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‘Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug’

Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency provides books about infant safety

“Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug” is being distributed in the area so parents are educated about putting their infants to sleep safely. The Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency received a grant from the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan to provide the books to parents. (Journal photo by Christie Bleck)

MARQUETTE — Is there anything more peaceful than an infant sleeping on its belly in a crib, swaddled in a blanket?

It might be peaceful, but it’s not necessarily safe.

The Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency has been using a $1,800 grant from the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan to provide the book “Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug” for area families to educate them on the best way to let their infants slumber.

The book, written by Dr. John Hutton, a pediatrician, and illustrated by Leah Busch, was created for the Charlie’s Kids Foundation, which focused its outreach on education of the American Academy of Pediatrics 2011 Safe Sleep Recommendations.

MARESA Superintendent Deborah Veiht said the LLF is pushing literacy across the state.

“We thought, ‘Gosh, let’s start with families that have babies that are newly born,” Veiht said. “So that’s why this book was chosen. It talks about safety.”

A hospital is one place with many newborns.

To help those newborns, Upper Peninsula Health System-Marquette distributed 454 “Sleep Baby” books last year, she said.

“This is great,” Veiht said. “They give it to parents to talk about safe sleep.”

The books also have been distributed through MARESA’s Early On programs for newborns to 3-year-olds, she said, which involve MARESA working with at-risk families faced with issues such as premature births.

“About 500 books have been distributed in Marquette County in the last year,” Veiht said. “So, it’s getting at the literacy aspect.”

However, the book’s back cover also has two bullet lists of things to do — and not to do — when an infant is sleeping.

For example, infants should be placed on their backs during every sleep in cribs with firm mattresses covered by fitted sheets. The cribs also should be placed in the same room the parent or parents sleep.

Babies should not be placed on their stomachs, however, plus the cribs should not have blankets, pillows, toys or bumper pads.

“What this does is it gives a great conversation starter, either from the nurse at the hospital or through our staff, to talk to parents,” Veiht said.

Even though it’s not part of the LLF grant, MARESA has been giving out SleepSacks, which are “swaddlers” for safe infant sleeping.

“Part of our Early On program really is education — parent education, besides monitoring the baby — and making sure they meet their developmental milestones,” said Tammy Nyen, MARESA associate superintendent and director of special education.

Veiht said there still is a supply of books available to the public.

“Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug” is composed of eight thick cardboard pages of appealing illustrations that include an infant being tucked into bed — albeit the correct way.

One page reads: “I love my crib, both day and night. No pillows or blankets, just me — just right.”

A two-page section reads: “Goodnight Mom, Dad, teddy bear. You’ll sleep soundly over there.”

The “over there” refers to the stuffed animal.

Parents of both genders also are depicted in the book.

“We’ve talked to some of our Early On consultants, and they said, ‘You know, it’s a great segue to a mom,’ and quite honestly, as you see, for a parent, this is a nice way to read about it versus a pamphlet,” Veiht said.

Angela Johnson, who is involved with MARESA as director of the Great Start Collaborative Marquette-Alger Counties, said other Great Start programs in Michigan are pushing the importance of safe sleep for babies.

“This aligns perfectly with that,” Johnson said.

Nyen pointed out that MARESA serves about 250 families, including children from birth to age 3, in Marquette and Alger counties.

“When we leave something with them at home — our staff will have their ‘bag of tricks’ — but to be able to leave a resource is always just helpful, and we try to do that as much as we can,” Nyen said.

Veiht said one consultant gave an infant’s older brother the book, telling him he could read it to his baby sister.

“He was so excited that someone gave him a book, like ‘I’m special too,'” Veiht said.

Veiht said she likes the connection between the hospital and the “Sleep Baby” book program.

“This has been a win-win all the way around,” Veiht said.

For more information on the program, contact Johnson at 906-869-0566.

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