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.

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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

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

Our sweet little baby is going to be here in about 16 weeks (scheduled c section).  I can’t believe I’m more than half-way through the pregnancy.  I’m so thankful that this pregnancy is going so much better than my first.  If you think I was worried when I was pregnant with my son, I was even more worried after he was born.  As a parent and a NICU nurse, I think about things like illness, injury and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).  My husband says I tend to “hover” too much.  But I think it’s somewhat natural to want to protect your child from danger.

I educate parents every day about safe sleeping techniques to help prevent SIDS.  I emphasize the importance of putting babies on their backs to sleep, keeping the baby’s sleeping area free from stuffed animals, loose blankets, etc., and avoiding overheating.  When my son was born (during the summer), I knew it would be a challenge to avoid overheating him when we were experiencing triple digit temperatures.  I also knew that babies slept better when they were wrapped, but I was nervous about blankets coming loose that could cover his face.  It was about that time I discovered Halo’s SleepSacks.  I ran out and bought several…in blue of course!

It’s been more than two years and with our baby girl on the way, I thought it would be nice to get a warmer SleepSack for her (the ones we bought my son were cotton).  Thanks to Mom Select, we received a gorgeous pink (squee!) Plush Dots Velboa SleepSack Swaddle blanket.  If you’re not familiar with SleepSacks, they’re simply wearable blankets.  They have a zipper down the front and now come with the swaddle option.  Here is a little more information from the site:

The ORIGINAL SleepSack Wearable Blanket now with an adjustable, removable swaddle feature. The 2-in-1 SleepSack Swaddle hugs your baby to prevent the startle reflex – allowing your little one to sleep more soundly. The SleepSack™ Swaddle replaces loose blankets for safer sleep and allows your baby to stay safe, warm and cozy all night long.

I think the new design is fantastic.  I didn’t use the Swaddle option with my son and I do remember he woke up a ton as an infant.  That could have been because he was an infant and that’s what they do. But we used the SleepSacks until he was about a year and then he didn’t want to wear them any longer.  I like the safer option of being able to swaddle my new little girl without worrying about her becoming entangled or suffocated by loose blankets.  The fabric is so soft and warm (which is perfect since our little baby will be born in the winter).  If you have a baby that doesn’t actually like to be swaddled, you can just remove that part and still use the sack as a wearable blanket (it has Velcro to attach it).  Some of the features that I am highly impressed with include the following:

The option to swaddle with arms in, out, or not at all

Inverted zipper so I can complete middle of the night diaper changes and deter curious hands from trying to unzip the blanket

Sleeveless design which is actually a safety feature allowing ventilation and reducing the risk of re breathing carbon dioxide (which has been linked to SIDS)

It’s flame retardant! (you never know!)

Overall, I’m highly impressed with Halo’s SleepSacks. Our daughter will be sleeping in them just like our son did.

My son as a newborn sleeping in his SleepSack (yes, he should have been on his back but he always rolled over)

Halo’s SleepSacks vary in price, depending on whether you want organic cotton (or conventional), micro-fleece, or plush dot velboa and whether you want the swaddle option.  Be sure to check out their Clearance section for awesome discounts on select styles and prints.  Their website is incredibly resourceful.  I highly recommend checking it out for sleep tips and more products to keep your baby safe!

Win It! One of you will win a Plush Dots Velboa Halo SleepSack (this one does not have the swaddle option) in blue, size small (10-18 pounds).  Simply head on over to the site and take a look around.  Come back here with an interesting fact you learned on the site and who will be the lucky recipient of this blanket.  Comments will close on September 19, 2009 at 10 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.

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the contest.

Subscribe to my feed via email or reader.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!