[blparent] falling asleep?

Wed Feb 3 20:02:07 UTC 2010

I bought something for Kaelyn called a Snuggle Nest.  Babies R Us carries 
it.  It's a little plastic bed for baby that can be placed right in the 
middle of the bed.  It has plastic sides to keep any pillows and things from 
entering baby's sleeping area, and to keep baby confined.  That is, until 
they actually become mobile.  I would nurse her to sleep then slide her into 
the Snuggle Nest.  I couldn't fit a cosleeper in my room, so this was an 
inexpensive alternative.  It also has a firmer matress for baby to lie on, 
which might make parents feel a little better than having baby on a soft 
matress.
Kaelyn wasn't a good cosleeper though, as she would wake up every time we 
moved.  Sometimes, she slept well in her swing so I would bring that into my 
room, but even that didn't last long.  It isn't easy to get sleep when you 
have a young infant.  You'll become very creative though. :)  Just don't 
ever leave them sleeping on a boppi pillow or anything like that where they 
might slide down.
Leanne
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jessica Lucken" <pete1744 at umn.edu>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 12:33 PM
Subject: Re: [blparent] falling asleep?


>I agree with Tammy, I actually slep with Owen last night, because he is
> going through a growth spurt and  was at the breast all day yesterday and 
> I
> needed sleep.  I have a co-sleeper which I really like too as it is at the
> level of the bed mattress so I can roll him in/out and change him and
> everything without getting out of my bed.  They are kind of pricy, but I
> know they have cheaper ones on Craig's list, I just got mine before I
> thought to check there.  They go up t olike 20 lbs so you can also use 
> them
> as a portable crib too, though, they aren't as versatile as a pack and 
> play,
> but they are skinnier so ift into more places.  I think mine is the
> co-sleeper mini.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Tammy, Paul and Colyn
> Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 9:10 AM
> To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blparent] falling asleep?
>
> Hi,
>
> I don't agree with that either.  I think that what works for one parent
> won't always work for another parant, and if you are careful and patient
> you'll find what works for you.
>
> Tammy
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "DIANNA ALLEY" <dianna24 at earthlink.net>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 1:30 AM
> Subject: Re: [blparent] falling asleep?
>
>
>> Well I don't know that the nurse is saying that.  a lot of doctors say
>> that you should not sleep with your child on you now.  I don't agree.
>> They also say you should keep your child on her or his back to sleep.  If
>> I did that I would have been up all the time and never slept.  I just
>> watch her really well.
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Tammy, Paul and Colyn" <tcl189 at rogers.com>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 8:00 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blparent] falling asleep?
>>
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Totally agree with you here.  This issue may be a long-standing issue 
>>> but
>
>>> being a new parent will make it worse, not better, and the insensativity
>>> of some professionals due to their general lack of information or due to
>>> their own inadequacies is very very annoying to say the least.  It 
>>> sounds
>
>>> to me like the nurse you're dealing with is trying to find reasons why
>>> you can't take care of your child and this is not what she should be
>>> doing. She should be trying to help you, or if she can't help you she
>>> should find somebody who can.  Remember that you're not supposed to know
>>> all the answers right now, you're supposed to be the one asking 
>>> questions
>
>>> and she's the one who should have all the answers.  If she doesn't, then
>>> she's at fault, not you.
>>>
>>> hth
>>>
>>> Tammy
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Dena Wainwright" <dena at envogueaccess.com>
>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 6:17 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [blparent] falling asleep?
>>>
>>>
>>>>I get that. My only point is that if you are worried about falling
>>>>asleep, there are precautions you can take to make the
>>>>environment/situation safer so that when it happens, it isn't as
>>>>dangerous for your baby. It makes me mad when nurses and other
>>>>"professionals" try to terrify us into thinking we can't take care of 
>>>>our
>
>>>>children. We have enough doubts about that as it is - both because of 
>>>>our
>
>>>>blindness and our lack of experience as new parents. I'm not saying the
>>>>nurse's concern isn't valid, but she could have offered solutions,
>>>>instead of just saying that it should never happen. I mean, get real.
