Babies learn everything they know by observing their surroundings. So as your little one grows a bit older, they may develop an attachment to a cozy blanket (they see you sleep with one every night!). But when can your baby sleep with a blanket safely?
Blankets are a famously tricky business when it comes to infants. We know your first priority is the wellbeing and safety of your child.
That’s why we’re here to help you learn when it’s OK for your baby to sleep with a blanket and how to incorporate one into their bedtime routine.
Key Takeaways
Table of contents
- When can your baby sleep with a blanket?
-
Things to consider before adding a blanket
- Things to avoid
- What can go in your baby’s sleep space before they’re one year old?
- More tips for safe, cozy sleep
When can your baby sleep with a blanket?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until your child has passed their first birthday before adding a blanket into their crib.
In fact, leaving all extra stuff (like blankets and toys) out of your baby’s sleeping area until they blow out that one-year candle reduces their risk of sleep-related injuries.
Once your baby is 12 months or older, you can explore some options together for adding a blanket to their sleep environment.
Things to consider before adding a blanket
The position of the blanket
As you look for a blanket to add to your child’s crib, you’ll want to consider how it will fit into your little one’s sleep area. Where should it lay? How big should it be?
The blanket should never be free or loose inside the crib. Instead, the edges of the blanket should be securely tucked around the perimeter of the crib mattress. It should be nearly impossible for your child to adjust the blanket higher over themselves and potentially cover their mouth. This is a safer way to help your baby sleep soundly and securely.
The way your child sleeps
Babies are incredibly unique. Some sleep as still as statues, while others may be natural wiggle worms!
It’s critical for your baby’s blanket to stay secure while they sleep, and a super active baby may accidentally loosen their crib blanket during all their tossing and turning.
We don’t want their movements to become restricted, and we don’t want them to run the risk of pulling the blanket over their mouth. So if your little one spends the majority of their sleep time rolling to and fro, adding a blanket to their crib may not be the best solution.
For your rock-and-roller, opt for onesies or footie pajamas instead. These will keep your baby just as cozy without preventing them from stretching, rolling, and getting comfortable.
Keep in mind that any sleep sack for older infants should have arm holes so they can push themselves off their faces if they roll over onto their tummy during the night!
The type of blanket
Breathable fabric, like muslin or thin cotton, is a much better choice than thick, quilted material.
If the blanket ends up pulling away from the crib’s sides, thicker blankets pose a greater risk of blocking your little one’s airway than a blanket made with thin, breathable material.
Weighted blankets, which can sometimes soothe older children with sleep anxiety, should never be used with a baby. They restrict your little one’s mobility in a way that’s harmful and could be very dangerous while they snooze unaware of their surroundings.
You’ll also want to avoid blankets with flourishing details like ribbons, strings, or loose thread on the ends. These embellishments can easily become tangled between your baby’s fingers, toes, or even around their throat.
It’s best to keep your child’s blanket as simple, thin, and breathable as possible!
Things to avoid
Other soft materials
Your baby may have a favorite stuffed animal; one who is rarely out of their sight and even comes with you when your family is traveling. Many children are attached to stuffed animals because they carry a sense of familiarity and comfort.
But while they’re an effective way to soothe these kids during the day, they may not be the best soothing choice for your baby when they’re in their crib at naptime or at night. Even when your baby becomes a toddler, it’s best to go “less is more” when it comes to sleeping.
This is because, as we mentioned, the more things your baby has in their crib (such as their favorite stuffed animal, a lovey, or a toy), the higher the chance something may obstruct their airway if they roll near or onto it.
That said, if your little one is over a year old and prefers to sleep with a stuffed animal, some experts recommend one small one. (A few small stuffies, or a single large one, can smother your child or be used for climbing out of the crib!)
Just be sure the stuffed animal is free of choking hazards like buttons or loose ribbons.
Swaddling
Once your baby starts to show signs of rolling over (usually around two to four months), they should no longer be swaddled. But because this tends to happen around several months before their first birthday, they are not ready to transition to a blanket.
As we’ve said, once your child is a year old, you can try the blanket. But if they loved being swaddled, all cozy and tight, they may not like the feeling of a loose piece of fabric covering them.
In that case, we recommend offering your little one a sleep sack. That way, they get the feeling of a secure swaddle while still maintaining the mobility of their arms, just in case they roll themselves into an uncomfortable position at three in the morning when no one is around.
Crib bumpers
Even after your baby turns one, crib bumpers should continue to be left out of the crib. They’re much more dangerous than blankets because they’re made out of thick, non-breathable material. If your baby turned into a crib bumper, it could easily block their airflow.
