Safe, Soothing Sleep with SootheTIME

I’ve never been particularly forthright about the fact that I’m an attachment parent.  But I am.  And as radical as that may sound, it’s really not much different than traditional parenting.  Yes, we co-sleep and nurse and discipline with love.  But I guarantee that my children will not always sleep with us (my son is the perfect example of a former co-sleeper), neither of them are spoiled, and both will be healthier emotionally because we don’t believe in spanking.

Co-sleeping is right up there with breastfeeding when it comes to controversial topics.  So I won’t discuss it (for now, anyway).  I’d rather talk about how we co-sleep safely.  And one of the ways we do that is by using wearable blankets.

Two weeks ago (ish), Ciaran invited a few of us over to her house for a Mom’s Night Out.  SootheTIME sponsored the get together and we had an opportunity to learn a bit more about their new zzzTIME line.  The company offers “soothing” solutions to bedtime, bath time, meals, and travel.   Right now, the company offers 5 different “zzzTIME” products including the snooze wrap plus, snooze sack, crib snooze sheet, playard snooze sheet, and sleepzies.  They are still working on the development of products in the other lines.

One of my first questions was, What makes this company and product different than those already on the market?  I was impressed to learn that the company teamed up with both parents and industry experts to develop their sleep solutions.  With the fear of SIDS weighing on the minds of new parents, it’s also important to know that a product is congruent with AAP guidelines for safe sleep.

The snooze wrap plus helps even the most inexperienced parent wrap their baby like a pro.  While it looks a bit daunting, it’s quite simple to use (we had a little demo from a company representative).  My daughter (unlike my son) never liked to be swaddled and is too old for this now so we’re using their version of the wearable blanket.

The snooze sack eliminates the risk of loose blankets, a risk factor for SIDS while helping infants remain on their backs to sleep.  But beyond helping babies sleep safer, the snooze sack soothes (via comfort wraps) and provides optimal temperature control (via comfort vents).

SootheTIME created their zzzTIME line to help infants develop healthy, safe sleep habits.  Over the next year, they will continue to develop their other lines.  I’m hoping they develop and organic line!

Right now, you can purchase their zzzTIME line at Babies R Us (and they’re very affordable).

No compensation was received for this post.  Product samples were provided to facilitate this review.

SIDS and Safe Sleep *Giveaway*

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by.  The winner is Sarah G. Congrats!

As a NICU nurse, I educate parents regularly about how to ensure their babies are put down to sleep safely.  As a mom to a six week old baby, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) weighs on my mind.  SIDS is still the leading cause of death for infants between one and twelve months of age in the US (over 2,000).  And while many factors have been identified to contribute to SIDS, there is still no identifiable cause. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study linking SIDS with low production of serotonin in the brainstem of infants.  This study could allow physicians to identify babies at risk for SIDS since it’s presence was shown in 95% of all cases in this study.

One of the recommendations to prevent SIDS has been to avoid overheating infants.  When my son was born, I purchased muslin cotton swaddle blankets from aden + anais.  He was born in June, right at the beginning of our scorching Southern California summers and I wanted to be sure he didn’t get too hot.  Our daughter was born in December, and I’ve been concerned about her being too cold.  It’s a good reminder to me that she doesn’t need to be bundled as tightly as I think she does.  And my husband is actually correct when he tells me not to put the heater on too high!

aden + anais is a proud sponsor of the CJ Foundation for SIDS and the company’s inspiration for designing a product that keeps babies warm in the winter months while still reducing the risk of overheating.  The result is their new cozy sleeping bag, which consists of four layers of 100% breathable, muslin cotton.  The cozy sleeping bag allows the baby’s body temperature to adjust naturally, thereby reducing the risk of overheating.  The CJ Foundation for SIDS recommends the use of wearable blankets and sleep sacks in place of blankets to keep infants warm (and safe) while sleeping.

