Abstract:
An upper-body garment comprised mostly of stretchy, breathable fabric designed to promote bonding between parent and child and enable both to sleep. The garment may also be comprised of netting or mesh fabric. The garment is designed to allow both parent and child to lie down and sleep safely and securely together. The garment has a zipper on the front portion to open and close the garment so that a child may be zipped into the garment with the adult. The garment has a square-neckline designed to position a child laying face down on the sternum of a supine adult and to expose at least the head and arms of the child. The garment may have a flap on the front portion which covers the zipper pull. The garment may also have buttons, snaps, or hook and loop as a fastener.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates generally to clothing, and more particularly to an upper-body infant bonding garment. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The first few months of a child&#39;s life are the most important to create a lasting bond between parent and child. One of the best ways for a parent and child to bond is through skin to skin contact. Sleep is also important for a newborn child and the parents, and when the newborn child does not sleep, the parents have difficulty sleeping as well. The majority of young children prefer to sleep on the parent&#39;s chest because it enables the child to hear the parent&#39;s heartbeat and it is reminiscent of the mother&#39;s womb. Also, young children enjoy the scent of the parent. Unfortunately, parent and child cannot sleep together easily. Many co-sleepers available on the market are designed to have the baby sleep separately from the adult and none of these co-sleepers allow for bonding time between parent and child. Furthermore, none of these co-sleepers are wearable. 
         [0003]    The only garments which provide secure support for the child are baby slings, and other similar devices, which cannot be used safely while both parent and child are sleeping. What is needed is an article of clothing capable of allowing adult and child to sleep together safely and securely while still providing the necessary closeness for the adult and child to bond. 
         [0004]    Consequently, this invention relates generally to clothing, and more particularly to an upper-body infant bonding garment. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    This invention relates generally to clothing, and more particularly to an upper-body infant bonding garment. In some embodiments, the upper-body infant bonding garment is worn by an adult and used to hold a child prone against the chest of a supine adult. The upper-body infant bonding garment is designed to keep the head of the child against the sternum of the adult, so that the child can hear the heartbeat emanating from the heart of the adult. 
         [0006]    In some embodiments, the upper-body infant bonding garment is manufactured of breathable, stretchable fabric operable to secure the child to the chest of the adult. The fabric may also be comprised in part of netting or mesh. 
         [0007]    In some embodiments, the upper-body infant bonding garment has a front portion, wherein the front portion at least partially opens from the neckline down the middle of the garment to form an opening sufficient to permit a child to pass into the interior of the garment. 
         [0008]    In some embodiments, the front portion has a fastener operable to couple the first side and the second side of the upper-body infant bonding garment. The fastener may be a zipper, snaps, button, hook-and-loop style closures, or any other type of fastener. 
         [0009]    In some embodiments, at least a portion of the interior of the first side of the front portion forms a flap to overlay the exterior of the second side and cover a portion of the fastener. The flap is designed to protect the baby&#39;s head and arms from the fastener. The flap may be fastened by a hook-and-loop style closure to the exterior of the second side. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a top view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a front view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a rear view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a side view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0017]      FIGS. 7 ,  8  and  9  are front views of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    This invention relates generally to clothing, and more particularly to an upper-body infant bonding garment. Specific details of certain embodiments of the invention are set forth in the following description and in  FIGS. 1-9  to provide a thorough understanding of such embodiments. The present invention may have additional embodiments, may be practiced without one or more of the details described for any particular described embodiment, or may have any detail described for one particular embodiment practiced with any other detail described for another embodiment. 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a top view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, an upper-body infant bonding garment  1  is worn by an adult  5  and used to hold a child  4  prone against the chest of the supine adult  5 . The upper-body infant bonding garment  1  may be used for a newborn infant up until the child no longer fits. In some embodiments, the supine adult  5  lays on a bed  2 . In different embodiments, the supine adult  5  may lay on a couch or a recliner or on any other structure on which the adult  5  can lay supine. 
