When Can Your Baby Sleep With a Blanket?

Having a newborn baby comes with a lot of responsibility. As a new mother, you’re conscious about providing comfort, love, and attention to your baby to make sure they feel safe and sound within your shelter.

When choosing a suitable method to provide comfort to your little ones, nothing beats wrapping them in a swaddle blanket to promote better sleep and ensure great comfort.

However, wrapping your baby in a blanket too soon can be more dangerous than beneficial. Whether you want to use a baby blanket for naptime, bedding, or at night, you need to make sure that you use it safely to avoid any discomfort or danger to your baby’s health.

Learn more about using baby blankets UK safely and how to keep your baby warm until you can use a blanket.

Is it safe for your baby to sleep with a blanket?

Blankets, comforters, bumpers, and stuffed toys come with a hazard for your baby because they may cause strangulation, suffocation, and entrapment. Therefore, no. It’s not safe to use a blanket to wrap your baby, especially if they are only a few months old and have no movement control to avoid anything stuffing their face.

Using blankets or comforters may also increase the chances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) that features a flushed face, increased body temperature, and inability to breathe properly due to low oxygen levels.

To ensure a safe sleeping environment for your baby, you should put them in a crib that’s free of baby blankets, comforters, stuffed toys, pillows, and sheepskin. The only thing to make the crib comfortable for your baby is using a fitted sheet that is tucked in neatly on all the sides.

When can you use a blanket?

Anything included in soft bedding for babies poses little danger after 12 months of age and ideally after 18 months or more. According to the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), there’s no official age that is believed to be 100 percent safe to use blankets for your baby.

Therefore, you should take every measure to keep your little one safe and avoid wrapping your baby at night with a blanket to stay away from the risk of tangling until they are 18 months old.

How can you keep your baby warm without a blanket?

To comfort your baby and promote better sleep, it’s completely fine to let your baby sleep without a blanket. Even if your baby becomes 18 months old and you do not prefer to wrap them in blankets, you can tuck them in a sleep sack or a wearable blanket sleeper.

A wearable receiving blanket uk provides an easier way to put your baby and comes with zippers to secure your baby perfectly. That said, keep in mind that this extra layer should be avoided if the temperature in your house gets warm. The ideal temperature for a night of good sleep is between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit in all seasons.

These bedding rules may seem a lot if you’re a new mother, you’ll gradually become familiar with your baby’s behavior as you incorporate safe practices to ensure comfort.