It's natural to have fears even when you have no risk factors. I would suggest a couple things. Talk with your pediatrician for his/her suggestions if you haven't already. Do you swaddle him? That can help babies sleep better on their backs because it keeps them from waking from startling. Have you tried a sleep positioner to keep him on his side? Lastly there is an angelcare monitor I wish I'd know about when my son was newborn, it goes under the mattress and detects the breathing movements and an alarm goes off if it stops detecting them. I know a lot of parents have found peace with it. Luckily my son didn't want to tummy sleep until nearly 6 months and I had a really hard time with it, I had a hard time even when he was sleeping on his back. Even now at 10 months I have to check on him often. Hope this helps :)

Your son should soon be old enough, if he's not already, that if he ends up on his stomach, he'll be able to move his head easily to be comfortable and safe. And soon enough, he'll be able to turn over at night and sleep any way he wants.

Twenty eight years ago, when my first was born, the advice was that they sleep on their stomach, my generation certainly did, and look how we turned out! LOL None of my three kids would sleep on their stomach, so I propped them on their side with a small rolled up blanket, so they tipped slightly back, and they did great. They are now 24, 26 and 28 years old.

I understand the technology has changed. My daughter, who is expecting my first grandchild next week, got a sleep positioner as a shower gift. Who knew.

Enjoy that little guy, it's the most fun you'll ever have.

Don't let him get those confounded shots. They say the vaccines arew a major contributor to SIDS. (And when was the last time you heard of anyone actually getting diphtheria or pertussis, anyway?)

Also the recent studies showed that SIDS was least likely when the baby sleeps in a crib in the same room as his/her parents, but NOT in the same bed. No way Jose' for that idea.

My grand son had pertussis, in spite of having had the immunization....I also got it as a child..in spite of the immunization, as did my baby brother. It's a serious disease!!!And it is still around.....there was an outbreake in a town near me a couple of winters ago...it's not gone!
And diptheria was a child killer. My grandmother lost 2 brothers to the disease...it chokes children, they simply cannot breathe......and it is still around. Unlike polio and small pox, diptheria has not been wiped out!
Get your children immunized!!!! If you have ever seen a child with pertussis who is turning into a skeleton because they can't sleep for coughing and can't keep food down, you would not even hesitate about having your children immunized!
Some radicals may tell you there is a connection between childhood immunizations and sids....but sids was around long before there were shots for whooping cough and diptheria! We called it "Crib Death" and people didn't speak of it....they just said "They lost the baby".
Linda C

Lindac is right. Those immunizations do not cause SIDS or autism, or anything else, those are urban myths. Those diseases are still around and they kill children. Without immunizations, SIDS would be the least of your worries.

I'm sure he's doing fine now, and turns over (and over, and over) at night. You must be enjoying your first Christmas with your son.

Well, I had pertussis a few years ago and I can tell you it was no fun at all. You cough until you throw up and then you cough some more. I didn't totally get rid of the cough for about 8 months. Pertussis has not been eradicated. Children need to be immunized. They also need to be immunized again at about age 10 or 12 (I can't remember the age) for Pertussis. It is a new immunization or recommendation that just came out this year.

Here are a couple of excerpts from our local paper from the last few years. My case of whooping cough occurred during the 2000 outbreak.

Local day-care worker contracts pertussis
September 28, 2000 ÂÂ 1323 words ÂÂ ID: ftc997000351612
Dozens of kids treated to prevent whooping cough SALLY BRIDGES The Coloradoan About 90 children at a Fort Collins day-care center are receiving antibiotics to prevent the spread of pertussis - often called whooping cough - after a 20-year-old female employee of the center tested positive for the contagious respiratory illness. Officials with the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment confirmed the case Wednesday but refused to release the name of the day care.

3. Whooping cough on the rise in Larimer County
January 11, 2005 ÂÂ 644 words ÂÂ ID: ftc2005011210373092
KEVIN DARST KevinDarst@coloradoan.com Larimer County's whooping cough rate was nearly double the state average in 2004, and health officials can't pinpoint the cause of the spike in the highly contagious disease. The county's 144 cases in 2004 produced an unofficial incident rate of 54.2 per 100,000 people, nearly twice the state rate of 26.3, according to provisional numbers from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Here's a link to an article from our local paper from about 2 weeks ago.

Here is a link that might be useful: Whooping Cough still around

Check on your child often, especially when he/she is under 6 months. Use baby monitors if the child is not sleeping in your room (I agree- no babies in beds, which HAS been linked to more SIDS deaths recently). Always put the baby on their back, if they can roll to their side, they can roll back if they get in trouble. If you are really worried they sell alarms that go under crib matresses that can detect if your baby is breathing or not. Immunize your child, it's called modern medicine for a reason.

In response to winter_unfazed about not getting those vaccines. Here's an alarming article about whooping cough from today's LA Times. We have a measles case here in Baltimore, and there is a polio outbreak among the Amish in southern Pennsylvania.

