Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

HALO Safer Way to Sleep Initiative (Giveaway!)

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HALO is a company I have worked with several times. I believe in their products and I believe in their mission. HALO are the makers of SleepSacks, which range from infant swaddlers all the way up their new SleepSack Big Kids line.

HALO SleepSack Big Kids

Several of you inquired about the Big Kids design when I had my last review of the SleepSack Early Walker. HALO sent me the Big Kids design so I could show it to you. We are enjoying using it for Darah because she tends to run a little bit hot (just like her mama) and this time of year, that means her comforter is just too warm for her. The SleepSack Big Kids helps keep her body safely covered without overheating it. We love it!

The focus of my post today, though, is on the HALO Safer Way to Sleep Initiative. This initiative has helped 1,000 hospital nurseries make the switch to HALO SleepSack Swaddles instead of blankets. Babies and new parents are introduced to safe sleep practices from day 1! HALO believes that by modeling proper baby care in the hospital, and by providing free Slafe Sleep Practices kits, they are furthering the cause of SIDS prevention, which is the mission of the company.

My family has been using HALO SleepSacks from the very beginning with Layah. We didn’t realize the concern with hip displyasia with a tighter swaddle, so once we did, we fully made the switch over to HALO, which have been deemed “hip healthy” by the Hip Displaysia Institute.

sleepsack swaddle

Additionally, I really appreciate how their products have grown with my child. HALO has gone above and beyond by making products for safe sleep that go beyond the first 6 months of life, when the risk for SIDS is the highest. And I get major warm fuzzies when I read about the Safer Way to Sleep Initiative. HALO is very focused on making a difference in the lives of babies and their families, and in reducing cases of SIDS through safe sleep education.

HALO is a fantastic company, and I’m proud to use their products, as well as to recommend them to others!

Win it!: In celebration of the Safer Way to Sleep Initiative, HALO would like to offer a lucky reader a HALO SleepSack Swaddle!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page. 

This post contains affiliate links. I only promote what I already use and love! 

The SleepSack Option for Walking Babies and Toddlers! (Giveaway!)

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Let’s talk about the logistics of your baby or toddler’s sleeping environment for a moment, shall we? Specifically, I want to talk about what your options are for keeping your child sufficiently covered and warm, and more importantly, SAFE.

My two children have been VERY different. My oldest was fully swaddled (arms and everything!) until she was 7 months old, and then had her legs swaddled until around 18 months. The swaddle was her jam, people. So she never really got into the sleepsack thing since she wanted to be very snug, and by the time she finally outgrew the swaddle, she was running around everywhere, and those footless sleepsacks were pointless for her.

Layah, on the other hand, outgrew the swaddle by 4 months. We started using HALO SleepSacks at that point and had great success with them. They are so much safer than blankets as they create a warm and cosy environment without posing a suffocation risk. They are basically like a wearable blanket! The material won’t bunch up around the face and the zipper unzips from the bottom so that even curious babies and toddlers can’t get themselves out of it.

So anyway, the HALO SleepSack was the optimal choice for Layah. That is, until she started standing up all the time, and then walking (she was walking by 9 months, which was totally NOT cool!). Since the SleepSacks don’t have cut outs for the feet, they are very frustrating to babies who want to move.

Just as this was becoming a real problem and we were about to retire the SleepSacks altogether, HALO introduced the SleepSack Early Walker! This is a SleepSack in a lightweight-knit fabric (shown below), and it is also available in Micro-fleece and Comfort Mesh fabrics. Check out what it looks like!

Layah from Stuff Parents Need HALO SleepSack Early Walker

FYI, the pink long sleeves are part of a onesie, not part of the SleepSack. If you are familiar with SleepSacks, then you are probably thinking that this looks just like any other SleepSack. But here’s what makes it so special:

HALO SleepSack Early Walker

This SleepSack has cut outs for the feet. They are snug enough so that the feet won’t come out of them, but not so tight as to be uncomfortable. And there’s still that blanket-like feel to the product. Layah sleeps, well, like a baby in this! And she can walk around in it, too!

