Cot question...

[dana4nyc]

Hi again,

I posted the other day about my 15 week old DD rolling over onto her tummy in her cot at night. I spoke to the HV yesterday who advised not using a sleep positioner pillow or rolled up towels in her cot but after last night I am desperate. All throughout the night last night she constantly pushed herself up against the rails of the cot, getting her arms and legs stuck. I tried putting the sleep positioner in around midnight but by 3 am she had rolled over it and got an arm and leg stuck which caused her to wake up and she has been awake ever since!

I have removed the bumper from the cot and lined each side with a tightly rolled up towel. I know you aren't really supposed to do this, but I don't want to have another sleepless night. I am incredibly nervous about the risk of cot death and can't seem to shake the fear of it and my husband telling me that something bad is bound to happen if I obsess about it so much isn't helping. He's been away in the Middle East for almost 8 weeks and I think going through this alone is making it worse for me.

Please can anyone out there reassure me that what I've done to her cot is OK and that I'm not just some neurotic first time Mum?!?!

Thanks

Do you want to stop her rolling? Can she roll both ways and lift her head? If so I would let her sleep on her front and make sure there are no toys in the cot and she's in a sleepbag.

You can also buy breathable cot bumpers called airwrap. They're supposed to be safer than traditional ones. I've got some on my DS's cot - he rolls all over his cot and would get stuck otherwise!

I would agree with pp, they say once they can roll over its fine for them to sleep on their backs....its just that you always put them to sleep on their backs to begin with.

Or is it the getting stuck in the cot bars that are more of a problem? If so you could try a baby sleeping bag, she will still be able to move around in it but at least wont be able to get her legs stuck

I hope you had a better night OP. I'm having the same problem with DC2, legs stuck in the bars and crying because he has decided he doesn't like it on his front after all.

Is your DD sleeping in your room? If DD is in the room next to you you will hear if she is sick or getting a bit distressed and wake up. So far the only thing that has worked is putting DS into a grow bag, even then he woke up this morning on his side.

Once they can roll, then they will roll, but agree with the posters suggesting that a grobag might prevent the legs getting stuck thing. FWIW our dd (14m) still occasionally gets limbs stuck through the bars of the cot and wakes up protesting!

If you're really really worried about her rolling you could look into something like this.

I thought about getting one for my DS as we were travelling a lot when he was tiny and there wasn't alway a cot for him to sleep in. Found a really lightweight travel cot in the end, so didn't get one in the end. And to be honest, once DS rolled he was happy rolling all over his cot.

Thank you all for your posts! I used her grobag last night and let me tell you, she slept like a dream! Went down at half 8, up for a feed at 5am then back down at 6am and slept till half 10 this morning! I could not believe it! I had given up on the grobag when it started to become so hot because she is quite a hot natured baby but it worked a treat last night! I also had a lullaby CD playing in the background and I think that really soothed her as she loves being sung to. I have ordered the airwrap bumper and I expect it to arrive tomorrow, I'm really looking forward to trying it out. She did roll onto her side a few times but it didn't seem to pose a problem for her.

Thanks again to all, I feel much better and so much more relaxed....I had no idea the grobag could make such a difference!