It’s well known that babies need a substantial amount of sleep. In fact, a newborn baby usually sleeps nine hours a day and eight hours a night. With how many hours they spend sleeping, how can you keep track of all the dos and don’ts of safe sleeping? Fortunately, it’s more simple than you think.

As our babies grow and develop while sleeping, it is important that we take the precautions and steps to give them a safe environment. To minimize risks, keep extra bedding like blankets and pillows out of their crib, make sure your baby is lying flat on their back, use new technology that can alert you to potential problems and don’t swaddle your baby once they can roll over.

No extra bedding

For most of us, we love to pile pillows and a few blankets on our beds to make it extra cozy and comfortable. However, for our babies, this can be dangerous. Babies are delicate and don’t have the same muscle strength to pull off blankets or pillows that could potentially cover their face while they are sleeping.

It’s natural to want to keep your baby warm. If it is a colder night, try to dress them in warm pajamas, socks, mittens and a hat. It’s also a good idea to keep their cribs away from windows and vents. If possible, wait until your child is 18 months before they sleep with loose blankets.

Lie babies on their back

Did you know sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is connected to the position in which babies are placed down to sleep? While SIDS is still being researched for the exact cause, it has become increasingly apparent that lying a baby on their back is the safest and is recommended to do so until they are 1 year old.

In addition to lying your baby on their back to sleep, it is vital that it is on a flat surface. Using a car seat or any inclined bed can cause respiratory issues. A bassinet or crib is the best option for them to rest.

Sleeping devices

As parents, all we want is to keep our babies safe and sound. We worry when they are away from us or at night as we regularly check that they are still breathing OK and haven’t woken up. Baby monitors have basically become a necessity at this point. Being able to see your little one and not having to go in and out of their room several times a night, potentially causing them to wake up, are definite upgrades for baby and parents alike.

However, baby monitors don’t have the capabilities to monitor things like heart rate, temperature and oxygen level, all things that could indicate your baby isn’t feeling so well. Luckily, there are sleeping devices that will track these and alert you when there is a problem. Here are a few options to consider if you are in the market for one:

• Masimo Stork vitals.
• Owlet dream sock.
• Wellue baby sleep monitor.

Thanks to new enhanced technology, we are able to keep a closer eye on our bundles of joy.

Don’t swaddle

For the first couple of months before they can roll over, swaddling is a great way to keep your baby comfortable. However, there comes a time when swaddling is no longer appropriate. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, when a baby is swaddled and rolls over, they are unable to once again position themselves to their back, causing the risk of suffocation. Once you notice signs of them wanting to roll over, be sure to adjust their sleeping accommodations.

As our precious babies are sleeping, let’s do our part to help them grow. Keep them safe by not adding additional bedding in their cribs, placing them flat on their back, utilizing sleeping devices and keeping them unswaddled once they can roll over.

Lindsey Certonio is a project manager at Stage Marketing, a full-service content marketing agency based in Provo.

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