SIDS (Sudden Iinfant Death Syndrome)...

[Mrs-M]

There was great entry discussion Re: SIDS, in another recent thread, so I thought it would be great to start a dedicated thread topic Re:, providing an avenue for those interested in weighing-in and discussing.

I don't know much about it, although I have read many articles Re:, and I definitely put my time in (as a mom) worrying about it when my kids were babies.

I was in Elementary school when I was first exposed to SIDS. A friend of mine, who's mom babysat out of their home, had a little baby die of SIDS. It was tragic, and Mrs. R, never again babysat.

[domestic goddess]

When my dd was about 6 weeks old, I watched a television show (fictional) about SIDS. For the first time, she didn't wake up during the night that very night, and I was sure she had died during the night.DH offered to go in and get her, but I wouldn't send him in to find her dead in her cradle. I was just about ready to call 911 when she started to cry, and saved me, the PEDS nurse, from looking like an idiot.Yes, it was all a coincidence, but it didn't stop me, a few years later, from deciding she had a spinal cord tumor. Being my child must have been a trial to her at times.

[ejchase]

I've been learning about this topic a lot since I have a fourteen-month-old. One interesting fact: since pediatricians started telling parents to lay babies on their backs to sleep (about 5-10 years ago, I think), the rate of SIDS has dropped 80%. Also, these days you are advised not to put blankets, bumpers, stuffed animals or anything else in the crib with the baby for the first year or so. We swaddled our baby for the first four months, then sometimes put her in a "sleep sack" to keep her warm but didn't use blankets until she was a year old.

Also, about six months ago, I heard a really interesting report on NPR, which was about people who investigated SIDS deaths, and the thrust of the report was that most SIDS deaths can now be traced to unsafe practices such as heavy blankets - I guess some babies don't have the strength to push away a toy or blanket that is suffocating them.

Here's a link to it:

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/15/137859024/rethinking-sids-many-deaths-no-longer-a-mystery

[Anne Lee]

The first research about back sleeping was just being published when my 18 year old son was an infant. I'm so glad to hear the rates have dropped as a result of Back to Sleep.

[cattledog]

Before I had my kiddo, I'd heard of SIDS, but didn't really pay much attention to it. I think I got more information about it at the hospital after I delivered DD (I can't remember how- maybe a pamphlet? It was kind of a blur!). It was just basic advice though. Lay the baby on her back to sleep, don't put pillows in the crib, etc. The real trouble started when I was at home and did a little more research on the internet. Holy paranoia! I think I would have been better off not being so paranoid. I never slept very well when DD was napping or sleeping. I was sleep deprived until she could lift her head and roll over.

[Mrs-M]

Domestic Goddess. I think "first" babies are like that. (Or we're like that with them). I got into the habit of waking, nightly, to check-up on baby #1 and #2, but from there I started to ease-up, and tummy-sleeping (for whatever reason) wasn't popular in our house.

Ejchase. Very interesting, and thank you for posting the link. I, too, avoided stuffed animals and the sort, and didn't use bumper-pads.

Anne Lee. Me too. I'm thinking back (25-30 years ago) when I still babysat, and how on edge I used to be whenever I did overnight stays. Back then, SIDS, was all the talk, and everyone was an expert as to what caused it. I remember (for a time) everything caused SIDS, at least according to studies and information passed around. Wet diapers, were a real big thing 12-15 years ago Re: SIDS (something to do with high levels/concentrations of ammonia), and having babies of my own, seldom did a night go by where I didn't wake to do my rounds to check-up on those wearing waterproofs.

Cattledog. Oh, me too! Ditto, the paranoia thing! Sleep-deprivation was my life, and when my kids were little- little, I slept my best when I cuddled them in my lap, while napping in the easy-chair.

[Mighty Frugal]

I was so paranoid not only did I follow all recommendation to a T but I also bought he Angel Care Monitor. It was a flat device you put under the crib mattress and it had a sensor. If our child stopped breathing an alarm would sound from the monitor you kept in your room

[Mrs-M]

Love the sounds of the monitor, Mighty Frugal. There really is something to be said about peace-of-mind. A little goes such a long way...

[tootall]

Sleep sacks and sleeping in the baby's room have brought the most comfort to my wife and I.

The sleep sacks also keep them warm after they kick out of the swaddle.

I feel SIDS is over used and over propigated, SIDS is intended for "no other reason" deaths. Not ones that have a reason or cause. FEAR SELLS and if the new "anti-SIDS- breath thru bumper costs $150 then there are a lot of people that will buy that peace of mind rather than not use a bumper.

[Mrs-M]

First things first, welcome to our home, Tootall! So happy to have a newcomer branch-out and join us! You'll find an abundance of super-great people here, which I like to think, will make your stay a good one!

How right you are Re: "fear sells". Too bad it's used so frequently for all the wrong reasons...