Baby in the cradle

The traditional cradle used by our mothers and grandmothers (Hokkien called "eo na") was never an option for us to use for Hannah. The doctor advised against it as it could cause injury to the baby's neck and many a time, babies have fallen out of the cradle, causing serious injury and even death.

We have also read articles saying that it could cause injury to the baby's brain because the up and down motion of the cradle is akin to that of shaking the baby, hence causing shaken baby syndrome.

However, the old folks say that sleeping in the cradle will cause the shape of the baby's head to be nicely rounded and also that babies will automatically fall asleep because the feeling of being in the cradle is similar to that of someone holding them close. It also gives them a sense of security and they are not easily startled when they are sleeping.

But anyway, the risks seemed to outweigh the advantages so we decided we did not want it for Hannah. However, just for the fun of it we put her in it the other day just to see what she thought about it.

She did not seem to show any reaction at first, just a bit puzzled as to why we were putting her in this thing.


Huh? What is this ?


Hee hee..take me out Mummy, I don't really like it...

While she was in the cradle, she was preoccupied with putting her fingers in her mouth. Nowadays, her fingers can go all the way into her mouth to the extent that she can choke on them. So we have to keep a watchful eye on her. As a result, the amount of drool which is produced is immense! The front of her shirt is drenched most of the time. Everyone says she looks like she is eating KFC drumstick!


In the meantime, let me eat my fingers first. KFC is finger licking good!

She can really enjoy herself doing this. Hopefully the habit will not be too hard to break once she can understand us.


So yummy! Don't you agree?

So, the conclusion is, no "eo na" for Hannah. It's too dangerous if we cannot keep watch on her the whole time, as well as it may potentially cause hidden injuries to her brain. Anyway, her Daddy's arms are always there for her and they are better than any cradle any day! :)


My last pose..it's goodbye to the cradle after this! :)