The present application claims priority from Australian Patent Application No. 2017901068 filed Mar. 24, 2017, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
While newborns and babies are in a REM state of sleep, they will often experience twitches and jerks, which are known as the startle reflex, or the moro reflex. This may cause the child to flail their arms sidewards and/or upwards before bringing their arms in to their chest in the fetal position. If the child is falling asleep when a startle reflex occurs, they may be caused to wake up.
In order to deal with this, newborns and babies are often swaddled or wrapped from birth until they grow out of the startle reflex. Babies often find comfort in being swaddled or wrapped up, as it gives them a feeling of security and echoes the feeling of being in the womb. An all-purpose blanket such as a receiving blanket may be used to swaddle a baby. Receiving blankets may be either square or rectangular in shape and are wrapped around the baby to help keep them feeling secure as well as to maintain their body heat. Newborns need to preserve their caloric intake for weight gain and can waste calories maintaining their own fragile temperatures.
It is desired to address or ameliorate one or more shortcomings or disadvantages associated with prior baby sleeping garments, or to at least provide a useful alternative thereto.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
Described embodiments generally relate to garments for newborns and babies. In particular, described embodiments are directed to sleeping and swaddling garments for newborns and babies.
Some embodiments relate to a baby sleeping garment comprising:
a wrap portion configured to receive the body of the baby or infant and at least partially wrap around the body of the baby or infant; and
at least one arm portion attached to the wrap portion around at least part of the arm pocket's perimeter to define at least one arm pocket sized to receive at least one arm of the baby or infant;
wherein the arm pocket has an opening configured to allow the at least one arm of the baby or infant to be inserted into the arm pocket.
According to some embodiments, the arm pocket is configured to allow at least 90° of movement of the at least one arm of the baby or infant when the arm is in the arm pocket. In some embodiments the arm pocket is configured to allow at least 150° of movement of the at least one arm of the baby or infant when the arm is in the arm pocket. In some embodiments, the arm pocket opening is sized to inhibit the at least one arm of the baby or infant from inadvertently being released from the arm pocket.
According to some embodiments, the at least one arm pocket comprises two arm pockets, each arm pocket being configured to receive at least one arm of the baby or infant. According to some embodiments, the at least one arm pocket is configured to receive at least two arms of the baby or infant. In some embodiments, the at least one arm pocket is formed in an upside-down horseshoe shape.
According to some embodiments, the wrap portion extends beyond the perimeter of the at least one arm pocket in at least the right, left and downward directions, to define a right wrap portion, a left wrap portion and a bottom wrap portion. In some embodiments the top edge of the right wrap portion and the left wrap portion extend upwards and away from the at least one arm pocket, giving the top edge of wrap portion a generally “V” or “U” shape.
According to some embodiments the garment is configured to receive the body of a baby wearing a hip dysplasia harness.
In some embodiments the at least one arm pocket is positioned laterally around the centre of the wrap portion and adjacent to an upper edge of the wrap portion.
According to some embodiments, the at least one arm pocket is attached to the wrap portion by stitching or fusing. According to some embodiments, the at least one arm pocket and the wrap portion are produced as a unitary garment.
In some embodiments the width of the at least one arm pocket is between 30 cm and 90 cm. In some embodiments the width of the at least one arm pocket is between 50 cm and 70 cm. In some embodiments the width of the at least one arm pocket is around 60 cm.
According to some embodiments, the dimensions of the wrap portion are between around 100 cm×100 cm and between around 140 cm×140 cm. In some embodiments the dimensions of the wrap portion are around 120 cm×120 cm.
In some embodiments the baby garment comprises a lightweight, breathable and stretchy fabric. According to some embodiments, the baby garment comprises at least one of cotton jersey knit, bamboo jersey knit, thermal waffle, polyester, fleece, muslins, and flannel.
Embodiments are described in further detail below, by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Described embodiments generally relate to garments for newborns and babies. In particular, described embodiments are directed to sleeping garments for newborns and babies.
By placing a baby in sleeping garment 100 with their arms inside arm pocket 300 and swaddling them with wrap portion 200, safety risks that are present due to incorrect swaddling may be minimized. For example, some parents may wrap their baby tightly in order to prevent the baby's arms from escaping the swaddle. However, this can lead to issues including hip dysplasia or issues with hip joint development, respiratory issues and stifling the startle reflex due to wrapping too tightly. Sleeping garment 100 confines the baby's arms to arm pocket 300, reducing the risk of arms escaping the swaddle, and allowing parents to wrap their baby less tightly.
