The other product that made me uneasy is a Boppy product that offers to prevent the flat head that could be caused by placing a baby on his back to sleep (positional plagiocephaly). Boppy sells this product as the Noggin Nest Head Support, and Pottery Barn Kids sells it as the Boppy Head Support. There are also pillow versions of this concept made by other companies. We all know that Boppy makes some amazing products, and I so wish some of their newer items had been available when my kids were infants. But this head rest, not so much.The brief product description on the Boppy site states that this is a head rest for bouncers, swings, and strollers. It does not mention car seat, cribs, or bassinet use. But it looks just like a car seat insert with a higher edge surrounding the face. There is one FAQ question about use in car seats, but you have to go to the tiny text in the sitemap at the bottom of the page and click on Product Questions to find the FAQ’s. If this limit is important to know, why isn’t this link on the product description page? Or why not state the recommended restrictions up front, without making shoppers click on a link?
The PBK site goes an extra step and mentions not for use in crib or bassinet on its product description page, but does not mention car seats. I’ve done enough patient education over the past twenty years to say with certainty that no matter how clearly you say it, telling somebody to do something is not the same as telling them NOT to do something. If I saw this at a consignment sale or on Craig’s List, I might think it was safe for car seats.
I can see using this while a baby is awake. But how can you stop a baby young enough to need this product from falling asleep while using it? Many parents like the way a swing or bouncer soothes their baby. I know more than one who has regularly let their baby sleep overnight in a swing or car seat. Even healthy young babies drop a chin to a shoulder while sleeping semi-reclined, like in a swing. Preemies or babies with low muscle tone might do this for quite a while. Can’t you just see a sleeping baby burying her nose in that edging around the face? If your baby was lying on this on a blanket on the floor while awake, would you want to move her every time she fell asleep?
Even newborns can flip or thrash around while crying – what’s to stop one from shifting out of position and sticking in her face in the head hole? This would be great in a car seat in the grocery store while you are face to face with your baby. But the back is so long I wonder if I would want to remove it from under a sleeping baby for the drive home, when the baby will be rear facing. It only takes 4 to 6 minutes without oxygen for brain damage to occur.
Maybe I’d feel better about the Noggin Nest and the Downtime Sleepy Hat if I haven’t seen babies in the hospital whose parents really weren’t aware enough of safety concerns to protect their babies from preventable injury. Not always the parent’s fault - sometimes they were never taught about risks or didn’t make a connection. Combine that possibility with sleep deprived and worried parents making judgments about where and how to use products based on eagerness to see their baby rest, and it’s a little too much reality for this nurse.
This is not a review. This is all my opinion based on what I’ve read online and my professional and personal experience. I have not actually seen either of these products. Obviously, somebody decided that these products are safe to sell as long as there are disclaimers and warnings.
And that's what makes me wonder. Shouldn't baby products be “plug and play” when it comes to safety? How many warnings should a baby product have before it’s no longer safe? Are you less likely to read warnings or to take them seriously when something looks simple to use? Should you have to look at multiple sources of information for the same product just to make sure that all the safety concerns are addressed?
Post a comment and tell me what you think.
I had so many negative comments when I wrote about this. I never used it in the crib or when I wasn't around my son. I used it for the swing and bouncer chair. and I loved it for those two places and found it to be completly safe while I used it.
Pink Nothing is where I first saw the two items that prompted these posts - It's a fun review and giveaway blog that I totally recommend! I bet you never expected the comments you got when you tried to share something that helped your Little Man!
My point, which I don't know if I made clearly enough, is that when products need so many warnings, is it safe to rely on parents reading and sharing those warnings? And what happens to the warnings when the product is obtained second hand? How are parents even to know that so many warnings exist if you have to go to more than one site to pull them together?
The concerns that both products address are not frivolous, both are serious matters that impact your baby's life, and yours as a parent. But isn't there a way to solve these common problems that doesn't come with so many disclaimers to protect the manufacturer?