I just hope that winter_unfazed's child is vaccinated, I'd hate to see them posting on the Grieving forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Whooping cough outbreak

back on subject.

I have 3 boys, and they all preferred sleeping in different positions.
My oldest was early, low birth weight and almost didn't make it out of me in time. He slept on his stomach, wouldn't sleep any other way. He's nearly 14, and a VERY healthy happy athlete.
My middle one slept on his back..sprawled out, easy baby.
My last one slept propped on his side, but as soon as I found him "wedged" funny in the position sleeper thing, I took it out. And put him to bed on his tummy.
He'd have been about your guys age at that point.

My point is SIDS is scary. I know a family that lost their beautiful little girl at 7.5 weeks from it.
She was a side sleeper per their pediatricians recommendation.
But there is no "way to prevent it".

Relax.

Yes, SIDS still happens in the most careful loving homes. The last "S" stands for "syndrome" and the term is used when a child under the age of one has an unexplained death.

Parents should know the recent statements from the AAP re SIDS prevention are receiving enormous criticism from medical and lactation circles. The controversy is complicated but you get an idea from the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee statement linked below. (I thought this link was more readable but you'll find the statement on the net through many resources/professional organizations.) The papers cited within are well worth following through links.

It may well be that down the road different recommendations regarding bedsharing etc may be offered for breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding infants. Risk factors for SIDS continue to include exposure to cigarette smoke and not breastfeeding. The controversy stems from the fact that both separation and pacifier use compromise breastfeeding and, ironically, breastfeeding is one of the most important steps in protecting infants from SIDS -- in addition to many other well-documented protections. Mothers and babies are physiological regulators of one another, and breastfeeding assures this physical relationship in simple ways.

Of course not every mother and child share a nursing relationship. Still, both nursing and non-nursing parents deserve to know the thinking behind the theories and the research, however incomplete.

Too many mothers and fathers worry when they may very well be doing exactly what their babies need -- instinctively. The time with little ones is so fleeting!

Many documented SIDS deaths involve some combination of alcohol / drug abuse, obesity, inappropriate bedding. And sadly, some babies die under the most loving and thoughtful care -- and we don't know why.

I'm posting in the hopes that someone passing by will worry a little less, and enjoy her child a little more easily tonight. For those with interest, you can find some studies on the internet to catch more details.

I have a friend who lost a baby to SIDS and I cannot imagine her heartache. She would say sometimes you do everything and your baby still dies. My heart goes out to anyone here who has lost a child.

To protect our babies today and to come, we need more controlled research and accurate information free from bias, economic or cultural.

(Re authors of letter below.
Dr. Naylor heads Wellstart International and has an interest in anthropological understandings of breastfeeding.
Dr. Lawrence is the editor of the classic reference, "Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession," now in its 5th edition.)

Here is a link that might be useful: U. S. Breastfeeding Committee response to latest AAP SIDS statement

try the Angel Care Monitor...they have a sensor that alarms the parents if the baby stops moving/breathing..its the greatest monitor ever...not only does it have the great sensor for movement it also is a great baby monitor for noise..no interferences, etc....

Is there any truth to the information given at http://www.thediaperlady.com ? that apparently in New Zealand they've pretty much cured the SIDS problem by using these gas/toxin-blocking mattress covers? They have tons of references listed, but for all I know it could be a sales-tactic just like those brochures about intestinal parasites that we're all supposedly filled to the brim with.

That is the first I have heard of that theory......
If it were true, I can't understand why there would not be more about it written here.
But....??
I don't know, I remember when I was a child someone had a baby who dies and it was said it was because the baby slept on a bed pillow in the basinnette. Babies have died un explainedly for a long time..
BUT if I had a new baby, I would be wrapping the mattress for sure!!
Linda C

Check out James McKenna's website. McKenna is an anthropologist (U. of Notre Dame) who is internationally recognized for his research in the area of SIDS, cosleeping, and breastfeeding.

McKenna, and other researchers in this area, study the many ways in which mothers and babies are physiological regulators of one another. Fascinating and reassuring stuff, to be sure.

It's hard to be a consumer of research but I think it's a good idea to look first to the sponsor of "medical information," whether it's a website or publication or consumer product.

Of great interest to researchers and parents alike are:
-- parents' use of drugs/alcohol (impaired response)
-- parents' use of tobacco (infant exposure)
-- cosleeping (physiology, bedding materials)
-- breastfeeding (physiology)

Off-gassing from bedding is new, "cot death" is not.

It's just not a simple issue -- families have to review their own practices carefully.

Here is a link that might be useful: James McKenna PhD (website regarding SIDS & sleep issues)

One thing you may consider especially if you don't breastfeed is let your baby go to sleep with a pacifier. Doctors are recommending this because the child doesn't go into such a deep sleep