Reflux
Hi Miriam,
I want to thank you for inventing the STS by sharing with our experience.
My son was diagnosed at 5 weeks with GERD. He would not sleep at all unless he was upright in my arms...which meant I wasn't sleeping at all either. He was put on medication that same day to neutralize the acid to prevent the burn. The only thing the medication couldn't do was stop the actual spitting up. We were then advised to have him sleep propped at 30 degrees immediately. In order to do this, my husband made a wooden wedge to go under his bassinet mattress, as tilting the whole bassinet seemed unsafe to us.
He was very wiggly in the bassinet during the night due to the pain of reflux, not mention the hardness of the wooden wedge under the thin bassinet mattress. So to remedy that, we bought little foam sleep positioners to keep our son from rolling sideways down the incline, and layered 5 blankets to make it softer. The positioners worried us immensely, as he would turn his face into them to fall asleep...not good when you know babies with GERD are at a higher risk of SIDS. We used a rolled towel under his bum to prevent downward sliding, but at 7 weeks old, he would lift his bum over the towel and slip down. The blankets for cushioning were not helping either, as he was developing a large flat spot on the right side of his head from sleeping.
And to add to all that, we couldn't swaddle him tightly at all, he would screech & spit-up profusely. So, we gave him a blanket...another thing that worried me greatly, as I did find him squeaking while buried under it frequently. Thank goodness he "slept" right next to our bed.
Needless to say, I didn't sleep much as I was getting up almost every 20 minutes to put him back in place or fish him out from under the blanket.
Finally, when was 12 weeks old, and I was up at 3AM saving from his new found trick of flipping onto his stomach and staying that way, I went looking on the internet for something, anything. It didn't take long before I landed on a website about GERD, and seen the STS ad. I ravenously read everything on the STS website, and KNEW that this was the solution.
I talked with my husband when he got up that morning to go to work. I explained to him that the STS would eliminate all our concerns with that the positioners, the towel under the bum, and the blanket. The STS would keep our son straight, prevent him from slipping down, and keep his temperature regulated around his torso and give us peace of mind so WE could sleep soundly. We wouldn't have to get up countless times a night to check on him and we would could sleep restfully knowing he was safe. My husband was in.
So that morning, I emailed your representative in Nainaimo, BC, Canada. Barb Krause was incredible. She sent us the STS within a day! She was so professional and caring! BIG THANK YOU TO HER TOO!
When the STS arrived, we set up his crib in our room straight away . We attached the STS to his mattress in like, 10.6 seconds...it was that easy!! Then we literally folded the mattress in half so it would sit perfectly on the wedge in the crib. We were so excited to use it! Especially since we knew sleep would really happen. Peaceful, restful, beautiful sleep was on its way!
At 8:30PM that night, when we put our son down to sleep in the STS for the first time, he went to sleep soundly and to our relief, safely. Then we went to sleep too. Our son slept for 12 hours, only calmly waking to breast feed twice. And after each feed & then a diaper change, he easily went right back to sleep in the STS. WE WERE SO ELATED TO HAVE THAT MUCH SLEEP OURSELVES!!!
WE LOVE THE STS!! As of today, our son is now 4.5 months old. His head is now nice and round, as all the flatness is gone! He still sleeps 12 hours at night because of the STS!! I have given STS pamphlets to my pediatrician to share with other parents. I have told other parents about it. It is phenomenal for a baby with GERD, so I can only imagine how other babies will respond to it. I will definitely be using it for my next baby, regardless if she/he has GERD!
The STS is definitely a blessing. It is an inspired innovation that I would deem the next paradigm shift in the way families function. When babies sleep safely and soundly, the whole family breathes a sigh of relief because they can sleep peacefully also.
THANK YOU FOR THIS INCREDIBLE PRODUCT WHICH COMBINES THE PRIVILEGE OF SLEEP WITH THE BLESSING OF A BABY. YOU ARE AN ANGEL FOR SHARING THIS WITH THE WORLD.
From the happy sleepers,
Christine, Yves & Benjamin Bonneville
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
P.S. I have attached a photo of our son sleeping in the STS!! It was only taken 3 days ago!! Christine
Debbie & Mark Cromopton
29 Church Street
Northcote Point
Auckland
PH: 09 480 8548
9 August 2001
Miriam Rutherford
PO Box 135
Takanini
Auckland
Dear Miriam,
After meeting you the other day whilst in Robinson Green Jewellers, I wanted to confirm in writing to you my thoughts on the Safe T Sleep.
