Q1.
Do you sell BabeSafe Mattresses?
A. BabeSafe mattresses
are available only in New Zealand and Britain. It is
not feasible to ship a mattress overseas.
Q2.
My baby's crib mattress is 52" x 28" x 5", but the largest
size is 52" x 26" x 7" (size F), is there a size that fits
my mattress?
A. Yes, size F will fit your
mattress. The extra 2" in the height will stretch out
to fit your mattresses extra 2" width.
Q3.
I bedshare with my baby, is there a mattress cover for my
adult bed, and if not can I wrap it myself?
A.
NO, there are no covers
available for adult beds and wrapping yourself poses risks
for crib death.
There is
a serious risk that the bedding protocol would not be
adhered to, and that crib death would result. The polythene
required for wrapping mattresses must be 125 microns thick
and manufacturers cannot guarantee the thickness of their
plastic. In the past manufacturers have said their
polythene is 125 microns thick, but when actually measured
was significantly thinner. This poses a crib death
risk to your baby.
Even if parents wrapped their MATTRESS correctly, all it
would take would be for them to have pillows or comforters
in the bed as well (as almost every adult would want to
have), and that would pose a crib death risk to the baby.
Therefore we do NOT recommend that parents wrap their own
mattresses or bed share.
The instructions which we
issue are for CRIB DEATH PREVENTION, and they are specific
to INFANTS' mattresses (i.e. bassinette/crib/co-sleeper
mattresses). If a person outside New Zealand wishes to
wrap a larger sized mattress, they must contact suitably
qualified adviser/s in their own country (e.g. environmental
scientists and plastics experts) at their own risk.
For your safety,
it is best to place your baby in their own bed on their own
mattress that is covered by a BABESAFE mattress cover where
bedding
instructions
are followed
exactly. A great alternative
is the
Arm's Reach Co-sleeper,
for which we sell a BabeSafe cover
(size C)
and
underblanket and bedding.
Your baby is really within arm's
reach and mom doesn't have to get out of bed!
Q4. My bassinet does not
have any side ventilation, is this safe?
A.
Babies should
not sleep in bassinettes/cribs which have four fully
enclosed sides. This is because lack of ventilation in the
crib can result in a build-up of exhaled carbon dioxide in
the crib. Elevated levels of carbon dioxide in a
baby's crib will not cause death, but it can result in
undesirable physiological effects (e.g. speeding up of the
baby's lung and heart rates as the baby's system
automatically seeks to redress the oxygen/carbon dioxide
ratio in the blood).
For this reason babies should sleep in open-slatted wooden or
open-weave cane bassinettes/cribs which afford good
ventilation in the crib. Bassinettes/cribs should not be
enclosed around all four sides and they should not be draped
with fabric.
(Note: If a
bassinette/crib is enclosed across the head and foot but
open along both sides, that will permit adequate
ventilation.)
In addition, there should be good ventilation in the baby's room when the
baby is in the crib, by means of an open window or an open
door or a fan.
Q5. My
crib has open-slated baseboards that allow air-escape from
my BabeSafe wrapped mattress, however, my bassinet does not.
What should I do? (this applies to cribs with
no ventilation in the base also)
A.
The issue
of the BASEBOARD relates to ventilation of the
BabeSafe-wrapped mattress (which is necessary to avoid
condensation on the inside of the wrapped mattress).
With regard to the crib, the open-slatted wooden base
is fine. It will permit ventilation of the BabeSafe-wrapped
mattress to occur.
With regard to the
closed baseboard on the bassinette, some action does
need to be taken. The inquirer should do either of the
following:
(a) Drill a hole in
the baseboard corresponding to the position of the hole on
the underside of the BabeSafe cover; or alternatively;
(b) Raise the
BabeSafe-wrapped mattress slightly by placing a long-ish
thin wooden or metal item across the baseboard of the
bassinet. For this purpose one can use (say) a long pencil,
or a thin piece of wood. (Of course, the item must not be
capable of puncturing the BabeSafe cover.) The raising of
the mattress slightly above the baseboard will permit
ventilation, and it will have no effect whatsoever on the
baby's sleeping pattern.
Q6.
What
should I do if the BABESAFE COVER IS LARGER THAN MY MATTRESS?
A.
(a) Do
not cut the BabeSafe cover to fit the mattress.
(b)
Place the mattress inside the BabeSafe cover so that the
ventilation hole/s on the cover are on the UNDERSIDE of the
mattress. Then move the mattress so that it is centrally
positioned inside the cover (i.e. do not slide the mattress
to one end of the cover).
(c)
Maintaining the mattress in the centre position, seal the
adhesive seal on the BabeSafe cover.
(d)
Make the cover firm and smooth around the mattress, and fold
the excess plastic to the UNDERSIDE of the mattress.
(e)
Tape down the excess plastic with strong packaging tape,
taking care not to cover the ventilation hole/s on the
underside of the wrapped mattress.
(f)
Place the wrapped mattress in the crib with the ventilation
hole/s facing the base of the crib, and make up the bed
using the specified bedding for a BabeSafe-wrapped mattress
Q7.
Are BUMPER PADS safe?
Bumper
pads can be of any manufacture - they do not pose a crib
death risk
to babies.
However,
please note the following advice:
1.
Bumper pads must be attached to the sides of the crib
very
securely,
so that there is no possibility of the baby becoming
wedged
between a bumper pad and the side of the crib.
2.
Bumper pads should not fully enclose the crib (i.e. they
should not
be placed around all four sides of the crib). They
should be
placed across the head of the crib and part-way
down the
sides.
(This
bumper pad design now available at babysake.com, see our
Catalogue (under bedding sets) or click here for a
direct link: www.babysake.com/BeddingsetsUSA.htm)
Q8.
Do Car Seats pose a crib death risk?
With regard
to carseats, owing to their construction it is difficult to
make
these items
comply with the Cot Life 2000 specifications for crib death
prevention. However, the following is recommended:
1.
Never leave a baby unattended in a carseat.
2.
Never use a sheepskin in a carseat.
3.
NEVER USE A CARSEAT AS A CRIB. Some parents - if the
baby is asleep in
the
carseat at the end of a journey - unlatch the carseat
and take it
inside,
leaving the baby in the carseat in order not to wake the
baby.
NEVER DO THIS. At the end
of a car journey, always take the baby out of the
carseat
and (if the baby is asleep) put the baby into his/her
own crib to continue
sleeping
on a mattress which is wrapped for crib death
prevention.
4.
When the baby is in the carseat, always have two
diagonally-opposite
windows
open an inch or two so that there is good ventilation
across the
car.
5. Keep
a close eye on the baby at all times when he/she is in
the carseat.
Q9
- What is polyethelyne (polythene) and does it release
chemicals?
BabeSafe
mattress covers are manufactured using high grade
polyethylene
(polythene) sheeting. The polythene is gas-impermeable. It
is a chemically inert plastic, and cannot result in any
toxic gas generation. Accordingly, the BabeSafe mattress
cover, once it has been sealed around the baby's mattress,
prevents exposure of the baby to any gas/es generated in the
mattress, and in addition is itself not capable of toxic gas
generation.
Q10
- Send us your questions!!
