she probably sleeps better on her stomach...), I would still put her on her back for quite some time. You can try buckling her into her carseat and see if she sleeps a little better that way (we had 2 kids that did...)

The incidence of SIDS goes down after one year. SIDS does not equal suffocation. Here is an informative site on SIDS.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002533/

My first nephew died of SIDS at 3 months old. Several of the risk factors listed were true for him. But, he was strong and healthy at the time of his death.

I worried some about SIDS, even though none of the risk factors were true for my daughter. When you've seen a baby lying dead in their crib, even if it was over 20 years before my daughter was born, you don't forget it.

Put your baby to sleep on her back...

If she is strong and healthy, that's a plus. If you put her in a crib with no plush toys, no pillow and no heavy blankets, that's a plus. If the room the baby sleeps in isn't too hot, that's a plus. Regardless what those who sleep with their babies think, not sleeping with your baby is also a plus when it comes to SIDS.

It's great if you can get her to sleep on her back. One of mine just couldn't sleep on his back - he needed to sleep on his stomach. I tried very hard to not worry so much about SIDS by heeding the recommendations, though sleeping on my son's back just wasn't in the cards.

Dawn

if she is rolling from front to back and back to front, if she can hold her head up lying on her tummy and is able to move it freely side to side from being face down.
i never worried about sids. my daughter always slept on her side or stomach since the day she was born. even in her stay in the nicu. the nicu drs said she should spend time on her tummy even while sleeping because it helps her lungs inflate easier. (she had pnuemonia from meconium and had to stay at loma linda medical childrens hospital for a week). she was rolling at 2 months so there also wasnt much i could do about her being on her stomach. i also had a friend whos baby passed of sids that never slept on their stomach. some babies are more prone to it then others.

I worried until my kids were about 8 mos. I just made sure to keep the house cool, put them to sleep on their backs, and didn't use crib bumpers, pillows or blankets.

They also tell people not to smoke or let anyone smoke in the house.

Now. I mean I wouldn't put stuffed animals in bed with her or anything stupid but what good is worrying going to do? Relax and enjoy your baby.

I wouldn't recommend co-sleeping unless you are already into that, for multiple reasons. Been there done that.

When she can lift and turn her head while on her tummy.

after one year of age the risk of SIDS drops dramatically.

^ our friends had a five month old that died of SIDS (our youngest was five months at the time). I am supprised at all the comments not to worry or too co sleep. look up the risks of cosleeping it was not an option for us. I did end up putting a small crib in our room or sleeping on a twin bed in there room. you have options to get some rest but after a year is when the true worring stops.

Almost all cases occur before a year of age. As long as you are putting her on her back to sleep, firm crib mattress, no pillow, blankets or anything else in the crib, cool temperatures, not bundled up and (ideally) crib in your room - you are doing everything possible and there is no further point in actually worrying.

Right now!! I don't worry about driving and getting into an accident, I just get in the car and put my seatbelt on:) Just take good care of your little one and don't worry. Freak things happen sometimes and worry doesn't help either way. My little man is 5 months old, so ours are not too far apart :)

Our 3rd child wore this
http://www.amazon.com/Snuza-Portable-Movement-Monitor-Ora... till she was just over 1.
It helped me not worry. We had couple of times when it went off ,she was in such deep sleep we had hard time waking her up. I wish I knew about it with our first 2 ........

I know exactly how you feel. I quickly went to cosleeping so I would know my baby was breathing at night :)
My PSA for the day...quitting smoking is one of the best (and few pro-active) things that parents can do to prevent SIDS. No clue if you smoke, of course, just had to put that out there.
Try not to let it keep you up at night...but if it does, you can always try cosleeping. Reduced my night panics!

SIDS is a traumatic thing for parents to think about. I had a friend who lost her new baby when he was 5 months old. They determined it to be SIDS. I think that we have more knowledge now and there is a lot more information on this on the internet now. I would have to google it and research the topic. I suggest you do that too.

Another friend lost her grandchild to RSV at about 5 weeks. He went to the doc the day before and they didn't even test him for RSV. If they had the little guy would have at least been in the hospital and when he stopped breathing they might, Might, have been able to do something for him.

I think at 4 months most of these things are not a worry but I would never not worry about them.

Get in the practice of trusting that she will be fine. When you think of all the things that can happen to anyone at any age, it's great that we don't live life worrying about ever going outside.

When you are tempted to worry about something that might endanger your child, just think of all the children that are growing up around you and envision your daughter running, laughing, singing, playing, etc. in the future.

It just takes practice to look forward to joyful things instead of scary things. You never want to be so protective of your daughter that she will grow up thinking that the world is a scary place and something dangerous is always just around the corner.

Enjoy your precious little girl! How fun this time is!