Putting a pillow under fitted sheet

[Dani_Ldn]

LO is 7 months old & has been shuffling on his back in his cot every night & smacking his head into the bars & waking up crying (2-4 times a night). He was napping in our bed this morning with his head on a pillow, do you think that a pillow in his cot (safely secured under the fitted sheet) might stop him from moving back so much? I am talking about a baby sized pillow.

 

[HKateH]

I wouldn't.

 

[MindUtopia]

I agree, I wouldn't. At least a pillow on top of the sheet he could move out of the way himself if he couldn't breathe, but with it underneath, I think it would almost be more likely to be a suffocation risk. Can you just place him at the bottom of the cot so he's not near the top of it? Also, is he learning something new, like crawling, at the moment? I find my daughter is more active in her sleep when she's trying to master a new skill. Once she does, it goes back to normal. You might just need to get some help from your partner with the night wakings and muscle through until it gets better.

 

[Dani_Ldn]

I wouldn't have thought being under the sheet would be a hazard, but I guess if he rolls & gets stuck he can't push it out of the way. Thanks ladies, I wouldn't have really thought of that (how dumb do I sound!).

I put him at the base of the cot every night & within an hour or so he has shuffled all the way back & into the bars, he does this several times too!

I think he is in the process of trying to sit up himself. He can sit if placed in a sitting position for a while before he falls to the side, but can't get himself there yet. He can commando crawl a teeny bit when placed on his tummy, so maybe he is gearing up for a big milestone soon? He is also teething too

 

[sevenofnine]

I have done it since 6 months worth flat pillows. I put a blanket over them to smooth the gaps, and then a sheet firmly pulled taut over it. It has never even moved, honestly it looks and feels like a mattress. Works for us.

My daughter slept more soundly and calmly after we did it.

 

[dragonfly26]

I wouldn't, I don't even let my almost 3 year old sleep with a pillow. (I'm a bit of a worrier, lol)

 

[jd83]

I agree, I wouldn't. At least a pillow on top of the sheet he could move out of the way himself if he couldn't breathe, but with it underneath, I think it would almost be more likely to be a suffocation risk. Can you just place him at the bottom of the cot so he's not near the top of it? Also, is he learning something new, like crawling, at the moment? I find my daughter is more active in her sleep when she's trying to master a new skill. Once she does, it goes back to normal. You might just need to get some help from your partner with the night wakings and muscle through until it gets better.

This is what I was thinking too. I'd be afraid that lo wouldn't be able to move it out of the way like he could if it was above the sheets.

I'd wait until a year to introduce a baby pillow, its just safer at that point with them typically being much more mobile and able to move things around better.

I had the same issue with DS2 when he was around the same age, he kept banging his head and waking up screaming. We put bumpers up, thinking he was old enough to not really have it be a suffocation risk like with a younger baby. Well, I went in to check on him about a week after we put them up and he was sleeping with his face against it! So out they came, it scared me too bad to see him with his face against it. We just ended up having to deal with it, and honestly, I think it was movement from developmental things going on, because he outgrew doing that pretty quickly.

 

[Gem1302]

Kiddicare do an amazing padded, mesh, breathable bumper. It's pricey at about £36 but my lb kept banging his head on the rails at the side - bruises galore on a 8 week olds head! My hv actually recommended it. It's got a mesh cover, and the inside is like bubble wrap but with holes in, so nice & thick. It's got Velcro on the end and it wraps around and sticks to itself, so you can just have it around the top of the crib/cot/cot bed if you didn't want it around the sides.


Just looked online, they do 2 - Airwrap and Purflo PurAir Breathable

 

[Athena]

No I wouldn't. But we have this problem too. Hope you find a solution.

 

[calliebaby]

I was going to mention a bumper as well.

 

[tristansmum]

I would but looks like I'm in the minority here x

 

[MrsCeder]

I would second the mesh bumpers, I got some a few months ago when LO was shuffling around on her back and her head would be up against the bars. We got ours from John Lewis think they were £17.

 

[kettle28]

We have a pillow under the head of the cot mattress. DS has reflux so helps him sleep, he does slip down the other end but he's in a sleeping bag so no danger with sheets x

 

[Mummyxofx2]

I have put a pillow under a very tight fitted sheet since lo was 2 months old for reflux. It has never moved an inch. I don't see how it could be a suffocation hazard due to being under a tight fitted sheet?

 

[HKateH]

I have put a pillow under a very tight fitted sheet since lo was 2 months old for reflux. It has never moved an inch. I don't see how it could be a suffocation hazard due to being under a tight fitted sheet?

It's not the fact that it doesn't move, it's that pillows aren't breathable so, if for some reason, LO found themselves unable to lift their head (I know, pretty unlikely with older babies but still), then they wouldn't be able to breathe properly and would begin to inhale CO2. Modern cot mattresses are designed to be breathable. This is also the problem with (non breathable) bumpers.

 

[Noo]

Cot mattresses are designed to be breathable but it wouldn't be with a pillow on it.

 

[Mummyxofx2]

My cot mattress has waterproof plastic on top. Surely that's not breathable?

 

[HKateH]

My cot mattress has waterproof plastic on top. Surely that's not breathable?

You can get waterproofed mattress protectors (mine was about £15) which solves this problem.

 

[Noo]

My cot mattress has waterproof plastic on top. Surely that's not breathable?

Usually only the bottom half is waterproof if covered in plastic. The top part should be breathable. Plus you can get many fabric protectors these days that you shouldn't need a plastic cover.

 

[Noo]

I have put a pillow under a very tight fitted sheet since lo was 2 months old for reflux. It has never moved an inch. I don't see how it could be a suffocation hazard due to being under a tight fitted sheet?

You're supposed to tilt the mattress from underneath it not under the sheet. So put the pillow under the mattress to lift it slightly.