Unsure About the Future of My Business...

[mrshamel3808]

I feel compelled to tell you about an ad campaign they are running here in Indiana. It is a warning about letting your baby sleep w/you. They can suffocate and die. I already knew this was a risk, but I had no idea how many it happens to. They said an average of one baby a week dies in Indiana alone this way.

I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't tell you about this. I thought of you when I saw the ad. Please look into it while you are doing your planning.

Take Care,

No offense, but this is ridiculous! LESS babies die of suffocation (SIDS - Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) when they sleep with their parents if their parents are educated. The reason is that SIDS is often the babies forgetting to breath (hey, it's a new thing for them!) and they just suffocate to death. But the feeling and sound of another person (their mom usually) "reminds" them to breath. The trick is to make your bed safe for babies. A firmer mattress and not alot of pillows and blankets are the danger, not being with your baby (I got on the American Sudden Infant Death Syndrome website to confirm that I thought). In fact, they do recommend having your babies crib/bed in your room because babies who are nearer their mothers are less likely to die from it.

2. Place infants to sleep in a baby bed with a firm mattress. There should be nothing in the bed but the baby - no covers, no pillows, no bumper pads, no positioning devices and no toys. Soft mattresses and heavy covering are associated with the risk for SIDS.

3. Keep your baby’s crib in the parents’ room until the infant is at least 6 months of age. Studies clearly show that infants are safest when their beds are close to their mothers.

These are all recommendations to reduce the risk, and babies usually grow out of the risk within the first 6 months (when they're in the habit of breathing). Another thing too, is if you're breastfeeding your baby on demand (breastfeeding greatly reduces the risk of SIDS) then you're probably waking up with the baby and checking on them alot (with them in the bed). As babies that young, we usually slept very close to my mom and with the body heat generated with a young child covers aren't necessary except a sheet if wanted. And with the child next to the mom, the mom's body keeps the sheet from settling around the child. Obviously, there's no way to 100% prevent SIDS, people who sleep with their babies and people who have their babies in cribs both lose their babies to SIDS. But there's pros and cons to both ways. Again, as long as you're smart about it and don't just throw (not literally) your baby into a waterbed with tons of accent pillows and heavy comforters, I believe it's actually safer.

There is no "cause" for SIDS that anyone knows of, it's basically a freak occurence. So for them to run an ad campaign saying it's because of letting your baby sleep with it is very misleading. Did it specifically say "1 baby a week dies from suffocation because they're in their parent's bed"? Or was it just "1 baby a week dies from suffocation, sleeping with their parents increases the risk of it happening"?

 

[Sheila]

I agree that you shouldn't make a decision now. Hopefully, you will get pregnant right away, but there are many women (myself included) who didn't. It took us 22 cycles to get our first positive pregnancy test. That's just a blink of an eye to some of the women on my infertility board. Some of them have tried for 7-8 years or more & are still waiting. The best advice that I can give to you is to just keep working your business until your baby is in your arms and then make adjustments as needed. I thought I'd get pregnant right away. I was proven wrong. My neighbor was adamant that she was going to breastfeed, but gave it up in the 3rd week at the advice of the lactation consultant ... none of the tricks that they knew of were working to get her milk to come in and her daughter was getting smaller & smaller. Regardless of how much you choose to plan, your baby WILL lead the way.

Oh, and I had intended to take a leave of absence since I knew that I was having a repeat c-section this time around. I ended up having 4 people ask to do shows during my maternity leave. When I explained to them that I would be recovering from a c-section and could not do cooking shows, they all 4 opted to do a catalog show! One of them was going on while I was in the OR and postpartum! So if you have a good client base, you could very well do one or more catalog shows per month while you are on maternity leave & then pick back up with cooking shows when you are ready.

Good luck! I hope that you get your first positive pregnancy test very quickly and that you don't have to wait very long!!!! Infertility bites. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

 

[Sheila]

I didn't read all the responses before replying. Everything about babies is like politics. You will find people on the far end of the spectrum on any issue. Co-sleeping vs. crib sleeping, breastfeeding vs. formula feeding, bumpers or no bumpers, etc. You just have to find what works best for you and for your family.

SIDS is a term that is used when they can't find a reason for the death. The recommendations for what's safe changes all the time as new information is brought to light. When I was little, the "experts" were adamant that babies should sleep on their tummies to avoid choking if they spit up a little. Now it's "back to sleep" or you're at a higher risk. I started off on an infertility web board & then moved over to the pregnant side of the board when I got pregnant with my daughter. It's cool to see all the different perspectives on parenting. Everyone definitely has their own style. The benefit is that people are always posting links to new info in the news. The last that I heard there was a study out there that was showing some evidence to babies suffocating by re-breathing their own exhaled air. The study was still trying to do more research to determine how often it occurs, but the theory was that when a child rolls into a bumper, blanket, pillow or parent, they are more likely to not get "fresh" air. I think that might be what the PP was referring to. If memory serves me correctly, having the crib in the room with the parent is supposed to be safer, because you are right there to hear any little noise. They are also saying that having a fan in the room helps to circulate the air and is supposed to lower the SIDS risk.

