To use a family bed or to not use a family bed – it’s many parents’ dilemma. Yet, for all the praise about bonding that family beds receive, the negatives are a precipitous downside – one, in fact, that negates all benefits. Putting the parents, possible older children, and a new baby in a bed together is said to synchronize sleep cycles and help the baby rest better, but the CPSC speaks against it, citing suffocation hazards.

Yet, the negative facets rarely register on an individual’s radar until a tragedy is recounted in greater detail. South Carolina newspaper The State did such a piece recently. Describing the experiences of one family in Richland County, the piece goes onto discuss why cosleeping is hazardous for infants and the possibility that cases diagnosed as SIDS may, in fact, involve dangerous sleeping arrangements.

If your child is 1 years old or younger, how strong is he or she? How well can he or she move? Even the most developmentally-advanced babies, however, find themselves trapped when a larger person in the bed rolls over or even accidentally lays an arm or leg across an airway. Because the child can neither move nor lift, he or she often suffocates.

Gary Watts, the Richland County coroner, quoted in the State piece mentions that more infant deaths may be attributed to cosleepin than previously assumed. In the event a child suffocates in the family bed, a coroner asks the caregiver to recreate the situation in order to rule out SIDS, which does not involve a dangerous sleeping arrangement. Aside from family beds, laying a baby to sleep on a couch or arm chair, in a crib with a comforter or pillow, or in a room with a dog are also considered sleeping hazards.

Some habits can be difficult to break, however – including cosleeping, which may have been used by families for generations. About this, Watts told the press:

“My grandmother did it, my mother did it, and I know I did it. But it’s unsafe. At some point, you have to realize it’s a danger to the infant. If you want to have a child in the room – put him in a bassinet beside your bed.”

No parent wants to lose a baby to SIDS. As a result, a market for SIDS-preventing baby products has sprung up. Recently, however, the FDA decreed that they have not approved any SIDS-preventing baby products. Parents, in response, should stop using them, while manufacturers should remove all claims on their packaging.

Most parents have come across SIDS-preventing or reducing baby products or may have even purchased them. If, on the other hand, you aren’t familiar with such products, the full scope of them involves wedges, sleep positioners, mattresses, sleep surfaces, bedding, pillows, and sleep tents. But, no matter the type of product, the concept is the same: the item is designed to keep the baby in a fixed position to prevent suffocation. Declaring them dangerous, the FDA mentioned in its statement that babies can slip out of these positioning products and end up suffocating. In fact, they state, 13 deaths resulting from SIDS-preventing baby products have occurred over the past 13 years.

Aside from parents, the FDA addresses manufacturers of such products. Because no claims can be supported thus far, the FDA requests that all statements touting SIDS-reducing properties, even from medical professionals, be removed from packaging until the product is cleared or approved by the government agency.

As far as proper positioning is concerned, what should a parent do? Parents need to stick with a basic approach: the FDA states they should put the baby on its back in an empty crib. Items like crib bumpers, stuffed animals, and other soft toys left in the sleeping area all pose suffocation hazards. Aside from what’s in the crib, parents should be aware of what’s around it – particularly cords. Babies may grab at monitor cords and can end up strangling themselves. To prevent this from happening, parents are advised to keep all cords at least three feet away from a crib.

When you’re a parent, finding safe baby furniture and toys is a challenge. While being “flame retardant” is a desired quality for baby products, especially for mattresses, the chemicals used are not. In fact, common chemical chlorinated Tris – found in both furniture foam and baby products – leaches out and ends up in dust around the home. You and your child, as a result, end up ingesting and inhaling it unwittingly.

While chlorinated Tris was once removed from baby pajamas in the 1970s for fear of cancer, the chemical is still practically omnipresent through furniture and other flame-retardant items. As a result, creating a chemical-free environment for your child is difficult and expensive. California, however, is considering adding the common flame retardant to its state list of carcinogens.

With the toughest regulations for flammability, California enforces its the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, or Proposition 65. Proposition 65 is in place to prevent cancer- or birth defect-causing chemicals in the water. Chemicals that meet Proposition 65’s requirements for carcinogens end up on an annual list.

The EPA and CPSC have both declared chlorinated Tris a carcinogen, and the chemical has been associated with cancer in factory workers and lab animals. Manufacturers, on the other hand, don’t think that this is enough evidence to warrant labeling chlorinated Tris a carcinogen. If the chemical ends up on such a list, all products containing it, when sold in California, will come with a warning label, one similar to those added to cigarettes or alcohol.

How does this affect you as a parent? As you might have found, finding baby products free of synthetic flame retardants is not easy. At the same time, you want a safe and chemical-free sleeping area for your child. If the chemical ends up on California’s list, identifying such products will become easier for parents.

Drop-side cribs, even with millions of recalled products dating back 10 years, just won’t disappear. While retailers have changed their product selections and daycares and hotels removed all hazardous models, drop-side cribs can still be found over the internet, according to a story from USA Today. In general, used baby furniture is risky, because of wear and tear or past recalls, but purchasing it over the internet is even riskier. A parent searching for a deal has to wade through fuzzy or blurry photos, read through descriptions that may not be fully accurate, and has to determine whether or not a crib has a drop side.

