When did you give your child a pillow?

[JabberJaw]

I co sleep with bub (12 months old in 9 days) and in the last few weeks she plonks herself on my pillow to sleep, at first i thought she wanted to be close to me () but i think she wants my pillow!

For the last week i have been putting her in her cot at night because she has taken to attempted bed escapes at midnight lol and was crawling over the bed in all directions ..... so anyway she wouldn't sleep in her cot so i put my pillow up the end so she could smell me and stuff, i know its not to safe, but every time i went to check on her she was laying on it, i gently take it away but if she wakes she screams till i put the pillow back......

So what age is safe for a pillow? The one i use (that she steals) is very thin, i am guessing it is a kids pillow anyway, its pretty flat!

Also is 12 months OK to use cot bumpers? Because she keeps losing her dummy and bumping her head so i thought a bumper might help.

[Electric Rodeo]

I gave DS2 a pillow at 10 months. I put cot bumpers up around 12 months to stop the same problem of waking himself with a bang on the head.
As for how safe. Don't have any exact stats. He seems fine with it

[Chunkydunks]

DS had a pillow under is cot sheet from 6 weeks old (when he first went into his cot). He was a happy chucker so it was recommended to help keep him up a bit. From about 8 months old I got sick of putting it under the sheet cos he'd dig it out and no matter what I did he managed to get that pillow out every time.

I can't say much about the bumper because we had one on there from day dot.

[~Temet Nosce~]

I gave dd a small toddler pillow around 16 months old, but she now uses a normal size pillow because the toddler one hardly did anything for her, she loves her big pillow. I just put it underneath a fitted sheet so she can't move it or anything.

[mim1]

Pillows, bumpers and quilts are not recommended for under 12 months because of the SIDS risk. Kids do not have the physical ability (some might, but all don't) to get themselves (while asleep) out from under a pillow if it ends up on top of them, and ditto for the quilt, etc.

But as your dd is nearly 1 that's no longer an issue.

We gave my ds a pillow at about 14 months, but he was probably about 20 months before he was definitely using it like an adult would. Most of the time before that he might lie down on the pillow, but he'd sleep on his sheet on his tummy well away from the pillow.

We got an airwrap cot bumper when he was 1 to stop the tide of dummies going behind the cot. It didn't complete stop it, but it made a massive difference - highly recommended it!

[JabberJaw]

Thanks everyone for the replies, i have finally got my daughter having a good block of sleep and i couldn't sleep myself as i was in a panic about the pillow! I think i might put it under the sheet, great idea ladies, never thought of it!

And i am off to get a cot bumper tommorrow.....had a gorgeous one from previous kids but rid myself of it due to SIDS etc, wish i kept it now...oh well any excuse to go shopping

[mum2bubba]

From memory I think I gave Hayley a pillow around 18 months (she had a cold one night and the pillow helped her breathe a bit better) Skye was a bit younger though she is 21 months now she doesn't always use it. She prefers to sleep on top of it and use her blankey as a pillow.

[taliistheword]

we gave tali a pillow at 17 months , because she look uncomfortable in her cot and she steals ours when in our bed, so i thought she was older enough as we have had no problems

[girly]

From birth..

[grass is always greener]

We gave Ds1 a pillow when he moved into a big bed. I think that was about 10 months ago, he is now 3.
He never wanted or needed one until then. Ds2 is 8 months old and he wont be getting one for quite awhile.