Sleeping outside of a proper sleep space
Whether or not you choose to let your little one sleep with a blanket after they reach the one-year benchmark, they should never be left alone to sleep on a couch or armchair. They could sustain serious injuries if they were to roll onto the floor.
Some supervised cuddle time on the couch with mom, dad, and a cozy blanket is fine, just be sure you don’t fall asleep in a heap in the middle of a movie!
Overhead crib decorations
Continue to keep the area above your baby’s crib free of mobiles or moving toys. As they get older and learn how to stand in their crib, they may reach up and pull down a dangling piece of a mobile or toy onto themselves. This can be especially dangerous!
There’s also always a chance the pieces may fall onto your little one while they sleep and cause an obstruction to their breathing. To avoid these scenarios, we suggest adding overhead crib decorations above a nursing chair instead.
If your baby is particularly soothed by the mesmerizing, slow orbit of a mobile, opt for harmless light projections.
Many modern sound machines have light functionality as well. This means while your little one listens to gentle lullabies or white noises, you can also turn the sound machine into a projected “mobile!”
Some machines can throw a cluster of gently moving stars onto the ceiling. Your baby can sleep peacefully underneath their very own Milky Way!
What can go in your baby’s sleep space before they’re one year old?
1) A breathable mattress
Your baby will spend a lot of time sleeping in the first few months after they’re born, so you’ll want to make sure that the mattress in their bassinet or crib is safe and comfortable.
Skip the soft, fluffy mattresses, which aren’t safe for little ones anyway, and choose a firm mattress that’s ultra-breathable.
What does ultra-breathable mean? It means that if your baby somehow rolls onto their stomach during the night, they’ll be able to breathe straight through the mattress.
It’s also a good idea to choose a breathable mattress that won’t off-gas toxic chemicals into the air around your baby’s bassinet or crib.
Newton’s Crib Mattress is made with a Wovenaire® Core and is also UL GREENGUARD Gold Certified for low chemical (VOC) emissions. Plus, all of our mattresses are completely washable from cover to core.
That’s peace of mind you can’t get anywhere else!
2) A fitted sheet
A bassinet or crib with lots of fluffy extras inside may look cute in pictures, but, until they turn one, it’s not safe for your baby come bedtime. So, what can you put in your infant’s sleep area in addition to a breathable mattress? A fitted sheet and nothing more.
Newton’s Organic Cotton Sheets come in a variety of fun prints so you can add a bit of flair to your little one’s crib without sacrificing safety. We’ve even outfitted these sheets with full elastic on every edge (all the way around) to guarantee a secure and snug fit all night long.
And, just like all our mattresses, Newton fitted sheets are breathable, so you can rest easy knowing you're helping support a comfortable, safer night's sleep.
3) Your baby
Breathable mattress: check. Fitted sheet: check. What’s the only other thing you should put in the crib or bassinet? Your baby!
But how will they stay warm at night if they don’t have a blanket or a top sheet? As we mentioned earlier, the best option for newborns is a swaddle. For older babies who haven’t reached the 12-month mark yet, try a sleep sack to give them a bit more mobility.
More tips for safe, cozy sleep
Give your baby their own sleeping space.
Sharing a room with your newborn for the first six to 12 months of their life is a personal decision for each family, but room-sharing is generally recommended for the first several months.
That said, experts recommend that you don’t share your bed (a.k.a. co-sleep) with a baby of any age. Instead, give your little one a separate sleeping space of their very own.
Doing so helps protect them against accidental suffocation and other related accidents that can occur when adults sleep in the same bed as a baby.
If you choose to sleep in the same room as your newborn, put their bassinet or crib near your bed so you can feed them easily during the night.
Know when to transition from a bassinet to a crib.
A bassinet is the perfect sleep surface for a newborn, as long as it’s outfitted with a breathable mattress, a fitted sheet, and nothing more.
Eventually, though, your little one is going to outgrow their bassinet and will need to transition into a full-size crib. When will you need to make the switch?
Most bassinets are meant for babies under six months old, but your baby may outgrow theirs slightly earlier or slightly later than that. Also, their motor skills can indicate when it might be time to move into a crib.
When any of the following happen, it’s probably time to transition into a bigger bed:
- Your baby can sit up without support
- They roll over in their sleep
- Their head reaches the top of the bassinet
- They try to rock the bed or use the sides to pull up
If you wait too long after they reach these milestones, your baby could work their way out of the bassinet and get injured in some way.
Choose a safe crib.
A quality crib is an investment in the future because your baby can use it from birth until they’re ready for a toddler bed (and even beyond).
Newton’s Austin Convertible Crib, for example, allows you to switch from a bassinet (a high mattress configuration) to a crib (a low mattress configuration) to a toddler bed and, finally, to a daybed as your child grows.