EBay and Craigslist, in this regard, are the greatest offenders. More than a month after drop-side cribs were banned, eBay still manages to have advertisements for such products – and even with blockers in place, sellers of such items can slip through them. eBay, however, has since put a stop to crib auctions.

Craigslist, on the other hand, does not have proper blockers in place and, instead, relies on users to flag listings. Although the site did update its “prohibition notices and information page,” listings for drop-side cribs can go up and will stay posted unless flagged.

If saving money in purchasing baby products is a primary concern for you, think first about where you obtain secondhand items and their quality. As furniture, in particular, should be examined and tested for sturdiness and faulty hardware, items from internet listings are the least reliable. Thrift and consignment stores and hand-me-downs are better, and while not ideal for baby furniture, they allow you to see the product in person and examine it closely – not rely on a photo or description. Ideally, clothing and toys are better secondhand purchases, while furniture is the most reliable when new and not recalled.

Ever since January, many parents have been stuck in a quandary: Keep the drop side crib or toss it? A ban on drop side cribs became effective as of January 2011 but applies to places selling or using drop side cribs only – not parents. While it’s not illegal for parents to use drop side cribs, retailers, secondhand stores, daycares, hotels, or any similar establishments need to replace them with stationary designs. But what do you do when a drop side crib has functioned for years or when you can’t afford new baby furniture?

In theory, all parents could purchase new stationary cribs, but everyone has a different situation. Drop side cribs may be given as an heirloom or hand-me-down, or parents may have one already from an older child. Still, with millions of drop side cribs recalled by multiple manufacturers during the past decade, owning this design can be risky.

The North County Times offers a few points to parents on the fence about keeping the old crib or purchasing a new one:
• Check if the manufacturer or the particular model has had any recalls. Drop side cribs were a nursery staple for several decades, and not all brands or designs were recalled. You may likely have a crib that has never had structure or hardware problems.
• Examine the crib. Cribs are taken apart and put back together for multiple children or when given as hand-me-downs. Check to see if the hardware is sturdy. Poorly-designed hardware that broke and let the drop side fall was often a cause of many crib injuries or deaths.

If you plan to purchase a new crib, which model should you choose? All designs available are stationary, but convertible cribs have become popular. Once a child is too large for the crib, the furniture’s frame folds out into a toddler bed and also into a full-size or sofa bed.

Say goodbye to pastel pink and blue, at least for now, in your baby’s nursery. The style of your nursery is now passé, and instead, parents have the goal of using this space through the middle school years. Practicality meets décor in a trend piece about nurseries that appeared recently in the Dayton Daily News. Instead of items that last a year and colors that eventually need to be painted over, parents are choosing darker shades and going with wooden convertible furniture.

The nursery needs to be part of the home and not a separate pastel-colored enclave. As the piece explains,

More and more, they’re opting for rooms with a style that can grow with the child and that doesn’t clash with the aesthetic in the rest of the house.

Tied into this practicality is the furniture for the room. A white-colored crib with cartoon characters becomes useless in less than two years, unless you have another baby. Even then, it will last you only four. Convertible baby furniture, often with the look of hardwood, is built to become a toddler bed, which lasts through the toddler years and into preschool.

Toy chests, similarly, hint too much at a space belonging to a child. Instead, shelves, which can be used until a child is 18, replace toy chests and plastic storage containers.

With a typical nursery, the pale blue or pink is painted over in a few years. Instead of this expense, parents are just going bold from the start. For boys, blue with chocolate brown is a popular color combination. For girls, bright pink and green make a space more lively and appealing for older children. Even black is being added to nurseries.

Wall art has gained in popularity for nurseries. Giving the space a child-like character with a mural, wall art can be added, rearranged, or taken down completely. Once your child reaches the toddler or preschool years, he or she can even pick out another set of wall art.

You thought about having a baby, but have you thought about the costs? Many don’t. Rather, the thought of having a family, of painting a nursery, or of watching your child grow surpasses the practical side of parenting.

Once you decide to have a baby, however, you need to start planning financially: Saving for those unexpected circumstances, adding baby products to your budget, and investing in baby furniture.

A baby, according to a recent article in U.S. News & World Report, can end up costing a middle-income family $12,000 during its first year. But, you don’t need to spend that. Instead, think about what is necessary and what is just a luxury. The U.S. News article gives the following suggestions:

• Just have the basics before your child arrives. This includes diapers, some clothing, blankets, and a car seat.
• Do not buy everything at once. See what fits your baby later.
• One have one place for sleeping.
• Used items will end up costing more later. Start with new and high-quality baby furniture.
• Convertible furniture, particularly cribs, will last longer than a year.
• Changing tables, strollers, and novelty products are not necessary.
• Look for substitute items around the home.
• Accept baby gifts.
• Look for a place to exchange slightly-worn baby clothing, toys, and furniture with other parents.

