are cot wedges dangerous?

[romilly]

anyone know? i have a problem with my 4 month old rolling and getting stuck on her tummy, burrowing her head into the mattress and not being able to roll back. was up about 30 times last night rescuing her

i have these roll things from jojo maman which you can put either side but i heard they could cause suffocation. is this true?

any other suggestions would be very welcome....

[mumandlovingit]

i think my friend used one of those and placed the babies arms over the top of it so that it was under the babies arms downwards so that the fact wasnt near the material and couldnt get buried in it.has your mattress got safety holes in it or is it a pvc covered mattress?

[romilly]

mumandlovingit - its a normal choir spring mattress from john lewis - no safety holes

[curtaintwitcher]

rom I used antiroll ducks with Hannah. Worked well for her until she was strong enough to roll over them...essentially 2 rolled towels either side with a sheet over top works in the same way as thats what they used in the hospital

[jambot]

I also used them. No problems here. Think any risk would be very low. It's more cot bumpers that people seem to be concerned about, although I've always used them otherwise DD would be bashing herself all the time. I just make sure they're tucked in really well.

[romilly]

thanks curtaintwitcher and jambot. i rang up the SIDS helpline and asked what they thought and they basically said no - dont use them. didnt reassure me much either to be honest, they said try and move her back to her back whenever you can.

[jambot]

I'm sorry but sometimes you begin to wonder if anything is ever safe anymore. To be on the safe side parents seem to be advised against doing almost anything these days! Two towels with a sheet over - come on, how honestly is that going to be a suffocating hazard. The baby can't get underneath anything. I used specially made wedges that were joined together. They were very lightweight and I honestly can't see how they posed any risk.
Up to you but I think you should use good old mother's common sense and make your decision based on that.

[neolara]

My daughter would only sleep on her side, she would scream hysterically if she was on her back. I took to propping her up with towels and a bag of rice. The HV was horrified, but it was either that or sleep deprived insanity. Only you can decide what is right for you and your baby, but as far as I'm concerned, it is a bit of a battle for survival. I had a few months of getting up 15 to 20 times a night to "re-prop" DD after she became so strong that the supports didn't hold her in place. It was a complete nightmare so I totally sympathise with you. I think it is difficult for people who haven't had sleep so frequently and constantly broken to understand quite how horrific it can be. I also think people in the health professions cannot do anything other than give out the latest guidelines about cot death. This can sometimes mean that their advice made me want to bash my (and their!) heads against a brick wall because they were often not very helpful.

Incidentally, I also bought the roll thing from jojo maman, but it didn't work for us because by about 4 months she was so strong that it didn't hold her in place. For us the breakthrough came at 5 1/2 months when she learned how to roll in both directions. Within a week she was sleeping through the night and has remained a fantastic sleeper ever since.

[romilly]

i am inclined to agree jambot and thanks neolara - nice to hear from someone who can totally relate. guess i will just have to try and teach her the rolling back skill somehow - dont think i can be sleep deprived for another whole month !