Tip of the Week: Natural Crib-Warmer Keeps Things Cozy!

When your baby falls asleep in your arms, you do everything you can to make that transfer to crib or bassinet as seamless and comfortable as possible. If you've found that your baby's chilly bed linens are startling them awake, I encourage you to whip up an easy, natural and homemade heating pad to get you through the winter.

Warm the pad 3-5 minutes in the microwave and tuck into their crib anywhere between 10 minutes to an hour before you plan to put your child down. This will warm the linens in a natural and cord-free way, preventing your child from waking due to the sudden temperature change of being placed in their crib.

This pad also doubles as an excellent natural remedy for you, too! I use mine for backaches, headaches and even a toe warmer when I catch a chill. You can even put it in the freezer to double as an ice pack. Just make sure you don't get it wet, the filling will absorb the moisture and ruin your handy helper.

There is an extremely easy no-sew way to make these, or for the adept seamstress, you can amp the project up a few notches. To make your natural heating pad, you'll need the following:

• Fabric Squares or a New Sock
• Filling (rice, dried cherry pits, flaxseed or buckwheat hulls)
  

No-Sew Directions: Take a new, clean sock (a men's tube sock works best because it's longer) and fill 2/3 full of the filler of your choice. Tie a knot at the top and pull it as tight and secure as possible. You can also take some cord and tie it shut, then tie the sock in a knot over the corded seal for an extra-safe seal.

Sewing Directions: Pick 2 pretty pieces of cotton, roughly the size that you'd like the pad to be, and place them wrong-sides together. Sew 3 edges (do each seam twice for security) and turn it right-side out, like a pillowcase. Then sew from the closed end to the open end about every 2 inches. That will give you a casing with several long, thin channels. Fill each channel 2/3 full with the filler of your choice. Finally, fold the raw end twice and sew it closed.