The CJ Foundation for SIDS recently launched its Sleep in Safety, Grow in Style (SSGS) campaign to help educate parents about the importance of designing safe sleeping environments for babies. aden + anais is working to help the CJ Foundation for SIDS inform parents of the many ways they can keep their baby safe. While over-heating is one risk-factor for SIDS, SSGS and aden + anais also advocate the following practices to reduce the risk of SIDS:

• Consider the use of fans to increases ventilation
• Room temperature should be comfortable for a lightly-clothed adult, approximately 61-67 degree Fahrenheit
• Cribs should be totally free of all loose blankets, stuffed animals and crib bumpers
• Lay baby to sleep in an improved crib, on a firm mattress; do not let the baby sleep on soft things, like a couch, pillow, sheepskin, foam pad or waterbed
• No smoking when pregnant or near baby
• If possible, breastfeed baby
• Offer a pacifier at bedtime
• Co-sleeping should be in the same room but not the same bed or other sleep surface as parents

aden + anais cozy sleeping bag are available on their site and come in eight adorable prints.

Win It! One of you will win a cozy sleeping bag of your choice. Simply leave me a comment with which one you’d choose and something you learned about SIDS from either this post or the site.  Comments will close on February 20, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

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I received a product, courtesy of the company to facilitate this review.

All About Baby: Aden + Anais

Babies love to be swaddled.  I know that because a. I’m a mom and b.  I’m a NICU nurse.  There is a lot of discussion about how to swaddle, how long to swaddle, and if you should swaddle…particularly in light of SIDS.  According to my pediatrician many newborns sleep longer when swaddled tightly.  There is a also a safe way to swaddle (meaning avoiding loose blankets).  One of the things we do is swaddle our babies from the axilla down (in other words, leaving the arms exposed) and ensure that it’s nice and tight.  In order to do that, we need a larger type of blanket like those from Aden + Anais.  I first learned about their muslin wraps when my son was a baby.  He was born in the summer and I knew that most of the blankets we received were too warm and too small to swaddle him safely.  I looked at these in a boutique and knew that they were perfect for my summer baby.

One of my pediatrician’s recommendations is to also use cotton blankets for swaddling.  Babies can overheat (especially if you also dress them in footed onesies and such) which is a risk factor for SIDS.  Muslin is a light, breathable fabric that is used in Aden + Anais wraps.  The fabric allows air to flow through the material, thereby allowing a baby’s body temperature to adjust naturally while still ensuring warmth.  I used these with my son because he only slept well when swaddled.

So how do you wrap a baby?  The site has a really good description (although I’ve long ago perfected the fine art of wrapping a baby).

The muslin wraps are perfect for swaddling because they’re bigger than most blankets on the market.  They allow a baby to be wrapped securely without worrying the wrap will come undone and the fear of loose blankets.  And one more reason why I like these wraps?  They’re big enough to provide some coverage during nursing!  Check out all the other uses for Aden + Anais’ muslin wraps.

Once your baby gets to the point where they don’t want to be swaddled anymore, I like to use sleep sacks or wearable blankets.  New for Aden + Anais are their muslin sleeping bags.  They’re made from 100% cotton muslin (just like their wraps), feature an inverted zipper for easy diaper changes, and are quilted to provide cushion and warmth.  They’re soft, breathable and eliminate the worries of loose blankets…especially when babies start to move and roll over.  Just put them over your baby’s pj’s in place of blankets.  My son used wearable blankets when he started to move and roll over.  It’s recommended that these be used when a baby is 3 months old or older.

Also new to Aden + Anais are their line of Burpy Bibs (which aren’t even on the site yet!).  Again, they’re made from the same soft breathable muslin (four layers to be exact) as their wraps and sleeping bags.  They’re also versatile since you can use them as both a burp cloth and a bib.  They’re big (just like their muslin wraps) and you convert them to a bib by snapping them together.  Let’s just hope our little girl likes bibs more than our son!

Lastly, co-founder Raegan Moya-Jones just released a book about swaddling called Swaddle Love.  With much concern and fear over SIDS, parents are turning away from swaddling, not recognizing the tremendous benefits it offers to newborns.  If you want to get any sleep at all, I highly suggest you think about swaddling your baby…just do it safely!  The book is beautifully illustrated and highly informative.

Because I am a huge advocate for safe sleep, I’ll leave you with some tips on safe sleeping:

1. Always put your baby to sleep on his/her back

2.  Do not overheat baby (either via heat in the home or by dressing too heavily)

3. Always put your baby in a safe place to sleep (i.e. a crib or bassinet) (My opinions on co-sleeping, which we did with my sonm will be reserved for another post).

4.  Breastfeed, if possible

5.  Consider using a pacifier at bedtime

6.  Do not smoke or allow anyone to smoke near your baby

7.  Do not put stuffed animals, loose blankets, etc. in sleep space

8.  Consider a wearable blanket