Lifestyle

Make A New Scrunchie One of Your First Bedsharing Tools

Make A New Scrunchie One of Your First Bedsharing Tools

July 3, 2021

I’m Tiffany.
I'm a safe cosleeping educator and mom of two little boys.
TOp categories
Get My Free Cuddle Curl Pillow Guide 
Gimme that
Disclaimer: If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

As I first tried to memorize all the safe bedsharing rules, the one that kept bugging me was about tying my long hair back. Did my hair really pose a strangulation risk to my newborn?

It seemed a little extreme to me. A little unnecessary with everything else on my plate.

I remember that in those early weeks, it felt like every muscle in my body was sore. Reaching my heavy arms up and putting my hair in a bun was something extra I did not want to do, and I had to force myself to do it.

scrunchie (similar) | loungewear

Not sure if this has happened to you yet, but I can remember a few times I fell asleep only to awaken on my own — not because of the baby, but because my hair elastic had caused a pulsing headache.

There’s nothing more frustrating than accidentally waking yourself up for no good reason!

I wanted to leave my greasy, unwashed hair down. I did not want to even deal with it. But after digging into the research, I realized that tying my hair back was indeed an important component to safe bedsharing.

Look. Even though breastfeeding moms are biologically designed to be in-tune with their baby, the unthinkable can happen. Tragically, some babies have died after being strangled by their mother’s long hair.

Until a baby is able to move their head on command or roll their body away from hair that falls on their face, they’re at risk. Only when your baby reaches that developmental milestone can you leave your hair down with a clear conscience.

But by that point, I hope tying it up will be second nature for you.

It’s just not worth the risk!

Unlike other safety guidelines that may initially cause frustration — like putting your bed frame and side tables in the attic to collect cobwebs, replacing your beloved cushy mattress with one that reminds you of a yoga mat, or kicking your partner out of bed if he’s had one too many beers that night — this one is a piece of cake!

Here’s the simple way I made it part of my daily routine. I treated myself to a few new velvet scrunchies. They never gave me a headache, and they were so pretty, they just… made me happy!

I kept one of them on my pillow, since my mattress was on the floor and I no longer had a bedside table in the room. This made it impossible to forget to use it.

Find something under $10 that makes you feel happy — make it a simple cotton scrunchie or a whimsical one with bunny ears!

One Last Thing

If you’re a new mom grappling with the various safety guidelines, I commend you for using the little energy you’ve got right now to consider your hairdo.

I remember how overwhelming it feels to be a brand new bedsharing parent.

If you’d like more information on the practical aspects of bedsharing on any given night from 4 p.m. until 4 a.m., check out my Bedsharing Beginner’s Guide.

At first, it can feel like there are too many rules to follow. But if you do this right (and I am confident you will), your little one will thrive.

They’ll consume more milk throughout the night. The carbon dioxide you expel will stimulate their breathing in and out, in and out, in and out.

And as discussed in a fascinating study published by the Child Psychiatry & Human Development journal, your baby will be at a lower risk for SIDS.

“Bedsharing infants have more, but briefer, awakenings and spend less time in deep stages of sleep, thus making it less likely that infants will enter a deep sleep from which they cannot emerge when faced with a life-threatening event.”

There are so many benefits for both your baby and yourself — keep up the good work, and go find yourself a new scrunchie.

Disclaimer: If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Add a comment
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments
  1. […] begin with said scrunchies. I have another blog post devoted to the obscure-but-essential safety guideline that you need to tie back your long hair when […]

Browse By Category

Lifestyle

Home

Beauty + Style

tips
tricks

Signature Offering

How to Bedshare In Real Life

Have you been skipping dinner because you’ve been going to bed with baby at 6 p.m.? I knew it. There is a better way! Let me walk you through your evening tonight and show you how to make this new bedsharing lifestyle easy and enjoyable for everybody in the family.

SHOW ME THE WAYS
WORK WITH me

Book a Consult

Want to meet up for coffee and actually talk about all this? Book a virtual safe cosleeping consultation with me to examine your setup to make sure it's safe and working for everybody in the family.

LET'S TALK

"I NEED A NEW MATTRESS FOR COSLEEPING."

There are so many mattress options on the market today. But once you narrow down what’s really important to a bedsharing family, there are only three non-negotiables that you have to stress about.

"Can I COSLEEP ON A MEMORY FOAM MATTRESS?"

If you're looking for a new mattress for bedsharing, don't make it memory foam if at all possible. It's got at least three major risk factors for a young bedsharing family.

MORE RESOURCES

Get On The List

I know firsthand that this season of life can feel so lonely (especially at 3 a.m. as you stare at the wall in yet another nursing sesh).

Sign up here for fun, quick emails from me to remind you that you're not doing this alone.

xo