In addition to the SleepSack Early Walker, HALO also has a Big Kids Toddler SleepSack line. All are available for purchase on Amazon. We absolutely adore our SleepSack Early Walker, and when Layah starts to wear size 2T, we will invest in a SleepSack Big Kids! The Early Walker, by the way, is on sale at Amazon right now for just $18 (regularly $24.99!).


Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win 1 HALO SleepSack Early Walker or SleepSack Big Kids!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Woolino 4 Season Baby Sleep Bag GIVEAWAY (Two Winners, $119.99 Value!)

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Baby blankets don’t belong in our babies’ beds, so how do we keep them warm? There is no better way than a cozy baby sleep sack. Unfortunately so many of those on the market are made of synthetic materials that can cause the baby to overheat and actually increase the risk factor for SIDS. Woolino comes to the rescue by creating all natural 100% Australian merino wool baby sleep bags that keep baby warm at night in any season.

Woolino merino baby sleep bags have a host of amazing features, from being super easy to clean to having a convenient harness slot to use during travel. It is compact and warm, perfect at home or on the go. Snaps on both shoulders and an inverted zipper make dressing and diaper changes easier. Underarm snaps make it adjustable to fit small babies. Your baby will be comfortable in a Woolino 4 Season baby sleep bag in temperatures ranging from 63 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. It comes with a travel bag, room thermometer, and it is in a plastic-free, ready-to-gift package which makes it perfect for a baby shower or Christmas!

 

 

Our Favorite Features: 
  • Fits babies 3 to 24 months
  • Seat belt slot for easy transfer from car to crib
  • Naturally anti-microbial, anti-fungal
  • Naturally fire resistant without the use of harsh chemicals
  • Regulates temperature
  • Made with sustainable and 100% natural Australian merino wool
  • GOTS certified organic cotton outer
  • Machine washable
  • Super soft on baby’s skin
Purchase: The 2013 Collection Woolino 4 Season Baby Sleep Bags retail for $119.99 each, you can purchase it on the Woolino website. They also make toddler sleep sacks for kids 2 to 4 years old! The Woolino sleep bags are also available on Amazon.
Win One! Woolino is blessing two of you with a 2013 Collection Woolino 4 Season Baby Sleep Bag in size 3 to 24 months, one reader will win Sage and another Spring (both gender neutral).

 

Special thanks to AnaB Social for hosting this giveaway. Huge thanks to all participating bloggers as well! Giveaway ends December 27th at 12:01 am, open to US and Canadian residents, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below. Thank you! 

Disclaimer: AnaB Social and Stuff Parents Need are not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. No compensation was received for participation in this awesome giveaway. 

Bumper-Free Bedding for Baby #2 (and a Pinterest Contest!)

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I absolutely adore the bedding set I picked out for Darah. I spent HOURS pouring over different options, trying to find good deals, and eventually going back to a set I fell in love with during the first 30 minutes of my epic quest. It was a splurge, but I didn’t care. I never regretted that purchase for a second. You can find an image of it on my Pinterest board if you are super curious!

The set did come with a bumper. And yeah, I had heard some rumblings and mumblings about how bumpers were no longer considered to be all that safe. But to be honest with you, I dismissed them, figuring that generations of babies had done just fine with bumpers in their cribs. Plus, it was so darn cute!

And then the American Academy of Pediatrics decided to weigh in on the issue. They officially came out against crib bumpers. And that’s when I finally got my head out of the sand and started paying attention.

HALO, the fabulous brand behind the super smart and super safe SleepSacks, has risen to the challenge of creating worry-free bedding by creating the Safe Sleep Crib Set, which is designed to create a safe sleep environment for babies (and a cute one, too!).

