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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to put the baby in her car seat to sleep....

25 replies

macdoodle · 02/04/2008 03:30

DD2 is 13 weeks and horrible snuffly cold...in fact me and DD1 also have it..
She is so bunged up struggling to feed and screams and gags when I lie her down...neither of us have slept at all and are both hanging and she keeps waking poor DD1 (age 6) up ...so brought her downstairs ....to see car seat in corner.....have put her in and after few mins rocking she has finally gone to sleep....DD1 asleep in my bed upstairs....
AIBU to leave her in the car seat and get a few hours kip on the settee next to her...she is clearly more comfy upright ..in fact don't care if I ABU am getting blanket and some shut eye

OP posts:
sandcastles · 02/04/2008 03:37

Go for it...hope you have a nice nap!

RainbowMeg · 02/04/2008 08:29

Not unreasonable at all. One of mine has had asthma since birth and the hospital encouraged us to bring the car seat into the ward when she was having a bad attack as it kept her upright and helped her to breathe. Hope she gets betters soon

Flier · 02/04/2008 08:44

yanbu. we used to do this occasionally too, its surely better that they get some sleep.

TrinityTheProgressingRhino · 02/04/2008 08:45

deffo get some sleep
its fine for a few hours

terramum · 02/04/2008 08:52

Sorry but I'm going to say YABU as I'm a bit of a militant when it comes to car seats & think they shouldn't be used in the home at all. Bouncy chair or a sling would be my first choice for a snuffly baby.

Trolleydolly71 · 02/04/2008 08:53

Message withdrawn

GColdtimer · 02/04/2008 09:06

its not as if you do it all the time, so yanbu. Hope you got some precious sleep. For longer term, the blocks are a good idea. We use them when dd has a cold and they do help.

Alambil · 02/04/2008 09:23

also invest in some Menthol Crystals (under £3 in a chemist) - dissolve a COUPLE in some boiling water and put it in baby's room. Will unblock nose; don't use too many crystals though - they are REALLY smelly and the vapours will get in your eyes (I say this from experience)!!

MrsBadger · 02/04/2008 09:54

never mind buying £13 baby blocks for the cot, use books (GF under one side and baby whisperer under the other )
or stick a pillow under the head end of the mattress

morningpaper · 02/04/2008 10:00

I ALWAYS put mine in car seats when they were snuffly - I would stick them on my bed next to me with a sheet over them in their car seat

AFAIK the worry about backs is very much about CONSTANTLY relying on car seats and never having them lie flat - it's not about surviving a few nights with a bad cold

sitdownpleasegeorge · 02/04/2008 10:02

Do you have an empty leave arch file , they make a lovely wedge shape under the mattress raising the head coupled with two stout novels under the head end of the cot it creates a good incline.

terramum · 02/04/2008 10:02

Car seats can also cause problems with breathing which is primarily why I wouldn't use them with a snuffly baby.

sitdownpleasegeorge · 02/04/2008 10:03

Do you have an empty lever arch file , they make a lovely wedge shape under the mattress raising the head coupled with two stout novels under the head end of the cot it creates a good incline.

Oliveoil · 02/04/2008 10:03

I would have hung mine from the ceiling on ropes if it meant a few hours sleep

YANBU

propping the cot up can work - Yellow Pages under legs, cushion UNDER mattress head, baby on top

Bramshott · 02/04/2008 10:12

I'm afraid I think there is supposed to be an increased SIDS risk with sleeping in a car seat. Probably okay for a short nap, but maybe not one to try overnight? I think it's to do with their airways getting scrunched up.

Porpoise · 02/04/2008 10:13

Hi Macdooodle,

IME, there are two potential dangers with sleeping in a car seat:

  1. A risk of breathing problems (see this, caused by the baby's head and neck being raised. This seems to be pretty rare, especially if your baby was not premature.
  1. Getting a flat head (plagiocephaly). This is less rare but your child would have to be sleeping in the car seat for many weeks on the trot - not just a one-off. Also, babies can get flat heads from sleeping (on their backs) in cots, too.

If it was me, I'd do the cot on blocks/books that others have suggested - if you're talking about sleeping through the night, rather than a daytime nap.

But then I'm a wuss!

morningpaper · 02/04/2008 10:15

Yes that's true - their heads can flop forwards - so try to keep them lying BACK to their heads don't roll forwards

Use a head support thing if your seat has one - I think I would roll up towels and put them at the side of their heads

I don;t think I ever slept much anyway when they had colds - sometimes I would hold them upright in my arms but that's more risky if you are sleepy yourself

Bear in mind that one of hte commonest links with SIDS cases is a smoker in teh house so if you have one of these then I would avoid the car seat

StealthPolarBear · 02/04/2008 10:16

ds has napped in his car seat since i could no longer put him on the floor and expect him to stay reasonably still - so maybe as early as 5 mo (no earlier)
Are the risks the same for older babies?

mrschop · 02/04/2008 10:16

Mine sleep in their pushchair, next to my bed, when they are really bad - less crunched up than a car seat so the breathing risk is less. But wdn't worry about an hour nap - the breathing risk is greatest when they have no head control, isn't it? I didn't do long journeys before mine were a couple of months, for that reason.

mspotatochip · 02/04/2008 10:20

my daughter 14 months is a wheezy baby and has all day time naps and falls asleep at night upright in pushchair its that or go blue coughing

uptomyeyes · 02/04/2008 10:24

If really snuffly I find the last 4 of the Harry Potter books a great help. Big thick volumes two under each cot leg at the head end. Karvol on a hankie waved around the room - not too close to the cot with such a young baby.

Good luck hope you were able to get some sleep

PotPourri · 02/04/2008 10:33

It makes sense to prop your DD up, otherwise she will keep waiting. Try putting apillow under her mattress, and drop some olbas oil somewhere that won't touch her skin (or in a bowl of hot water near the cot - only if you are sure it won't get touched by older kids etc).

But personally, I am not averse to putting snufffly babes in pushchairs or carseats - next to me just in case - as you would hear them choking if they were having trouble breathing that way.

Do what you need to do, no point everyone being shattered!

Original poster
macdoodle · 02/04/2008 12:43

Thanks for suggestions etc...we weren't talking about all night - I posted at 3:30AM - she wasn't a happy girl - cot was too flat and didn't want to be alone and TBH with her being so snuffly didn't want her in another room, she was getting all hot and bothered being held...as it was she had about half hour in car seat the woke for a feed in and off for an hour and then went down in cot for a bit ...though TBH she is now asleep.......in car seat after seeing GP
I am usually adamant about getting her out of seat and usually only use it for car journeys - she is big strong 13 weeker (15 pounds at last weigh 2 weeks ago)....so I think a bit of sleep outweighs any risk to neck back etc which is prob tiny...and SIDS risk well I wasn't sleeping much anyway just listening to her snuffle

OP posts:
Porpoise · 02/04/2008 12:44

Hope she gets better soon, Macdoodle

squilly · 02/04/2008 13:01

My girl's 7...we didn't know about any risks when she was little and she often slept in her car seat.

She's now as tall as a beanpole and straight as a die (spinewise) and has no breathing problems, so I have to say, I'd not worry about it too much.

As other posters have said, you don't do this often, it's a one-off. If you get some rest, I say whatever it takes.

And I hope your little poppet gets better soon and that you manage to get some rest. It'll be good for both of you.

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