How Important is Sleep?

We’re back to offer another great video from Expert Village.

For our babies to function their best, they need a good night’s sleep.  Newborns will be sleeping anywhere from 10 and 18 hours a day, and this varies greatly from baby to baby.  There also will have very little adherence to night and day, which makes it very difficult for mom and dad.  By around 8 weeks of age, your baby will start to get a bit more predictable.  By 6 months of age, most babies are sleeping a total of about 14 hours a day.  A 3 month old is going to be taking naps of 2, 3, or 4 short nights a day.  By the age of 6-9 months, most babies are sleeping in their naps in the morning and night.

Most children will fall asleep in their bassenet right away, but others need some transition time.  Perhaps a massage, talking, or cuddling up to their favorite blanket.  We can help there!  We have some great new receiving blankets by Luvable Friends that provide tremendous value.  You can get a 6 Pack of blankets for only $14.95.  Check em out.

Family Photos

When you are at a friend’s house for the first time, one of the first things you always do is look at the family pictures.  The hallways, staircases or fireplaces of family photos remind us of who we are and where we’ve been.  Family photos tell a story that you may or may not get from your friends.  They also can bring up fond memories.

There are a few characteristics that you can count on in a family photo - big hair, outdated fashion and baby blankets.  It’s always fun to laugh at what we used to think was cool.  ”Why did I part my hair down the middle?”  ”Why did I ever let my wife talk me into getting a perm?”  ”Is that a porn mustache?”  Outrageous!  But among the craziness, there are usually baby pictures - lots and lots of baby pictures.  And what is the most common item in those pictures besides a smiling baby?  Usually, a baby blanket!  So think about it.  If you’re giving a baby blanket as a gift, that gift may be plastered on a wall for 20, 30, or 40 years somewhere.  Doesn’t that make you think twice before you buy a gift?  Maybe you don’t think it’s a big deal.  But if you don’t believe me, go check your wall of family photos right now.  See if there isn’t a security blanket being held onto by one of your little ones.

80's Family Photo

Great blankets for a jungle safari nursery or just to bring out your baby’s wild side

Little Jax, our friends’ baby appears in our posts often.  Our baby present to Jax was a baby bedding set that matches his jungle safari nursery.

Recently we’ve added several products to blanketmybaby.com that would compliment his “wild” room.  If you’re looking for the perfect animal accessory to coordinate with a themed nursery or if you’re just looking for a unique baby shower gift, visit the Blanket My Baby (BMB) online store to browse a plethora of animal-adorned blankets.  A few of the products offered by BMB are pictured below and many of BMB’s animal blankets can be embroidered/personalized.  Happy Shopping!

Ajax in his Ultimate Receiving Blanket

Here is our new favorite buddy, Henry Ajax Knoechel.  He is the first baby of our best friends Josh and Stacy, and what do you know?  He’s all swaddled up in his Brown Mod Circles on White Ultimate Receiving Blanket, which came from Blanket My Baby.

Swaddled Baby

I was visiting Ajax for a bit today, and noticed he was resting well in this blanket.  One of the greatest things about these blankets are the size.  At 42″ x 42″, they are large enough to make a secure swaddle around the baby.  Ajax seems to like it, and he’s drifting away to sleep land.  If you don’t know why he’s named Ajax, no, it’s not for the cleaning product.  He was named after the amazing Greek hero.  You can see him here.

Ajax in Ultimate Receiving Blanket

Expert Sleep Advice from Johnson’s Baby Channel

Question:  How can parents develop good sleep habits for their babies?

Answer: Check out this informative video by Johnson’s Baby Channel and find out.

Do 3 Main Things:

1. Have a Set Bed Time - Put your baby to bed at the exact same time every night

2. Bedtime Routine - Be consistent.  Do this every night!

3. Put the babies down to bed drousy but awake - Let them fall asleep on their own.  Then, they’ll naturally put themselves back to sleep if they wake during the night.

There is also great info in this video on night time feedings.  At Blanket My Baby, we are all about brining you helpful parenting tips.  We hope this video gives you some great tips!  Check out our swaddling blankets for a great night’s sleep for your baby.

Baby Massage

I decided to search for a video on baby massage after I saw my friends do it to their baby, and he loved it!  Who knew that babies love massages as much as adults do.  If your baby is relaxed and sleeps well, that translates into better sleep for you.

Check out this video, one of the suggestions is to lay your baby down on a soft baby blanket.  We can help you there.  Now, I know this lady’s voice is a bit creepy, but any technique that will help a baby sleep better is worth it’s weight in gold.  That’s why swaddling is so important!  Check out the video for yourself, and give baby massaging a try.

New Functionality

We are ever working to improve the functionality of our website so that you our welcomed guest will have the best shopping experience possible.  Today, if you went to our site, you will notice that we added several new categories in which to shop for blankets, all sorted by color.  So, if you are particular about finding a color, it will be much easier for you to navigate our site.  In addition to blue, pink and green baby blankets, you can now shop by yellow, orange, purple, red and brown blankets!  There are many choices to choose from.

Happy Camper

Soon, this navigation will look even better.  We’ll be separating your shopping experience on the home page by category, color, material, and price.  This is a functionality rarely seen on other baby websites, and we hope it sets us apart in the industry.  On top of this, it’ll be easier for you to check out our blog as we will have the latest blog post on the home page.

Also, we are still on an aggressive hunt for adding more of the best baby blankets available.  We have top brands already including Swaddle Designs, AllyZabba, Sleep Pea Pod and more.  We are currently out of stock on our aden + anais blankets, but hope to have those replenished soon.  We are also looking to add some great value in receiving blankets from Luvable Friends.  We hope to provide 4, 5 and 6 packs of receiving blankets for a VERY low price.  Be on the lookout for those products soon.  As always, if you have a favorite brand of blankets that aren’t on the site, let us know about it, and we’ll do our best to add them.

Just a few clips make all your baby blankets multi-functional

Our last blanketmybaby.com blog post introduced nursing covers.  Well, let us introduce you to another hand-freeing product that can be used with all your blankets and could even help you create your own nursing cover.

One super-simple fix that’s used by trendy, thrifty parents are blanket clips and snaps. This relatively inexpensive cure-all solves the problem of only having two arms, two hands and one you!  If you have trouble keeping blankets on your baby and off the ground, you may want to do a little research into some of the products below.  Blanket clips, snaps, straps and bungies help keep blankets in the stroller or car seat or covering mom while she’s nursing.  Clips can also help you create a quick sun shield to protect your baby from harmful rays.  These products have so many possibilities–just be creative and you’ll have a homemade nursing cover, stroller blanket or car seat cover.  If you have a unique use for blanket clips, let Blanket My Baby and our readers in on your genius by posting a comment.

Blanket clips are available in a variety of colors, patterns and sizes that will coordinate with the accessories and blankets you already own.  They are sure to add style and functionality without putting too large a dent in your wallet.  They make great baby shower gifts.

Check out some of the products we found that are available at online boutiques and stores:

Blankie Bungie (Blanket Clip) from Z Daisy Boutique

Stroller Suspenders

If you want the blanket attached, check out Secure2Me baby blankets.  Click below to watch a quick video on the uses and simple functionality of the Secure2Me line.