Abstract:
A swaddling accessory attachable to a wearable blanket for use in swaddling an infant. The wearable blanket can be used with or without the swaddle to give the caregiver the option of using the wearable blanket without the swaddling accessory. The swaddling accessory and wearable blanket are equipped with fasteners that allow the swaddling accessory to be detachably secured to the wearable blanket in different positions relative to the blanket. The fasteners are positioned to prevent the swaddling accessory from being wrapped too high on the infant&#39;s body where it could potentially cover a portion of the mouth or nose. The infant&#39;s legs are left free to flex within the wearable blanket which helps to prevent hip dysplasia.

Description:
FIELD 
   This disclosure describes a wearable blanket and an accessory for swaddling an infant. More particularly, this disclosure describes an accessory attachable to a wearable blanket for use in swaddling an infant. 
   BACKGROUND 
   A wearable blanket is commonly used in lieu of a blanket to keep an infant warm while sleeping in the blanket-free environment currently recommended by pediatric experts and experts in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A wearable blanket is a garment that fully encloses both legs in one compartment or “bag” and has a sleeveless design to eliminate bulky sleeves that could, when placed proximate to the face, cause a microenvironment for rebreathing exhaled carbon dioxide. Rebreathing (i.e. the inhalation of carbon dioxide) is thought to be a possible cause of SIDS. The sleeveless design also eases the task of putting on and taking off the wearable blanket. An example of a wearable blanket is the SleepSack™ wearable blanket available from Halo Innovations, Inc. of Plymouth, Minn. 
   Swaddling of infants has been a common practice around the world for thousands of years. Swaddling, which is wrapping or binding around an infant, has traditionally been practiced using a blanket or strips of cloth which are tightly wrapped around the infant. 
   It is believed that this wrapping or binding comforts an infant and allows them to sleep more soundly. The reasons for this may be many. The snugness of the swaddle may feel, to an infant, like the snugness of the womb they left, giving them a greater sense of security. The swaddle, when used to bind the arms, may also prevent an infant&#39;s startle reflex from waking them up. The chest and abdominal pressure generated by the swaddle may even relieve colic which is thought to cause a “fussy” baby. Prior to the use of cribs and a safe nursery environment, a swaddle would also keep an older baby from crawling away when a caregiver was not watching. 
   The importance of a swaddle today is even greater with the advent of the Back to Sleep™ campaign which encourages parents and caregivers to place babies to sleep on their backs (i.e. supine position), a position which has been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS. Many infants do not tolerate this sleep position well, but tolerate it better when swaddled. In this case, the gentle chest pressure generated by the swaddle may be comforting to them similar to if the infant is sleeping on their stomachs (i.e. prone position). 
   While many infants tolerate swaddling, there are many that do not. One does not know until they try it. Further, while there is a “right” way and a “wrong” way to swaddle, most parents are left to learn this on their own, as most hospitals fail to teach proper swaddling to the parents of newborns. 
   There are, however, risks to swaddling. If swaddled improperly, an infant can easily work out of the swaddle, creating a loose blanket which has been shown to increase the risk of SIDS or strangulation. If they do not completely free themselves, the swaddle may migrate over their face, creating an equally dangerous situation. Even the best-swaddled infants will eventually free themselves as they get older. Further, if bound too tight, a swaddle can inhibit chest wall movement, compromising an infant&#39;s ability to breathe normally. In addition, if the swaddle binds the infant&#39;s legs preventing them from flexing and abducting normally, this may lead to the development of hip dysplasia. 
   SUMMARY 
   A swaddling accessory attachable to a wearable blanket for use in swaddling an infant. The wearable blanket can be used with or without the swaddle, and gives the caregiver the option of using the wearable blanket without the swaddling accessory depending on how well the infant tolerates swaddling. 
   The swaddling accessory and wearable blanket are equipped with fasteners that allow the swaddling accessory to be detachably secured to the wearable blanket. In one embodiment, the fasteners are positioned to allow the swaddling accessory to be attached in either a “high” or “low” position relative to the wearable blanket. When at the “high” position, the swaddling accessory is positioned to enclose the arms of the infant. When at the “low” position, the swaddling accessory will enclose only the torso of the infant, leaving the arms free. The fasteners are positioned to prevent the swaddling accessory from being wrapped too high on the infant&#39;s body where it could potentially cover a portion of the mouth or nose. 
   The swaddling accessory has a maximum width and a maximum length. The maximum width is chosen so that the swaddling accessory will primarily cover the torso and/or arms of the infant (depending upon whether the swaddling accessory is in the high or low position), while leaving the legs free to flex within the wearable blanket which helps prevent hip dysplasia. The length of the swaddling accessory is selected so that the swaddling accessory is long enough to fully and securely wrap the infant, with large enough fasteners to securely keep the swaddling accessory in place and securely close the swaddle to provide a snug and secure fit. 
