Sleeping with muslin over face

[WoodsfortheTrees]

I think I'm being very a bit PFB but my 9 month old has taken to holding a muslin as he goes to sleep. All well and good apart from he likes to rub it against his face and then falls asleep with it covering his entire face. This is ok isn't it?

I feel so stupid asking (hence asking on here!) but when I see him like that I instinctively want to grab it off his face and feel a bit panicked

It's only a small Tesco muslin so nothing big enough for him to get wrapped up in or anything.

Its not a stupid question!

The SIDS guidelines have a recommendation that for a safe sleeping environment baby should have a "clear cot". That means nothing in the cot - no pillow, loose covers, no toys or comforters.

I usually start giving a comforter about 9 months old, so I looked into the safety of this at the time. There is no ".... until" age with the clear cot. So they don't say for the first 6 months, 12 months or anything like that. Just that baby should sleep with a clear cot. I can therefore only form the assumption they mean always, regardless of the baby's age.

There used to be a recommendation that pillows were not used until 12 months (inferring safe after 12m). So I assumed this must clash with the Clear Cot guidance. But this bit of the recommendations (about pillows) has now been removed from the guidance. So it would seem that the recommendations are unending?

This would all suggest that there is a risk. No point pretending there isn't. But it is for you, as parent, to assess the risks and manage accordingly. With a muslin the risks would be

• It getting wrapped around neck and strangling
• It covering face and smothering
• It producing a soft surface when face-down and restricting breathing
• Possible cause of over heating (?)

You just have to judge those risks yourself and decide if this is acceptable, or a risk too far.

For what it's worth, my 2 year old has had her comforters (teddy attached to 15cm square blankie - two of them) from about 9-12 months old. Then a pillow from about 18 months old.

I agree with Fate that you need to weigh up any risk yourself. FWIW both my children have had a comforter in their beds from about 6 months and we've never had any issues

I wouldn't allow that because if strangulation risk alone. Unlikely but it can happen and everything is unlikely until it happens. I was always taught 'clear cot' too.

If it worries you, can you take it out of the cot once he's nodded off?

They're thin & breathable so I'd think they're lower risk than things like pillows or teddy bears.

Cut it up to make it much smaller. It'll be the smell and feel he likes. Hopefully at that age he won't notice the thickness. I really wouldn't worry about a smaller one. But the full size are a bit big for anything near the face.

Thank you all for replying. I think that's why I feel uncomfortable FATE, we've always followed SIDS guidelines and this is the first 'thing' he has had in his cot (apart from lots of glow in the dark dummies!)

I have been moving it from his face once he has dropped off but sometimes prising it out of his hands is difficult without waking him. I haven't allowed him to have it overnight though.

I might try cutting it up smaller. I thought muslins would be better comforters then finding a 'one off' teddy that you spend the next 5 years trying not to inevitably leave somewhere

DS is 8 months and since about 3 months has slept with a comforter teddy that he rubs on his face. He often has the whole thing covering his face but he won't sleep without it.

My daughter has been doing the same since 6 months - initially, I was terrified about her strangling herself with it so I tied it to the cot so there is a limited amount of material available for her.

I've relaxed about it more recently after hearing how so many other babies have used a muslin on their face from around the same age so I've just started leaving it loose in the cot (she also moves around the entire cot now and then fully wakes if she has to go back to the point where it is tied to when stirring in her sleep). I do use the small size muslin for comfort only

I remember posting the exact same thing for DS around 18 months ago.

He would have his muslin draped across his face most of the night. He's ok

It may be of no assistance but Aden and Annais sell a small muslin comforter with an animal head which my son loved to sleep with! Given the design it wouldn't be large enough to wrap around his neck!

Good tip to buy multiples of the favourite teddy

@ilovewillow Thanks for the Aden and Anais suggestion, just looked at the website and they are ideal! Especially then ones with a silky edge as DS also loves to suck on labels at the moment too

Please don't. There is a suffocation and strangulation risk. Years go, my little cousin was suffocated by his blanket and died. He was 12 months old. The risk is very real. At 9 months old, I would have no soft toys, blankets or muslins in the cot and I would have the child in a Grobag. Mine was in Grobags until 3.

Woodsforthetrees you are very welcome!

My DD has done this since she was tiny. We tie a knot in the muslin so she can cuddle it to her face but it's not big enough to cover her face. She's 9 months old now and still sleeps with one. Easier to wash and replace than a toy comforter too.

Please don't do this and please don't cut a smaller one up either. There is absolutely increased risk of injury.

A smaller one may seem safer but stray threads can be a tourniquet (wrapping round little finger) or choking risk. The child doesn't choke on the thread itself but there have been cases of a thread being ingested, causing irritation which leads to vomiting. This is where the choking risk comes in.

I know I sound like a real Cassandra but manufacturers etc spend years developing and labelling products to stop horrible accidents from happening. Please don't ignore them.

Riddles you tie it to the cot?

Sorry, but I really would not do that!

Tie a knot in it. That being said my Ds sleeps on his front most nights with his face smushed into his comforter teddy (a baby jellycat one he got for Christmas that they don't make anymore lol). He also has bed ted which stays in his cot at all times in case of emergency!

If they sell comforter teds with a mussy attached then I may invest too!

I've been wondering the same thing! DD is 15 months and will only sleep with a muslin. She's done it from about 12 months. I used to take it away once she'd nodded off but she would wake 3 times a night crying for it. Since I've let her have it all night she sleeps through, I guess when she wakes if she has it she can settle herself back off. I've been working on the assumption that it's ok as she could have a pillow and duvet by now (she doesn't, she has a gro-bag and a clear bit except he muslin). But 15 months is very different from 9 months of probably have been far too nervous to let her have it all night then.

It is a judgement. My friend has twins and one would not sleep on her back. She put her on her tummy and always slept like a log... she didn't though as you can imagine for some time.
I like the idea of the animal one