When a baby's arms are positioned within arm pocket 300, the baby can position their arms in any of the ways illustrated in
According to some embodiments, sleeping garment 100 may be made of a lightweight, breathable and stretchy fabric, such as cotton jersey knit, bamboo jersey knit, thermal waffle, polyester, fleece, muslins, flannel, and more eco-friendly options such as organic cotton or bamboo. The fabric may be selected to be comfortable for babies that suffer from eczema.
As shown in
According to some embodiments, wrap portion 200 may be shaped to have angled left and right wing segments 215 and 225, which may extend further upwards than baby placement segment 240, giving the top edge 250 of wrap portion 200 a “V” or “U” shape when the wrap portion is laid flat. Having the top edge 250 of wrap portion 200 angle upwards in this way allows for more room in the hip area of sleeping garment 100 when a baby is wrapped in the garment, which allows the garment to be worn by a baby that wears a hip dysplasia harness. This occurs due to the angle of the edges. As the angled edges are wrapped around a baby, more room is created around the hip area at the bottom of the wrap than if a wrap having a straight top edge is used.
As illustrated in
When sleeping garment 100 comprises a single arm pocket 300, arm pocket 300 may be formed in a horseshoe shape, having two arm holding portions 310 and 320 extending downwards from an under-neck portion 330. Under-neck portion 330 may bridge the separate arm holding portions 310 and 320. Arm pocket 300 may be bonded to wrap portion 200 along the entire edge of arm pocket 300 aside from the internal edge 340 of the under-neck portion 330. This un-bonded edge allows access into arm pocket 300, so that a baby's arm can be placed between the layer of wrap portion 200 and the layer of arm pocket 300. Having the rest of the edge bonded to wrap portion 200 disallows the baby's hands to come out of sleeping garment 100, and prevents inadvertent scratching by the baby of its own face.
The width of arm pocket 300 across under-neck portion 330 may be between 20 cm and 60 cm, and may be between 30 cm and 50 cm in some embodiments. According to some embodiments, the width may be around 40 cm. The length of arm pocket 300 from the top of under-neck portion 330 to the bottom of arm holding portion 310 or 320 may be between 20 cm and 50 cm, and may be between 30 cm and 40 cm in some embodiments. According to some embodiments, the length may be around 35 cm.
Arm pocket 300 may be positioned around the lateral center of and adjacent to an upper edge 250 of wrap portion 200. Arm pocket 300 may be positioned such that under-neck portion 330 is adjacent the upper edge 250, and that arm holding portions 310 and 320 extend from under-neck portion and away from the upper edge 250 of wrap portion 200. According to some embodiments, arm holding portions 310 and 320 may also extend slightly toward the upper edge 250 of wrap portion 200, and outwards toward the left and right edges of wrap portion 200, to allow a baby's arm positioned in arm holding portion 310 or 320 to move from down by its side to up around the level of its face without touching the edge of arm pocket 300. According to some embodiments, arm holding portions 310 and 320 may be of a width sized to allow a baby wrapped in sleeping garment 100 to move their arms through all of the positions illustrated in
In
Arm pocket 950 may be positioned around the center of and adjacent to an upper edge 250 of wrap portion 200. Arm pocket 950 may have downward arm holding portions 951 and 955, sideways arm holding portions 952 and 954, and an under-neck portion 953. Arm pocket 950 may be positioned such that under-neck portion 953 is adjacent upper edge 250, and that arm holding portions 951 and 955 extend from under-neck portion 953 and outwards towards the left and right edges of wrap portion 200. Arm holding portions 952 and 954 may extend from under-neck portion 953 downwards toward the bottom edge of wrap portion 20.
The width of arm pocket 950 from the outermost end of arm holding portion 951 to the outermost end of arm holding portion 955 may be between 30 cm and 90 cm, and may be between 50 cm and 70 cm in some embodiments. According to some embodiments, the width may be around 60 cm. The length of arm pocket 950 from the top of under-neck portion 953 to the bottom of arm holding portion 952 or 954 may be between 10 cm and 30 cm, and may be between 15 cm and 25 cm in some embodiments. According to some embodiments, the length may be around 20 cm.
Arm holding portions 951, 952, 954 and 955 may be of a width sized to contain a baby's arm. When positioning a baby in sleeping garment 900, the baby's arms may be positioned in arm pockets 951 and 955, so that the baby's arms are extended outwards as illustrated in
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2017901068 | Mar 2017 | AU | national |