Sleep positioners. ?SIDS risk?

[naomi83]

Hi all.

My 4mo DS is in the process of trying to learn to roll from his back to his tummy (can roll from tummy to back with relative ease already). Anyway, he has started to try and roll while he is in his cot. He CAN'T roll yet and so gets extremely frustrated and cries out.

He is also now doing this in his sleep!!! We watched him the other night has he struggled and strained to roll over, in the process turning himself 180 degrees.

It has gradually been getting worse to the point where he will cry out many times a night, when I go in he is in various uncomfortable positions, pushed against the sides etc etc. He is usually crying in his sleep, but is ocassionally awake.

I have been simply moving him back to the correct position and leaving. This solves the problem in the short term.

A friend of mine suggested a sleep positioner as a potential solution to this. I have been looking at them in the shops and note they are breathable but I am worried about the SIDS implications of using one with such a wriggly bub as my DS.

Does anyone have any opinions or advice? If they are safe can you use them while bub is in a wrap or only with arms completely free?

Thanks x

[TripleTime]

I personally wouldn't use one. When DD2 started to squirm in her sleep, we stopped wrapping her & letting her sleep how ever she wanted.

[Witchypoo]

I think they're unneccessary really and a potential risk. I think your bub really needs to be sleeping unswaddled for his safety at this age. I'd suggest just trying putting him in a sleeping bag and see how he goes. If he has trouble adjusting to having his arms free you may have to go through the process of gradually wrapping him more loosely (maybe during the day at first so you can monitor him in case he gets caught up in his wrap) or try having one arm free at first and then the other one. Good luck! I think my DS started sleeping unswaddled at around 16 weeks.

[naomi83]

Thanks guys. I won't buy one then. We currently use a "wrap me up" wrap which let's bubs arms be in the natural up position, not down by their sides. I have ordered a grobag, and am waiting for it to arrive. Trouble is DS uses his wrapped hands as a self-soother and sucks on them. With his hands uncovered he is unable to self settle. A friend recommended putting socks on his hands. Is that crazy?!

[fludo]

Trouble is DS uses his wrapped hands as a self-soother and sucks on them. With his hands uncovered he is unable to self settle. A friend recommended putting socks on his hands. Is that crazy?!

Not crazy if it works! (I'm sure we all have so called crazy things we do to get our bubs to sleep!). He might just need a few nights to get used to his hands being uncovered though?

[naomi83]

Not crazy if it works! (I'm sure we all have so called crazy things we do to get our bubs to sleep!). He might just need a few nights to get used to his hands being uncovered though?

Yeah. I was thinking of starting in the grog and socks on his hands for his day sleeps. Then one sock on and one hand bare etc until he has both hands out. Wish me luck!

[willowtree78]

In my opinion, sleep positioners are fantastic. My daughter used one from about 3 months because she hated to be wrapped, and was Houdini no matter how tight it was so apart from her first few days in hospital, she's never been wrapped and she was a major squirmer. The sleep positioner was the only choice I had to keep her in place. She wouldn't sleep in sleeping bag, and would scream if I dressed her in anything too thick to keep her warm so I could only use a sheet but she would squirm out of that so the positioner was my god send!!!! From my experience, I highly recommend them (breathable one of course).

[growingbelly]

you could look at the safe-T sleep too. we use them and they have been great for both DD's. I feel they are safer than the pillow type sleep positioner and they work realy well for my DD2 who is in one wearing her Woombie