How should babies sleep?

NLJ82 · June 2014

Obviously a FTM here...

A lot of things I read say that babies should sleep on their back & my husband is adamant that our LO do so. If that's what's best...then it is, but my personal concern is from an experience my family had. A relative of mine gave birth and throughout the night their LO that had been placed on his back in the nursery had chocked on his own vomit/spit up (w/e) & ultimately passed away before they could take him home

I've already read that the sleep positioners that hold baby on their sides in the crib are also not safe.

Sooooo....???

missnacholover · June 2014

Back to sleep.

moroccojade · June 2014

We always put our daughter on her back. But she usually managed to roll a bit to her side right from the beginning.

We also used an Angel Care monitor. The movement sensor was really nice. I hear a lot of people like their Snuzas as well.

NLJ82 · June 2014

& them choking on their own vomit should not be a concern? , missnacholover

(or at least a large concern?...I guess anything is possible)

That's not 'snarkyness'..it's a legitimate question lol.

momtojad · June 2014

On their back to sleep.

missnacholover · June 2014

NLJ82 said:

& them choking on their own vomit should not be a concern? , missnacholover
(or at least a large concern?...I guess anything is possible)
That's not 'snarkyness'..it's a legitimate question lol.

I'm sure it's a concern, but I think it's less of a concern than them smothering.

I've read up a LOT on SIDS. Since my nephew passed and was a SIDS baby, our child has a slightly higher risk factor. Back to sleep, baby shouldn't be too warm, it's good to have air circulating in the room, pacifiers help...

I'm getting a Snuza as well.

sweetbabyrahe · June 2014

back to sleep is what is recommended to decrease risk of SIDS. We put cinder blocks under one end of DS's crib to have it on a slight incline because he had some reflux and that may help with spit-up concerns.

abbyful · June 2014

On their back.

Nothing in the crib except for baby and a pacifier if you use them. (No blankets, toys, bumpers, positioners, pillows, etc.) Pacifier use lowers SIDS risk.

Having a fan on in the room lowers SIDS risk.

mockingjay1 · June 2014

This link shows what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends (which is what your hospital should also teach you before discharge).

Maelara · June 2014

Putting babies on their back to sleep has decreased SIDs by 50%. That isn't a number I'm pulling out of my ass, it's the number my public health nurse told me. Most babies will turn their head when they throw up. I don't know why that baby didn't it's very odd and I'm sure rare. DD had reflux and would throw up in her sleep. The key is to hold them upright after eating for 20-45 minutes. I did 45 minutes because that's what my DD needed. And yes, I even did this after her middle of the night feedings. I slept very little.

Maelara · June 2014

missnacholover said:

NLJ82 said:

& them choking on their own vomit should not be a concern? , missnacholover
(or at least a large concern?...I guess anything is possible)
That's not 'snarkyness'..it's a legitimate question lol.

I'm sure it's a concern, but I think it's less of a concern than them smothering.

I've read up a LOT on SIDS. Since my nephew passed and was a SIDS baby, our child has a slightly higher risk factor. Back to sleep, baby shouldn't be too warm, it's good to have air circulating in the room, pacifiers help...

I'm getting a Snuza as well.

The baby being in the same room as the mother for 6 months also decreases the risk. It has something to do with the moms breath. Also told this by my public health nurse

PineApple85 · June 2014

Everything PPs said, but DS spit up a lot in the first couple of days and the nurse said it's completely normal as he is clearing left over amniotic fluid from his lungs? Anyway, DS was in the room with us the whole time we were in the hospital and the nurse said it was fine to lay him on his side if we wanted because I expressed concern about the volume of spit up with him on his back. I have never seen any literature that supports that so maybe she was "writing her own rules", so to speak.

All of that to say, reflux aside, excessive spit up is normal in the first few days, otherwise once you get home I wouldn't be overly concerned about it and we did start putting DS to sleep on his back when we got home because he wasn't spitting up anymore.

MollMoll4 · June 2014

Back. There is a great section on this subject (including the chance of choking on spit-up) in the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy.

NLJ82 · June 2014

lissydee said:

on their back, definitely.

Are you sure that your relative's LO's cause of death was actually choking or was that secondary to another issue?

Nope, he was very healthy as far as the hospital staff were concerned, that's what they, themselves said happened unfortunately. After asking about it though, it doesn't seem all that common so...basically I'll just stay up 24/7 lol

Maelara · June 2014

PineApple85 said:

Everything PPs said, but DS spit up a lot in the first couple of days and the nurse said it's completely normal as he is clearing left over amniotic fluid from his lungs? Anyway, DS was in the room with us the whole time we were in the hospital and the nurse said it was fine to lay him on his side if we wanted because I expressed concern about the volume of spit up with him on his back. I have never seen any literature that supports that so maybe she was "writing her own rules", so to speak.

All of that to say, reflux aside, excessive spit up is normal in the first few days, otherwise once you get home I wouldn't be overly concerned about it and we did start putting DS to sleep on his back when we got home because he wasn't spitting up anymore.

I completely forgot about this. I had to hold DD for a week, 24/7 because I had a csection and she had a lot of fluid in her lungs. The baby full out chokes and stops breathing. Scary as hell.

