Practice Safe Sleeping For Your Baby!

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This is a sponsored post from One2One Network and ICAN. All opinions stated are my own.

Hey All!

I recently went to a very important event for the campaign for Safe Sleep for Baby. It took place at the famous Los Angeles radio station P0wer 106 FM. The event was hosted by one of Power’s celeb DJ’s Yesi Ortiz.

Yesi is a spokesperson for this campaign and was adamant about spreading the word especially to Latina Moms here in Los Angeles. Did you know every 5 days, a baby in Los Angeles County suffocates while sleeping? I had no idea the statistics were that high. I was completely shocked when I learned this.

In Los Angeles County, there are more sleep-related deaths than ALL other accidental child deaths (including drowning, maternal drug abuse, auto pedestrian, automobile, falls, choking, poisoning, fire, burns, dog bites, medical complications, etc.), of children under the age of 14. The worst part about these deaths is they could have been easily prevented. It’s tragic enough to have a baby die for any reason, it’s even more tragic to have a baby die for something you could have prevented.

I know we are all guilty of doing things we know we probably shouldn’t be doing with our sleeping babies. We all know we shouldn’t be sleeping on couches with our babies as they could slip between the cushions and suffocate. But we’re all guilty of letting our tiredness get the best of us and doing these unsafe practices. To be completely honest if your baby is alive and healthy you honestly got lucky!

The facts are accidental suffocation is the biggest risk for babies under age 1. It just take seconds for a baby to suffocate so there isn’t much time to react and save the baby. Most women think their motherly instinct will alert them if their baby (which is sleeping with them in the bed) is in trouble. Since it can only take seconds motherly instinct is sadly just not fast enough to react.

It was also sad to hear that a large majority of the infant deaths do to suffocation in Los Angeles were largely Latino babies. It saddened me the most to hear this as I am a Latina. I truly felt the need to spread this information to all my Hispanic followers.

Yesi was kind enough to share her own story of coming home to find her daughters baby almost about to suffocate between couch cushions as her daughter fell asleep on the couch with the baby.

Yesi was lucky enough to save the baby in her life, but it instilled in her a need to spread the message of safe sleeping for your baby.

We learned so much from this event and I wanted to share some of the main things I learned with you.

Often times people forget new born babies are not fully developed. They are without voices and have no strength. For the first 3-4 months, they can only breathe through their nose. A baby’s nose, unlike an adult’s, doesn’t have cartilage, so it can flatten easily and block airflow – causing suffocation. Anything can flatten a babies nose. It could be a stuffed animal or any padding or sheet that you put into the crib to simply make your crib pretty. It’s best to have a functional crib than a pretty crib. Any in the crib can potentially suffocate the baby, so it’s best to not have lots of toys and padding in the crib.

Babies under the age of 1 year can suffocate while:

• Sharing a bed with parents, siblings, pets
• Sleeping in a cluttered crib or bassinet
• Sleeping on their side or stomach
• Sleeping on unsafe sleep surfaces like couches, chairs soft surfaces, or in unfamiliar places

These are the key things you need to know to put your baby to sleep safely:

• Share a room, not a bed
• Lay babies down to sleep in a crib or bassinet with a firm mattress. Portable cribs like a
• Pack ‘n Play are also a good alternative
• Place babies on their back every time – at night and for naps
• Give babies space to breathe – no pillows, bumpers, blankets or toys in the crib or bassinet. Even one object is a suffocation risk

Another shocking piece of information that I learned is that often people think it’s safe to place a baby to sleep in a car seat or stroller, it’s NOT! The way the baby is positioned in these carriers. Babies should always be placed on their back to sleep.

I asked if we can swaddle babies and the answer was Yes, but be sure to use a light receiving blanket because other blankets, such as San Marcos blankets, can be too heavy and warm for infants. Once babies reach 5-6 months, swaddling is no longer needed and parents can simply continue to dress their baby in a onesie or sleeper.

When I have my next baby I will be sure to remember these important tips to keep my baby safe.

This is such important information that I hope you will find beneficial to the safety of your baby and I hope you will share this info with anyone you know who has baby. It can help save a babies life.

For more information on Safe Sleep for Baby visit their website and Facebook Page.