         [0020]    In some embodiments, an upper-body infant bonding garment  1  is designed to keep the head  43  of the child  4  against the sternum  52  of the adult  5 , so that the child  4  can hear the heartbeat emanating from the heart  51  of the adult  5 . 
         [0021]    In some embodiments, an upper-body infant bonding garment  1  has a front portion  11  and a rear portion (rear portion not pictured in  FIG. 1 ), the front portion  11  and rear portion forming a garment with an interior and an exterior. The upper-body infant bonding garment  1  may have an aperture for the waist  13  of the adult  5 , apertures for the arms  12  of the adult  5 , and an aperture for the neck  14  of the adult  5 . In some embodiments, an upper-body infant bonding garment  1  is a vest, wherein the apertures for the arms  12  of the adult  5  are adjacent to the chest of the adult  5 . In different embodiments, an upper-body infant bonding garment  1  may be a shirt, either short-sleeve or long-sleeve, wherein the apertures for the arms  12  of the adult  5  are adjacent to the biceps or wrists of the adult  5 . 
         [0022]    In some embodiments, an upper-body infant bonding garment  1  has an aperture for the neck of the adult  14  that forms a neckline  8  of the front portion of the garment  11 . The neckline  8  of the front portion  11  is positioned to expose at least the head  43  and arms  41  of the child  4 , and to position the exposed head  43  of the child  4  on the sternum  52  of the adult  5 . A child  4  thusly positioned can hear the heartbeat emanating from the heart  51  of the adult  5 . 
         [0023]    In some embodiments, an upper-body infant bonding garment  1  has a front portion  11 , wherein the front portion  11  at least partially opens from the neckline  8  down the middle of the upper-body garment to form an opening  9 , the opening  9  forming a first side  15  of the front portion and a second side  16  of the front portion. In some embodiments, the front portion  11  fully opens at the opening  9 , from the neckline  8  down the middle of the upper-body infant bonding garment  1  to the aperture for the waist  13  of the adult  5 . In different embodiments, the opening  9  does not open all the way to the aperture for the waist  13  of the adult  5  so that the front portion only partially opens from the neckline  8 . In such embodiments, the opening  9  is still sufficient to permit a child  4  to pass into the interior of the garment. 
         [0024]    In some embodiments, the front portion  11  has a fastener  7  operable to couple the at least partial opening  9  of the front portion  11 , joining the first side  15  of the front portion  11  to the second side  16  of the front portion  11 . 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the fastener  7  may be a zipper. In different embodiments, the fastener  7  may be snaps, buttons, hook-and-loop style closures, or any other fastener that is known in the art to be able to close an opening of a garment. In certain embodiments having a zipper for a fastener  7 , the zipper may have a zipper pull, the zipper pull for pulling the zipper open and closed. In a particular embodiment, the zipper and zipper pull are made of material that is non-toxic so as to not harm a baby who happens to put its mouth on the zipper pull. 
         [0026]    In some embodiments, the front portion  11  is manufactured of soft, breathable, stretchable fabric, the soft, breathable, stretchable fabric operable to secure the child in the prone position against the chest of the supine adult when the fastener  7  is employed to couple the front portion  11 . 
         [0027]    In some embodiments, at least a portion of the garment  1  is manufactured of netting or mesh fabric. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, a portion of the interior  17  of the first side  15  of the front portion  11  overlays the exterior of the second side  16 , covering at least a portion of the fastener  7 . In some embodiments, a portion of the interior  17  of the first side  15  of the front portion  11  is a flap, the flap operable to cover the top portion of the fastener  7 , the top portion of the fastener  7  in some embodiments being a zipper pull that may be covered by the flap. In such embodiments, the zipper pull is inaccessible to the child. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, the front portion  11  has a fastener  7  operable to couple the at least partial opening  9  of the front portion  11 , joining the first side  15  of the front portion  11  to the second side  16  of the front portion  11 . In some embodiments, the fastener  7  may be a zipper. In certain embodiments having a zipper for a fastener  7 , the zipper may have a zipper pull, the zipper pull for pulling the zipper open and closed. In a particular embodiment, the zipper and zipper pull are made of material that is non-toxic so as to not harm a baby who happens to put its mouth on the zipper pull. 
