Going from sleeping bag to pillow and blanket....

[GarethP]

Hello,

Our daughter is now 19months. She's always slept in a sleeping bag but not used a pillow. She's recently shown more interest in blankets and pillow whilst playing around on our bed. Should now be the time where we intriduce her to a blanket and pillow? She generally sleeps well but as she moves around a lot in bed she often starts at one end of the bed, shuffles to the top and starts crying when she gets to the headboard. I then have to bring her back to the bottom again! Sometime the whole process happend 2 or 3 times!

What I'm thinking of doing is putting a pillow and blanket at the top for her to sleep on/under. Anybody think thais might help as the pillow might make her stay still???


Many thanks,
Gareth

[JoC]

Hi Gareth, my ds also sleps in a bag and i introduced a pillow and quilt about 4-5 weeks ago. Ds was always a big mover and would always be twisted around the bottom of the cot in the morning. As it is winter i put him into a lighter bag and put the light quilt over him too. He stays much more still with the pillow and quilt. I tuck in one side of the quilt down the side of his cot and the other i tuck in a put a teddy down there too to keep it more in place. Hopefully, when the weather gets warmer, i will take him out of the bag.
It was much more successful than i had thought it would be. He seems to really like his pillow too.

Jo x

[GarethP]

Thanks for coming back to me Jo! I think we'll take the plunge and do it!

One quick questions, in the past did you always put ds to bed at the bottom of the bed and do you now put the pillow and blankie right at the top? Thanks!

[JoC]

Ds sleeps in cotbed, so it is quite big, the pillow is about 3/4 of the way up. His teddies and books are at the top. The quilt is sideways so it tucks in and so not so long. Hope that is not too confusing!!
He stays under the quilt most of the night now and in roughly the same position, which he never did when only in his bag.
Good Luck!
Jo x

[sandraorion]

My ds used to move around a lot in the crib.

Last spring we got rid of the sleeping bag and introduced the blanket. Since it was warm, getting out of the covers wasn't a problem. When the colder weather started hitting, we noticed that ds started staying under the covers and reaching to get them.

I put a pillow in the crib last summer or so. For the first several months he was totaly ignoring it, sleeping below it, then he started sleeping on it on his own (that's about when the crib travelling stopped).

Finally we took the side off the crib and he got a "big boy bed" several weeks ago. Since nothing else changed, he took it really well.

So, it took a while, but it was very easy.

[M and N's Mom]

My DD is 4 and still doesn't have a pillow, so it isn't necessary unless you really want it.  She really moves a lot so wouldn't stay on it anyway.  If you do introduce it at a very young age, make sure it is very thin so their neck isn't cranked up too much.  Also, if they are tummy-sleepers a pillow isn't a great idea as it isn't good for their neck.