Blanket under baby - problems?

[gbartlett]

In need of advice, pls...

Sebastian is a week old today, and is mostly a happy baby so far. But he's sleeping a lot more during the day than at night. And he also seems to want lots of cuddles and not to be put to sleep in his Moses basket, which is cute during the day, but not very helpful at night.

The Moses basket mattress seemed a bit hard, so I thought putting a fleecy blanket folded in half underneath him might give a bit more cushioning, and might also feel more cuddly to help settle him. Unexpectedly, OH went ballistic saying that somewhere online said this was hugely dangerous.

This doesn't sound right to me. For starters it's underneath and folded flat so he can't get into it or catch it round himself. For another thing, OH said that it was bcos all mattresses for babies needed the baby to be able to breathe through it - but (a) you can breathe through a fleecy blanket anyway, and (b) waterproof cot mattress covers can't be breathed through anyway. So I'm frankly mystified.

Any advice from you folks?

I'd try co-sleeping as a solution as long as no-one in the house smokes. Alternatively you could try swaddling him. It's a really common problem and does improve with time.

But I'm interested in your original question too - I was wondering about putting my 10 m.o. on a piece of fleece to stop his dribble soaking into his sheet and irritating the ezcema on his cheeks but wasn't sure if this was okay.

A decent fabric sling is your friend for daytimes.

Congratulations on your baby! :)

He's only a week old - it's not uncommon for babies this tiny to not want to be put down at night. It will get easier in a few weeks.

As Angel says, swaddling is great. And a sling.

For your moses basket - it might be the cold not the hardness. How do you lie him down? imagine being fast asleep curled up face down, then flipped onto your back and lowered - you'd probably wake! Try putting him down on his side then gently rolling onto his back. I used to do this with DS, although when he was older. He slept on me or DH for the first 4/5 months if he wasn't co-sleeping next to me.

Can you get a better mattress for the Moses basket? Or If you're putting your baby down on his back, it should be ok to use a fleecy blanket to line the mattress provided it's snugly tucked in.

both my dds hated their moses baskets i think when they moved the mobility of them made them uneasy. both of them slept in a travel cot in out room with a proper mattress as i felt the mattresses they came with were a bit hard (fine for occasional use). The space and the fact that they were firmer helped, plus it helped with the transition into their cot because they were used to having the extra space around them. Hope this helps x

I was interested in your question so just did a quick bit of googling (I'm afraid there's no specific scientific research here) but in general the websites I looked at said that many babies who die from SIDS or suffocation are found on their stomach with their faces covered by soft bedding such as blankets and pillows. For this reason, it recommends that you keep blankets out of your baby's cot until he's at least 12 months old. Also, they said don't be tempted to fold up larger sheets or blankets to fit your cot, as it can be dangerous and increase the risk of your baby getting caught up in their bedding.

May be this is more the risk rather than mattresses being breathable? Or maybe what your OH meant by breatable was maintaining the right temp. Maybe a soft blanket folded up could make your baby hot? But I understand what you're saying, very new babies can't really roll or move about much yet, maybe what was said above is more for the older babies who are learning to roll and kick and generally move around. May be consider getting a softer mattress? Then you wouldn't have to worry. Sorry for jumbled post currently multitasking!

Also just realised the bit about SIDs sounded abrupt, I was just copying from website about safe bedding, sorry.

I know duvets and pillows are not supposed to be used under 12 months, but surely not blankets? How would you keep the baby warm?

If I read the OP correctly you are putting the blanket under the mattress? I can't see any reason why this would be a problem.

My DD was born using forceps and had quite a bit of bruising around her head and face that was very uncomfortable for her when lying down for the first couple of weeks. The MW recommended a fleecy blanket folded flat on top of the mattress but below the fitted sheet so that there weren't any loose edges for her to get under, therefore no smothering risk.

I guess the advice about feet to the foot of the cot and then tucking in the blanket up to the waist stops the risk of blankets being a problem if used as covering but I think the bit I read was about using blankets in other ways (ie comforter/laying on or near). But your idea of blanket on top of mattress underneath fitted sheet sounds good for OP (as I read it the blanket was just under baby).

Ah sorry Addicted, I see what you mean now

Don't worry I wasn't being very clear my post did make it look like you shouldn't use any blankets at all.

We put a hot water bottle in the Moses basket to warm the bed up for dd, this seems to make transition from sleeping on my chest to sleeping in basket easier. Hot water bottle obviously comes out when she goes in (and goes into my bed!) and then is used again when I have her out for nightime feeds. Definitely worth a try!

Re the sleeping a lot more in the day than night, that's totally normal for a week old baby, he doesn't know the difference between night and day yet, it will come. Try to get him to get some daylight every day as this will help him learn (I know it's hard when the weather is grim!).

The transition between falling asleep on you to putting them down is really hard - you need to do everything slower than you think! We gave up and co-slept for a while, but are trying again with getting him into his basket (he's 11 wks now) and its working quite well so far.