Baby Sleeping with His "Lovey" over His Face....

Updated on August 11, 2010
D.B. asks from San Diego, CA
8 answers

Hi all,
I am not sure what to do about this issue. My son is 6 months old and he has always slept with his "blanket/lovey" in his crib. He cuddles with it and rubs it next to his face and on his check, and over his eye's etc...and really seems to need it to get to sleep and settle down. We have a video monitor so I can see what he does with it as he goes to sleep :) Anyway, lately he has been falling asleep with the blanket over his face :( It's a really light, fairly small, blanket but I am still nervous that it is over his face...As soon as I see he's got it over his face, (on the monitor) I go in and pull it back, but if he wakes up again he needs it to get back to sleep...I feel like I need to take it away from him so he doesn't smother himself somehow, but I don't know how he would get to sleep without it? I have tried a smaller version, but he only goes to sleep with the original one he has always had, should I cut it up so it's only a foot or so wide? or let it go? He doesn't seem to do it at night as much (perhaps because he is more tired), but mostly during the day....His room is pretty dark, so I don't think he is trying to cover up his eyes from the light, but maybe he is??? I would appreciate any opinions!!!

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A.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi D..
I totally understand your concerns. My son did the same thing but almost from birth with almost any material he could smother his face in. He got attached to a certain blankie around 5 months old and would sleep with it over his face. I figured if he could get it there he would be fine. Before i went to bed each night i would take it off and with naps if i saw it was on his face i would move it next to him. I never took it away. He is almost three now and healthy as can be! My daughter is 9 months old and is also very attached to her blankie and i would never think to take it away. that just sounds mean to me. She sleeps with it and has since she was a few weeks born.
I would try not to loose sleep over it. But do what is right for you and your family.
Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

Don't take his lovey away! It's such an important thing for babies to learn to sooth themselves, and a security object is a huge part of that. And as long as he is a healthy 6 month old who can move his head normally/ move the lovey with his hand he's not going to suffocate on it. My daughter did the same thing with her blankie, and occasionally she still does it. If it makes you uneasy, just continue to pull it down after he falls asleep, and don't worry about it!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.B.

answers from Reno on

I doubt that your son is trying to cover his eyes from the light. Children (and most adults) can sleep even in bright sunny conditions, so that doesn't seem likely. I would bet that your son just loves to cuddle his lovey and it goes over his face when he falls asleep and moves around. I wouldn't think this will be a problem as he probably won't smother with something that does let air through. Test it, try putting it over your nost and mouth, holding it tight or even with two or three layers and see if you can still breath freely. If, after trying this, you feel that there is a risk, you could try cutting the lovey into smaller pieces or "weaning" your son away from it. Also, as he gets older, he should be able to recognize that something is affecting his breathing. He can already use his hands and arms to move the blanket to his comfort, so he will probably learn to push it from his face all by himself.

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E.N.

answers from San Diego on

Both of my sons did the same thing with their "snuggle" blankets as infants. They loved to rub the blankets on their cheeks and pull them up over their heads (often sleeping that way). Do not worry, if he can get it there, he can also get it away. I can understand the concern of him getting tangled in it as he moves around more, but as I think of it, I can remember my boys getting tangled up from rolling back and forth and it was never a problem. But if you can cut it down smaller, I think that is a good idea. Since you said he already rejected a smaller version of it, if you want to put this much effort into it, you could try to gradually reduce the size.
My sons, now 3 and 2, still LOVE their snuggle blankets. It's just the cotton thermal swaddling blankets that I used to swaddle them in as infants. I have lots of extras so we can always have clean ones on hand and each boy has to have two. We leave the snuggle blankets in their beds and it's the first thing they grab for to cuddle with when they get in bed. I think it is wonderful for them to have this comfort item that they love so much, so I would say, whatever you have to do to make yourself feel comfortable with him keeping his lovey, do it.

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J.L.

answers from San Diego on

Hi D., one of my daycare babies put the blanket over his face all the time before he feel a sleep and he did OK like that. J.

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J.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

My son is five months old now and he is doing something. He is teething and because of this he chews on anything he can get his hands on- blankets, toys, "stuffies". But for the last week or so, he has been putting a blanket/stuffed animal over his face and pressing down and holding it there. It seems like he is trying to suffocated himself when he does this. I always stop him from doing it when I see him doing it. And sometimes when I take the blanket/toy away he is gasping for air. He co-sleeps with us and doesn't even nap in his crib- he hates it. I put him in there to play or when I can't have him with me for a minute or two only (bathroom, etc.) so I don't want to take out his toys because then he'll hate it even more. (But I will if he doesn't stop this soon). He doesn't do it to fall asleep; he does it while playing. I'm afraid he'll go to far one day and actually suffocate himself. What could this be/ why could he be doing this? (My
husband jokingly suggested that our 5 month old has erotic asphixiation).

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M.B.

answers from Reno on

The concern wouldn't be that he would smother himself so much but rather that he has the dexterity to get the blanket off his face if he becomes tangled up in it. (is it big enough to get wrapped around his neck at all too?) Maybe instead of cutting it up, you could just sew it down smaller? That way as he gets older and can maneuver it better, you can take the stitching out.

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T.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

i would take it away and maybe , if you have time and patience, even make a small toy out of it...do you wash the blanket with a softener maybe that has a smell that he likes? you could sew it over a plush toy and he can still grab next to him. so many things can happen with that situation though of him sleeping with it over his face, you dont want to take that risk , especially since as they get older they sleep for the 8 hours at night or more. ihave done this before, i have 3 children and SIDS always has scared the living daylights out of me and i dont think we should add to the worries that we already have as parents

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