is a muslin square a safe 'comforter'?

[averagemum]

Hi there - I'm having some (sort of) success with introducing a blankie / comforter. My ds just went down for his nap holding a muslin square I'd been sleeping with for a couple of nights. But then I've been fretting that maybe he'll get it in his mouth / over his face etc etc (I've just checked him and so far OK). He's 5 months. Surely he could breathe through it / pull it out of his mouth? Reassurance please!

Absolutely. My niece still clings to one and she's 6. I am desperately trying to get dd to use them. You won't get a more convenient and easily replaceable comforter. No safety issues as far as I can see.

yeah he'll be fine, they are so thin and flimsy - my nephew sleeps with his muslin draped over his face and always has. Freaks my sister out but that's what he does..

I think they are a great comforter, you can have a ton of them and wash them regularly and rotate.

We used one with DD1 until she was about 3. It was fine in terms of comfort, except that the dentist said it had cause her two top teeth not to grow down properly (just like thumb sucking or a dummy)as the cloth bunched together was really quite hard. She is 5 now and they are still a bit stumpy. Agree with Maveta though they are easy to wash and replace - those expensive custom made special blankies are a nightmare if you lose them (even if you have two).

Great - thanks for all your replies! I've just started with it in an attempt to encourage ds to self-settle... Do any of you remember how long it took for them to really get the idea? My plan is to give it to him to hold / cuddle at every feed and sleep time. Thanks.

We discovered that DS had a love of all things fabric when he was about 12 weeks (he rubs his face on any fabric he can get near to), so we started introducing a muslin for him to suck on going to sleep (not a fan of blankie type things, but I am a fan of sleep! Plus I figured a muslin was the most replaceable thing)
It pretty much worked straight away, making settling him much quicker, and he won't easily settle without one now (20 weeks). Still doesn't do the mythical self settling, but is a bit easier than he was.

They are the best comforter as they are easily replaceable.

my ds does the same at 19 weeks. i often go and check on him when he's napping and the muslin is compeltely covering his face. do people think that's ok? he seems to shove a bit in his mouth and suck on it but i can't help wondering what would happen if he shoved loads of it in his mouth. wouldn't he choke?

ds loves his muslys. He is 6.
He has had them since he was tiny. I used them to catch milk dribble and he just started clinging on to them. When we first put him to bed with them, I did worry a bit about him suffocating himself.
But he was fine.

They are cheap, easy to replace and rotate to wash.

YES! we have over 20 mussies, both DS's use them as comforters they get a clean one each night - DS1 rubs the tag on his nose and DS2 stuffs it into his mouth and sucks on it.

dd2 loves hers, she will be 4 next month and still loves hers (she is in the habit now of pushing it down and winding it round her feet though

Good for washing, we have loads. dd1 had a rabbit (still has, and she's 6 now) and that is truly disgusting as she won't be without it for me to wash (and has been known to hide it so I can't find it).