Baby sleeping on duvet, worried sick

[Waaaproblems]

We bought a travel cot prior to a weekend away. I stupidly didn’t check it when it arrived. We’ve arrived at our weekend away and the ‘mattress’ is basically a series of foldable boards with a little foam on top. She screams lying on it and rightly so, it’s awful. I bought a brand new king sized duvet last week which was in the car and unopened. DD (9.5 months) was absolutely knackered and I needed to put her to bed. I’ve resorted to folding the king duvet (10 tog so quite thick 😩) around the ‘mattress’ and tucking it under. She’s absolutely sound asleep but the duvet is bunching a little. She sleeps on her front and I’m worried sick - WWYD. I haven’t taken my eyes off the monitor. We’re not staying in a hotel and there is no opportunity to buy a new mattress, we’ll do this tomorrow. How dangerous is this? I’m having kittens (yes she’s my first born)

[Waveysnail]

Stick sheet over top and tuck

[CentralPerkMug]

I think one of you should lift her and the other take off the duvet and replace it with a towel with the sheet wrapped tightly over, like a pp suggested. I wouldn't leave her on the duvet, sorry.

[LIZS]

The regular mattress would be fine. If needs be seek out a better one tomorrow but she is more likely upset by less familiar surroundings and overtired after the trip than a thinner mattress. Don't pad it out or she could overheat.

[puds11]

Can you turn her over?

[Khione]

Is there a spare sheet or towel you can tuck in tightly over the duvet so you get the softness of the duvet put with a 'flatter' surface.

Even so, it really will be safe. She is old enough to turn over so it really isn't an issue.

[Waaaproblems]

I’m going to change it soon. She’s in such a deep sleep and I’m watching the monitor so she’s ok for now. She’s not crawling yet - she rocks back and forward on her knees and is a very capable roller 😂
I can’t adequately describe the mattress , it’s like a long board made up of 5 small boards so that they ‘fold’ and it’s topped with a foamy/plasticky cover. It’s horrendous. We spent a fortune at mamas and papas on the best mattress we could buy so I’m absolutely furious at myself for letting this happen. I don’t even think the two towels we have with us would cut the mustard but I’ll try those later.
I’d be less worried if she were sleeping on a baby duvet. The issue for me is that it’s a massive kind size duvet in a 60x120 cm travel cot

[bluebella4]

A baby doesn't regulate their breathing when sleeping so it's got nothing to do with whether they will pull the duvet over their face! Research has proven this. They stop breathing regularly throughout the night! Hench why SIDS is a risk up until the age of 5!

[CentralPerkMug]

I strongly advise against putting her in your bed like others have suggested, it is actually very dangerous to put a baby in your bed who isn't used to it, it greatly increases the risk of SIDs. She would be better off on the foam mattress to be honest.

[Waaaproblems]

And yes, there’s a cot sheet over the top of the makeshift duvet mattress

[BennyTheBall]

Can you put her in your bed? Or a towel, as others have suggested.

[1Morewineplease]

She’s 9.5 months, she’ll be fine... she’ll naturally turn and twist, as long as she’s comfortable.,

[Soontobe60]

I use a travel cot like this. I just tuck a bath sheet under the mattress. It's never been a problem. It's more likely that your DD just won't sleep because she's in a strange place in a strange bed.

[VenusTiger]

My son hated his travel cot and it turned out to be a waste of money, even with the proper mattress, so she may be upset either way.
Is there a sturdy but cushioned sofa cushion (I mean the seat part) that can fit underneath the foam part instead?

[Solitaryradiator]

For all those blithely saying she will be fine...she is of course likely to be fine but the evidence suggests the risk is far higher when on a soft surface. And that’s in older babies.