>>>>Anyone who has a newborn knows that you are like the walking dead. I
>>>>think we'd wonder about someone who didn't fall asleep at the drop of a
>>>>hat :). I know the issue is a long term one in this case, but I'm sure
>>>>it's compounded by new motherhood and the body trying to make 
>>>>breastmilk.
>
>>>>I was hoping to put some of her fears at ease by giving her some things
>>>>she could try for when it does happen.
>>>>
>>>> Dena
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>> From: "sharon howerton" <shrnhow at att.net>
>>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 3:51 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [blparent] falling asleep?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Dena, I think your points are well taken and great; however, it sounds
>>>>> to me, and I don't know this for sure, like Leslie has had a problem
>>>>> with this sort of thing long before she had Michael. I don't know if
>>>>> it's a blind thing, but it's happened to me, kids or no, and I know
>>>>> it's definitely happened with my significant other who was sighted
>>>>> until about 14 years ago. He can knock off at the drop of a hat and
>>>>> attributes it to getting up early (4 AM routinely) and having worked
>>>>> early mornings for many years requiring that he get up at 2:30 AM, but
>>>>> he hasn't done that in many years. I have been better with this in
>>>>> recent years but will admit that I have had this sort of problem even
>>>>> at work; it was just something I could not control and needless to 
>>>>> say,
>
>>>>> it was embarrassing.
>>>>> Sharon
>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>>> From: "Dena Wainwright" <dena at envogueaccess.com>
>>>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 2:42 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [blparent] falling asleep?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> OK...First, falling asleep while holding your baby isn't necessarily 
>>>>>> a
>
>>>>>> bad thing if you prepare for that possibility. Yes, you absolutely
>>>>>> must be more careful initially, both because he is extra tiny, and
>>>>>> because he lacks head control. Yes, you could smother him - if you
>>>>>> fell asleep with blankets over you both, tons of fluffy pillows all
>>>>>> around you, with his face smushed into your body or clothing so he
>>>>>> couldn't breathe, etc., but falling asleep with your baby in your 
>>>>>> arms
>
>>>>>> does not automatically equate to a suffocation hazard.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> For the first several months of Elise's life, the only way she would
>>>>>> sleep is literally on my body. Maybe there are those who would
>>>>>> disagree with this strategy, but if you've never had a child who
>>>>>> absolutely would not sleep without physical contact (I mean for more
>>>>>> than 10 minutes at a time...ever) then I'm not really interested in
>>>>>> hearing how horrible you think it is. I thought (before I had this
>>>>>> kind of baby) that cosleeping was stupid. I couldn't understand why
>>>>>> anyone in their right mind would want to do it, especially when their
>>>>>> child had a perfectly good crib or bassinette... Then I found myself
>>>>>> in the situation where I probably wouldn't have gotten more than 2
>>>>>> hours of sleep a day if I wasn't holding my baby, and suddenly it
>>>>>> didn't seem so dumb.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Here are a couple of things you can do.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If you do want to sleep with him:
>>>>>> First, you can lay in the middle of your bed (with every blanket but
>>>>>> the fitted sheet taken off of it). You can place a very firm pillow
>>>>>> under your head (no other pillows of any kind should be on the bed).
