Baby sleeping at night in car seat...

Nisha · Feb 11, 2010

Is there any safety information I can pass on to a parent who has finally resorted to letting her baby sleep all night in the car seat because she's tried EVERYTHING and that's the only place baby will sleep without screaming.

I know it's NOT recommended to allow babies to sleep in their car seats but is there anything she can do to increase the safety of it?

wendytthomas · Feb 11, 2010

Keep the baby buckled in, keep the seat on the floor (or I suppose in the crib, just somewhere it won't fall over or out or off of). And keep trying to get the baby in a bed. Maybe if it's the upright-ness of it, have baby sleep against mom who is propped up? Use a sling so mom can sleep too and not have to worry about baby falling.

Have they been to the ped to see if something's going on internally?

Wendy

featherhead · Feb 11, 2010

If it was something that absolutely had to be done, I would take the base out of the car, make sure the seat was level, buckle the baby up tightly.

LISmama810 · Feb 11, 2010

Im sure someone will come along and post links to the study about how kids sleeping in car seats are at an increase risk.

As a safety nut, the thought of a baby sleeping all night in a car seat makes me cringe.

On the other hand, as the mom of a baby who would. not. sleep., I feel for her.

IF she is going to do it, make absolutely sure that the harness is properly tightened. Children have strangled to death on loose harnesses. That will also eliminate the chance of the baby falling out.

Make sure the seat is on the floor, not on a bed, table, etc.

Also, will this seat be used only in the house? If so, I'd buy a custom cover without the flame retardant checmicals. I wouldn't want my baby breathing that all night.

Nisha · Feb 11, 2010

wendytthomas said:
Keep the baby buckled in, keep the seat on the floor (or I suppose in the crib, just somewhere it won't fall over or out or off of). And keep trying to get the baby in a bed. Maybe if it's the upright-ness of it, have baby sleep against mom who is propped up? Use a sling so mom can sleep too and not have to worry about baby falling.

Have they been to the ped to see if something's going on internally?

Wendy

Yes there are things going on internally, the baby has several health problems and basically Mom has to hold her 24-7. Baby was born (end of Nov, preemie) with a mild omphalocele, just got out of the hospital with RSV and is now on an oxygen monitor that is going off constantly. (don't know about since she started sleeping in the car seat - that has just been the last few nights) So she is desperate for some time (has 4 other kids) detached from the baby!

sevan76 · Feb 11, 2010

Sounds like baby probably has reflux. At one point our ped actually told us to let our daughter sleep in her car seat but we didn't do that long. I think one of the issues of having kids sleep in car seats other than falling out as KQ mentioned is plagiocephaly-flattening of the head. They would really need to make sure the baby got lots and lots of tummy time during the day to try to offset that.

If its reflux, they can try propping one end of the crib up a bit so that the baby's head is elevated. I think you can put a pillow or rolled up towel under one end of the mattress. This probably works best with younger infants that aren't mobile but worth looking into.

Nisha · Feb 11, 2010

LISmama810 said:
Also, will this seat be used only in the house? If so, I'd buy a custom cover without the flame retardant checmicals. I wouldn't want my baby breathing that all night.

Not sure about that - I'll send her a note and let her know though!

trippsmom · Feb 11, 2010

LISmama810 said:
Im sure someone will come along and post links to the study about how kids sleeping in car seats are at an increase risk.

As a safety nut, the thought of a baby sleeping all night in a car seat makes me cringe.

On the other hand, as the mom of a baby who would. not. sleep., I feel for her.

IF she is going to do it, make absolutely sure that the harness is properly tightened. Children have strangled to death on loose harnesses. That wi also eliminate the chance of the baby falling out.

Make sure the seat is on the floor, not on a bed, table, etc.

Also, will this seat be uses only in the house? If so, I'd buy a custom cover without the flame retardant checmicals. I wouldn't want my baby breathing that all night.

