Scared my phone could have hurt DS :(

[newmum234]

I have a white noise app on my smartphone that I use throughout all DS's naps and at bedtime. I've been leaving my phone in his cot with the app playing constantly. I wedge it between the cot and the mattress so it's secure, and it's only about 20cm from his head.

I randomly started wondering earlier if it's okay for a baby to be so close to a mobile phone, Googled and came across this article:

www.mirror.co.uk/science/you-should-never-your-baby-9935251

Now I'm really worried that I've exposed him to electromagnetic fields and am feeling terrible Could I have harmed him?! DS is 5.5 months.

Not harmful at all, and I wouldn't set any store by an article from the Daily Mirror!! It is such a rag.

I remember when mobile phones first started to become a thing in this country. Various newspapers tried scaremongering, telling us that they would fry our brains etc. Guess what!? They didn't!

I wouldn't wedge the phone in the cot, but perhaps on a table the other side of the room. That is only because I don't want it broken and nothing whatsoever to do with electromagnetic fields.

We have myhummy for white noise . It can play white noise for 24 hours .
Used it from about 5 weeks and still used today aged two. Would highly recommend

@newmum234

I looked at Ollie the Owl (The Tommee Tippee one?) on the John Lewis website and it says it only plays sound for 20 mins - is that the case?

Ollie has different settings so he can just do 20 minutes or he senses when baby is unsettled and switches on then. We just have him on all night, I’ve come to quite like the heartbeat one!

I'm not sure some of the comments and "evidence" on here is particularly helpful to op. At most it is inconclusive, like so many things, at worst pure scaremongering.

I doubt your baby has suffered any ill effects from a phone, however your ongoing anxiety may. Have you got sources of rl support for your questions and worries?

@newmum234

Does anyone have their baby downstairs with them in the evenings at this age? We did in the early days but now he's 5.5 months I thought it would be okay to have him in our bedroom in his cot until we come upstairs. We could have him downstairs in the pram or sling, but I highly doubt he would sleep. Plus we'd have to disrupt him every night at around 10.30pm when we go to bed!

We did, but DD didn’t go to bed till midnight anyway so it wasn’t a chore.

The protection appears to be from them hearing you breathe, which can’t be replicated with a monitor (or at all if you have white noise on). DD was extremely mobile and we bedslept so would not have been safe in any way for her to be in bed without one of us. I used to go to sleep holding the bottom of her sleeping bag.

*bedshared

@BertieBotts

No, it's fine for them to be in your bedroom.

Erm, what?

In the same room.

Dont beat yourself up x
The Mirror is not a reliable source for science or health. These guys always have something SHOCKING to keep readers worked up.

Sure your little one is fine. We have Alexa at a top corner if needed or you could just put the phone away in a safe distance bit louder?

I've got an ollie the owl.. it goes off after 20 mins but it has a motion sensor so it will go off again if little one starts to wake or move it's also got a little Velcro strap to secure it onto the cot rail at the top to prevent baby rolling on it
I used to use my phone too but switched to the owl when my little one was 4 months hes 9 months old now and still sleeps with it best purchase ever in my opinion

We did, but DD didn’t go to bed till midnight anyway so it wasn’t a chore.

My DS goes to bed at 7 so that wouldn't work for us - unless I went upstairs and sat in the bedroom every night from 7, which just isn't realistic.

I've got a My Hummy and by god it's worth it! This is my second child and I used white noise on iPad for the first! My hummy is fab - goes everywhere with us!

You'll be fine. I use an old phone and play white noise through it and also use it as a baby monitor (there is a brilliant app for that but you do need a spare phone) but I put the phone in a sort of long moveable phone holder which is clamped to the side of a chest of drawers in the baby's room but I only need this because the camera needs to be pointed at the baby obviously, otherwise I would just stick it somewhere out of reach. As long as the white noise is loud enough it doesn't need to be right by their head or anything.

I'm sure baby will be fine. Maybe try a white noise machine though. I use one of these. It's great as it automatically comes on if baby wakes and starts crying.

And as for weaning off it, my older son is 5 and he still likes white noise and so do I and I'm 40! I just play it off my phone and luckily it doesn't annoy DH

Thanks. I can't stop worrying that I've harmed DS - I feel like such a fool

Why didn't I think to put it on airplane mode FFS?

@newmum234

Does anyone have their baby downstairs with them in the evenings at this age? We did in the early days but now he's 5.5 months I thought it would be okay to have him in our bedroom in his cot until we come upstairs. We could have him downstairs in the pram or sling, but I highly doubt he would sleep. Plus we'd have to disrupt him every night at around 10.30pm when we go to bed!

I’m the same - little one is 5 months and goes to bed at 7pm in his cot upstairs. I am aware it is against the official guidance, but I have made that decision.

He also has white noise - the little travel my hummy. It’s not as loud as when I used my phone but still works for him. I have no intention to wean him off in the near future!

And I’m sure your little one will be fine. I don’t know how you survive the evening without your phone though... it would mean I would actually have to talk to DH! 😂

Eye roll at the MN baby sleep police regurgitating guidelines.

OP my baby has all his naps and his night time sleep in his cot upstairs. Hes 6.5months now, but ive done that since he was 3 months old as he slept so much better.

Your use of white noise is fine, theres no need at all to wean him off it if you dont want too.

This thread has really bought out the MN twits for some reason.

Can you put it on flight mode?

I had this same worry. Had been BFing my son for hours on end while using my phone (mainly for work to be fair) not in airplane mode, right by his little head.
At about 3 months old I suddenly thought 'Hey, could this be dangerous?', Googled, and scared myself shitless.
Having looked into it, I don't think anyone knows the answer for sure. Since then I try to have my phone in airplane mode as much as possible.
I'm sure lots of other parents have done similar

I would just stop with the white noise tbh, not necessary

@keratinsmooth how would you know whats necessary for OPs baby?

I wouldn’t give it another moment of worry OP. Think of the many thousands of mothers (myself included) who have spent hours upon hours trying to stay awake overnight whilst feeding / settling their babies and in doing so using their phones for mumset etc. For what it is worth I really really sympathise as I had shocking health anxiety after the birth of my first and this sort of worry would send me into a complete spiral. By my second baby I was much more chilled thank goodness (the wonder of sertaline) but I do remember a frantic google one night when I accidentally dropped my iphone on my newborn’s head one night. All par for the course...