But like I said, you do what works best for you & your hubby! My babies sleep in their own bed in their own room, with bumpers and on their tummies. My daughter would roll to the edge of the bed, get her arm or leg out & get stuck. It was happening so much, we had to use the bumpers to keep her from hurting herself. Our son is pretty active too, so we have bumpers in his bed as well. We've always used a fan in each of their rooms, but did it to drown out the outside noise. I didn't know anything about it being linked to lower SIDS risk until about 2 months ago. Go figure! LOL

There are some people out there who break all the (so called) "rules" ... bumpers, tummy sleeping, smoking around the children, etc. and never have any problems ... and then there are parents who follow all the "rules", do everything "right" (according to the experts) and still suffer a loss. Don't let anyone ruffle your feathers about parenting. Do your research, know the hazards and then do what works best for you and your baby.

Oh, yeah ... technically suffocation is not supposed to be reported as SIDS. Suffocation is a known cause of death. There are many agencies who group them all together which throws off the true stats. Another due date board recently had an 8 month old baby suffocate when he became entangled in his blanket. So very sad and traumatic that the family had to endure the loss ... but it's NOT a SIDS case. It was a suffocation case. See the difference?

 

[JodyB]

I have 4 children, started pc when my 3rd was 6 months old. Was pregnant with my 4th and breastfed 15 months with my 4th. When I was close to full term I shifted recipes...brought only what I needed, made my bags lighter. I took off 4 weeks from shows, held a couple catalog shows during that time. I brought him with me for my first 4 months of shows, and I overbooked! I asked the hosts if they'd mind if I brought the baby. No one ever did! Funny thing, I had my best season ever...no cancellations, high attendance! I'd either nurse him before I left the house or get to the house, set up and nurse him before the show started. Most of the time he slept. I made sure recipes were short, my show didn't last more than 1 hour, so if I had to nurse him before I left, I could, but never did he interrupt a show! When he was 4 months and we introduced baby food, he'd stay home while I went to a show. I'd nurse before I left, keep my shows short, my husband would feed him oatmeal/rice cereal, etc when I was gone, and I'd nurse again when I got home. It was wonderful for my husband to have alone/feeding time with the baby.
Good luck with your plans!

 

[pampchefrhondab]

No offense, but this is ridiculous! LESS babies die of suffocation (SIDS - Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) when they sleep with their parents if their parents are educated. The reason is that SIDS is often the babies forgetting to breath (hey, it's a new thing for them!) and they just suffocate to death. But the feeling and sound of another person (their mom usually) "reminds" them to breath. The trick is to make your bed safe for babies. A firmer mattress and not alot of pillows and blankets are the danger, not being with your baby (I got on the American Sudden Infant Death Syndrome website to confirm that I thought). In fact, they do recommend having your babies crib/bed in your room because babies who are nearer their mothers are less likely to die from it.



These are all recommendations to reduce the risk, and babies usually grow out of the risk within the first 6 months (when they're in the habit of breathing). Another thing too, is if you're breastfeeding your baby on demand (breastfeeding greatly reduces the risk of SIDS) then you're probably waking up with the baby and checking on them alot (with them in the bed). As babies that young, we usually slept very close to my mom and with the body heat generated with a young child covers aren't necessary except a sheet if wanted. And with the child next to the mom, the mom's body keeps the sheet from settling around the child. Obviously, there's no way to 100% prevent SIDS, people who sleep with their babies and people who have their babies in cribs both lose their babies to SIDS. But there's pros and cons to both ways. Again, as long as you're smart about it and don't just throw (not literally) your baby into a waterbed with tons of accent pillows and heavy comforters, I believe it's actually safer.

There is no "cause" for SIDS that anyone knows of, it's basically a freak occurence. So for them to run an ad campaign saying it's because of letting your baby sleep with it is very misleading. Did it specifically say "1 baby a week dies from suffocation because they're in their parent's bed"? Or was it just "1 baby a week dies from suffocation, sleeping with their parents increases the risk of it happening"?

You're right, baby's bed in the room - not the baby in the parents bed which is what I was referring to in my post. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. I had my babies in a bassinet right next to me when they came home. I agree, it's best to have the baby in the same room as the Mother.