Crib safety in Canada

As a new mother, I swear nothing gave me more anxiety than then crib.
It stayed empty for like 3 months!

Convincing my little one to finally fall asleep is hard enough at one (All she wants to do is play), but when I put her down in her crib I want to know that she's going to be safe and secure. I heard too many SIDS stories via online and heard about too many close calls that I had to do a lot of research before putting baby girl in there. There are a lot of articles and blog posts that talk about official Canadian crib safety standards. I’m not going to lie some are over dramatic and if your a new mom like me... We just want to learn some simple tips for making our baby's crib safer. Thankfully my months of research has you covered!

Here are a few things I've learned from reading up about crib safety online and speaking to other moms about keeping your little one safe during sleep time.

There are a few obvious ones that I think we all know, like don't give your newborn baby a blanket to sleep with (even though I know it's tempting on cold nights). The best alternative is a sleep sac! We had a few for baby girl that we purchased and received as a gift.

Back is best 

This one is debatable by so many moms. I always placed Ava on her back, facing up until she was able to roll over comfortably. My fear was whether she rolled over by accident in the night and didn’t have the energy to roll over or her face was muffled and she couldn’t make a sound. One of my good friends always placed her sons on their tummy first because she felt like he got a better sleep. Both of her boys are healthy and fine.

Clutter-free

I was always so confused by this because I’ve often seen videos and pictures on Instagram of babies in cribs with full of items. they look so cute but I totally see how it could be dangerous . It’s better to empty the crib of all clutter. This means no stuffed animals, no heavy blankets, nothing that your baby could potentially pull on top of themselves during the night.

The biggest, and most surprising one for me is this: no crib bumpers. Studies have shown that crib bumpers can be dangerous for newborns as the baby can accidentally push their face up against it and be unable to move away. 

Of course, this is only for newborns, by four-six months old your little one should be able to pull away if they smush themselves too close to the bumper while sleeping. We just decided to avoid them completely.

I hope this post didn’t scare you too much but kind of made you think about what would work best for you and your baby/babies. This simple advice can allow you to sleep more soundly knowing your baby is sleeping soundly, too.

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