(Crib Death)
This is one of the initial fears you will experience as a new mom that will carry on throughout your first year. Every new mom talks about it, and I’m glad they do. The good news is that crib death, otherwise known as SIDS, is way down, but it haunts all moms at night as they lay their little birds to sleep.
The “old” way of having babies sleep was on their tummies. And by old I mean all the way back around 1994. 1994? Wow, that’s like when Britney Spears was actually still a virgin. Anyway, I guess back then they figured babies wouldn’t choke if they spit their milk up in the middle of the night. Then they did a study and found that fewer babies died from crib death when they slept on their backs. And that was that.
Now, when you see the nursery in the hospital, all the babies are on their backs or sometimes on a slant. When I say slant, I mean on a slant cushion or with a blanket tucked along the side of the baby’s back so if he spits up it will slide down the side of his face. I highly recommend using the “slant” method. Just remember to rotate the baby so he doesn’t develop a slanted head. One night slant to the right, then the next night slant to the left. That way you’ll have a safer baby with a pretty-shaped head. Also, experts suggest not using a blanket to lightly cover your baby. Instead, wrap up the baby like a burrito, just like they do in the hospital. Once he grows out of the burrito-wrapping age, just dress him in warm PJs.
The first night home I was terrified. Just imagining anything happening to my bird crushed my insides. The grim reaper of newborns was out there, and I wanted to dice him up in my blender and feed him to my neighbor’s barking dog. I was going to make sure the bastard never got near my kid, even if that meant waking up every hour to check on him, which was exactly what I did in the beginning. I had a twin bed set up in his room, which is where I slept for about two months. I wanted my son to get used to his crib and not become dependent on sleeping in my room, so I joined him in his. I loved staring at him and listening to those inhales and exhales while I fell asleep. Who needs ocean waves crashing or a stream of water to relax you when you’ve got baby breaths? If I could have bottled them up I would have.
So, the first night I got up about every hour to check my son’s breathing. I didn’t set an alarm; I had the old Mommy clock now inside me that told me to wake up every hour. As days passed and I felt a little bit more comfortable, I relied on his feeding-time wake-ups, which were about every three hours. If he ever went past three hours without waking up for food, my body would bolt up and I would check on him. I know this sounds crazy but it’s just a new mom thing. I’m sure Baby #2 won’t get as much obsessed attention.
Anyway, to continue about my paranoia, sometimes when the baby would sleep deeply and I didn’t hear any breathing, I would run over to him and kind of softly poke him until he made a noise. Unfortunately, the noise was usually “WAA WAA” because I accidentally woke him up. But I didn’t really mind. Hey, if he was crying, that meant he was breathing!
Some women I’ve spoken to say that they sleep with their newborns in their own beds. I would be so terrified of rolling over my baby or smothering him with my blanket that I never would have tried that. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve slept with my little dog and accidentally shucked him right off the bed.
The good news for all of you, though, is that since my son was born, they now have baby monitors with alarms set on them to go off if the baby stops breathing. I love technology. If you feel that you might be as paranoid as I am, then I highly suggest getting one to put your mind at ease. I know I’m getting one for the next baby. Did I just say next baby? Boy, all this baby talk is making me crave another baby.
Anyway, if you want to kick the “grim reaper of the baby world” right in the balls, get one of these monitors and follow the new rules when it comes to sleeping requirements. It’s worth it!