   In one embodiment, the wearable blanket is provided with a hole near the base thereof and positioned in-line with a closure mechanism, such as a zipper. When in a hospital environment or at home, a number of tubes and/or wires from monitoring mechanisms may be attached to the infant. Those tubes or wires can be run inside the wearable blanket to help keep the tubes or wires in place. The hole allows the passage of tubes and wires to the outside of the wearable blanket. By positioning the holes near the base of the wearable blanket, interference from the swaddle accessory is avoided. Further, because the hole is in-line with the closure mechanism, the wearable blanket can be removed from the infant without having to disconnect the tubes or wires. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a wearable blanket together with a swaddling accessory attached to the wearable blanket in a first, “high” position. 
       FIG. 2  is a front view of a wearable blanket together with a swaddling accessory attached to the wearable blanket in a second, “low” position. 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of the swaddling accessory detached from the wearable blanket. 
       FIG. 4  is a rear view of the wearable blanket illustrating an example of the positions of fasteners for connecting with the swaddling accessory. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates the use of the wearable blanket and swaddling accessory on an infant with the swaddling accessory in the first, “high” position. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the use of the wearable blanket and swaddling accessory on an infant with the swaddling accessory in the second, “low” position. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   A wearable blanket for an infant and a swaddling accessory attachable to the wearable blanket are provided. The wearable blanket is provided with one or more fasteners that allow the swaddling accessory to be detachably attached thereto. Preferably, the fasteners permit the swaddling accessory to be connected to different locations on the wearable blanket. Further, a wearable blanket is also provided with at least one hole therethrough that allows passage of tubes and/or wires connected to the infant. Preferably, the hole is positioned to allow the wearable blanket to be put on and taken off the infant without having to disconnect the tubes or wires. 
   The swaddling accessory is provided with one or more fasteners for detachable connection with the fastener(s) of the wearable blanket. The swaddling accessory is also provided with fasteners at the ends thereof to enable the ends to be detachably connected when the swaddling accessory is wrapped around an infant. 
   With reference now to  FIGS. 1-4 , an exemplary embodiment of a wearable blanket  10  and a swaddling accessory  12  will be described. The wearable blanket  10  is a garment that fully encloses both legs of an infant in one compartment or “bag”. The wearable blanket  10  has a front  14 , a back  16 , a closed bottom edge  18 , a neck hole  20  at the top through which an infant&#39;s neck extends, and armholes  24 ,  26  through which the infant&#39;s arms extend. The front  14  is divided into separate portions  14   a ,  14   b  through which the blanket  10  is disposed on an infant. A closure mechanism  28 , for example a zipper, extends from the neck hole  20  to near the bottom edge  18  to connect the portions  14   a ,  14   b  together. 
   The wearable blanket can be made of a number of materials suitable for an infant, for example cotton or fleece. 
   A hole  30  is provided adjacent the closed bottom edge  18  in-line with and at the termination of the closure mechanism  28 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the hole  30  allows passage of tubes and/or wires  32  that are connected to the infant and which are run inside the blanket  10  to help keep the tubes and/or wires in place and out of reach of the infant. Because the hole  30  is in-line with the closure mechanism  28 , the hole  30  can be opened when the closure mechanism  28  is opened, thereby allowing the blanket  10  to be put on and taken off of the infant without having to disconnect the tubes and/or wires  32  from the infant. 
   As shown in  FIG. 4 , the back  16  of the blanket  10  is provided with a fastener  34  for cooperating with a fastener (to be later described) on the swaddling accessory  12 , for detachably connecting the swaddling accessory  12  to the blanket  10 . For example, the fastener  34  comprises a pair of loop patches  34   a ,  34   b  forming part of a hook and loop fastening connection between the blanket  10  and swaddling accessory  12 . Although separate patches,  34   a ,  34   b  have been illustrated, it is to be realized that the fastener  34  could comprise a single loop patch, or the two patches  34   a ,  34   b  could be combined into a single larger loop patch. 
   The loop patches  34   a ,  34   b  have a width “Wb” and a height “Hb”. The width Wb is selected to help achieve secure connection with the swaddling accessory  12 . For example, the width Wb can be between about 4.0 inches and about 5.0 inches. The height Hb is also selected to help achieve secure connection with the swaddling accessory  12  and also to allow adjustment of the height of the swaddling accessory  12  on the blanket  10 . For example, the height Hb can be between about 3.0 inches and about 4.0 inches. 
