Bonding blanket
Scent is the most powerful of the five senses. Because of its direct link to the brain’s emotional centers, 75% of our daily emotions are triggered by smell. We can remember scents with up to 65% accuracy after a year, while our recall for images fades much faster.
Bonding Blankets are designed to transfer scent between baby and mama. The baby can still smell mum’s scent even when she isn’t there — and when mum returns home, she can smell her baby’s scent on the blanket.
This helps foster a deep emotional connection between parents and their babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Skin-to-skin contact is the best way to bond with a newborn, usually right after birth. If that’s not possible, dad or another caregiver can do it, while mum uses Bonding Blankets until she can hold her baby again. These blankets, which remind her of her baby’s scent, can even stimulate milk production by triggering the let-down reflex.
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materials
Materials and safety
To protect both baby and mama’s delicate skin, we carefully select materials that are soft, breathable, and gentle — avoiding anything harsh, like metallic fibers.
We use 100% cotton yarn and follow strict hygiene practices: washing our hands regularly and thoroughly cleaning each blanket before packaging.
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The yarn we use has the perfect elasticity, ensuring each Bonding Blanket is soft, flexible, and safe, with no choking hazards for babies.
Yarn choice
Never use wool that isn’t superwash — superwash wools have been treated to make them machine-washable. Superwash merino is especially ideal: it’s so fine and soft that many people don’t even realize it’s wool!
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Avoid choosing yarns solely based on fiber type, like acrylic, cotton, or bamboo — they must also feel soft and be easy-care. Fibers such as mohair and alpaca, though luxurious, can irritate a baby’s sensitive skin and aren’t machine-washable.
Many well-known brands, such as Lion Brand, Red Heart, and Bernat, offer baby-specific yarn lines. When in doubt, those are always a safe and comforting choice.
INstructions:
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One square is placed with a premature baby
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Another is worn against the mum’s skin
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Then the squares are swapped round every 12 hours or every time mum visits.
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( p.s. don't forget to wash them)
Make your own!
We want everyone to know that they can make a difference — all you need is a needle, some yarn, and a caring heart.
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Every mother knows that love and comfort are often found right between her hands. With dedication and compassion, even the smallest stitch can bring warmth and connection to a mother and her baby.
Here are some easy guides you could follow to produce your own bonding blankets! Our request from us and we'll make sure it'll go straight to your service!
What you will need:
Yarn
Se used sirdar Snuggly Replay DK Double Knitting, Pogo Purple (115), 50g
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(can be used to make about 4 blankets, so 2 pairs)
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50% cotton 50% acrylic
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​Use any brands but ensure the materials is in our regulation.
Needle
2.5-mm (USA C-2 , UK size 12) Hook
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Tapestry needle
(The smaller the better, so babies' tiny fingers do not go through the holes)
Abbreviations
Ch – Chain
Dc – Double Crochet
Hdc – Half Double Crochet
Inc – Increase
Sc – Single Crochet
Sl St – Slip Stitch
St – Stitch
Yo – Yarn over
Method:
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Make a slip knot and place it on your hook.
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Ch 21 (foundation chain).
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Row 1: Insert hook into 2nd ch from hook, sc in each chain across to the end — you will have 20 sc.
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Ch 1, turn.
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Row 2 and following: sc in each stitch across. Ch 1, turn at the end of every row.
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Repeat Step 5 until the piece measures 15 cm from the first row (measuring from the first row of sc, not the chain).
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Fasten off with Sl St and weave in ends with a tapestry needle to clean up.
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The instruction above assumes your gauge matches the chain-to-cm measurement you supplied (ch 21 ≈ 10 cm). If your gauge differs, adjust the starting chain to get a 10 cm width.
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Use a stitch marker in the first stitch of each row if you want to track rows/stitch counts.
Notes:
Some helpful videos for you!
Make sure the holes are not too big! We don't want the babies' hands to slip inside and get stuck!