So Cal Company Makes Baby Sleeping Boxes for Infants

Michelle Vick says when she was a new mom "I was completely overwhelmed I didn't know what I needed. What I didn't need."

And, that's so true. Every new parent will likely tell you the same thing. So many products. So many brand names. But, there are basics like cribs and strollers.

Three years ago Michelle Vick and her best friend since childhood heard about how sleep boxes in Finland were saving babies lives. That, over a 75 year period, the rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome had dropped dramatically because she says, babies were sleeping in boxes. So, she and her friend set up a business making and selling bed boxes. Vick says that their fitted mattresses and firm cardboard walls can protect infants for their first few months. Softer materials, she says, can smother a baby.

Of the boxes, she says, "There is no safer place to keep your baby. It has a firm mattress and large air holes on either side. And, and the mattress has a fitted sheet on it so it won't come off and create a suffocation hazard."

We took the idea to Dr. Lauren Crosby. She's a pediatrician. She concurred that, for those reasons, a baby box is an "okay idea" if used properly.

In fact, the two women agree on most everything about infants in their first months of life. Vick says, "You can certainly have a crib, and that this (box) is more portable and more affordable. Some people will have a crib in their baby nursery and then they have this (box) and keep it next to their bed."

The two women both say that the most important thing is to make sure a baby sleeps on his or her back even if the baby is sleeping in a baby box.

On their website, they says "Our Baby Boxes have passed rigorous inspection: all materials from the ink on the exterior of the boxes to the glue used in their production are non-toxic and environmentally safe. Our mattresses are firm foam pads which have been independently certified as non-toxic and safe by CertiPUR laboratories. Specifically, they adhere to the following:

- No PBDE flame retardants

- No prohibited phthalates

- No ozone depleters (CFCs)

- No mercury, lead or heavy metals

- No formaldehyde"

The boxes, which come with baby products, is $69 and can be purchased online at babyboxco.com. When organizations buy a large number to distribute the prices is reduced.