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My Top Ten Infant Safety Aids for Sleep are products that I recommend you use for your baby to prevent SIDS and other sleep accidents from occurring in your baby nursery.

Your little newborn is so fragile and delicate. She is relying on you to keep her safe in this big, wide world.

I was absolutely devastated when I lost my four month old baby boy to SIDS six years ago. (See my story). Don't let the same thing happen to you.

Using the items on this list will give your baby the environment she needs to enjoy a cozy, safe sleep.

To find out more about SIDS prevention, click here.





1. A Safe Baby Crib

The most important investment you will make in your newborn's safe sleep is her crib. Unsafe cribs have resulted in entrapment, laceration, choking, strangulation and falling in the past.

Make sure that the baby crib you choose has a JPMA certification and check for yourself that it meets the Consumer Product Safety Commission's baby crib safety standards.

For added peace of mind consider using an organic crib., and check out our crib recall report to make sure that the crib you use for your baby has not been recalled.

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2. A Bedside Crib

Research has shown that babies who sleep in their parents' room for the first year of life have a reduced risk of succumbing to SIDS. But co-sleeping can be dangerous for your baby if proper co-cleeping infant safety guidelines are not followed.

The use of a bedside crib or co-sleeper is the best safe sleep option if you want your baby to room in with you. The bedside crib attaches to the side of your bed meaning that you sleep right next to your baby without him actually being in your bed. Read more about the bedside crib here.

Read about other safe cosleeping options here...

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3. A Safe, Preferably Organic Baby Crib Mattress

Unsafe baby crib mattresses can result in the entrapment and suffocation of your baby. Standards for infant safety regulate that a crib mattress should be firm and fit snugly in the crib, among other things. Check to make sure that your baby crib mattress meets these standards for crib mattress safety.

Research has also shown that the chemicals off-gassed by synthetic baby crib mattresses may be a contributing factor towards SIDS and allergies in young babies. An organic crib mattress is healthier for your newborn, and can contribute towards SIDS prevention.

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{Secure-Fit Crib Sheet}

4. Safe Crib Sheets

Crib sheets should fit snugly around the baby crib mattress. There should be no wrinkles or slipping.

The best type of crib sheet for infant safety has a velcro strap that wraps around the bottom of the crib mattress thereby preventing it from coming loose.

For the healthiest safe sleep consider using organic crib bedding. As mentioned above, chemical off-gassing in the crib has been associated with a higher risk of SIDS.

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5. A Sound And Movement Monitor

Otherwise known as an apnea monitor, this useful little device allows you to listen to your baby from another room, while resting assured that it will sound the alarm should your baby's chest not move for longer than 20 seconds. In other words, it will let you know if baby stops breathing in time for you to do something about it.

There are many of these infant safety monitors on the market. Look for one with a reasonably large movement pad. Baby can easily roll or wiggle off of the smaller mats giving false alarms and heart attacks!

I use the BebeSounds Angelcare Movement Sensor and Sound Monitor. It has been an absolute sanity-saver for me!

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6. A Thin Porous Blanket

Babies need to be kept warm and snug while they sleep. Unfortunately, most commercially available crib bedding sets include bedding that is very dangerous for your baby.

Puffy comforters or quilts can lead to overheating of young babies. Overheating is a well recognized contributing factor towards SIDS. Puffy bedding can also cause suffocation if it covers your baby's face.

A safer alternative is to remove the quilt from the crib when you lay your precious little one down to sleep. Use a thin, porous blanket and tuck it in well at the sides under the mattress. To ensure safe sleep make sure the blanket comes no higher than baby's chest.

You can also use your comforter as a wall hanging if you like. Comforters and quilts make beautiful wall-art!

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7. A Breathable Mesh Crib Bumper Pad

{breathable mesh crib bumper}

Crib bedding sets also usually include a thick puffy bumper pad. These are unsafe for baby because they prevent the circulation of fresh air in the baby crib. A lack of fresh air can lead to SIDS.

Puffy crib bumpers can also cause suffocation if your baby's face becomes wedged up against them.

In the interests of infant safety it is not recommended that you use a crib bumper pad at all, but if you are worried about baby's arms and legs poking through the gaps between the crib slats, a breathable mesh crib bumper pad is the best option for safe sleep.

Otherwise you can use the on-off method. Read more about this and other baby bedding and crib bumper safety issues here.

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8. An Infant Sleep Sack

The best way to prevent the baby bedding from covering baby's face is to not use any. Try an infant sleep sack instead. It keeps your baby warm and there is no risk of it riding up or of baby wriggling down. It keeps those little toes toasty too!

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{miracle blanket}

9. A Miracle Blanket

If your baby is less than 14 weeks old you can use a miracle blanket for safe sleep instead of a sleep sack. Babies love to be swaddled but traditional swaddling with a receiving blanket results in baby's arms coming loose and blankets riding up all over the place.

With a miracle blanket this won't happen. Due to its innovative design, your baby won't come undone when she wiggles. You'll find her just as tightly wrapped as when you left her. No more waking up to a cold baby in the middle of the night and no more worrying about blankets over her face.

Miracle blankets also help young infants to sleep longer and they even soothe and comfort colicky babies. I had one with my last baby - they are truly amazing.

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10. A Pacifier

The last item on the safe sleep list is a matter of personal preference. I know some people swear by pacifiers and others are adamantly against them. I don't have a strong view - I just went with what worked for each of my four babies.

(By the way - I had many very strong views about raising them before the first one arrived. You'll soon find out that most of your ideals go out the window within the first few hours though. The quest for a few minutes of peace and quiet over rules everything else - it's a survival instinct!)

This little item is on the list because research has shown that babies who fall asleep with a pacifier are less likely to succumb to SIDS. Experts have not established a reason for this however, and we all know that statistics are just numbers. So with this one I would say do whatever works for you. You can't force a baby to suck a pacifier anyway. Two of my babies hated them.

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