We bought one when our first daughter was born over four years ago. She was an IUGR baby only weighing 2 kilos at birth and it was apparent from about 6 weeks that apart from her low birth weight she suffered from Gastric Reflux. Obviously we were concerned about her throwing up whilst asleep and raised her cot at one end to help with this but she then seemed to slip down to the end of the cot. Added to my daughters health issues was the fact that she seemed to move around a lot and kick off her bedding, she would often wake herself up at night as she had moved around so much she would be jammed up against the cot. We looked at several options to help with these issues before purchasing the Safe T Sleep – we have never looked back.
Our first daughter stayed in the Safe T Sleep until at least three years old – she didn’t seem to mind it at all and never thought much about undoing it even though she was capable of it. We have since had another baby with the same health problems and believe it or not she is also a wriggler. She is now nearly two and I imagine will be in the Safe T Sleep for another year or so. The Safe T Sleep is also a great way to start kids in a bed without having to purchase a big sideboard so they don’t fall out – if they are comfortable in the Safe T Sleep – this works wonders.
Thank you for producing a great product. I have already recommended this product to many friends and will continue to do so in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Debbie Crompton
Hi Miriam,
Just want to firstly thank you for your brilliant idea in inventing the Safe T Sleep. I have a 3 month old son who suffers from a very bad case of Reflux and since bringing him home we put him on his side to sleep. We did this initially in his bassinet – which was at an angle – and now that he is in his cot we bought the Safe T Sleep. What we first did was put him in the wedge which we used in his bassinet and then put the Safe T Sleep around him, this did not work as he still managed to get out of it. We tried all sorts of things, and still in the morning I would wake up and see him stuck in the corner of the cot. My husband Terry and I met you and you let us test and try the Safe T Sleep for Reflux babies, we also tried all different scenarios including still wrapping him but the best is (at your suggestion) we have put the mattress at an angle, Mathew sleeps in the Safe T Sleep without being wrapped and we put the wedge on either side of him. Putting the wedge is probably for our own piece of mind because he still manages to put himself on his back but because the bed is raised and he cant slide down because of the Safe T Sleep this seems to help him anyway.
We now have peaceful sleeps at now rest assured that Mathew is not going anywhere.
Thanks again.
Gwynne, Terry and Mathew Lawler
Dear Miriam
As I write, my daughter Lucy is asleep in her new Reflux Sleepwrap! It has way surpassed my expectations. I was worried that my daughter would take a while to get used to it as she has been sleeping propped up in a nest of pillows for the past 3 months but quite the contrary - she is sleeping better than ever! She is even napping well for the first time which means I have much more time to get on with other things! It's also a considerable weight off my mind knowing that she is safe - I didn't have to get up every couple of hours last night to check she was ok!
Thank you very much for a fantastic product that has changed our lives dramatically within 24 hours of receiving it!
Amy
Hi Miriam
I have recommended Safetsleep and given your website contacts in my updated book 100 Ways to Calm the Crying ( I also suggest it in sleeping like a baby but had to limit resources in that - due to space many were edited out - and not my choice but publishers).
I have not had testimonials from the mums I have given the samples to. However, ( you can quote me) more recently I have found Safe t Sleep wraps miraculous for babies who suffer from reflux - they sleep better on their sides with the head of the cradle elevated. For instance, I was called by a desperate couple I had been helping with breastfeeding issues. Their little baby, Luke ( 5 weeks), had been sleeping for a matter of minutes then waking. After questioning the parents, I felt that Luke probably had gastric reflux - he hated being placed on his back even for a quick nappy change and was fussing at the breast.
Mum had already had significant improvements in baby's unsettled behavior by eliminating orange juice from her diet but we needed to urgently address the sleep.
I made up Luke's cradle with a Safetsleep wrap while mum breastfed. Then after some time being held upright, Luke was wrapped and cuddled until he was drowsy then placed on his side , secured by a safetsleep wrap. Dad popped out to the shops - and when he came back was surprised that Luke was still sleeping soundly - in fact Luke slept for 2 1/2 hours.
This was not simply a 'miracle' that happened while I was there with the parents - it happened consistently with side sleeping and the wrap.
Baby Luke was officially diagnosed with reflux but with some minor changes to mum's diet, being kept upright after feeds and sleeping with his bed elevated, the parents were able to avoid medication.
At a baby massage class last week ( Luke is now 3 months old), these parents happily told some other parents of an unsettled baby what had helped them - placing Luke on his side to sleep, safely contained by a safetsleep wrap!
Miriam,
if you would like a copy of 100 ways to calm the crying, I have just this week received some advance copies -please send your postal address.
Warm regards,
Pinky
"I think that Safe T Sleep is a wonderful way of positioning babies who have sleeping difficulties. I would particularly recommend it for babies who have reflux or colic."
Andrea Grace
Sleep Expert for Mother & Baby Magazine
Author of "Teach Yourself Baby Sleep."
Download Fitting Instructions
Fitting Instructions are all in PDF format. 