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[quote=Anonymous]Well, as the director of a DC center with infants through preschool, my LICENSOR insisted the infants were cold and cited me for not having blankets on all of them!  They were not cold, the room was comfortable, but some 9-12 month olds were sleeping on their tummies with their legs drawn under them (like many babies that age do) and she insisted they were cold.

So.  I had a problem.  Because heretofore we hadn't allowed blankets unless parents signed permission for them.... blah blah.  So I more or less had to require parents to bring in blankets so I could get my license renewed?  Yeah, no.

We wrote something like "Center shall ensure that children provide a sleepsack or blanket for all children.  When using a blanket,  parents must sign permission for their child to have a sleep sack or blanket in the crib.  All blankets, when used, will be tucked into 3 sides and only go as high as the baby's armpit."  And I started pushing hard for sleepsacks - where before I'd let parents decide if they wanted to bring something or not.

So, we had a many more sleep sacks brought in, no additional blankets, but because of that form I could get my license.  I LOVE OSSE! :(

Here's the thing:
1. yes, babies may be placed on boppies while they hold their own bottle - this keeps them from lying flat and having milk go into their ears.  We try to hold them, and all of them get held for most of their bottles, but you can't hold all the babies at every bottle feed and change all the children you need to, put all the babies down who need it right then, and feed all the older children table foods when they need to.  Something must give.  So sometimes babies lie on a boppy.  Or two babies each lie on a boppy but the teacher is right there, holding the bottles and talking to them, but couldn't feed two at a time in her lap.  And for very young babies, they need to be fed when they need to be fed.

BUT they should NOT have their bottle propped for them at all, so newborns aren't on boppies - our teachers feed them.  And so the babies who use boppies are those who can feed themselves, about 7-12 months of age (some start later, depends on when baby can do it - those using glass bottles start later because glass bottles are heavy).

2.  boppies are sometimes stored in cribs if no baby is using one, because that way there is more space for babies to crawl and move around on the rug.  So seeing one or two in the cribs doesn't mean they are used in the cribs. You're right, they should NOT be used in the cribs at all.  Ever.  Period.  No excuses, even if a baby has reflux and needs to be elevated.  Tough, we can't do that.

So.... ask open ended questions - when do they use boppies?  How do you use boppies?  Sometimes our young babies are placed on a boppy as another position in the classroom - sometimes in arms, sometimes on their backs in the nest, sometimes doing tummy time (with an adult there), sometimes sitting up with a boppy around them in case they tipped over.... sometimes while feedng themselves a bottle.  Mostly our teachers would stick the boppies over the side of a crib to store them when not in use and a baby isn't in that crib, not placed in the crib, because we don't want germs from boppy to crib and vice versa.

3.  Yes, it matters that teachers/centers are following the SIDS reccommendations, which means no stuffed animals, no bumpers, no soft items underneath baby, and sleep sack or blanket if tucked in. And PLACED ON THEIR BACKS - the baby may roll over once they know how to.  Honestly, while we are supposed to place all babies on their backs, it's darned hard to place a 12 month old on their back - as you lift them into the crib, they dive for the mattress, face first to snuggle in.  Or they stand up and chat until they lie down on their own to sleep.  But for a 6 or 7 month old, my teachers were trained to put into the crib on their back, and then we knew they'd roll over.  And if they had a blanket, the teachers would then put it on, but honestly 99% of our babies were in swaddles at the beginning, then sleepsacks after that.  Or sleepsacks from the beginning.

4.  You'd be amazed how many parents wanted soft stuffed animals in the crib - or Sofie the giraffe! - insisting that would help them sleep better.  Especially those stuffed animals attached to pacifiers or the taggie loveys.  And I had to be the bad guy and not allow it until the child was 12 months of age, and then only with a signed permission slip.

Sometimes I felt like all our infant parents did was sign permission slips! (because we also need one for sunscreen, diaper cream, mosquito repellent, orajel, etc even though those are topical)[/quote]

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