A safety blanket is an excellent tool for parents who have a baby with colic. In addition to reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, a safety blanket may actually help your colicky baby to be able to calm down enough to fall asleep.
Experts do not fully agree on what exactly it is that causes colic. It may be that there are different causes of colic for different babies. One of the theories that experts have put forward about colic is that it may be caused by a combination of environmental stimuli, combined with the fact that a baby’s neuromuscular system is not fully developed. A baby may become overstimulated very easily, and some babies may become overstimulated more often and quicker than others. Once the baby is overstimulated, they are unable to keep themselves from crying for extended periods of time. A safety blanket may help with to reduce your baby’s colic by addressing this problem.
A safety blanket, like swaddling, provides a warm, safe, secure, comfortable environment for your baby. Some have even suggested that this environment closely resembles the feeling that your baby would have had in the womb. Your baby’s skin is receiving constant but soft attention by the blanket. This may allow your baby to block out all of those external stimuli, and to calm down enough to where they can actually get a handle on their crying.
Many parents who have a baby with colic have tried using a safety blanket or swaddling alongside a “white noise” CD or device. A white noise CD provides constant, rhythmic, peaceful sounds that will, in many ways, do for your baby’s sense of hearing what the safety blanket does for his or her sense of touch.
While a safety blanket won’t always reduce your baby’s colic, the fact that a safety blanket can significantly reduce the risk of SIDS means that a safety blanket is probably a worthwhile investment for just about any parent to make.