Why today’s family togetherness trend includes baby at bedside — and it’s an Olympian’s sleep cure, too
By: Sandra Guy
Tags: Maternal Health, Cribs, Baby, Best Co Sleeper For Baby, Maternity

BY SANDRA GUY

If anyone understands the importance of a good night’s sleep, it’s a professional athlete. So, when Olympian and professional beach volleyball player Lauren M. Fendrick had her first child 18 months ago, she dove into her usual extensive research to ensure she kept up her priorities around sleep and recovery.

“I’m very ‘into’ performance and health — anything that I can do to be better in my sport,” said Fendrick, 38, who competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics with teammate Brooke Sweat and was an alternate in the 2012 Games in London. “A big focus for me is prioritizing effective recovery and sleep. In my opinion, recovery doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves. Yes, you need to work hard, but if you don’t get the appropriate recovery, you won’t be able to maximize your workload.”

Sleep also aids muscle growth and recovery.

“I make sleep a priority,” said Fendrick, who played indoor volleyball and freshman-year softball for UCLA before earning a law degree at the University of Southern California. “I make it a priority to try to get eight to 10 hours each night in a non-toxic, recovery-inducing environment.”

Fendrick said the birth process “was very, very intense and even somewhat traumatic.”

“I was induced from being completely posterior with a closed cervix because I was close to 42 weeks — and along with learning how to breastfeed and care for this new human who was completely dependent on me, I needed to recover from the birth,” she said.

“I was feeding her every three to four hours through the night,” Fendrick said, “so it was important to make the transitions between breastfeeding and sleeping as safe and as easy as possible for me, so my body could recover.”

“I understood that my baby (Willa) would be sleeping 18 hours a day as a newborn, and now (at 18 months) she still sleeps 15 hours a day,” Fendrick said. “When she was first born, I wanted a safe space for her, but without having to get up to maximize both of our sleep and my recovery from birth.”

Fendrick’s research led her to BabyBay’s co-sleeper: A baby bed that mounts onto the side of the parent’s bed while keeping the baby from rolling onto the adult mattress. Fendrick found relief in keeping her baby close while not having to constantly get up and out of bed.

“This allowed me to focus my energy on the connection with my daughter and establishing our routine,” she said.

The co-sleeper matched a few other items on Fendrick’s checklist as well. The semi-circular beechwood construction is anti-bacterial and is comprised of sustainably sourced materials. It’s made by a family-run company in Germany that sells its co-sleeper and related products in 28 countries.

The products are unique in the United States market because they meet Germany’s product certification standards (TUV, which are stricter than America’s) and are Oeko-Tex certified, meaning that the fabric has been tested and certified free from harmful levels of more than 100 substances known to be harmful to human health.

“The [co-sleeper] construction is beautiful, clean and simple,” Fendrick said. “There’s no plastic and it’s made with quality wood. We have the natural finish, and it goes beautifully with our décor.”

Fendrick’s preference for quality, whether in food, rest, performance or family health, echoes a coronavirus-led trend new to modern American life — a natural way of parenting in which bonding with the baby is a top priority, especially when breastfeeding and holding the infant.

Fendrick said that she and her husband, Andrew Fuller, the women’s volleyball team coach at Stanford University, chose to use separate sleep rooms for themselves when Willa was a newborn. And she was able to pick up on Willa’s cues while she slept next to Fendrick.

“I did a ton of research, but I learned that if I was really present, engaged and learned Willa’s cues, she usually told me what she needed,” Fendrick said.

Indeed, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a recommendation in 2016 that put a new emphasis on parents sharing a room with newborns — a practice that’s widespread throughout most of the rest of the world.

The guidance said that parents who share a room with their newborn may reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) by as much as 50 percent. The academy encouraged the practice for the baby’s first six to 12 months but emphasized that the baby be kept from sharing the adult’s bed.

American safety regulations say babies can stay in the co-sleeper for five months or until they start to push themselves up, whichever comes first. But in Europe, babies’ time in the co-sleeper extends to 12 to 14 months because of the cultural differences in safety logic and consumer product use.

Fendrick’s family pediatrician recommended that Willa sleep in her own room at four-and-a-half months so she could learn to sleep on her own. And at seven months, the family put two BabyBay sleepers together to make a crib. The extra sleeper can be used as a bassinette on wheels until the baby is ready for the crib.

“Being able to convert [two co-sleepers] was a nice, convenient feature that added to the product’s appeal and versatility,” Fendrick said.

Babybay is also a favorite of doulas, midwives, sleep practitioners, pediatric nurses and lactation experts, so it has introduced new online-only offerings. The starting price is now less than $300 — $225 for the co-sleeper original model, a $40 mattress and a sheet for $20 to $25. The products arrive within five business days.

“The products’ ability to grow with the family reflects families’ return to seeking out authentic, traditional and heritage-worthy products,” said Terrence Heaps, who runs the U.S. operations.

That was just one of the values Heaps appreciated.

The co-sleeper’s construction and environmentally friendly bonafides — aimed at its extended use rather than a plastic product meant to be thrown away, as well as its owners’ sincere interest in helping families, cemented Heaps’ belief that a U.S. business was a valuable opportunity.

“Being a consumer, [BabyBay’s co-sleeper] is something that I would buy for my children, for a friend, and for a family member,” Heaps said. “It hits all of the attributes that I would look for that make me feel good using this product.”

Heaps, who is an accountant by training with a master’s degree in international business and finance, said his research also revealed that BabyBay had superior products than those on the market.

Heaps had befriended BabyBay’s patent owner, Christian Pihale, and his wife, Ruth, on Heaps’ many travels to Munich, Germany — emblematic of Heaps’ love of finding lifelong friends and unforgettable experiences while traveling the globe. Heaps traveled to Washington, D.C., to be a part of BabyBay’s planning meeting to enter the United States market and ended up owning the company’s U.S. operations. His faith in BabyBay was realized in its first year doing business online in the United States when 2016–2017 year-over-year sales growth skyrocketed more than 100 percent.

Heaps’ business partner and chief operating officer, Matthew Greene, said, “The simplicity is the innovation.”

Babybay’s growing reputation in America resonates with Fendrick and other young families who budget in accordance with their values.

“I don’t do as much clothes shopping, etc., because I know that putting more money towards quality food and health and performance are going to pay off down the road,” said Fendrick, who supports local, regenerative farming. “For me, if I don’t have injuries and get sick less often, I perform better, so I’m bringing in more money [as an athlete.]”

Fendrick will be watching her budget for a while to come. She’s expecting her second child — a boy — in April.