>>>>>> You can wear warm (but non-bulky) clothing to keep yourself from
>>>>>> getting cold. If you really want to, you can put a bed rail on the
>>>>>> bed, but I found that given that I was a good couple of feet from the
>>>>>> edges, I didn't really need to. However, if you don't have the luxury
>>>>>> of your own bed (we have a guest room, which made shift-taking easier
>>>>>> in the beginning), you might want a rail on your side. Then you can
>>>>>> place your baby on your stomach. He will be laying tummy to tummy 
>>>>>> with
>
>>>>>> you, with his head between your breasts. This is very soothing for 
>>>>>> mom
>
>>>>>> and baby, and can increase milk production if done skin to skin. You
>>>>>> won't need to put a lot of clothing on him if you're doing this, as
>>>>>> your combined body heat will keep him very warm, and it is actually
>>>>>> better to keep babies on the cooler side as opposed to the warmer
>>>>>> side.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Another thing you can do is wear him in a pouch on your front. This
>>>>>> would allow you to sit up with him, but still be able to hold him
>>>>>> securely. I will preface the pouch suggestion by saying that you
>>>>>> should *never* *never* put a newborn baby with no head control into a
>>>>>> sling of any kind in the cradle position. The cradle position is 
>>>>>> where
>
>>>>>> he is laying on his back across the front of your body (like he would
>>>>>> be if you had one of your arms behind his head, and one under his bum
>>>>>> and knees. This is an extremely dangerous position for such a young
>>>>>> baby, because their chin can be pushed forward into their chest -
>>>>>> cutting off their air supply. Because they are not able to move their
>>>>>> head to accommodate this decreased air supply, they can literally
>>>>>> suffocate to death in your arms. If you think I'm being
>>>>>> overly-dramatic, my friend saw a 2 week old baby die in front of her
>>>>>> because of this exact thing. If you want to use a pouch, the safest
>>>>>> way to wear your baby is to put him in so that his body is parallel 
>>>>>> to
>
>>>>>> yours. His stomach will be against your chest, his head will be under
>>>>>> your chin, and his legs will be folded froggy-style (with his heels
>>>>>> resting against his bum and his knees bowed outward). Even very tiny
>>>>>> babies have the ability to minimally shift their head from side to
>>>>>> side, even if they can't lift it up on their own. This position makes
>>>>>> it less likely that his chin will be pushed down into his chest, and
>>>>>> it will also make it easier for you to hear him breathing, because 
>>>>>> his
>
>>>>>> face will be about 8 inches away from your own. Again, he won't need
>>>>>> more than a onesie if he's in a pouch, as they are very warm. I got
>>>>>> mine from
>>>>>> www.kangarookorner.com
>>>>>> Their staff is very helpful at describing their products, and
>>>>>> assisting you with placing your order. They actually apologized to me
>>>>>> that their site wasn't easier for me to use.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hope some of this helps.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Dena
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>>>> From: "Leslie Hamric" <lhamric930 at comcast.net>
>>>>>> To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 8:54 AM
>>>>>> Subject: [blparent] falling asleep?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi All.  I was wondering if you could give me any ideas, as I'm
>>>>>>> running into
>>>>>>> a problem that could be potentially serious.  Its happened a few
>>>>>>> times where
>>>>>>> I've fallen asleep with my baby in my arms.  The first time it
>>>>>>> happened, one
>>>>>>> of the nurses saw it and she informed me that I could potentially
>>>>>>> suffocate
>>>>>>> my baby by doing this. The problem is that I don't always know I'm
>>>>>>> getting
>>>>>>> sleepy unless someone tells me I am or until I start nodding off.  I
>>>>>>> had a
>>>>>>> sleep study done in 2004 and the specialist said I have a non 24 
>>>>>>> hour
>
>>>>>>> sleep
>>>>>>> cycle and the only way to remedy that is to get a full 8 hours of
>>>>>>> sleep at
>>>>>>> the same time every night.  Well, we both know that's virtually
>>>>>>> impossible
>>>>>>> now that I'm a new mom.  Have you ever had this problem and if so,
>>>>>>> what
>>>>>>> kinds of things did you do to stay awake while holding your baby?
>>>>>>> One thing
>>>>>>> I've tried was having the radio on and that doesn't seem to help.
>>>>>>> Andy's
>>>>>>> really worried about me too. He doesn't want me to fall asleep and
>>>>>>> accidentally smother the baby.  I don't want that either.  I'm just
>>>>>>> at a
>>>>>>> loss of how to solve this issue.  I've heard other blind people
>>>>>>> having the
>>>>>>> same problem since they don't get the light stimulation.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Leslie
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>> blparent at nfbnet.org
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>
>>>>>>> blparent:
>>>>>>>
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> ss.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
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