Sleepyhead argument.

11 replies

Narlat · 31/10/2019 08:53

Morning all. Bit worried about posting this so dont shoot me down please.
My little girl is 3 weeks old and thriving other then... you guessed it sleep.
No I know I cant change her current lack of routine but I have a question.
She will sleep in her sleepyhead well for 3 to 4 hours. But as soon as I put her in the next 2 me she wakes every hour. I think she hates the bloody thing. My HV shot me down for using a sleepyhead and I want to use it in her next to me. I've been sleeping down stairs with her in the sleepy head to save my OH waking. She will sleep 4 hours solid!!! but the last 2 nights I've put her in her next to me and she just wont settle.
Does anyone else use their sleepy head in the next to me? I know I'm already using it to sleep and it kind of defeats the question but I guess I'm looking for reassurance that I'm not sentencing my daughter to an SID as the HV suggested.
Thanks in advance

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BendingSpoons · 31/10/2019 09:02

I don't see that using it in the Next To Me is any different to using it downstairs. For a long time it was considered safe and I think the manufacturers still say it is but Lullaby Trust say not to. FWIW I think some of the reasoning in this is that by saying it is safe, people then think it is ok to use similar but less tested products or use secondhand ones where there is a risk of mould etc if it hasn't been well stored. It is safer therefore to say 'no' to everything. I am not aware of any issues caused by the Sleepyhead. It's fair enough the HV follows the advice strictly. You have to make your own judgement but personally I think if you are using it downstairs you might as well use it up!

Crashtestdummie · 31/10/2019 09:08

Hi Narlat I am also using the sleepyhead with my next 2 me cot. My child is now 5months and I’ve used it since birth. I only found out it wasn’t recommended for unsupervised sleep when she was 3months at which point I tried to transition her into just the next 3 me for sleep! Cue a week of sleepless nights and I folded and went back to the sleepyhead. I am now going to wait until she outgrows it before transition to her new cot.

Had I known from the beginning I wouldn’t have bought it...

Original poster

Narlat · 31/10/2019 12:24

Aww thank you both. Yes I think your both right. Fingers crossed I'll get a good night tonight

OP posts:

Moonshine160 · 31/10/2019 12:38

I was in exactly the same position as you. We had a next to me crib but DS would not settle in it whatsoever, he had to be in our bed on our mattress right beside me. I tried co sleeping but I was that exhausted and going into deep sleeps that I didn’t feel like I was doing it safely enough and I was scared. I bought a sleepyhead and he started sleeping 3-4 hour stretches. He is 7 months now and is still in a Sleepyhead, we have purchased the next size up as he has grown out of the smaller one. He has always liked the feeling of being snug and he is a great sleeper now.

There is a lot of dispute around the safety of sleepyheads as a ‘clear cot’ or crib (no toys, bumpers etc) is always the safest option which is why health visitors are opposed to sleeping pods. You need to weigh up your options, personally I was becoming ill from exhaustion, although it’s not as safe as an empty crib I am not aware of there being any issues or fatalities where a sleepyhead has been used and they are incredibly popular. I wouldn’t use any other sleeping pod other than a sleepyhead as other pods aren’t made using breathable materials.
A sleepyhead has been a godsend for us!

HipHipHippo · 31/10/2019 12:51

I understand that you're worried, it's hard not to be.
Whatever you decide on, let me tell you this: a lot of parenting is just doing what works for you and your dc. Guidelines are there to help, but ultimately they are not the be all and end all.

Original poster

Narlat · 31/10/2019 14:43

Moonshine that's how I'm getting! I'm worried about squashing or dropping her.
Hiphip yup I agree. I'm gonna put her in her sleepyhead and hope she has a good night sleep too. God help me shes so overtired today she just wont settle for more then 30 mins xx
Thanks all x

OP posts:

girlmummy25 · 01/11/2019 03:51

I use a sleepyhead at night and have done since DD was 2 weeks.
I haven't found one SID case online from using a sleepyhead (some on there for cot inserts but not sleepyhead). Co-sleeping is probably more riskier as causes an average of 133 deaths a year in the last 5 years

justsotiredallthetime · 11/11/2019 06:52

I'm in agreement with @girlmummy25 - We used the sleepyhead for everything (Naps, nighttime) until he grew too big for it. We now have the insert under his sheet to provide a barrier.

I have found HV to be incredibly unhelpful!

SuperSimpleSnogs · 13/11/2019 16:43

We had a bedside crib that DS point blank refused to be put in till we got a sleepyhead and put it in there. I figured it was less of a risk than having him propped up on my chest all night. He slept well in it till 5ish months when he just started getting more restless and I transitioned him out of it no problem by doing what @justsotiredallthetime has done with the sausage cushion under the sheet and then taking it away completely.

faelavie · 21/11/2019 10:28

Resurrecting this thread because I don't know whether to buy a sleepyhead or not....

I have a 4 week old sleep stealer who hates being laid down to sleep in his Next2Me crib, or any other flat surface really. Wondering whether the sleepyhead will make him feel cocooned and enable me to get some sleep, because at the moment he will only sleep when he's being held/on my chest...
I've nodded off with him on my chest a few times and I know how dangerous this is, surely this is worse than a sleepyhead??
But the Lullaby Trust has made me super paranoid.
I'm so sleep deprived and desperate.

Moonshine160 · 21/11/2019 11:12

@faelavie I was in your exact position, DS just wanted to feel snuggled and wouldn’t sleep in his next to me crib. I was so exhausted that I was sleeping very deeply and I didn’t feel safe enough co sleeping so bought a sleepyhead to go in his crib. They are not generally recommended however I felt it was the safer option that having him on my chest or sleeping with him. He immediately started sleeping 3 hour stretches which gradually got longer. I’m not saying that this is what will happen for you but give it a go! A clear crib is always the safest option but some babies just will not sleep in a clear crib! There have been no reported incidents of SIDS in a Sleepyhead, but there have been many incidents of babies sleeping on their exhausted parents.

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