[bravofrenchie]

http://www.in-memory-of-ethan.com/

Quote:

Ethan had been a little unwell with a cold. Mandy put Ethan to sleep with her on a couch, knowing that he would be waking in only a few hours for his feed. Next thing Mandy remembers was waking in the morning to the sound of her alarm. Ethan was laying behind her and against her back - he was purple, cold and very stiff. ...she says she now has no confidence in co-sleeping in any form

While it's very sad what happened to her baby boy, saying all forms of co-sleeping are dangerous is ludicrous. (sp?)

 

[pinky]

Well, in all fairness, she does link to an article by Elizabeth Pantley on how to co-sleep safely....and other articles on the same topic...but then she also links to a page by the Ezzos!

 

[Ellien C]

"Mandy now has to cope with overwhelming guilt and the undeniable truth that she caused the death of her baby." How terrible for any mother to have her baby die.

I'm just not convinced this is true. SIDS still has many unknown causes. What if it was just SIDS and he would have stopped breathing even IF he'd been in his own bed?

Also
The trouble is there is SO much crap about sleeping with your baby in your bed - how he'll NEVER leave once he gets used to it [!] that people are afraid to do it - so they think the COUCH is a better option. Couch sleeping really DOES increase the risk of death. This is just a mess all around.

 

[leavesarebrown]

We don't know if she caused the death of this child by co- sleeping of if he would have died in a crib. We don't know if this child would have survived if on a bed. Why does no one question the location of death when it's a crib death? Just like baby deaths after home birth supposedly bring into question that place of birth, but not after hospital births. I guess in this case (with infant death in a crib) it's 'cause they can't attribute it to smothering. This is very sad. If I'd heard this story before I had my babies, I'd have been more careful about couch sleeping, knowing that cosleeping on a bed is safer. But it is very hard for me to imagine the death being by smothering. I mean, if my kids even wiggle next to me at night, I'm awake enough to check covers etc. I can't imagine that he didn't die naturally (wrong word I know, but I mean other than by smothering).

 

[Tanibani]

Sad.

But she also has very pro-co-sleeping links - like Prof James McKenna.

 

[IncaMama]

honestly, i don't care who she's blaming. she's lost her precious baby and who knows what she's going through?? i certainly don't. from the evidence that SHE has (she slept in a couch, she woke up and was smothering her child unintentionally) it appears that she and the couch co-sleeping caused his death. it does no good *for her* to say that it *could* have happened if he'd been in a crib. sure, he could have been eaten by a shark later on in life too...but right now...she's dealing with it the only way she knows how. it sucks sucks sucks that she lost her little baby and i don't care one bit who she's blaming it on. she's in grief. and i'll pray for her to find peace with herself.

and you know what, i hope it DOES scare people away from co-sleeping on a couch. i did it for the first 6 months of DS's life because i couldn't sleep on a flat bed. nothing ever happeend, thank GOD! but you can be damn sure that i won't be doing it again!

 

[girly's mama]

How sad to lose your baby like that. Good that she has linked to both sides though.

 

[Mama2RMM]

My heart goes out to her... but co-sleeping isn't something I would consider if I slept that deeply not to be aware of my baby.

I also have issue with the fact that she is overweight (Not judging... I'm not skinny, by any means) and was sleeping on the couch with her baby. I tried to nurse Rachel while we were on the couch yesterday and it was a tight fit. I can't imagine trying to *sleep* with a baby on the couch.

There are safe and non-safe ways to sleep with your child. She chose a very dangerous way to sleep with her baby. To say that all co-sleeping is dangerous is simply not true.

 

[holliebug]

How sad

 

[shannon0218]