By Amber

November 25th, 2018

Thank you to Harkla for providing me blankets to facilitate this post. As always, all opinions are my own.

I recently started hearing about weighted blankets to help kids sleep and I was immediately intrigued. Having two young kids myself, and ones that each have unique sleeping issues, I wanted to give them a try. Harkla Weighted Blankets stood out to me from the beginning because of their soft minky fabric covers. While that’s what drew me in, there were many other features that made me want to try these awesome blankets!

Harkla Weighted Blankets

These blankets are marketed for kids with Autism, Anxiety, and ADHD, though they can be useful for any child who has trouble going to and staying asleep. In our case, our daughter has co-slept her entire life and now that she’s five, the transition to her own bed is pretty tough. She likes being snuggled up to someone for warmth and comfort, and she’s afraid of the dark so when she does wake alone during the night she is terrified. I knew a weighted blanket could help her fall and stay asleep, so I chose the 7-pound Weighted Blanket in Purple for her.

Her favorite color is pink, so this reversible blanket is right up her alley with the super soft minky material. Harkla’s Weighted Blankets have cotton padding in with the glass bead filling, so the blankets are more soft than some competitors. Plus they’re sewn into sections to keep the weight evenly distributed. Because kids get messy, you actually tie the inner part of the blanket to the outer duvet which removes easily for washing!

Our daughter has been sleeping much better since we employed her new blanket! While she’s still not completely transitioned into her own room, she sleeps better and is less restless when using her Harkla Weighted Blanket.

The science behind weighted blankets shows that by applying Deep Touch Pressure, the body produces serotonin which promotes relaxation. These blankets basically feel like a giant hug!

Our son is almost three and he co-sleeps with us. I’m completely fine with that and expect him to for awhile longer, but he also nurses during the night and I’m at the point where I’d love to have him nurse just when he goes to bed and wakes up. With me laying right next to him at night, he’s got easy access but that means a restless night for me each time he wakes. I wanted to try a weighted blanket for him to see if the pressure of the blanket would help him relax and sleep longer at night.

So far his 5-Pound Grey Weighted Blanket is working great! He does still wake once a night to nurse, but it’s much better than the two to three times he was waking in the past. The only issue we’ve had is that he does sleep very hot, so he gets pretty warm under his blanket. We’re heading into winter in Minnesota, so this shouldn’t be a problem, but he generally doesn’t wear pajamas when he sleeps under his blanket or he gets too hot. The nice thing is, these blankets are weighted but they’re not so heavy that the kids can’t get out from under them if they want.

Our kids are loving their new blankets (and so am I!). I can’t wait to see how the transition goes over the next couple of months as we work more towards our daughter sleeping in her own room and our son nursing less. If you’ve got kids in your life that have a hard time sleeping for any reason, consider a Harkla Weighted Blanket for a gift this holiday season!

 

 

 

 

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