A pillow.. is it really that bad?

From birth DD has been a side sleeper (yes i know not a SIDS reccomendation), she refused to sleep on her back (no she doesnt have reflux). Well she has never really slept well in her cot and would wake within an hour. This drove me mad during the night so i would put her in bed with us.(one top of our doona with her own bedding) since that she has slept great. But nows come the time where i would like my bed back even tho i do love having her in there with us i dont want to have the problem of her not getting out later on. so.... what i did was.... i put her in her cot before with her head/shoulder on a pillow on her side. Once she was asleep i put her on her back. I know when she stirs shes going to roll on her side by herself anyway. She went straight to sleep without any fuss what so ever.

So... is a pillow in the cot a reallllllllllllllly bad idea? has anyone done it?

(no lectures here please, i am FULLY aware of the SIDS reccommendations)

I think a pillow would make me a little nervous. But I know that DS2 was never going to sleep on his back, so I ignored the recommendations and put him on his tummy. I think you have to be a bit practical about things. If back sleeping isn't going to work, and something else does, then you gotta do what you gotta do. Personally I think an exhausted mum driving her baby around is a risk too, so you need to put things in perspective and do what works for you. I found that using a baby alarm with movement sensor helped me to have some peace of mind with Tom on his tum, so maybe that would help you too? Best of luck hun.

i wouldnt give one! have you raised the head of the cot??

Holly - I'm not going to lecture you because we don't follow the SIDS recommendations either (tummy sleepers here!)

but we do have a breathing monitor to alert us if she stops breathing - do you have something like that? Is it a really fluffy pillow?

manta - where can i get one from?

AJP - yep tried raising one end of the cot.

Mel - nah not really, its one of our older ones that has gone quite flat.

I am with the Mels. Get an AngelCare or similar monitor, and do what works. If you can get a pillow that is very light and you can breathe through then great!! I would get something that reduces suffocation risk. There is bound to be something that had been designed to be safer than a standard pillow. I know there are cot bumpers that have been approved by the sids council so there should be something available. I would suggest putting the pillow underneath her bottom sheet so that she cant move it or get under it too.

ETA - Target sell the monitors ;)

ahh the pillow under the sheet! good idea!! thanks!

Hollye, baby shops sell baby pillows that are filled with tea tree fibre- they are supposed to be much safer and better for allergans too...

We've got an angel monitor. THe sids recommendations are good, and yes they prevent things from happening but that's just what they are are RECOMMENDATIONS, if she sleeps on her tummy or side then thats what she does, no point keeping the poor tike awake just for the sake of something that could maybe happen kwim

Thanks Lorirae :D:D n KL :D:D

DD was a co-sleeper from birth until 9.5months. I probably wouldn't have used a pillow earlier though, she seemed ok without one and never really thought about it. My DD has used a pillow in the last few weeks and sleeping much better, most nights right through. I have an angel care movement monitor anyway but she loves her pillow! She is in a toddler bed now.

Btw Holleye I have a friend who has slept her daughter from birth with an adult pillow, sheet, doona, cot bumpers all round and a dozen soft toys in her cot :D

If you're going to use a pillow give it a REAL good vacuum often and put it out in the sun alot.

I have heard about the Tetra pillows too, I would look into that to be on the safe side. Also an Angelcare monitor is a great idea for peace of mind. Most baby stores have them and so does Target (I have a second-hand one in my online store ;), not trying to get a sale out of you I swear, just thought I'd mention it LOL!)