What Age Do You Stop Worrying About SIDS?

jgeiman

ie - when can I let her sleep with a blanket all night without worrying?

I feel better now because she has better control of her head, but on the other hand I worry more because she can move around the bed more.

cat81305

I would be lying if I said I have stopped worrying about it but I don't let it bother me.  DS has been sleeping with a blanket since approx 3 or 4 months old.  He used to sleep on a pillow (acid reflux).  I know that no matter what you do, you cannot protect them from everything and that is how I think about it.  I still get up and check on DS if he doesn't wake up and I do.  SIDS can occur til they are like 5 I think so it is up to you when you feel comfortable.  Go with your instincts.

LoriZ

I come from a long line of worriers.  Everyone in my family worries to an unhealthy extent.  Therefore, Allison still doesn't sleep with a blanket.  I just started letting her sleep with a burp cloth (They're her comfort object.) about two months ago, and she's almost 15 months old.  I stopped worrying about SIDS when she turned one, but I've talked to a couple pediatricians who didn't let their own children sleep with blankets until age two.  Allison naturally gets really hot while she sleeps, though, so I'm sure that makes it easier for us to not use a blanket.

RXjenna

It was 6 months for me.  I used sleep sacks instead of blankets until then.  Around that time, DS started to flip over and sleep on his tummy.  So that made me feel pretty confident that he was fine then.

hav2run

The risk decreases at 6 months, and is pretty much gone at one year.  The peak for SIDS is 3-4 months old.  I still worry about SIDS.  DD does not have anything in her crib.  We use fleece sleepers and a sleep sack to keep her warm.  She rolls both directions and can lift her upper body when on her tummy, but I am still uncomfortable with going against guidelines.

If you google SIDS, you will find many helpful sites on the web.  Do so with caution as there are several sites devoted to children who have dies from SIDS.  Those are heartwrenching.

nire99

I don't know if it's something you ever stop worrying about.  I will say that our video monitor has been great.  I don't know how people live without them.  It's so nice to be able to check on DS throughout the night and actually see him breathing, especially when he was younger.

In regards to the blanket issue, both of my kids started sleeping with a blanket once they started crawling.

deeregirl31

I still worry about Rylee, at almost a year she still isn't sleeping with a blanket and I don't plan on letting her use one any time soon. She was still being swaddled at 6months. She is a real mover though. I got chck on her and every time I go in there she is in a different spot, so I don't think a blanket would do much good for her anyway. She is doing good with socks and a footed sleeper.

shawnsweetie

I still check on Rylee every night... but I guess it is more for "suffocation" than SIDS. She just got her big girl bed a few months ago and with that came a blanket and it still worries me at 2 1/2

I think I let her have her taggie blanket in bed at about 9 months of so but that was only about 10 by 10 inches.

mrs.george2be04

My fear peaked at 4-6m (which is what I read was the peak age for SIDS).  I don't worry as much about it now but I'm certainly not ready to break out the blankets either especially when sleep sacks and blanket sleepers are working just fine.  We did introduce a lovey a few weeks ago, though.

jerseygirl81

I was told that it peaks around 4 months, but I don't know that I'll ever stop worrying about it. Baby C likes to fall asleep with a blanket over his face, but it freaks me out too much to let him have one in his crib so he only gets it while he's napping and I watch carefully and take it away once he's asleep.

bgsugrad

Our pedi told us no blankets/pillows/stuffed animals or ANYTHING like that in the crib until after 6-8 months of age.  Also our pedi said never to use a pillow until our DD is a toddler, that there is really no need for one at a younf infant age.  She said once she could move her head WELL up and from side to side we could use a blanket......personally I did not use a blanket until about 9-10 months b/c that's when I felt comfortable with it.  I think you'll reach a point where you will feel ok leaving one in the crib...we have a video monitor so I was able to see how she moved throughout the night.  IMO 3-4 months is way too young for anything in their crib - just too risky. Just my opnion! :-))

424bride

Nicholas still sleeps in a sleepsack, but mainly just because I think they are convenient.  He won't keep a blanket on him.  He moves around too much.  I still check on him at night, but I think I got over the SIDS thing only a few months ago.  I am a worrier.

sistrkate

I don't know when you will stop worrying.  My son turned 17 months old yesterday, and let me tell you I check on him once before I go to bed......and if I don't hear from him by about 8 in the morning (after 12 hours of sleep), I freak out.  I think it's just a mommy thing.  I don't worry about SIDS, per se, but I do worry about him getting caught on something, or choking on his pacifier, or something equally silly.  He did not have a bumper in his crib until 7 months when he was moving a lot and waking himself up bumping into the sides, and I didn't give him a blanket until he was 14 months old.  I have him sleeping in blanket sleepers and a pair of socks, and on the really cold nights, he wears a onesie underneath them.  He seems very comfortable that way and doesn't really need a blanket, although I do let him have one now.  He typically throws it off and ends up sleeping on top of it.