Sleeping Like a Baby

I recently came across an interesting article about SIDS. As you probably know, SIDS is the leading cause of death in infants aged newborn to one year (some resources say up to 18 months). This article in particular talked about sleep positions and habits. I hate seeing/reading these articles, because my kids are probably at a greater risk. Here’s why:

When Emma was a baby, she was the fussiest little thing you’d probably ever meet. She was never happy. She cried probably every thirty minutes. None of us had a clue what to do.

One day, my Mom noticed that she was never happy when she laid in her bed for nap. She’d flinch and scare herself awake, or rock from side to side because… well, who knows why. But, my Mom, who was taught back in her child-rearing days that the belly is best (back then they thought SIDS was mostly from children spitting up and drowning in it while sleeping on their back), decided to put Emma on her belly. And that girl was happy, and QUIET at naptime ever since.

*Yes, I freaked out the first time she did it. I mean, you’re not SUPPOSED to. But, after I sat next to her for multiple naps to listen to her breathing and such, I was okay with trying it for a while.

With all of that relief, how was I supposed to go all technical on my Mom (who put up with me being crazy picky) and be like “no, no, no, you’re not supposed to do that; even if the baby likes it.” Instead, I embraced it. And I checked on her like crazy for months when she napped. I even checked on her through the night for a LONG time.

She still sleeps on her belly to this day. In fact, she even refuses to use a pillow still. I guess old habits die hard.

Flash-forward to Alice.

I told myself that to stay sane, I wasn’t going to put Alice on her belly (I was paranoid a lot when Emma would sleep, and checked on her numerous times a night until she was about two). However, we had another "flincher" on our hands and we resorted to trying the belly again.

Alice actually hates to sleep on her belly, but she will. She is most comfortable on her side. If she does sleep on her belly, it’s usually with her butt up in the air. I feel like the butt-up position is the worst though because to me it would have the least amount of air flow. Have you tried to sleep like that? It’s almost impossible for an adult.

I check on Alice often, just like I did for Emma, not just because of the belly position, but because we also gave her a blanket. Gasp! She hates to have her feet covered. Wait, that’s not 100% accurate. She hates to have her feet covered by a sleep sack. It’s furry feeling, so maybe that’s it? Who knows. All I know is that she sleeps better with a blanket versus a sleep sack or no blanket at all.

With Emma, I was so much “by the book” that I was terrified all the time when she slept. With Alice, I’m not as stressed, but I check on her A LOT still. I’m hoping that she magically decides to start sleeping on her back, but I’m not thinking it’ll happen.

How do your kids sleep at night? I mean, am I the only one whose kids won’t sleep on their backs?!?!