         [0030]    In the preferred embodiment, a portion of the interior  17  of the front portion  11  forms a flap, the flap covering a portion of the zipper and the zipper pull. In some embodiments, the front portion  11  contains a hook and loop fastener on the first side  15  of the interior  17  (i.e. the flap). One half of the fastener  19  is located on the underside of the interior  17  and the other half of the fastener  18  is located on the opposite side of the second side  16  of the upper-body infant bonding garment  1  so as to provide a secure closure for the interior  17 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 4  is a front view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The neckline  8  at the bottom of the aperture for the neck of the adult  14  is formed when the first side  15  of the front  11  and second side  16  of the front  11  are fastened together by the fastener  7 . 
         [0032]    In some embodiments, an upper-body infant bonding garment  1  has an aperture for the neck of the adult  14  that forms a neckline  8  of the front portion of the garment  11 . As seen and discussed in reference to  FIG. 1 , the neckline  8  of the front portion  11  is positioned to expose at least the head and arms of the child, and to position the exposed head of the child on the sternum of the adult. 
         [0033]    In some embodiments, the fastener  7  may be a zipper. In different embodiments, the fastener  7  may be snaps, buttons, hook-and-loop style closures, or any other fastener that is known in the art to be able to close an opening of a garment. In certain embodiments having a zipper for a fastener  7 , the zipper may have a zipper pull, the zipper pull for pulling the zipper open and closed. In a particular embodiment, the zipper and zipper pull are made of material that is non-toxic so as to not harm a baby who happens to put its mouth on the zipper pull. 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  is a rear view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, the back portion  20  of the upper-body infant bonding garment  1  covers the entire back from the shoulders to the waist and has apertures for the arms  12 . In  FIG. 5 , the neckline  8  of the front of the garment and opening in the front of the garment  9  are shown in broken lines. 
         [0035]      FIG. 6  is a side view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The side of the upper-body infant bonding garment  1  is comprised of stretchable fabric and has apertures for the arms. 
         [0036]      FIG. 7  is a front view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, the front portion  11  has a fastener  7  operable to couple the at least partial opening  9  of the front portion  11 , joining the first side  15  of the front portion  11  to the second side  16  of the front portion  11 . In some embodiments, the fastener  7  may be one or more buttons  20  which are evenly spaced up the front portion of the upper-body infant bonding garment  1 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 8  is a front view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, the front portion  11  has a fastener  7  operable to couple the at least partial opening  9  of the front portion  11 , joining the first side  15  of the front portion  11  to the second side  16  of the front portion  11 . In some embodiments, the fastener  7  may be one or more snaps  21 , which are evenly spaced up the front portion  11  of the upper-body infant bonding garment  1 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 9  is a front view of an upper-body infant bonding garment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, the front portion  11  has a fastener  7  operable to couple the at least partial opening  9  of the front portion  11 , joining the first side  15  of the front portion  11  to the second side  16  of the front portion  11 . In some embodiments, the fastener  7  may be a hook and loop fastener  22 . The hook and loop fastener  22  extends on both the first side  15  and second side  16  from the bottom of the upper-body infant bonding garment  1  up to the neckline  8 . The first side  15  overlaps the second side  16  to provide secure closure. In other embodiments, the hook and loop fastener  22  does not span the entire length of the front portion  11  of the upper-body infant bonding garment  1 . 
         [0039]    In the preferred embodiment, sizing of the garment may be for the average small, medium, large and extra-large sized post-partum female. Even though sizing is designed primarily for female use, adult males may also wear the garment. From the foregoing description, the upper body garment constructed according to the description is capable of providing secure contact between a human and infant of varying size. 
         [0040]    While preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of these preferred and alternate embodiments.