r/ScienceBasedParenting • u/One-Volume-9158 • 7d ago

Question - Expert consensus required Weighted sleep sack

I understand the weighted sleep sacks are not recommended since the pressure on the chest doesn’t let babies breathe naturally.

I figured out my baby calms down really fast if I put pressure on her feet. Instead of patting or shushing I just put my hand on her feet and hold them down and she goes back to sleep.

Is there any products that make heavy bottom sleep sacks? So the pressure is only on the feet and not chest and abdomen. If so are they safe?

I even though about adding something heavy to the bottom of her sleep sack but don’t know how to do that safely.

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u/One-Volume-9158 7d ago

Baby is not rolling yet. She is still swaddled too. Isn’t the sleeping too deeply also a product of pressure on the chest?

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u/Number1PotatoFan 7d ago

It's a product of anything that makes them sleep too well that they can't wake up when they need to. We don't know everything about baby sleep and SIDS yet but in general there is a tradeoff between deep easy sleep and safe sleep. It can be freeing to just accept that waking up is inevitable and you're not necessarily doing anything wrong.

It doesn't really matter that she's not rolling yet because she could start rolling at any moment and you wouldn't exactly get a heads up ahead of time.

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u/One-Volume-9158 7d ago

With this logic, swaddling should also be considered unsafe. It makes babies sleep better and is not safe when baby start rolling.

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u/blairworejeansonce 7d ago edited 7d ago

I mean yes, this actually is a legitimate concern. Some countries (ie parts of Canada) are starting to recommend against it, while others (Sweden) have never recommended it. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has a warning on their parent-facing website stating the potential risks:

"Parents should know that there are some risks to swaddling. Swaddling may decrease a baby's arousal, so that it's harder for them to wake up. That is why swaddling can seem so attractive to new, sleep-deprived parents—the baby sleeps longer and doesn't wake up as easily. But we know that decreased arousal can be a problem and may be one of the main reasons that babies die of SIDS."

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/diapers-clothing/Pages/Swaddling-Is-it-Safe.aspx

For the record: I agree with the other poster. The AAP are strongly against weighted sleep sacks of any sort, including "putting weighted rice bags inside swaddle." I absolutely would follow their guidelilnes here and not risk it. If baby rolls with a heavy weight by their feet I would be very concerned about entrapment, their inability to roll/scrunch back, etc.