Ds has horrible sinus issues just as I do.. I had to resort to him sleeping in a carseat for a week or two when he kept getting sinus infections that were turning into bronchitis over and over. It was per the doctor that I do this. They had a cpst from the office get me a seat (they knew I wouldn't use it, I was a nut then too, just hadn't found this place). She helped me cut blankets/etc. to make a cover for it so that he wouldn't be in the chemicals..

My swing had been destroyed in the tornado and once I got the insurance money for it, we bought a new one. It is an older aquarium cradle swing w/ the hard bucket like seat.

(The seat they gave me was one of those seats w/ the bar that went through loops on the harness on back of the seat to adjust it... It wasn't expired, it will expire in 2012.)

Babywearing Meghan · Feb 11, 2010

I did this with Julianna, so I understand where your friend is coming from.. It is all you can do with some babies, Julianna slept in 10 minute intervals no matter what I did, she screamed if I tried to cosleep, she screamed if I tried to put her in a crib, she screamed in the bassinet, screamed in the swing, and the bouncy chair, and when being worn, by the time she was 3 months old I was so sleep deprived and so despite I placed her in her infant seat after she fell asleep one evening, and she slept a full hr, it was amazing.. so she slept there at night for a couple of months.

Honestly she still woke hourly but it was more time than I got when I put her to sleep anywhere else.

She had SEVERE silent reflux though and did not eat.. so I think being more upright helped her, I didn't buckle her either, I set her on the floor in my bedroom in the seat, cause when i tried to buckle her, she woke right up.. she was such a light sleeper.

I don't know how I got through that first year with her, but it was pretty awful. Thankfully my other two were easy babies.

I think the base thing is a good idea unless the baby needs to rock in there?

joolsplus3 · Feb 11, 2010

Maybe one of these instead?... [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M77N22/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000JNP0F8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=03XEZQXXEQAG557J1P5S"]Amazon.com: Fisher-Price Newborn Rock and Play Sleeper, Yellow: Baby[/ame]

TechnoGranola · Feb 11, 2010

joolsplus3 said:
Maybe one of these instead?... Amazon.com: Fisher-Price Newborn Rock and Play Sleeper, Yellow: Baby

That's actually pretty cute! and a good suggestion! :thumbsup:

featherhead · Feb 11, 2010

joolsplus3 said:
Maybe one of these instead?... Amazon.com: Fisher-Price Newborn Rock and Play Sleeper, Yellow: Baby

Very cool:thumbsup:

Jonah Baby · Feb 11, 2010

Like a PP found, I would attempt to find some other kind of child gear that wold place baby in the same position.
I have a bouncey seat that has really deep sides, not one of those flat bouncies or those new, scary papasan things - it kinda looks like a carseat on a bouncey frame. I would probably feel more comfortable using that.

I sympathize, though.
When J's ear infections were so bad for a time that he couldn't even lay flat to get changed, he slept in his carseat. He insisted on having his binky, yet he couldn't breathe through his nose when flat or even mostly reclined, so that was another problem to sleeping - if he couldn't sit and suck for comfort, no one was getting sleep.
He was a relatively good night sleeper at this time. One issue to using the carseat was that he couldn't roll around and relieve pressure, thus he would awake and cry every few hours in the night and someone would have to hold him for a while.
Poor boy. It wasn't ideal, but if we hadn't used the carseat, we wouldn't have slept AT ALL.

ketchupqueen · Feb 11, 2010

Concerns with babies sleeping in the car seat: falls, strangulation, plagiocephaly, desaturation (two studies I am aware of, though small studies, linked sleeping in the car seat to desaturation in infants under 5 months and in several cases death.)

The chemical one is a new one to me but makes sense.

So, I'm with the others saying, if baby needs to sleep upright, it's preferred to find a different way to do it. Wedge under the crib mattress, or if even more upright positioning is needed, swing or bouncy seat would be safer, as more stable and slightly differently shaped (a little more conducive to keeping the airway open in the house), preferably either with a bar so toys can be hung on alternating sides so baby turns head different ways each night falling asleep, or with a head positioner insert that is alternated side to side each night to reduce plagiocephaly.