PineApple85 · June 2014

Maelara said:

PineApple85 said:

Everything PPs said, but DS spit up a lot in the first couple of days and the nurse said it's completely normal as he is clearing left over amniotic fluid from his lungs? Anyway, DS was in the room with us the whole time we were in the hospital and the nurse said it was fine to lay him on his side if we wanted because I expressed concern about the volume of spit up with him on his back. I have never seen any literature that supports that so maybe she was "writing her own rules", so to speak.

All of that to say, reflux aside, excessive spit up is normal in the first few days, otherwise once you get home I wouldn't be overly concerned about it and we did start putting DS to sleep on his back when we got home because he wasn't spitting up anymore.

I completely forgot about this. I had to hold DD for a week, 24/7 because I had a csection and she had a lot of fluid in her lungs. The baby full out chokes and stops breathing. Scary as hell.

Dang! I had a vaginal birth, but DS never stopped breathing (just really frequent spit ups for a couple of days). That must have been sooooo scary!

Maelara · June 2014

PineApple85 said:

Maelara said:

PineApple85 said:

Everything PPs said, but DS spit up a lot in the first couple of days and the nurse said it's completely normal as he is clearing left over amniotic fluid from his lungs? Anyway, DS was in the room with us the whole time we were in the hospital and the nurse said it was fine to lay him on his side if we wanted because I expressed concern about the volume of spit up with him on his back. I have never seen any literature that supports that so maybe she was "writing her own rules", so to speak.

All of that to say, reflux aside, excessive spit up is normal in the first few days, otherwise once you get home I wouldn't be overly concerned about it and we did start putting DS to sleep on his back when we got home because he wasn't spitting up anymore.

I completely forgot about this. I had to hold DD for a week, 24/7 because I had a csection and she had a lot of fluid in her lungs. The baby full out chokes and stops breathing. Scary as hell.

Dang! I had a vaginal birth, but DS never stopped breathing (just really frequent spit ups for a couple of days). That must have been sooooo scary!

I FREAKED and called the nurses. They ran, each time! I think I would handle it better now though.

Maelara · June 2014

KatieKarasin said:

Maelara said:

PineApple85 said:

Everything PPs said, but DS spit up a lot in the first couple of days and the nurse said it's completely normal as he is clearing left over amniotic fluid from his lungs? Anyway, DS was in the room with us the whole time we were in the hospital and the nurse said it was fine to lay him on his side if we wanted because I expressed concern about the volume of spit up with him on his back. I have never seen any literature that supports that so maybe she was "writing her own rules", so to speak.

All of that to say, reflux aside, excessive spit up is normal in the first few days, otherwise once you get home I wouldn't be overly concerned about it and we did start putting DS to sleep on his back when we got home because he wasn't spitting up anymore.

I completely forgot about this. I had to hold DD for a week, 24/7 because I had a csection and she had a lot of fluid in her lungs. The baby full out chokes and stops breathing. Scary as hell.

I also had a C-section and DD was spitting up amniotic fluid. The first time it happened it was super scary, but the nurse gave us a bulb syringe and showed us how to suction it out. It happened a couple more times, but that was it. She also slept on her side pretty immediately after birth.

There are lots of things you can do to lower your baby's SIDs risk. Not smoking (partner included), not using drugs or alcohol, having the baby sleep in your room so they can hear you breath, fans, nothing in the crib, etc.

I heard about the the suction thing after the hospital. I don't know why it wasn't offered but I know for next time. The nurses just treated me like I was an idiot FTM.

MrsDL · June 2014

Agree with everyone else - baby is put down on their back. I believe the risk of SIDS is much higher than the risk of aspiration or choking. I was a paranoid nut about SIDS with DS (no personal experience and no risk factors other than it occurs more frequently with boys). The first week or so DH and I would wake up every 10 minutes or so on our own just to check if he was breathing (had him in a bassinet in our room. I finally purchased this:

https://www.toysrus.com/buy/baby-movement-monitors/babysense-infant-movement-monitor-54965-4024133

None of these things are able to be marketed as SIDS/breathing monitors in the US -this one is approved for use for the prevention of SIDS in many European countries though. It just helped me sleep better. We never had a false alarm with DS, but I would test it by putting weights, etc. in there and if it didn't detect motion, it goes off (and it's loud). It works by detecting micro-motion from breathing and is very sensitive. Not necessary, but if it's a concern it provides at least some comfort.

dr_pr · June 2014

moroccojade said:

We always put our daughter on her back. But she usually managed to roll a bit to her side right from the beginning.

We started with DD on her back, but she was extremely motivated and managed to roll to her belly when she was only 2 months old. After a week of going in to roll her back over (only to have her grunt her way onto her belly after about 10 minutes), we gave up and just put her on her belly.

So back is definitely best, but sometimes these little stinkers have minds of their own.

carcrashheart · June 2014

Back always. We liked the RNP for the reason you mentioned though. It kept DS angled so I worried less about him choking. If you place them on their belly or side they could end up with their noses in the mattress and bc their necks are so useless when young they can't move to breath and can suffocate. Please don't be unsafe with your baby.

tylerkingrn · June 2014

SIDS rates have dropped significantly over the years since the "back to sleep" campaign. Please always on the back!! Both of mine had reflux really bad and would spit up into their nose constantly at first and still I always put them on their back.

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