SNUGBAGS™ are proud supporters of Sids and Kids and we help to raise awareness for Safe baby sleep conditions.

SIDS and Kids is often asked by parents about appropriate sleeping conditions for their babies, such as what sort of bedding to use, and what room temperature is best. These are important issues as babies control their temperature through the face and head.

Sleeping baby on the back and ensuring that the face and head remain uncovered during sleep is the best protection from overheating and suffocation.

The association between overheating and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has been known for several years. Current research suggests that if your baby becomes too hot, the risk of SUDI is increased. Overheating can be caused by room heating, high body temperature and excessive clothing or bedding.

Here are some answers to these questions and advice on safe sleeping.

‘What bedding should we place on baby when in a sleeping environment?’

• Sleeping baby in a safe baby sleeping bag will prevent bedclothes covering the baby’s face
• Make sure to use natural fibres like merino, cotton and bamboo
• If using blankets instead of a sleeping bag, use layers of lightweight blankets that can be added or removed easily, and which can be tucked underneath the mattress
• Soft bedding such as quilts, doonas, duvets, sheepskins or lambs wool, pillows and bumpers and fluffy toys should be removed from baby’s sleep environment
• Keep baby’s head uncovered when indoors or in a car: no bonnets, beanies, hats or hooded clothing

‘Can we say exactly how many blankets to use when baby is placed in bed?

• The simple answer is No – many factors need to be considered before deciding how much bedding or clothes should be used
• Use layers and dress baby as you would for yourself: to be comfortable, neither too hot nor too cold
• Dress baby for sleep and add/remove lightweight blankets to ensure baby’s chest feels comfortably warm to the touch. Do not use heavy blankets.
• Make up baby’s bed so baby sleeps at the bottom of the cot and the blankets can only reach as far as baby’s chest, ensuring baby cannot move down during sleep and get his/her head covered by bedding
• Research has shown that baby’s risk of dying suddenly and unexpectedly is increased if baby is sleeping on the tummy, and particularly under heavy bedding, or if baby’s head becomes covered by bedding in any position

’What temperature should the room be where infants sleep?’

• SIDS and Kids does not recommend a specific room temperature for healthy babies. To date, there is no evidence to show that maintaining a specific room temperature prevents sudden infant death and there is no evidence to show that thermal factors are implicated in SIDS as long as:
  – the baby is placed to sleep on the back
  – the baby is dressed appropriately for the room temperature (not over or under dressed)
  – the baby’s head and face remain uncovered
• The ideal nursery temperature however is between 17 and 20 degree C.
• To prevent overheating of infants, parents need to use their own judgement depending on:
  – where you live (the climate, whether it is summer or winter)
  – the temperature in the room where baby is sleeping
  – whether the infant has a cold or illness (hence raised body temperature).
• A good way to check baby’s temperature is to feel baby’s chest, which should feel warm (don’t worry if baby’s hands and feet feel cool, this is normal). If baby is sweating or has a red face, remove some bedding or clothing. This may be necessary if baby is unwell, in which case you should seek medical attention

Best practice to avoid overheating

• Dress baby as you would yourself – comfortably warm, not hot or cold
• Use a baby sleeping bag
• Dress your baby in natural fibres (cotton, merino & bamboo)
• Sleep baby on the back
• Ensure that baby’s head and face cannot become covered
• If using bedcoverings, use layers of lightweight blankets that can be added or removed easily and which can be tucked underneath the mattress
• Remove baby’s head covering as soon as you go indoors or enter a warm car, bus or train, even if it means waking the baby
• Never use electric blankets, wheat bags or hot water bottles for babies

Article written by Sids and Kids. More info on www.sidsandkids.org

The Shampoo and Wash come in the most beautiful see-through packaging and when using the pump disperser a little bit of foam gets distributed in the palm of your hand. This scored the big thumbs up as it was such a novelty and a lot of very good washing and even hair washing (which does not happen very often!!) as a result of that. As a mum I loved the foam as well especially considering how easy this would be with a small baby as there is no need to rub your hands together as the foam is already there.

The Shampoo and Wash have a very gentle, faint natural smell of mandarin which left Neeva Roses hair and skin feeling soft and fresh. The products are really gentle and do not strip skin or hair of their natural oils which is really important to me. I also really like that there is no added perfume as little ones smell beautiful enough as is!

The body lotion (or potion as Neeva Rose calls it) is very light and easily absorbed and is completely odour free. She loved the fact that it’s non-sticky and light as with others we have used in the past she didn’t like the ‘heavy’ sticky feel.

For me I love the fact that all products are safe and gentle for littlies and 100% natural and/or ECOCERT certified organic. Being New Zealand made is also a big bonus as we love supporting fellow NZ made companies. What I also thought was a real bonus that the body wash doubles as a face wash for mum and the body lotion makes a great hand cream!!

For more info about the rest of this beautiful range go to www.skinfood.co.nz
​

Article via Ohbaby.co.nz

“My six week old baby will only sleep in my arms, whenever I put him down, even when he has fallen asleep, he wakes almost immediately.”

I (Pinky McKay) receive emails and facebook messages every single day from new mothers who are confused that they cannot simply pop a newborn down to sleep. Of course it’s stressful to be ‘the one’ who is holding your baby most of the day but it’s even more stressful to wonder, am I doing something ‘wrong’? Or to worry, am I creating ‘bad habits’?

It may help to know you are not alone and that it is very normal for newborns to want to be held against your warm body, close to your comforting heartbeat – in fact, many experts call this the ‘fourth trimester’ . What this means is that human babies are born immature so they really need some extra time to adapt to being ‘on the outside’ while their little bodies and nervous systems develop some more. This isn’t a time for ‘training’ or ‘teaching’ your baby to ‘self-settle’ or to worry about whether you are making the proverbial ‘rod for your back’ but a time for getting to know your baby and helping him feel secure outside the safe womb world.

