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Safe Cozy Sleep For Your Baby

Baby bedding and crib bumper safety is one aspect of baby protection we would love to ignore - if we could...

Because baby crib bedding is one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways of livening up the baby nursery, and with the hundreds of beautiful designs available, shopping for it is such fun!

Unfortunately, most baby crib bedding is very dangerous for your baby - the very crib bedding that is designed to snuggle and cuddle your baby can cause suffocation and overheating leading to SIDS.

That doesn't mean that you shouldn't have that perfect comforter or quilt...

You've been dreamily thinking about it ever since you saw the two lines on your home pregnancy test! Just keep baby bedding and crib bumper safety in mind and remember to remove the quilt from the baby crib when your sweetheart is sleeping, or use it as a wall-hanging!

And check out the following infant safety guidelines to learn how to safely lay your little one down for sleep...

Crib Bedding Safety

The main thing to remember when you make up your baby's crib for a safe sleep, is to think simple.

No frills and fluff, just good old-fashioned simple blankets and sheets...

• First things first - Crib bumpers are not recommended. If you do use one, follow the crib bumper safety guidelines below.

Organic Crib Bedding
Consider using organic crib bedding for the healthiest safe sleep.

Organic cotton breathes, maintaining a healthy, balanced temperature. Overheating is therefore, prevented.

You will also be saving your baby from breathing in the 1.5 lbs of toxic chemicals that it takes to produce conventional cotton sheets and blankets!
• Use a snug-fitting baby crib sheet - there should be no slipping at the corners.
• Never place pillows in the baby crib. They pose a suffocation risk for your baby and a climbing risk for toddlers.
• Remove all soft toys, comforters and quilts when your baby is in the crib. They also pose a suffocation risk for infants and a climbing risk for toddlers.
• Consider use of a sleeping bag instead of a blanket. Babies can slip under blankets and suffocate.
• If you do use a blanket it should be thin and porous. Soft bedding such as comforters can suffocate infants.
• Place your baby so his feet touch the lower end of the crib so that he can't wriggle under the covers.
• Tuck the blanket in well on both sides of the crib under the mattress.
• The blanket should come no higher than your baby's chest.

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Crib Bumper Safety Guidelines

To bumper or not to bumper? Whether or not to use a crib bumper has become a much debated subject amongst new moms. We've heard they may be unsafe, but then what do we do about bruised arms and legs, not to mention bumps on the head?

You'll be relieved to know that most moms find a solution by making a compromise. The best way to reach the right solution for you, is to understand why crib bumpers are not recommended in the first place...

• They inhibit the circulation of fresh air around the crib. Breathing and rebreathing the same air until the oxygen content has been depleted is a contributing factor towards SIDS. Read more about SIDS prevention here.
  
  To overcome this problem, make sure there is a space between the crib bumper and the crib mattress to allow for airflow. A new crib bumper safety option is to use a breathable mesh crib bumper. These new bumper pads improve airflow and cause less restriction on the flow of fresh air around the crib.




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• Bumpers that come loose represent an entanglement and strangulation hazard.
  
  To prevent this, follow these infant safety guidelines:
  • The bumper should fit around the entire crib and tie or snap into place.
  • At a minimum the crib bumper should tie to the crib at the top and bottom of each corner and the middle of each long side.
  • Cords should be less than 9 inches long.
  • Cut off any excess cord length to prevent entanglement or strangulation.
  • The bumper should fit snugly in all four corners of the baby crib.
  • There should be no gaps between the bumper pad and the crib sides.
  
  Alternatively, you can weave the bumper in and out of the slats so that it cannot come loose.



The CPSC crib safety standards ensure that all cribs manufactured in North America have a maximum distance of 2 3/8 inches between crib slats. Under no circumstances should a crib bumper pad be used to compensate for wider gaps in older cribs.



• A soft pillowy bumper can cause suffocation if baby's face becomes wedged against it.
  
  So use a crib bumper that is flat and firm - not pillowy.




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• Crib bumpers can be used by older babies to help them climb out of the crib.
  
  So remove crib bumpers at five months or when baby starts getting up onto his hands and knees, whichever occurs first.

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Also bear in mind that you can add and remove the bumper according to your baby's age. It seems obvious, but how many of us think of it? - no really?

The crib bumper only poses a suffocation hazard when baby becomes mobile, so use it for a newborn, but not for a squirming eight week old who can wriggle herself into a corner only to get hopelessly stuck.

Put it back on again when baby becomes more animated in his movement and starts bumping up against the sides of the crib in his efforts to crawl, but remove before he starts pulling himself up to a standing position. No climbing out of the crib for you!

It's called the on-off method and it works quite well!

Other Safe Sleep Guidelines

A few more things...

• Make sure your baby crib adheres to baby crib safety standards.
• Use a safe baby crib mattress.
• Put your baby down on her back to sleep as this has been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS. Read more about SIDS prevention here.
• Check out our crib recall report to make sure that your baby crib, crib mattress and crib bedding have not been recalled.

And that's it - except to say that baby bedding and crib bumper safety are of paramount importance to baby protection in the nursery room. Please give your delicate, little newborn the environment she deserves so that she can sleep safely.

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