   With reference to  FIGS. 1-3 , the swaddling accessory  12  is an elongated strip of material having a longitudinal axis La, a maximum length dimension B and a maximum height dimension A. The dimension B is selected to fully wrap an infant that fits the size, while the dimension A is selected to the length of a typical baby for that size. For example, for a “preemie” infant, the dimensions of B and A can be about 31 inches and about 13 inches, respectively. The accessory  12  is formed of a low-stretch material, for example cotton or fleece. 
   The accessory  12  is generally oval in shape, with rounded end regions  40 ,  42  and a portion  44  between the end regions  40 ,  42  with the maximum height A. The widest portion  44  is positioned generally to the left of a vertical centerline, C L , of the accessory  12 , and a portion  12   a  of the accessory to the left (when viewing  FIG. 3 ) of the widest portion  44  has a length B 1  which is less than the length B 2  of a portion  12   b  to the right (when viewing  FIG. 3 ) of the widest portion  44 . Preferably, the maximum height A is chosen such that the swaddling accessory  12  will primarily cover the torso and arms of the infant, leaving the infant&#39;s legs free to flex within the wearable blanket  10 . The dimension B is chosen such that the swaddling accessory  12  is long enough to fully and securely wrap the infant. 
   The accessory  12  has a fastener  46  positioned to cooperate with the fastener  34  on the blanket  10  for detachably connecting the swaddling accessory  12  to the blanket  10 . For example, the fastener  46  comprises a pair of hook patches  46   a ,  46   b  forming part of a hook and loop fastening connection between the blanket  10  and swaddling accessory  12 . Although separate patches  46   a ,  46   b  have been illustrated, it is to be realized that the fastener  46  could comprise a single hook patch, or the two patches  46   a ,  46   b  could be combined into a single larger hook patch. In addition, the hook and loop patches could be reversed, with the patches  34   a ,  34   b  being hook patches, and the patches  46   a ,  46   b  being loop patches. 
   The loop patches  46   a ,  46   b  have a width “Ws” and a height “Hs”. The width Ws is approximately equal to the width Wb. However, the height Hs is less than the height Hb. For example, the height. Hs can be between about 1.0 inch to about 1.5 inch. With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the configuration of the patches  34   a ,  34   b ,  46   a ,  46   b  allow the swaddling accessory  12  to be positioned at different height positions relative to the blanket  10 .  FIG. 1  illustrates the swaddling accessory  12  positioned at a first, “high” position relative to the blanket  10  with the patches  46   a ,  46   b  secured to the patches  34   a ,  34   b  near the tops of the patches  34   a ,  34   b .  FIG. 2  illustrates the swaddling accessory  12  positioned at a second, “low” position relative to the blanket  10  with the patches  46   a ,  46   b  secured to the patches  34   a ,  34   b  near the bottoms of the patches  34   a ,  34   b . It is to be realized that the swaddling accessory  12  can be positioned anywhere between the first and second positions, as well as at positions higher than the first position and lower than the second position. 
   By adjusting the position of the swaddling accessory  12  relative to the blanket  10 , the position of the swaddling that occurs on the infant can be changed as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The patches dictate the highest point that the swaddling accessory  12  can be fixed to the blanket  10  and prevents improper positioning of the swaddling accessory that could allow it to cover a portion of the infant&#39;s face.  FIG. 5  illustrates the swaddling accessory  12  at the first, “high” position relative to the blanket  10 . At this position, the swaddling accessory  12  extends over the arm holes  24 ,  26  and covers the infant&#39;s arms.  FIG. 6  illustrates the swaddling accessory  12  at the second, “low” position relative to the blanket  10 . At this position, the swaddling accessory  12  is below the arm holes  24 ,  26  and the infant&#39;s arms are free. 
   Returning to  FIG. 3 , the visible side of the accessory portion  12   b  has a fastener  48  adjacent the end region  42  for detachable engagement with a fastener  50  on the reverse side of the accessory portion  12   a  adjacent the end region  40 . The fastener  50  is shown in dashed lines to indicate that it is on the surface opposite the surface that the fastener  48  is on. 
   The fastener  48  comprises, for example, a pair of hook panels  48   a ,  48   b , while the fastener  50  comprises a loop panel. If desired, the hook and loop panels would be reversed, with the fastener  48  comprising the loop portion and the fastener  50  comprising the hook portion. 
   The panels  48   a ,  48   b  are long and narrow and the panel  50  preferably has a length greater than the length of the panels  48   a ,  48   b . This allows adjustment of the swaddle accessory  12  around the infant. 
   An instruction panel  52  can also be provided on the accessory  12  providing instructions on how to swaddle an infant using the accessory  12  and other instructions on using the accessory  12 .