Putting your baby to sleep with a blanket, an absolutely no go!
One of the most asked questions is when can babies start using blankets but actually, they do not even need them.
According to the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), it is not safe to use a blanket in a baby crib since they are, at least, 12 months of age. Even Though the higher risk of death for asphyxia is between birth and 6 months, this risk is still there up to 12 months of age.
Sleep is a very important factor for the health of your baby, we recommend paying extra attention to your baby sleep. The little details that you will learn from this post will help you provide your baby with a better quality of sleep.
It is true that some families are using blankets with their babies but let me tell you, they have more cons than pros.
Why do parents insist on using blankets?
Nothing is less tempting to adults than a mattress without covers. With the best of intentions, new parents who have received blankets, afghans, or quilts as baby gifts might be eager to cozy up their child’s crib.
However, because many toddlers are very active while they sleep, blankets can be annoying because they frequently fall off or lump up.
Two of the main reasons why parents want to use a blanket to put their babies to sleep are:
Blankets have sentimental value
It makes sense that you would want your baby to sleep with a blanket received from a loved one as soon as possible. Before thinking about the risks of SIDS, parents may choose to wrap their infant in a special blanket.
If you are anxious to use a specific blanket, think about hanging it on the wall, laying it out on the floor for your baby’s tummy time, or draping it over a rocking chair or glider.
A baby blanket can provide confort and security
If your child’s blanket transforms into a comfort item it may be a useful sleep association or cue that it’s time to go to bed. Attachment to a blanket can be one of the first steps in helping a child develop a sense of independence.
Another benefit? Instead of calling for you, your child might come to cuddle with their lovey and go to bed or fall asleep. Before the child turns one, “you can definitely work on attachment to a lovey, but wait until at least 12 months before placing it in the crib,” the expert advises.
Risks of using blankets
In general, we should avoid putting anything more than necessary into our infant’s sleep space. This could increase the likelihood of accidental suffocation. This does not only apply to blankets but also to pillows, toys and stuffed animals.
These elements are known to increase the risk of experiencing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the most common cause of infant death.
Your baby can get trapped under the blanket and find it hard to sleep or, in some rare cases, they can even choke themselves with the blanket. So basically, avoid them as much as you can.
However, in hard winters when the pajamas are not enough, It is safer if you use a sleeping bag as the one attached below. They are made in a way in which your baby cannot get suffocated under them since they are attached to their shoulders. The risk of using a blanket is exactly this: your baby, when moving, can get trapped under the blanket and have difficulties breathing.
- It is one of the principal causes of death in newborns in the US and Europe so we have to be aware of the risk we are under when using blankets with our infants.
Is it swaddling safer than blankets?
Swaddling refers to the practice of snugly wrapping a baby in a blanket for warmth and security, leaving only the child’s head exposed.
If you are comparing this technique with leaving just the blanket over their body, it is safer. However, this technique has other risks that can sometimes be worse.
Swaddling reduces the mobility of your baby and therefore, they will find it stressful to fall asleep. In case that there is something bothering them they will not be able to help themselves and even more importantly, if they accidentally roll down to their belly, they will find it impossible to turn around; this can lead to suffocation and in the worst case scenario, death.
But how can I be sure that my baby is warm without a blanket?
There are tons of ways in which parents can ensure the ideal temperature for their babies without using blankets.
Babies have a natural protection against cold temperatures
To start with, it is very important to understand that babies do not need as much help as we, as adults, need to regulate our body temperature. Babies have an “extra organ” or more precisely, an additional type of adipose tissue (body fat). This is known as brown fat or brown adipose tissue and its main function is to regulate the body temperature in cold conditions.
This brown fat is found in places where babies usually have smooth body hair, for example their chest, belly or back. The fact that your baby doesn’t have this hair doesn’t mean they don’t have brown fat, it is just for you to know where it can be located most of the time.
As we grow up, we lose this brown fat so we need extra help from the exterior with blankets, jackets and other warm clothing. But, once you understand that your baby doesn’t get as cold as you, you will lose this anxiety for your baby to fall asleep without a blanket.
Obviously the temperature needs to be nice, if it is -5 Celsius degrees outside, your baby is going to get cold anyway. The thing here is to try to understand the language of your baby and for example, by touching their skin you can get an idea of how they are feeling, if it’s hot they are hot and if it’s cold they are cold, as simple as it seems.
Extra Help
Rather than giving your baby a blanket, try layering their clothing for additional warmth through the night. For example, try a warmer pajama or layer them with two lighter pajamas.
Another way to avoid using blankets to put your baby to sleep is to adjust the bedroom temperature. The thermostat should be between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not go over this temperature because your baby get suffocated, actually, overheating may increase the likelihood of SIDS.
Last but not least, the best approach to substitute a blanket for those parents who insist on using one, is to use a sleep sack. THey are like blankets but they are secret with a zip, this makes it more difficult for the babies to get trapped under them and suffocate.
I want to use a blanket anyway, which is the safest way?
In case you want to use a blanket, here is a tip: attach the blanket to the end of the crib leaving just enough length to cover the belly of your baby and then, put your baby at the bottom of the crib, this way neither the blanket can move or the baby can put it over their face.
