# At what age can children start using pillows???



## monkeymama (Mar 26, 2002)

Hi
My nearly 16 mo ds seems to be interested lately in using a pillow - but i'm pretty hesitant to let him use one since i worry about the safety of this - at this age are they still susceptibale to suffocating if using a pillow??
At what age did your child start using a pillow??
Thanks alot!
MM


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## jjdoula (Sep 18, 2002)

I have been letting my little one have the option of having a tiny pillow since he was about 1. (though he is my third..and it is a wonder any children after the second survive! Mom tends to get more relaxed about stuff when they are chasing 3 kids!). more of a walking stage versus crawling or scooting, then the risk of them suffocating because a pillow or blanket was on their face is pretty low.
I know my little one starts the night on his bed(then comes to our bed when he wakes at night), which is a twin mattress on the floor..and on his bed he has a roll pillow along the wall, then an adult pillow that lays flat above his head,,just to keep him from thunking into the wall as he rolls in his sleep. I started finding that at nap time, the first thing he does after I lay him down (asleep, I still nurse him to sleep) is to roll onto his tummy, and crawl up to flop belly first on the pillow..well I decided then and there that if he was doing that in his sleep,,he is ready! Since then we keep a tiny travel pillow on our bed that he sometimes lays on, but sometimes he would rather be scooted down to nurse, so he is below the pillow.

Don't know it that rambling helped at all,,but I am happy to share what we do!










staci


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## monkeymama (Mar 26, 2002)

thanks jjdoula, your info does help. I know I am probably being the typical 'high anxiety about everything' first time mama (!) with this.....yes i have heard from others that this changes once you have a second....or third...whenever i find myself getting anxious about things i really try to give myself a 'reality check' and attempt to relax about things - which i AM getting better and better at, but its taking some time!!

where did you get your little 'travel sized pillow' btw? I used to have a little pillow that my mom had saved from when i was a baby - but i got rid of it soon after ds was born since it was looking rather ratty....would like to find another one like it now though......im guessing larger department stores may have kids sized pillows??

Haha - Its funny how even these supposedly 'simple' things seem to become so much more complex........!

thanks









MM


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## jjdoula (Sep 18, 2002)

Actually my grandmother gave them to me,,I have two. She, not knowing how much smarter we are now ( ha!) just assumed that the baby needed small pillows in his crib from the start,,so she had made a bunch of receiving blankets and brought us those and pillows,,,I sweetly said thanks,,we would use them ( thinking we would keep them in the car for the big kids!) and wondering if she would croak to know we didn't even have a crib for the baby!( we just co-slept from day 1)

So I am not sure where you can find them,,but she had even sewn little pillowcases which are sure cute now!

Don't worry,,you can't measure yourself by looking at other moms. Yeap,,moms with a few kids do tend to get pretty laid back,,because we have to! But that doesn't mean that you aren't doing exactly what you need to do as a first time mom! Each parenting relationship is so different,,and you have to follow your gut to make it right for you and your little one. My sister in law is really anal...I mean like neurotically anal, about her daughter. We just had the most amazing conversation while she was on morphine  following her c-section with her second daughter, and I just walked away amazed. She seems like this perfect mother to me,,her house is immaculate, her daughter is a genius, and she is working on her masters thesis,,is the ultimate hostess, so on. She said she feels so inadequate as a mother next to me because I am so laid back,,and she feels like the family wishes she was more like me,,,well funny that I always feel like a really slacking mother around her,,my house sure isn't perfect, and our children won't ever get to go to montesorri preschool because we just have other financial priorities,,I always feel like our family looks at me as the lousy flighty mother! ( we married brothers, so we both married into this family we share., and I was previously married so I came with two kids..) It is amazing how mothers just so make it hard on ourselves by comparing! We need to empower each other to NOT DO THAT!!! We should support each other to just parent from the gut,,and know that makes us a perfect parent to the kids God gave us!

sorry for that ramble! I get all chatty when the baby is napping!









Have a great day,,you great mama!


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## Trishy (Oct 15, 2002)

Ds has had a pillow in his crib since he was about a year old. When he sleeps with me he prefers to sleep with a pillow under his head so I put one in the crib. He doesn't always sleep with his head on it but it is there if he wants it. Oh, I just put a regular sized pillow in there. I have two baby pillows but they seem too small.


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## Clarity (Nov 19, 2001)

one came from somewhere pricey like the company store catalog...but somewhere like bed bath and beyond maybe? or anywhere with a lot of different kinds of pillows. MArybe a Brookstone? or anyplace with a lot of travel stuff. Camping/outdoor stores too.

My 16 MO has a pillow in the family bed and her crib...she was refluxy and needed the incline so we used a flattish firm pillow under her when she was in our bed, and tilted the crib mattress.


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## queen620 (Jun 9, 2002)

My son is 20mo and has had a small travel pillow in his crib since he ws about 12mo. My mom bought it at a large outlet store, that sold bedding and such. But I have seen them at WALMART for really cheap like under $10 and they also sell the travel size pillow cases. I haven't looked in a while, but I remember seeing them a lot around the holidays and summer, I guess when people are "traveling" more! Hope this helps.

I have also seen them for sell in the at
onestepahead.com

they are listed as a "child size" pillow, but I think they are over priced, when it is about the same size as the travel pillow.

Also the travel pillow is a great size if your baby is in a crib. It is small enough for baby to move it around as he wishes, and of course light enough to be thrown out when in the throwing mood of things


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## Bladestar5 (Jan 5, 2003)

I don't remember, but I think around 10mos with dh, maybe a little younger. He is a really strong little guy and a really light sleeper, so he moves if he cannot breathe. He was nearly walking at 10mos, so he was old enough for a pillow, in my opinion.


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## teachma (Dec 20, 2002)

We used a travel pillow, too, when he turned 1. He still uses that little pillow, a year and a half later.


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## JuneMama (Aug 10, 2002)

I wasnt going to give my ds a pillow til well after 2 years old. However, he had different plans. He slept with me for several months from about 16 mos-18 mos old until we got him his big boy bed, and I'd wake up with his head right next to mine on my pillow! LOL So I gave him one of his own, and he's been happy since.


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## monkeymama (Mar 26, 2002)

wow - thanks for all the responses!
looks like i'll have to try looking for a travel pillow - i would have never thought of that.

one thing ive been wondering now is how many kids out there dont start using pillows until much older - say over three or so?? or even older?

jjdoula - thanks for your words regarding support between mamas - i think thats so important. And i know we really do ourselves NO good when we compare with other mamas....I try not to, but instead learn from being around other mamas and pick and choose what things i feel are right for me as a mama and for my ds.

but yes i do agree - we all need to be as supportive as we can of each other - and i think these boards are a great place to find it (support from and for other mamas, that is!)









ok im rambling....it must be late! gotta get to bed......










MM


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## Chelly2003 (Jan 5, 2003)

My DS has had one since he was around 8 months, he got a cold at that time and we used it to help prop the top half of his body up to prevent getting blocked up - and well he's had it ever since, its rather flat, but he uses it more now to hide toys under - he's 3 1/2 now.

He recently took one of our couch cushions in to his bed as well, although he never stays on it - he just likes it (mommy made it)

Chelly


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## normee (Aug 22, 2002)

You should be able to buy some small pillows at a craft or frabric store. My mom did and covered two of them when dd1 was born. These were more of the square, decorative pillows I used on the rocker but they also work good for sleep and travel. I have also seen travel pillows at craft shows.

DD1 started using one when around 2 and dd2 has just started to sometimes use one.

Normee
Mommy to Katie (7/3/99) and Abby (6/30/01)


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## TCC's Mom (Mar 20, 2002)

We use one for 13mo DD when she has a cold, and have for the past few months. She actually prefers to sleep flat, but the incline helps when she's stuffy/coughy.

Kim


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## Serena (Nov 24, 2001)

We got a "crib wedge" at One Step Ahead, which I thought was safer than a pillow--dd is a restless sleeper. It's a wedge-shaped pillow that goes under the crib sheet and they sleep on a slight incline. Seems like she likes it.


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## Mamaste (Dec 21, 2001)

My DD likes to stuff her head halfway underneath the pillow next to me.

Does that count?


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## BensMom (May 4, 2002)

Ds has used pillows for a long time. Since he was really young, we put some pillows under the crib sheet to raise his head because he had reflux. Sometime close to a year, we moved the pillows out from under the sheet. We use 2 regular pillows, but they are pretty flat. He is also congested a lot, so we think this helps him drain better at night. Who knows...now he is used to the pillows. Sometimes he sleeps on them, sometimes he doesn't. When he is in bed with us, he is usually not on the pillows because he falls asleep nursing, so he is lower. But our pillowtop mattress is much more confy than that hard crib mattress.

Jenn


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## Chelly2003 (Jan 5, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by Mamaste_
*My DD likes to stuff her head halfway underneath the pillow next to me.

*
:LOL - My DH does that ALL the time, I don't know how he can sleep like that.

Chelly


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