Putting 4-month old to bed with a stuffed animal?

[Deleted]

DS is 4.5 months old. He lately is having trouble self-soothing at nap time. I have found that if I give him a stuffed animal, he will cuddle it and fall asleep. He does bring it to his mouth (he's teething) but he isn't covering his face with it. I then try to take away the animal so that its not in the crib with him after he falls asleep.

Is this totally unsafe? I know you aren't supposed to have blankets, toys, etc in the crib with the baby but I'm not sure what else to do, and this works!

Here is an image so you can see what I'm talking about:

[drloretta]

IMO it's fine as long as you get it out of there when he's asleep. My concern would be him rolling onto it facefirst

[thatgirl2478]

DD had a ton of animals in the crib with her - and we never had a problem. That said were we taking a risk? Sure, but based on what I had seen with her previously I wasn't overly concerned.

FWIW we were still swaddling at 4mo, she could roll over on her own around 5/6mo, which is when we stopped swaddling and when she actually started interacting with the animals in her crib. Of course at 4mo we also still had the bumpers (OMG) in the crib.

[Deleted]

We let DS have his wubbanub sometimes, but it's 1/3 the size of that monkey. I would keep taking it out once he's asleep. I'm curious though, at what age are stuffed animals okay? I think 4 months is definitely too young though IMHO.

[brit1017]

Honestly, I'd be OK with it. We gave DS and DD small lovey blankets when they were 4-5 months old.

[af1212]

If you're really concerned, maybe you could try something not stuffed? My daughter started sleeping with her Sophie at 4 months and still sleeps with it now (at 2 1/2).

[vanillacourage]

I got a 2-pack of these at Target - they are thin enough that I'm fine with DS having one (he's 5 months). I would take a stuffed animal out of the crib once he falls asleep.

[hannamaren]

My child has had a blanket since that age. She sucks on it, puts it over her head, etc. once she is asleep, I take it away or pull it back.

[bunch]

That picture is adorable. I started dd with her mini a&a blankies not long after that and they've been a lifesaver.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 14:59:01 GMT -5 bunch said:

That picture is adorable. I started dd with her mini a&a blankies not long after that and they've been a lifesaver.

Seriously, it breaks my heart to see him cuddle that thing! LOL

I think I will give it to him but take it away when he falls asleep. The downside to taking it away is that he might wake.

I might try Sophie tomorrow and see if that works the same.

[cherry1111]

I ditto the others that I would take it away once he falls asleep. That picture is one of the cutest things I've seen in a while.

[jinnifah]

That picture is just precious

[karinothing]

That picture is awesome! So adorable. I wish DS would take to a lovey.

[bunch]

Dh saw your picture and said to just let him keep it.

[CloudBee]

What a sweet picture. I keep scrolling up to look at it.

[hocus]

I'd be OK with an all cloth animal. The plastic eyes on many animals are a chocking hazard. There are many "crib" animals out there.

[DarcyLongfellow]

What a sweet picture!

I'd try a different toy, if it were me. My DD slept with that glowing Fisher Price seahorse at that age -- our ped was okay with it because of how stiff it is -- no soft parts to obstruct breathing. Maybe try to find a small, hard stuffed animal? Sounds contradictory, but I hope you know what I mean!

Also, those Aden and Anais blankets are really thin. I tested them out by wadding one up, putting it over my face, and making sure I could still breathe. DD was over a year when I let her sleep with one, but I was a bed safety freak. :-)

[caramia17]

I have nothing to add except to say your kid is so, so cute with that monkey. Take a million more pictures of him snuggling it. Aaaaaaaah! So sweet.

[Deleted]

I have no idea. But my god that is the cutest picture!

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 22:03:03 GMT -5 mishy said:

That is so adorable! I'd probably let him keep it, maybe not overnight but for a nap or just to fall asleep. We leave this Fisher Price Seahorse in LO's crib all the time: www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Ocean-Wonders-Soothe-Seahorse/dp/B000W3XEQM/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&srs=2529427011&ie=UTF8&qid=1347937366&sr=1-1&keywords=seahorse

That seems harmless, we've got something similar.

Thanks everyone we do think hes cute and that pic totally sums it up!

[froggy76]

That is so cute! At that age, I let DD sleep with a lovey. I read a recommendation to give them something smaller than their head. You could either try that, or just keep doing what you're doing and removing it after he's asleep.

[Deleted]

My kid has slept with a blankie since he was 1 month ( in the rnp tucked under his bum then wrapped over his feet. It became a great lovey for him once he started in the crib. I say sneak it out when he falls asleep for now. BTW that pic is precious.