Sleeping in crib with objects- isn't it dangerous?

[Loves2bGreen]

I've noticed in a number of threads that people mention giving a toy to their child to comfort them during sleep or that they put their baby to sleep on a boppy, etc etc. My DH is adamant about not putting anything in the crib with our DS due to fear of SIDS, but I think it might help. I'm concerned as well, so I am in a quandry as to what to do. What is everyone else doing and why?

[Knitting Mama]

Well, this could be a pretty age-specific thing. Once a baby can easily roll over in either direction, I can't imagine that it's dangerous to have a lovey or small stuffed animal with them.

[P.J.]

Yeah, what she said ^^^

How old is your baby?

Once a baby has good head control and can roll or even scoot over, they would be able to get their head out of harm's way. I think the concern is that a very tiny newborn, who cannot move their head away, would get suffocated by something like a blanket, toy, etc....

I know for our baby he had head control very early and was rolling at 7 weeks, so after that I was less concerned. He naps on our bed with pillows, blankets, lovey, etc....and has since he was very small. I still (he's 10mo) clear everything away from his head and when we cosleep at night am careful to keep the blanket away from his head....just because in a very deep sleep I suppose he could still suffocate. But I am not worried about it beyond that.

[sk8boarder15]

Since M hit 4 months we loosed up on the crib rules a bit since he could roll around. We used to never use anything in there, and he only slept on his back. Now at 6.5 months he mostly sleeps on tummy and uses a blanket and has a small bear. When he sleeps with me he keeps his hand on my breast, so when he sleeps alone the bear takes my place. :)

[Greenlea]

My 1st DS started sleeping with the Boppy pillow around 3-4 mths.  He would never let me put him down to sleep, so I finally was able to substitue the boppy for myself, and he would cuddle the boppy in his cradle.  I never had any problems with it, and by then he was lifting his head and turning over, so I felt it was okay.

With my 2nd DS, I had him sleeping with his head & shoulders propped up by the boppy from about the time he was born.  He spit up a lot and this helped him to sleep.  But since he was on his back still, and not rolling yet, I felt it was safe.  Now at 5 mths he too cuddles the boppy to sleep.

I used blankets with both my boys, but never stuffed animals.  And I co-slept part time too.

[jenifera2]

I'm more cautious than some of these mamas, but you have to go with your own (and your husband's) comfort level. My daughter at 7 months still doesn't roll much. She can roll both ways, but chooses not to, so it's not a strong skill for her.  She also only just recently demonstrated the ability to reliably pull something off her face when we play peek-a-boo. Still, about a month ago I was looking to give her some kind of lovey. I was considering a small animal, but only one that was quite hard - nothing bean stuffed, for example. A hard object is much less likely to get trapped over the mouth and nose and impede breathing. I ended up buying an Aden and Anais Issey - a small (roughly 12 inches per side) square of thin cotton gauze with satin ribbon trim - and felt comfortable that even if that did end up near her face she could breathe through it since it's very thin. It didn't end up helping much, and we've gone back to swaddling her, but I felt that was safe to try for her skill level.

[pinkmonkey]

My 13mo DD refuses to sleep without her "daddy" monkey blanket to cover with & her soft monkey lovey blanket to snuggle with. She's had these for a long time but has had control over her movements for a very long time so we felt it was safe for her. A new addition to her bed is a small monkey pillow that she usually ends up propping her legs up on lol.

She must have go-go gadget arms too because every time she wakes up before me and plays she reaches her bibs on a shelf beside her (a couple feet away) and drags every single one of them into her bed lol.