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05/24/2021 | 6m 19s | Video has closed captioning.
Do you need the right pillow, blanket, and mattress just to sleep through the night? Hear us out: You should be just as concerned with your baby’s sleeping environment, because where and how a baby sleeps can contribute to their overall safety. Hosts Alok Patel and Bethany Van Delft are here to show you some methods that will help your little one sleep safe and sound.
Aired: 05/24/21
From:
- I can basically sleep anywhere.
- Oh, no.
You're one of those?
- Slept on the train here.
Slept on the bus the last time we filmed.
I could sleep on the floor.
I could sleep on any plane.
- I can't even sleep in my own bed.
So I don't even want to hear about that.
(upbeat music) - So you need the perfect sleeping environment.
- Yep.
Perhaps.
- So do babies.
But theirs is more about safety.
First things first is we want a very empty boring crib.
- Barren.
Nothing in the crib.
- Because anything in the crib around your baby could be hazardous, could be a suffocation risk.
- And I know there's so many cute crib sets and bumpers and everything, but it really isn't safe.
You just have to take everything out.
- So we want to clear this crib.
No stuffed animals.
- Even if grandma made a quilt.
- Sorry, grandma.
Don't care.
Its out.
Pillows.
Sorry.
- Right?
- So now we have what we consider to be so far a safe crib.
We want to make sure it's a firm sleeping surface.
The bedding is really tight.
Make sure you don't have one of those cribs that has the dropdown side rails.
And also the slats.
The openings should be no bigger than two and three eighths inches.
I know it's a very specific number, but just look on the packaging.
- Buts that's like, the heads can't go out.
- Yeah.
- Is that what it is?
- That's exactly what it is.
You don't want your baby to be able to Houdini out of the crib.
- Baby Mia has had her bath.
We followed her nighttime routine.
Read a book, sang a song she's all ready.
- That's awesome.
Baby Mia is going to go to sleep on her back.
Which is a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics to prevent SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, for the first year of life.
- On the back.
Baby on the back.
- Not on their stomach, not on their side.
And also baby Mia is sleeping in her safe crib environment.
So not a sofa, or a armchair, nowhere else in the house.
No baby rockers and not in a car seat brought into the house, no matter how tempting that may be.
The angle isn't right for sleep.
And it can be dangerous.
- And no water bed because it is not the 80s.
- We know that products like wedges and special mats, and home oxygen monitors are not actually going to reduce baby's chances of SIDS.
They're probably just going to drive you insane.
And sometimes they're not even safe.
Some babies love being swaddled.
If we can recreate that feeling of security when they were in the womb - Cause it was tight in there.
It was like all snugly huggily.
Did you swaddle your kids?
- I swaddled Lulu, not Nico.
Nico couldn't stand it.
But Lulu loved it.
- So you remember how to swaddle?
I think baby Mia is like, I wanna be swaddled.
- All right, let's give it a shot.
- Swaddle on.
- So it's a triangle.
And there's all different swaddle styles.
You know, there are books and books, and websites about different swaddle techniques.
But the main thing is keep the head and the neck free, keep the arms wrapped so they don't pull their arms out because that can make the swaddle blanket loose and be a hazard.
- Suffocation risk.
- And make sure they're wrapped comfy and cozy.
Just like a womb.
- And voila.
You have this little baby burrito.
- Baby burrito.
- Who is nice and wrapped and calm and comfortable.
Just like a recreation of the womb.
- This is a womb with a view.
- And I'm the fun police.
So what I'm going to say about swaddling is yes, it's great.
And it's comfortable for some babies, but number one, you should really only swaddle very young babies.
Before they can roll around.
Also it's best to keep the swaddle tight around the chest but loose around the hips and knees to avoid damaging the hips.
So, when in doubt just chat with your doctor.
Now one topic a lot of parents ask about is co-sleeping or bed sharing.
- I thought co-sleeping was bed sharing.
- I even get confused with the term too, because some people do use them interchangeably.
Bed sharing, as the name implies means babies and parents are sleeping in the same bed.
- Got it.
- But co-sleeping technically means sleeping near your baby, which can include bed sharing, but also includes being in a crib in the same bedroom as you.
In fact, we recommend sleeping in the same room as your baby until they're 12 months old to decrease the risk of SIDS.
- We definitely had both babies at their babyhood in our room close to the bed.
And it kind of does shorten the walk to get milk to baby, if baby is in the same room as you.
Like, I'm not saying I'm a lazy mom.
I was just a tired mom.
- Efficient mom.
- An efficient tire mom.
- But let's talk about bed sharing.
Now, remember this is sleeping in the same bed as mom and dad.
Now the AAP recommends against this, especially for babies under the age of four months.
- I know a lot of cultures do sleep with their babies though.
- Still going to recommend against it because this practice can cause suffocation, just a lot of bad things, especially if parents are moving around and rolling on top and in the middle of the night.
It's not a good thing for little kids.
Now what about those products you see marketed to parents that say safe for the crib, safe for your baby.
- Yeah.
They're safe right?
- No, not always.
- What do you mean?
- Actually, not often.
- What about, what about the in-bed sleepers?
- Not necessarily - What about the baskets?
- No.
- What about the body pillows?
- Don't care.
- What about the wedges?
- No wedge.
- They say right on the package reduces the chance of SIDs.
- They can say whatever they want.
But here's the thing.
A lot of those products, the claims they make have not actually been evaluated by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Okay - They haven't been properly studied.
So in the end, while you create the optimal sleep environment for your baby, make sure it's also the safest one possible.
- Is it ready for baby Mia?
- Baby Mia.
Okay.
Baby Mia is tired.
- Baby Mia has had her bath.
- Awesome.
- And her book and her song.
- Awesome.
And she's being put down.
Now put down, she's not Old Yeller.
But baby Mia's gonna (laughs) Can I start that part over.
- Yeah.