Just for a moment, put yourself in your baby’s bootees and consider how overwhelming the physical and sensory changes must be for your newborn: imagine yourself soaking in a warm bath by candlelight, listening to the sounds of hushed voices drifting from another room or sift music playing in the distance. Now imagine standing on a buy street corner in the middle of winter, with the headlights of a car shining in your face and loud traffic noise all around you.

In the watery world of the womb, your baby was weightless and warm, he was comforted by the rhythm of your heartbeat and the gentle rocking motion of his “mother home” as his body was gently massaged by the uterine wall and contained by the boundaries of your own body. Now, from this dark warm world of muffled sounds, the newborn must get used to new sensations: air moving across his skin and into his lungs, lights, direct sounds, smells and stillness.

Another thing that makes it difficult for your newborn to fall asleep without help is that for the first few months, your baby will enter sleep from an active sleep phase, he will also have a strong ‘startle’ reflex that will wake him as his tiny body jerks and his arms flail uncontrollably. So, it’s perfectly fine to cuddle, rock or breastfeed your baby to sleep – you can make changes gradually as your baby grows or whenever this becomes unsustainable. And if you want to put your baby down when he has dozed off, one tip is to hold your him until he is in a deeper phase of sleep before you pop him down – when his arm flops it’s a good sign that he is in a deep sleep.

Instead of worrying about what you are doing ‘wrong’ because your baby needs to be helped to sleep, you can ditch the pressure and remind yourself that ‘this too shall pass’. It will, all too soon and you may even miss those delicious newborn cuddles. Soon, when you feel your baby may be ready to settle in a cot you can snuggle him until he is relaxed then give him the opportunity to snooze by himself. For now, when you feel ‘all touched out’ call for help. Hand your baby to a partner, friend or willing family member – you are not imposing, most people love baby cuddles. And try not to feel offended if your baby settles more easily in another pair of arms – it is probably just because he can’t smell your milk!

Meanwhile, by offering what I call ‘womb service’, you can help your baby adapt to being ‘on the outside’.

Womb Service:
Womb service involves recreating the sensations your baby experienced while he was safely carried inside you. To help you remember the important aspects, I have called these the five Ws:

• Warmth
• Wrapping
• Wearing your baby
• Water
• Womb sounds

Warmth
Inside your body, your baby didn’t experience cool air blowing on his tiny body or entering his lungs and these new sensations can be quite disturbing. So, at first, warm the space where you are going to be with your baby (16–20˚C will be a comfortable room temperature for your baby), and take care not to have fans or air-conditioners blowing directly onto him in warmer weather. If you are popping him into a cradle to sleep, he will be more comfortable (and likely to sleep better) lying on sheets that have been warmed slightly. You do need to take care not to overheat your baby, but you can warm his sheets slightly with a heat-pack before you place him into bed – test the sheets with your forearm to make sure they aren’t hot.

Wrapping
Just as your newborn was tucked snugly inside your body, supported by the uterine wall, you can provide a sense of security by swaddling him. With his limbs tucked securely against his body, just as they were in the womb, this will help your baby feel safe as well as inhibiting the newborn reflex known as the ‘startle reflex’, this is a primitive survival response that produces spontaneous, jerky movements and can be disturbing for your baby, literally. Snugbags Snuggle Pods are amazing for settling a newborn baby. Find out more here.

Wearing your baby
Inside your womb, your baby was lulled to sleep by your body movements as you went about your daily work. Now, the motion of being carried in a wrap or carrier against your moving body and your comforting heartbeat, as he breathes the familiar scent of your body, will help your baby feel safe. This feeling of familiarity will reduce stress hormones and help your baby relax – and a more relaxed baby will sleep more easily. Wearing your baby may have a balancing effect on his irregular rhythms of waking and sleeping, and is also thought to help him regulate his developing nervous and hormonal system, promoting day waking and night sleeping. Best of all, if your baby falls asleep in the sling, you will have two hands free to do a few chores, or you can go out and enjoy a walk.

Water
Help your baby recall his watery womb world by taking a bath together. Remember that in your womb, your baby was confined, not floating all stretched out, and his womb world was gently bathed in filtered light. By dimming the lights or bathing by candlelight with your newborn, you will help her recall the safety of her womb world and you will be able to hold her close and support her as she gradually relaxes and ‘uncurls’ her limbs.  Bathing together is especially helpful if bonding has been interrupted by early separation or a difficult birth or feeding experience. It can also be lovely bonding time for father and baby.

Womb sounds
The calming, repetitive sounds of traditional lullabies recall the ‘womb music’ your baby heard before birth (your heartbeat, and fluids whooshing through the placenta). If you are feeling anxious or stressed, try humming, it will slow your breathing and help you relax so your energy will be more calming for your baby too. Baby music that incorporates elements such as the rhythm of a heartbeat or ‘white noise’ can have remarkable soothing effects, especially if played continuously through the night. Of course, your own singing voice is transportable ‘music’ that doesn’t rely on the availability of a CD player, and it will help induce calm and sleepiness just as well as any commercial music –even if you don’t have a fabulous voice!


Pinky McKay is an Internationally Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and best-selling author of the newly revised and updated Sleeping like a baby.

Original Article here: http://www.pinkymckay.com/help-my-baby-will-only-sleep-in-my-arms/

Get your tissues out and watch as these new mums get a beautiful, heartfelt surprise on their baby's first birthday xx