cute sleeping babyIf you are/were anything like me, when your baby was first born, you checked to see if he or she was breathing 900 times a day. In fact, even though my daughter is 8 months old, I still do it. Yup, I brave the risk of waking her up just so I can get a clear glimpse of that little back or belly rising up and down. My husband thinks I'm insane. And maybe I am. But, I don't know, I'm a fan of peace of mind. In spite of my craziness, though, I'm still not convinced I need to dress my daughter in a "smart suit" that monitors her breathing. Seems a little ... sci-fci-y.

The purpose of the suits is to, obviously, prevent sudden infant death syndrome, which 4,500 babies die from in the U.S. each year. The way it works is rompers -- or baby suits -- are outfitted with a printed circuit board and sensors that keep track of baby. Nothing is attached directly to the baby. It's all in the smart suit. 

Theoretically, this is a great idea. And it would save me plenty of battles against creaky floor boards and squeaky doors when I go to peek in on my girl. But it just seems weird.

One thing I've learned since becoming a mom is you have to choose your battles. And being that my daughter is still technically an infant, I'm not talking about "behavior" battles here. I'm talking about choosing what you're going to do and what you're not. And being okay with it.

Here's my example:

Months ago I learned that baby monitors emit low-levels of radiation (think that of a TV). And I freaked out. Because I use a monitor. And as it turned out, at the same time, my daughter started rolling around in her crib, getting her legs and arms stuck. After days of losing sleep over what to do -- and my husband telling me I was overreacting -- I decided to keep the monitor (though it's way over on the other side of the room now). I came to the conclusion that it's more important that I see that my child is okay, and can hear her, etc., than the radiation issue. (I know, it sounds insane saying anything is more important than "the radiation issue." But if you have a computer, TV, microwave, cellphone, etc. in your home, there's low levels of radiation.) And I'm okay with my decision. I'm not questioning it anymore. 

Same thing goes for one of these suits, I guess. You can get one, and I'm sure it'll be a great comfort. Or, you can not. And you can trust that your baby is okay, like most babies are okay (and, of course, constantly check on them). I'm all for protecting our kids as much as we can (almost to a fault, at times), but there needs to be a line. And that line can only be decided by you. And when you decide it, stick to it. 

Would you get this suit?


Image via footlooseity/Flickr