A heartbroken mom from Washington, Jordan DeRosier, has shared her grief in a Facebook post after she suddenly lost her 7-month-old son when he became entangled in his blanket during bedtime.
The incident seemed innocent enough at first, however resulted in a nightmare. “He was laid down with this blanket made by his great-grandmother, and one other blanket, a grey one he had been attached to since birth,” she said.
The mother of two says tragedy struck when her son Sloan somehow pulled the blanket over his head and got it stuck between the bars of his crib.
Her post certainly serves as a reminder to parents to reconsider putting their infants to bed with loose blankets until they’re older.
“You never think it will be your baby,” she warned. “Please do not put your baby to bed with a blanket. Please. He was 7 months old. I thought because he was crawling, standing on his own, and climbing that he would be fine with a blanket.”
The emotional post also counters comments that blame vaccinations for her son’s untimely death. “To those who keep commenting and messaging trying to blame vaccines for our son’s death — stop,” she wrote.
A 2016 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that “ approximately 3,500 infants die annually in the US from sleep-related deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), ill-defined deaths, and accidental suffocation and strangulation.”
The AAP also recommends waiting until the child is at least 1 year old before introducing blankets, bumpers, or sheets into the crib in order to avoid any breathing obstructions and overheating.