I have been meaning to post about this for a while but for some reason I think it might offend somebody.
I can't see why, because as far as I am concerned I am doing you all a public service by telling you about my newly found peace of mind, but I have the feeling it might piss some people off. So I apologize if I am pissing you off or offending you.
I was worried about SIDS the day we came home from the hospital and I have been worried ever since. At first I just thought, well there is nothing I can do about it, I just have to suck it up and get over it and pray that Isobel is okay. Of course I pray that SIDS and all other things that kill babies and that end pregnancies and that stop pregnancies developing and anything else I have missed cease and desist from ruining so many beautiful peoples' lives. As a new mother, I feel sensitized to every child's suffering, every being's suffering, and the earth's suffering and it makes me a teary mess. I lie awake at night in wonderment of motherhood and also I go dark places thinking about all the bad things I might not be able to prevent happening to Isobel.
Anyway, one day I decided to Go.ogle SIDs to see if I could find anything to reassure me. I learned about the risk factors ( some of which were new to me), what to do to try to prevent SIDS, and then I learned about products designed to help neurotic parents like me monitor their babies' breathing and movement. And I thought, 'why not?" Why, if I know that there is a product that could help me not worry so much, and could alert me to a potential problem with Isobel's breathing, why wouldn't I get it?
So I did. It's called Snu.za and it's like a little pager your child wears while they sleep. It registers their movement ( breathing) and sets off a series of alarms that remind the baby to breathe and then to alert you to the lack of breathing if that happens. It works great if you have a baby like mine that sleeps sometimes in her crib and sometimes with us. The only problem is that you need to fasten it to her diaper and depending on how many layers of clothing she is wearing, you don't want to do this once she is asleep because by the time you have finished rustling in her drawers she will have woken up. I usually put it on when I get her ready for bed or naps but often forget and have to scramble. You can put it on her pants waistband if you want to and she is wearing pants and a t shirt or onesie.
So, I like the Snu.za but I am still having a hard time putting her down in her crib without waking her up ( yes, we are not onto the part of sleep magic where she can put herself to sleep quietly in her crib, so for now, I am putting her down asleep). So I remember that I have seen another product called an AngelCare Monitor that you can put in the crib which would make it easier to put Isobel down in the crib without waking her and fumbling around. So I bought it. All this courtesy of internet shopping, which is my new best friend.
So now, as she approaches her fourth month birthday, Isobel is armed with a small arsenal of anti-SIDs monitors. And the reason I am telling you all this, is not because I am working for Amazon.com but because I read about all my blog friends' babies and want to protect them too. I wish someone had told me about this technology earlier. But I am glad I found out about it. I asked my brother about it and he told me that his partner had bought a special mattress to prevent SIDS when their boy was a baby. It seems people do these things a lot, but they don't talk about them. So I am talking about it.
I'm glad you mentioned this, Claire. DW and I have been planning to buy a SIDS monitor for years, all through the TTCing phase. With what we have been through to conceive, it's no wonder we are paranoid. The only one I've found is the kind that lays under the child like a mat and goes off after 20 seconds of no activity. I didn't know they had other kids. I may ask the Grammas to get this for us! :)
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine this would offend anyone!
ReplyDeleteWe use the Angel Care monitor and loved it. We had two false alarms from Sadie rolling out of range and I was constantly setting it off when I'd pick her up for a feeding but the annoyance was more than worth the peace of mind.
There have been studies released recently that indicate that SIDS is biological. I think these devices are still worth having because they help you be there to remind your LO to breath!
A friend told me about the angel care monitors when I was pregnant, but with two of them, I just couldn't swing the $100+ each. Ultimately, since we ended up co-sleeping, it didn't much matter (except, of course, for the hour or two that they're asleep by themselves, but luckily-- unluckily?-- they wake themselves every 45-60 minutes just to scream a little!). I admit that I still find myself waking during the night on occasion, just to rest a hand on one of my sons' abdomens to make sure they're still breathing, even though at 8 mos they are outside the major window of SIDS risk.
ReplyDeleteI asked a fellow blog friend once when the crazy worry about things like this comes to an end, and she said that it basically never does-- it just morphs into a new worry! Awesome! I guess that's what people mean when they say it's like wearing your heart outside your body, right?
Well! Here's another paranoid mother (meaning me eheeh) I had bought the AngelCare monitor (with sensor mat) back in September! it was the first and only thing I actually bought...and I can sleep. it never false-alarmed like some reviews said and I feel so reassured I don't know why they don't give you one of those by default as you become a mom! I had seen the gadget you have got and was really tempted to get it but like you I wasn't sure about the practicality (though now that we'll be going to Italy I am really thinking how will I cope without my angelcare!!)
ReplyDeleteI think its great that you were proactive and educated yourself about any possible means to prevent SIDS. Thanks for sharing this and if anyone has a problem with it, they're lame.
ReplyDeleteI think you would like this book I borrowed from the library boo. http://www.amazon.com/Paranoid-Parents-Guide-Parent-Resilient/dp/0757315054 That book is awesome and really helped calm me down. I worried terribly about SIDS because it just seems to reach out from the dark to get you. I am so freaking happy Peter is almost one and I can put that worry behind me. To be replaced by three more worries, but hey those are new so at least it's a change of pace. I worry about everything. Global warming, pollution, a-holes that text and drive, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, you name it. Anyhow, the book separates real worries from veryvery unlikely to happen worries.
ReplyDeleteWe did not get a monitor, but Peter screamed constantly and so spent little to no time out of my arms for months.
When I have a worry I research it and do what I can do take care of it too.
I was the exact same way... I often went into Lucas' bedroom and would wake him up (oops) trying to see if he was breathing. I kept telling myself that we had a lot in our favor: no smokers, a fan going in his room, a room at the right temp, but it never eased my fears. Now that he's reached one, I feel a little bit like I'm "going to get to keep him", but I still check on him... like every night.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine who would be pissed at you for this helpful post. We NEED reassurance. I too was paranoid the first several months about SIDS (the risk decreases dramatically after 4 months, I think). I was also terrified that I would drop him while carrying him. And just today, as I rocked him with a bottle, I thought, one day he will be an old man (God willing) and I won't be here and I hope the people in the nursing home treat him gently and with respect. How's that for life-long worry?!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got some peace of mind. If you can buy it, do it!
When Ceara was born 4 weeks early, weighing less than 5lbs, the hospital warned me that she was at increased risk. I was a nervous wreck. That was 13 years ago, and if I could have found any device to ease my worry, I would have done it in a heart beat.
ReplyDeleteWhen I brought Gavin home from the NICU after 2 weeks there, I guess I was so relieved that he was no longer connected to any alarms, tubes, wires, etc that I didn't even think about a monitor. But I admit to a lot of 'checking' over the 1st year.
Now that I'm a mom to a teenager and a toddler, life is non-stop worry.
I'm a SIDS freak. Because it freaks me out. I'm really glad I"m not the only one! Every piece of information is useful for someone! Anyone offended can just not read. Easy as that!
ReplyDeleteWe too had an angelcare monitor. We stopped using the under the mattress part after a while, but the peace of mind was so worth it at the beginning.
ReplyDelete