Evidence from lullaby trust below

Soft surfaces
There is evidence to show that soft sleep surfaces are associated with a significant increase in the risk of SIDS.164,165 A case-control study conducted over 2.5 years in the USA reported that a soft sleep surface (defined as the infant’s head sinking one inch or more into the surface) led to a five-fold increase in the risk of SIDS (OR 5.1, 95% CI 3.1-8.3).164 Furthermore, this same study showed that placing infants to sleep in the prone position may be especially dangerous when combined with unsafe sleep environments. A significant interaction was found between the prone position for sleeping and the presence of a soft bedding surface with an adjusted OR of 21.0 (95% CI 7.8-56.2). An interaction effect was also seen for sleeping in the prone position and pillow use (OR 11.8, 95% CI 4.0-34.4).164 Sheepskins have been found to increase the risk of SIDS for infants sleeping in the prone position but not for supine sleepers (adjusted OR 27.92, 95% CI 6.45–120.91).169 However, when quilts are used, the greater risk of SIDS has been shown to be in infants sleeping in a supine position and particularly in older infants as it may be possible for the bedding to be pulled up over their face.166
The available evidence indicates that there is an association between sleeping on a soft mattress and increased risk of SIDS. A study in New Zealand, which surveyed SIDS
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case families and control families, found that soft cot mattresses were associated with a significantly increased risk of SIDS (adjusted OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.06 to 5.25) compared with average and firm mattresses.170 It was noted, however, that the firmness of the cot mattress was subjective as no guidelines were provided on this. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend that a surface should be firm enough so that it will not indent or conform to the shape of an infant’s head.171
A four-year population based case-control study conducted in England suggested that some risk factors for SIDS have changed over the years and may be helping to cause an overall decline in SIDS rates.110 These factors include a reduction in the thermal insulation of bedding and the widespread uptake of the ‘feet to foot’ message (i.e. placing the baby’s feet to the foot of the cot to avoid them wriggling down under the covers). These factors are intended to keep the head from being covered, a risk which has previously been seen in a high proportion of SIDS victims but was significantly less common amongst the SIDS infants in this study.110 In contrast, this study found that the placing an infant’s head or body on a pillow was more widespread in the sleeping environments of the SIDS infants who were included in the study

[hidinginthenightgarden]

If there is a cot sheet over top then she isn't going to be able to pull it over unless she regularly untucks the sheet in her cot at home?

[thegreylady]

She will be fine with a cot sheet tucked firmly round the folded duvet.

[Solitaryradiator]

I can’t adequately describe the mattress , it’s like a long board made up of 5 small boards so that they ‘fold’ and it’s topped with a foamy/plasticky cover. It’s horrendous.

This is a totally normal travel cot base stop panicking

[needsomehelptoday]

@bluebella4 what is your source that SIDS is a risk until a child is 5 years old?

SIDs risk peaks between 2&4 months then majorly decreases after the age of 6 months, becoming extremely rare after 1.

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

This is standard for travel cots ime.

Adding a duvet will definitely increase the risk to her sleeping in there as the temperature around her will be increased, it wouldn’t be a risk that i’d be prepared to take.

[needsomehelptoday]

Op if she's at all 'sinking' into the duvet then I'd change it just now. Fold towels round instead.

[BaubleTheLumpOfCoal]

Another saying that what you describe is normal for travel cots unfortunately!

I would have the duvet out of there though OP, it just doesn't sound safe.

In fact, I've now got myself all worked up - is SIDS a real possibility up to 5? 4yo DD gets in bed with me every night..

[Amanduh]

That’s just what normal travel cots are like. Mine has always just slept on it with a sheet over, no padding or duvets

[RumRumRum]

I thought the big risk with not sleeping on a firm mattress is the risk of overheating as they sink into the surface as other pp have said. I would personally rather baby have a crap nights sleep on a relatively uncomfortable cot mattress than risk sleeping on a king size duvet.

[LittleMy77]

We did this before for exactly the same reasons, and put it under the mattress fitted sheet (also did it with towels) so it provided a smooth surface. Worked fine

[Solihooley]

We’ve always padded the travel cot board with blankets (with a sheet over the top). Unless it’s really squishy I can’t see anything to worry about. I’d probably keep her next to your bed so you can check on her if you wake in the night.