Worrying about your baby when he or she is sleeping is par for the course when you’re a parent.
Is she safe? Is she too hot? Is she too cold? Is she still breathing? These are all very real questions we ask ourselves at night after we put our kids to bed.
In order to alleviate some of these concerns, it's important to take the right precautions when putting your baby to sleep.
What are the rules and recommendations when it comes to blankets, weighted blankets and sleep sacks?
What is appropriate infant sleep clothing?
You should dress your baby in appropriate sleep clothing at night and no more than one layer more than you would wear to reduce the risk of overheating.
According to doctors, "If you are worried that your baby is cold, use a wearable blanket, such as a sleeping sack, or warm sleeper that is the right size for your baby. These are made to cover the body and not the head. You can use layers of clothing if necessary when it is very cold.”
Wearable blankets are a wonderful sleep solution when it comes to keeping your baby warm and cozy. They do not pose a danger of obstructing your baby’s breathing, and there are countless models available, including with and without arms, to keep babies warm but protect them from overheating.
Dreamland Baby’s weighted blanket and weighted sleep solutions
Sleeping with a loose weighted blanket has a wide range of benefits for children and adults, but it clearly poses a risk for babies. That's why a wearable solution is the best option for a baby.
The Dreamland Baby weighted sleep sack, swaddle, and transition swaddle are wearable weighted sleep solutions that use evenly distributed weight that is not concentrated in one area. This gives them a gentle, soothing effect that is not intended to impede movement.
Dreamland Baby offers a toddler-weighted blanket that is indicated for toddlers ages 3+ and/or 30+ lbs.
It's important to keep in mind these safety guidelines when using a weighted blanket with a toddler 3+ years of age:
- A child must be over 30 lbs and have the ability to remove the blanket independently to prevent suffocation or other injury.
- It is the caregiver's responsibility to ensure the child is able to remove the weighted blanket without assistance.
- Never use with a baby under age 3. Never place the a Weighted Blanket in a crib.
- The weighted blanket should never cover a child's face or head.
What does the AAP say in its Safe Sleep Recommendations*?
What do they recommend when it comes to blankets and sleep sacks?
The AAP recommends that parents do not put blankets in the crib with children under one-year-old at least. In fact, they expressly state that “Soft objects such as pillows and pillow-like toys, quilts, comforters, sheepskins, and loose bedding can obstruct an infant’s nose and mouth.”
Furthermore, they say “Infant sleep clothing is preferable to blankets and other coverings to keep the infant warm. A large percentage of infants who die of SIDS are found with their head covered by bedding. Therefore, no pillows, sheets, blankets, or any other items that could obstruct infant breathing or cause overheating should be in the bed.”
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) echoes these same recommendations here.
It goes without saying that weighted blankets would also pose a risk to babies, especially given that they weigh more than normal blankets and, of course, babies would not be able to remove them if they were to cover their faces. Weighted blankets in the crib would pose a serious danger to your baby’s well-being.
In short, parents should not put blankets—weighted or otherwise—in the crib with children if they are under 1.
Update:
In June 2022, the AAP updated its guidelines in and is currently not recommending weighted sleep solutions. You can read their full report here. Please note this is not a recall. Dreamland Baby is in ongoing dialogue with the AAP regarding their stance on weighted sleepwear. We are hopeful that the new mandatory standards enacted by the ASTM committee and ongoing clinical studies will result in the AAP retracting its 2022 statement.
To Recap:
Does the AAP recommend weighted blankets for babies? Currently, they do not.
Does the AAP recommend any type of blankets in the cribs? They do not, nor does the CDC. Loose weighted blankets, and blankets in general, can pose a danger to babies under 1 sleeping in their cribs.
Learn About Safe Sleeping:
