Re: Weighted Blanket

[Guest guest]

I took a heavy queen size blanket cover, folded it in four and put it

in a crib quilt cover I already had to see if my son liked it before

spending money on a weighted blanket. He still uses it and I haven't

had to buy one yet. Hope this helps,

[Guest guest]

Have you change his diet? My twins never slept either. They were up ALL

night, every night, and every day. It was madness. We decided to change

their diet assuming it was behind all this stuff. Day one we gave them pure

homemade applesauce and pearsauce with diluted apple cider to drink. They

slept the entire night! It was crazy. The second day we gave them some eggs,

cooked chicken and the pear and apple sauce and lots of welches grape juice

and they slept again ALL night! The third day we gave them ground beef

hamburgers with no bun and also chicken and the applesauce and pearsauce and

once again they slept all night. Since then we have continued just adding

foods in and seeing if it affects them. We still are only able to give them

fruits, vegetables and meat and now a little plain goats yogurt, but they

are doing so well. The lack of sleep must of been affecting them so much I

now see in hindsight. Within a few weeks of this, their language came in

huge waves. Behaviour was tremendously improved and they were sleeping

through the night!

They were three and a half when we started this.

Good luck in finding an answer. Sleep deprivation can make EVERYONE crazy!

I feel for you.

[ ] Weighted Blanket

> Can anyone recommend a good weighted blanket. My 2 year old is up most

> of the night and I am trying different approaches to get him to sleep!

> Thank you.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Have you tried melatonin? Works for many ASD kids for sleep issues. I believe

that melatonin is rated pretty high on the effectiveness scale of biomedical

interventions.

We don't use it now but we have in the past. If our kids don't sleep, they

don't learn when they are awake.... and their parents are in a constant state of

fatigue.

I couldn't find a weighted blanket but here are some sensory pillows, lap

weights and other stuff that might help.

http://www.sensorycomfort.com/relaxati.htm

Oh.... found it! (knew I had seen one out there!) Lots of great products on

this site for sensory kids:

http://www.southpawenterprises.com/store/weighted-blanket,Product.asp

I thought the Learn to Dress Cube looked good for our kids with poor fine motor

skills:

http://www.southpawenterprises.com/store/learn-to-dress-cube,Product.asp

Hope this helps. The blanket is rather expensive but for a good night's

sleep.... maybe worth it!

Janice

Mother of Mark, 13

[ ] Weighted Blanket

> Can anyone recommend a good weighted blanket. My 2 year old is up most

> of the night and I am trying different approaches to get him to sleep!

> Thank you.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

There is a mom online that has a child with autism that actually makes

them at from what I have herd a very reasonable price. Also a heavy

quilt may do the trick as well.

CeCelia

[Guest guest]

Tara,

Someone from this group or else the sensory integration group sent me

the following instructions to make your own weighted blanket. I just

finished making one for my son and it cost me about $35. It works

like a dream - no pun intended! He falls asleep within 10 minutes -

does not whine and cry and get out of bed like he used to. And he

has slept through the night 4 out of the past 5 nights he has used

it. The one night he woke up at 4 am, but his diaper had leaked so I

blame it on that. Prior to using the blanket he only slept through

the night about 40% of the time. He is 4 years and 9 months old.

When he was 3 years old (like your son) he never slept through the

night. I wish I made this blanket sooner. I hope the blanket you

choose (either made or purchased) works as well for your son as it

does for mine!

Amie

A weighted blanket is used for your child (or yourself) and is meant

to

cover their body, not as a " spread " for the bed. So the first thing

is to

determine what size your child will need. My son is almost 4 and uses

a

" crib size " blanket and still has plenty of room for growth. Crib

size is

36 " x 52 " . I tend to use snuggle flannel on one side and cotton on the

other, fleece can be very hard to work with, especially if you are

doing a

large blanket and can be very hot. I made a twin size one out of

fleece and

it was a challenge! Anyways, start with your sizing and then next is

figuring the weight.

Standard weight is 10% of the child's body weight plus one additional

pound.

So, if your child weighs 30 pounds, the blanket would weigh 4 pounds

(10% of

30 = 3 + 1 pound = 4). I only use Poly Pellets, as stated by the

manufacturer they are hypo-allergenic and non-toxic. I find them at

's or Joann's, local fabric and craft stores in my area. As a

tip,

Joann's usually has them cheaper as an everyday price than 's

does

but that could be a regional thing. They run about $4.99 - $6.99 for

a 2

pound bag.

Once you have your fabric, pellets and thread you are ready!! Lay the

two

pieces with the design side in, facing each other. The outside should

be

the back side of the fabric and the design should be face to face on

the

inside. Sew up 3 sides. I would suggest sewing up the two long sides

and

one of the shorter sides, leaving one short side open. Once you have

those

3 sides sewn, turn it right side out through the open side. You will

have

basically a pillow case, lol.

Then, you will start sewing " channels " up the blanket. I usually

start in

the center of the blanket, at the bottom where it is sewn and sew a

straight

line all the way up to the open end. That basically divides the

blanket in

half. Then I go to one side and do the exact same thing, sewing

channels up

the middle of each section. I usually have channels that are about 4

inches

wide. Once you get them that size you can stop sewing more. For a crib

size blanket I usually end up with 8 long channels.

Once you have your channels sewn, you figure out where the cross

lines will

go. You need to lay your blanket out and get your pins ready. My

pockets

are usually 3 " x 3 " or 4 " x 4 " so it is small enough to provide even

weight

distribution but yet big enough for you to manage to sew - you'll

understand

that more as you make a blanket. So, since you hopefully sewed the

channels

on the long side, you will be sewing more cross channels because you

are

working down the length of the blanket. I lay the blanket out with the

channels I've sewn laying horizontally, so going from left to right

in front

of me. Then I take my measuring tape and start measuring out, you can

do

simple division to determine whether you are using 3 " or 4 " depending

on the

total length of your blanket. Then you just pin every 3 or 4 inches

to mark

where you will sew. For a crib size blanket that usually comes to 13.

Now you are ready to fill! To keep the weight even, I use a measuring

cup

scoop (normally the 1/4 cup one) and depending on how many bags of

pellets,

that's how I figured out how many scoops per pocket. I usually get a

bowl

and count out the scoops per bag. Then I figure out how many channels

I

have based on the number of long channels already sewn and the number

of

pins I placed. That will give you the total number of pockets you

will have

and then you can figure out how many scoops to put in each channel.

So,

once you get that figured out, you start putting the scoops of

pellets into

each channel. Then you try and shake them all the way down and then

sew

across at your pin mark to make your first row of pockets. This is

why it

is good to be working with the long side hanging down. The pellets

are very

hard and did break my needles when I sewed over them on accident. I

frequently have to lay the blanket out with the material ready in the

sewing

machine and manually push the pellets back down into their pocket so

I can

sew across without running one over. Sew across the channel to trap

them in

the pocket. Then you take the blanket out of the sewing machine and

add

another round of pellets in the channels. You just keep doing that

until

you get to the end. I just fold the ends in and sew across and viola!

A

weighted blanket.