The five-piece set has everything your baby needs for a healthy and happy night of rest. It consists of the following:

  • HALO SleepSack wearable blanket
  • SleepSack Swaddle
  • Two coordinating crib sheets in soft cotton jersey
  • matching crib skirt
What I really love about this bedding set is that it goes beyond what might look cute and provides you with exactly what the baby needs for sleep, leaving out all the accessories like bumpers and quilts that can actually pose a breathing threat to babies. With our old set, I knew the quilt shouldn’t go in the crib and only used it as a decoration, hanging above the crib like a tapestry. But how many other parents opted to put it inside the crib as a blanket for their infants? I love that this set comes with a SleepSack and SleepSack Swaddle to provide plenty of coverage for baby, with no risk of any fabric getting in their face.
You can find the HALO Safe Sleep Crib sets now on Amazon as well as Babiesrus.com. The sets retail for $109.99 but are on sale currently at both sites! It is available in six different patterns including pink, blue and neutral tones. We have picked out the Caroline’s Garden Set (below). Adorable, no?
Would you like to win a set for yourself? Well, it’s not so hard to do if you are on Pinterest (and if you aren’t on Pinterest….GET ON THERE, NOW! YOU ARE MISSING OUT!). HALO is sponsoring a “Pin It to Win It” contest. Click here for all the details on how you can win your own set. The contest ends on April 15th, so hop on over now and get entered!
If you’d like to stay up to date with all the HALO happenings, follow them on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter!
Disclosure: I received a complimentary safe sleep set for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

HALO SleepSack Swaddle Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Do you think that Snuggies are the original wearable blanket?

Nope! That honor goes to the HALO SleepSack Wearable Blanket! 🙂 SleepSacks are these really awesome wearable blankets for babies. One of my nieces wore SleepSacks religiously as a baby, as they kept her nice and warm. And most importantly, they kept her very safe as they eliminate loose blankets in the crib to help prevent SIDS!

We had some SleepSacks for Darah, but they were honestly never a hit. She was such a fan of the swaddle that the SleepSack was just too loose around her legs for her comfort. She was very used to be snug as a bug in a rug!

So I was intrigued when I learned that HALO had created the SleepSack Swaddle. I had the opportunity to check it out, and while I don’t have a baby to put in it, I still had a few initial observations.

1. It looks very easy to use. Swaddling does have a bit of a learning curve when you do it the old fashioned way, but this swaddler looks extremely intuitive. That’s a great thing for a nervous new parent!

2. I’m not convinced that a newborn would love it, as it leaves the legs covered but not cocooned, which is what I found to be the real reason that babies love to be swaddled. In some ways it mimics being inside the womb – all warm and cozy! But the HALO SleepSack Swaddle does keep the arms close to the baby’s body which is very comforting.

I did spend some time on the HALO website learning about why they designed their swaddler this way, and I came away with some surprising information that really has me thinking. They state that many parents wrap their babies too tightly and this can actually cause hip dysplasia after birth. Their hips need to have freedom of movement and their knees need to be able to extend. There’s no doubt in my mind that we wrapped Darah up very tightly, and for many, MANY months. This gives me pause to wonder if there really is such a thing as swaddling too tight!

How we swaddled Darah is water under the bridge, and I’m not going to waste time worrying about what I cannot change. With that said, when we are ready to have another baby, I’ll be doing more research on this issue and also looking to the HALO SleepSack Swaddle blanket as a viable swaddling option.

Buy it!: The HALO SleepSack Swaddle is available at many fine retailers, including Target, Amazon and Babies R Us. The SleepSack Swaddle retails for $26.95.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a HALO SleepSack Swaddle in your choice of size! The contest will run until July 31st at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: This contest is open to all the Facebook fans! Like Stuff Parents Need AND HALO SleepSack on Facebook and come back here to tell me you did for your mandatory entry.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Follow HALO SleepSack on Twitter
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect (found on the sidebar)

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of the page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.