Safe Sleep for Baby – Wearable Sleepsack Blankets – Reducing the Risk of SIDS

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Schlummersack.  All opinions are my own.

Wearable blankets are a fairly new trend in the parenting world.  I remember them starting to get popular when I was having my first daughter in 2011 and I’ve seen a huge rise in consumer interest over the years.  Partly because they are super cute, but mostly because they are recommended by health and safety experts for safer sleep for baby.

The idea behind a wearable blanket is that it eliminates the need for little ones to have loose blankets in their crib.  It’s a much safer option for keeping baby warm and they come in just about every childhood age/size range for any season and gender.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is any sudden, unexplained death of a seemingly healthy infant up to an age of one year.  In the US each year, SIDS is the cause of approximately 60 deaths per 100,000 births, or 2,500 children, making it the leading cause of death in otherwise healthy babies after one month of age.  There are several theories about the potential causes of SIDS, however, several known risk factors are associated with increased probability of the syndrome, including the baby’s sleeping environment.

U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission warnings against loose bedding in the crib have made many parents unsure about how to keep their baby comfortable and safe.  Bedding that bunches up around a baby’s mouth can cause dangerous re-breathing of carbon dioxide- a leading risk factor for SIDS.

For younger babies and toddlers, a sleepsack or wearable blanket without foot holes is ideal.  If they aren’t walking yet, this will ensure that they stay nice and warm during colder months.  For walkers and older children, you can buy sleepsack with leg holes – which is great for playtime, as well.

When both of my girls were infants and young toddlers, I put them in sleepsacks for safety.  The zippered front makes diaper changes easy, even though it is an extra step.  I was willing to take that extra step if it meant my kids were safer at night, though.

Here is a very helpful chart for determining which sleepsack to put your child in. 

The tog rating or weight of a sleep sack determines its thickness and therefore how warm it keeps your child. The higher the tog rating (weight) the warmer the sleep sack. Follow these recommendations on the table below to determine which tog is the best one for you. The decision depends mainly on the nursery temperature.

Aside from the adorable sleepsacks, the Schlummersack website has some really cute bath ponchos for boys and girls.  You can visit their website at www.schlummersack.com to browse through all of their products.

Schlummersack runs a monthly Baby of the Month contest, where you could win a $50 gift voucher to schlummersack.com.