BookMama · Feb 11, 2010

joolsplus3 said:
Maybe one of these instead?... Amazon.com: Fisher-Price Newborn Rock and Play Sleeper, Yellow: Baby

Boy, I wish I had bought one those instead of the mini co-sleeper that DD2 will NOT sleep in.

When DD2 was first born, o.n.l.y. place she would sleep was on me or in the car seat. We tried everything - crib, two different bassinets, two different bouncy chairs (she'll sleep there sometimes for nap), co-sleeper, swing (she'll sometimes nap in the swing) bassinet w/positioner, bassinet w/books under feet for incline, etc. She sleeps nicely next to me in bed, but I'm not available to sleep next to 17 hours a day.

Oh, and she's not big on being worn, so that doesn't work for sleeping either.

So, DD2 sleeps in her car seat for a few hours at nighttime (until the first time she wakes after I go to bed), and sometimes for nap. It's not ideal, but neither is a baby who won't sleep. We're doing our best to wean her of it, but for now we just make sure she's as safe as possible in the car seat (we put it in the crib).

Oh, and the ironic thing is that as nicely as she'll go to sleep in the car seat at bedtime - she starts screaming when I put her in the car seat to actually go somewhere.

At least she quiets down once the car starts moving.

ctbcleveland · Feb 11, 2010

http://napnanny.com/

I know nothing about this product, but it is supposed to mimic the incline of a carseat. I have not researched or thought about it from a safety perspective. She is desperate, so I am throwing it out there.

Also, keep in mind that the Amby Baby Hammock was just recalled because of a child death. This was a common recommendation for babies with her type of problems until the recall. I think there are other brands out there that are similar, and I suspect they carry similar risks.

spokaneCPST · Feb 11, 2010

ctbcleveland said:
http://napnanny.com/

I know nothing about this product, but it is supposed to mimic the incline of a carseat. I have not researched or thought about it from a safety perspective. She is desperate, so I am throwing it out there.

Also, keep in mind that the Amby Baby Hammock was just recalled because of a child death. This was a common recommendation for babies with her type of problems until the recall. I think there are other brands out there that are similar, and I suspect they carry similar risks.

This is what I was going to suggest (the nap nanny).

Evolily · Feb 11, 2010

And to jump on the suggestion bandwagon....

http://www.ambybaby.com/

TechnoGranola · Feb 11, 2010

CelticLabyrinth said:
And to jump on the suggestion bandwagon....

http://www.ambybaby.com/

These beds are currently recalled right now and I believe they are not for sale until they do a redesign. According to their web site, the new design should be out in a few weeks but until then, you can't buy a new one. And if one were to purchase a used one, they absolutely should obtain the repair kit before using it.

MomE · Feb 11, 2010

ctbcleveland said:
Also, keep in mind that the Amby Baby Hammock was just recalled because of a child death. This was a common recommendation for babies with her type of problems until the recall. I think there are other brands out there that are similar, and I suspect they carry similar risks.

I had one of these. I could never get the "balance" right on it and my daughter rolled face first into the sides. I think that's what the concern was on these. I will never buy any hammock again. It just scared me that bad.

But my daughter was one who slept in her carseat for a period of time. I'm considering the nap nanny thingy myself for my son due in June...if it becomes necessary.

One thing that worked for my daughter later on when she had bad ear infections was to place blocks or bricks under the legs of her crib. I was too afraid to elevate the mattress as she was older. I was afraid she'd climb over the side and fall. But the bricks really helped. I'm not sure on the "structural" safety of this. Like if it interferes with the structure of the crib. But I was obsessive about check for loose sides every time I put her in her crib. And nothing ever seemed loose.

Baby sleeping at night in car seat...

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