Blankets and Babies

Blankets and Babies

Blankets are great for comfort. When babies are born, the swaddling effect (as we all know is done best by labor and delivery nurses) helps our babies feel safe and secure inside their blanket. When we get our babies home, we try to keep them warm and comfortable with the baby blanket we choose for them while waiting for the big day! As adults, most of us love our blankets, so we want our babies to have that too!

Unfortunately for our babies, blankets put our babies at risk, increasing their chance of SIDS and presenting a suffocation hazard. Loose ones, anyway. If you’ve mastered the swaddle, you go Mommy! Just make sure baby doesn’t roll over in the swaddle. If baby is beginning to roll over it’s time to kick that swaddle.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that your baby be placed on their back in a crib free of blankets, stuffed animals, toys, pillows, and anything else that is not attached to the crib until the baby reaches 12 months of age.

Now, that doesn’t mean yourbaby can never have a blanketor stuffed animal. Just make surethat you are monitoring your babyfrequently around anything thatcould be a potential risk. Security blankets have been a fantasticalternative to blankets since theyare shorter and not able to wraparound baby, however, they are still not recommended for the crib until your baby is ready. As a precaution, make sure your chosen stuffed animals don’t have any pieces that can be ripped or chewed off by baby, like strings or beaded eyes.  

For chilly nights, sleep sacks work wonders for babies without carrying the risk. They zip up over baby so there is no chance of entanglement. Add those sleep sacks toyour registry. You’ll need them!

From day one as parents we want to keep our little ones safe. From the car, the crib,the toys, the food, and everything inbetween! Even though holding off for 12months on those adorable baby blanketsyou got during pregnancy is hard, itensures that baby stays safe from allthose blanket related risks. Happysleeping!