It also uses the same standard-size mattress in each configuration so you can upgrade easily or change whenever necessary.
When shopping for a crib, focus on safety and be sure to examine the following variables before you buy:
- Slat width (they should be no wider than two and three-eighths inches apart)
- New vs. used (new cribs guarantee the most current safety standards)
- Mattress fit (the mattress should fit snugly without any big gaps)
For more tips on choosing a safe crib for your little one, check out this article from the Newton blog: Modern Crib Buying Guide: What To Know Before Shopping.
Keep the crib in the same room as the bassinet.
Switching sleeping environments can be stressful for your little one. If it’s time to move from a bassinet to a crib, begin the process by keeping the crib in the same room as the bassinet.
So, if you’re sharing a room with your baby, move the bassinet out, move the crib in, and let them sleep in the new bed for a while in order to get used to things.
After they’ve slept in the crib for a while and are comfortable with it, you can move them into the nursery without too much of a fuss. They may protest a bit at first when you move them into their own room, but it likely won’t be as difficult as it would have been if you changed their bed and their room at the same time.
Always put your baby to sleep on their back.
Regardless of their age, always put your baby down in their bassinet or crib on their back. Even when they learn how to roll over without help (and do so while they’re sleeping) you should still start them off on their back.
When they have the motor control to roll onto their belly, they’ll typically be able to roll again onto their back. But, for peace of mind, it’s always good to outfit their bassinet or crib with a breathable mattress.
Create a relaxing environment.
A lot of variables can affect your baby’s sleep, including temperature, light, and sound. To give your baby the best sleep possible, create a relaxing environment by controlling those three variables.
Here’s how.
Temperature
To help your baby stay warm and cozy all night long, do your best to keep their sleep area between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Light
Even with their eyes closed, light can disrupt your little one’s sleep patterns.
To prevent this from becoming an issue, make your baby’s room as dark as possible with blackout curtains and a low-light nightlight. Doing so can help your baby fall asleep at bedtime or go back to sleep when they wake up in the middle of the night.
Sound
The noise of your family moving around in the house, and even noise from outside the house, can make it difficult for your baby to fall asleep and stay that way.
To obscure the sounds that can keep your little one awake, try running a white noise machine when it’s time to sleep.
You can even continue running the white noise machine as your child grows from baby to toddler to child to provide the best sleep environment possible.
When can your baby sleep with a blanket? Weigh your options.
When can your baby sleep with a blanket? After their first 12 months of life, the answer is flexible and depends on the individual personality (and sleep patterns) of your little one.
Consider whether or not it’s safe for your child’s sleeping habits to add a blanket into their nighttime routine. Would they be more comfortable with a sleep sack or a cozy onesie? Or do they sleep like a true dream on just a Newton Ultra-Breathable Mattress?
It’s all about what is most comfortable for you and your family. If that means using a blanket at your baby’s bedtime, then go for it (once they’re over 12 months old, of course)!
Just keep the precautions we mentioned in mind. These precautions can help support a safer sleep environment.
From all of us at Newton, sweet dreams!
Frequently asked questions
How can I make sure my baby is warm if they can’t use a blanket?
First, make sure the temperature in your baby’s room is between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit, which is ideal for comfortable sleep. But if you’re still worried about warmth after that, you can dress your baby in an additional layer or use a properly fitted, non-weighted sleep sack.
A good rule of thumb is adding one more layer than you would need if you were sleeping at the same temperature.
Swaddling is another option. But remember to always place your baby on their back and stop swaddling as soon as they show signs of trying to roll.
Once I can give my baby a blanket, can I also give them a pillow?
No, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children shouldn’t use a pillow until they’re at least two years old. At that point, it’s ok for them to use a small, firm pillow.
Why does my baby’s sleep surface have to be flat and level?
Let’s take those one at a time!
A curved sleep surface (think hammock, for example) may force a baby’s head to fall forward and their chin to touch their chest. This increases their risk for positional asphyxia, which is when a baby’s body position interferes with their breathing.
Finally, a sleep surface that has one end higher than the other isn’t safe for babies. If the bottom end is lower, the baby may slide down toward their feet. If the top end is lower, they may slide toward their head. In either case, positional asphyxia is, again, a danger.
Is it OK for my baby to use a sleep sack and a blanket at the same time?
Babies under 12 months should use a properly fitted, non-weighted sleep sack without a loose blanket. After 12 months, consider whether an additional blanket is necessary and watch carefully for signs of overheating.
Signs that they may be overheating include:
- Sweaty neck
- Damp hair
- Flushed face
- Fussiness
- Rapid breathing
- Rapid heartbeat