We have given these suggestions for over the past year now, particularly regarding convertible furniture, secondhand items, and baby gifts. In terms of planning financially, baby gifts often give you a starting supply and secondhand clothing and toys, when lightly-worn, will alleviate your budget.

Convertible furniture, on the other hand, is a sizeable investment up front. In the long term, a convertible crib can last a few years. The crib becomes a toddler bed, which may last a child through preschool.

Although drop side cribs are officially banned as of the beginning of 2011, stores, daycare centers, hotels, and any facility selling, using, or providing cribs needs to replace all drop side designs with stationary ones. For stores and other facilities, this ban has created a significant change, but where do parents fit into this?

Confusion, much like we saw last week, characterizes the typical parent’s stance regarding cribs. For some, this recall, in addition to others geared toward baby sleeping products, makes parents wonder about the safety of their child’s bed, and drop side models, even heirlooms, are being put aside for a fixed design. Other parents, unconvinced about these hazards keep the drop side cribs, just as long as they’re sturdy.

Drop sides alone, however, are not only to blame for injuries. A recent study published in CNN Health found that 26 children are injured by cribs each day, and 9,500 over the course of a year. Injuries come indirectly or directly from a crib. A child, in many cases, stands up in the crib, leans over the side, and ends up falling out and onto the floor.

Another significant portion of crib-related injuries comes from hardware. As nearly all of the drop side crib recalls show, poor construction or assembly can result in the hardware holding in the movable portion cracking, and the drop side falls on the child, causing suffocation, entrapment, or strangulation.

Regardless of whether or not you continue to use a drop side crib, the following aspects need to be considered:
• Is the crib stable and sturdy?
• Does the crib have any openings that a child can slip or crawl through?
• Is the hardware – such as rails or locks – in good condition?
• Items placed inside the crib, such as bumpers, pillows, and toys.
• Items placed near the crib, such as corded monitors.

Although drop side cribs have been taken out of stores, sleep areas for babies are still not considered secure. In recent weeks, the CPSC decided to reevaluate the safety of crib bumpers for suffocation hazards, and Summer Infant recalled 1.7 million baby monitors over suffocation-related deaths. Two more recalls of bassinets and car seats came directly after.

Burlington Bassinet Co. and Dorel recalled 500,000 bassinets and 800,000 car seats, respectively, over the past week. Burlington bassinets, which are primarily sold at Wal-Mart, have inefficient hardware; if rails at the bottom are not fully in place, the bassinet can collapse and injure the baby. Burlington, however, is not issuing a refund, but hardware kits to address the issue will be available. Dorel car seats, which are sold under well-known manufacturer names like Safety 1st, Quinny, Maxi-Cosi, Disney, and Eddie Bauer, have a faulty button.

With this slew of recalls spanning from cribs to monitors, parents are confused, as this piece from WBALTV.com shows. Although secondhand products are one option for saving money, the product could have been recalled before. To find out if a product was taken off shelves years earlier, find the model number and search for it on the CPSC website. Parents, additionally, wonder what they will do if a crib, stroller, or other baby furniture is recalled.

Many baby products, however, end up being recalled for poor assembly or cheaply-made hardware. If you are checking for hazards, examine the hardware first. Drop side cribs, for example, were a reliable designed until the past decade. The plastic rails and locks used to hold the drop side in place began to break more frequently, causing this movable portion to fall onto the baby. Additionally, when you are putting together the product, see that all instructions are followed to make a sturdy crib or bassinet.

Although drop side cribs are now officially banned and are being phased out, a baby’s sleeping area may not be hazard free. As we discussed last week, monitors, crib bumpers, and sleep positioners can all become crib safety hazards. As sleeping gear is being examined by the CPSC, a large recall of baby monitors seems inevitable.

Recently, 1.7 million baby monitors by Summer Infant were recalled. This amount includes 40 handheld, digital, and video product models. Two infant deaths from strangulation by the monitor’s cord are the cause of the recall, and Summer Infant plans to add new instructions to all products.

With the exception of the Slim and Secure Video Monitor being taken off shelves for rupturing batteries, all other Summer Infant products did not come with instructions specifying the cord be placed several feet from the child’s safety area. While this could be considered common sense, parents may not be fully aware of appropriate placement for a monitor. The new instructions will state the monitor’s cord must be three or more feet away from a crib.

With this recent recall and CPSC deciding to reexamine certain baby sleeping items, what is the best approach for creating a safe crib area for your baby? Aside from not using a drop side crib, here are some factors to consider:
• Remove all objects that could become a suffocation hazard. This includes pillows, crib bumpers, and toys.
• Be careful with sleep positioners, which claim to prevent SIDS.
• Keep the monitor far enough from the crib.

If you happen to own a Summer Infant monitor and want a new, safer product, consider wireless baby monitors. With the same use and properties as any corded model, wireless monitors remove the strangulation hazard. For creating a safe area, make sure the monitor is positioned far away enough to not fall inside the crib.