Stories and people behind product videos. Safe-T-Sleep Baby Sleepwrap.

Most of us watch product videos to learn about products, but sometimes stories behind those videos and products are so inspiring that it makes you want to learn more about people who invented the product and brought it to life.

We are talking today to Anton Karl Rutherford from Safe-T-Sleep, a company from New Zealand who is relatively new to American market but if their success in new Zealand is any indication – we will hear more about this company and their incredible product very soon.
HandBookLive team worked with Safe-T-Sleep to help create a voice over for the wonderful animated videos that Safe-T-Sleep had produced and posted on HandBookLive.com.

Before we get to the story behind the product let’s watch this video to learn about Safe-T-Sleep sleepwrap and how it works.

Safe-T-Sleep Sleepwrap is used by over 200,000 babies worldwide!

Laura Beken: “Anton, I understand that it was your mother who invented this incredible product for the babies. What was her story? How did it come about?”
Anton Karl Rutherford: “Yes, the Original Safe T Sleep Sleepwrap was invented by my mother who nursed several babies who had been admitted to hospital due to falls from their cot. She decided that this type of accident could be prevented which eventually resulted in the creation of the Sleepwrap. The product was not put on the market until our neighbor said (over dinner one evening) that the Sleepwrap should be made available to everybody! So Mum decided to engage several sewing ladies in New Zealand and went about making Sleepwraps.”
Laura Beken: “What was the biggest challenge?”

Anton Karl Rutherford: “One of the biggest challenges we faced was that it required years of educating and demonstrating the product. Showing how the product works to both the medical profession and general population in New Zealand required a huge effort. On our information site www.safetsleep.com there are numerous testimonials that we’ve obtained over the years proving that we’ve overcome this challenge. The second biggest challenge is repeating this effort globally!”

Laura Beken: “What is your main strategy for reaching the US market?”
Anton Karl Rutherford: “We feel that our new website, www.safesleepsolutions.com will enable us to do so by providing customers an understanding of how the product works and the main benefits through the visual 3D Animation Clips we’ve created. Our video on HandBookLive.com allows retailers to embed our product video to help them sell our product. The product packaging doesn’t really show the customer what the product does so some form of visual add is essential for our product. We are passionate about overcoming our second biggest challenge and continue to work alongside people who can support us. What we keep on reminding ourselves is that the product was invented to prevent accidents whilst creating peace of mind for parent which is a pretty cool thing!”

Laura Beken: “I understand you are actively looking for retailers who will help sell your product in the US?”
Anton Karl Rutherford: “Yes we are. We would love to team up with great companies who care about baby products and baby safety as much as we do. You can email us about partnership opportunities at sales@safesleepsolutions.com And of course we encourage everyone to help spread the word by embedding our videos. Anyone including retailers can do it via the HandBookLive player by going to the player and simply clicking on the embed tab in the Info panel and copying the embed code”.
Laura Beken: “What made you decide to do a video for your product and what was the main goal?”

Anton Karl Rutherford: “We felt that with our product it was essential to show parents how the product is fitted and why there is a need for this type of product. Education is still a big part of our business. The video shows how the product is fitted and the main benefits/reasons why the product was invented which to help prevent falls from cots, help provide a central sleeping position and help prevent flat head syndrome. We feel these are the three key things/message we wish to get across”
Laura Beken: “How long did it take you to produce the video and what were the challenges?”
Anton Karl Rutherford: “We spent approximately 6 months writing the scripts and guiding the 3D Animation company. This was a big learning curve for us as we didn’t understand/appreciate how complicated it would be to create these clips. Everything was documented in a project plan to avoid any confusion.”
Laura Beken: “I think it is a beautiful and very informative video, and thank you for letting HandBookLive help with the voice over – we truly enjoyed working on this project, and we are all very excited about your product, and hope that soon it will be as well known in the United States as it is in New Zealand. Good luck to you, and thank you for sharing your story!”

To view this new 3D Animation with voice over please click here: http://bit.ly/bLy06c

Using a Sleepwrap on a boat......tell us your story!

It's nearly holiday time, and for many people that means travelling. You may have bought your Sleepwrap for safety reasons, but there's a hidden bonus - the Sleepwrap is a great "bed in bag" that you can use anywhere with minimal fuss. It fits in the car easily around the dog, BBQ and chilly bins.

Diane Ladd's Story:

The Safe T Sleep performed very well on the boat and was attached to Anna’s bunk which is head high on me and I am 5’7”. The real test came on a trip back from Waiheke in very rolling seas which were uncomfortable for me to stand up and Anna slept safely cuddled in her Safe T Sleep for two hours.


I will be singing the praises of Safe T Sleep on the high seas this summer.
Kindest regards


Diane M Ladd RGON
http://www.safetsleep.com/boating/

Is Swaddling still in Fashion?.

I recently recorded a series off the Living Channel called “Bringing up baby” which follows 6 sets of British parents as they follow 3 different parenting gurus – Truby King from the 50’s, Dr Spock from the 60’s and the Continuum concept from the 70’s. The huge differences in the approach to parenting was really interesting as the programme followed the couples in the first 3 months of their babies lives. It is amazing that in just 3 decades there was such a huge difference in techniques and advice. I don’t know about you but I found there is a lot more acceptance nowadays of being able to choose the approach that works best for you and your family. In fact this show seemed to reinforce this attitude with all of the babies settling after 3 months but the degree to which the parents social and love lives got back on track really differed!
It seems swaddling/wrapping babies is one of several techniques that have been in and out of fashion right throughout history.


There is well researched and documented evidence to show that babies and toddlers respond well to the reassurance of boundaries and ‘nesting’. For centuries children in different cultures have been lovingly swaddled and wrapped in gauze, slings and in materials of different kinds.
Wrapping helps maintain womblike conditions and helps contain sudden involuntary movements which can often startle young babies awake, promoting safer and more restful sleeping.. It can become part of the pre sleep association for babies; they associate being wrapped with the security of sleep. This is particularly the case if the wrapping experience is a pleasant one, accompanied by quiet soothing sounds of singing or shushing or soft music. It can be an empowering settling technique for both mother and baby.
However new research out recently from the UK advises caution with swaddling especially with over heating and having the swaddling on too tight it may interfere with breathing. Therefore make sure that the swaddling is not too tight around the baby’s chest – with the Sleepwrap you should be able to get your hand between the wrap and the baby, but make sure the wrap itself is secured very tightly around the mattress so it doesn’t move. If you choose to use a traditional swaddling wrap, like a muslin cloth, be careful that it doesn’t come loose and end up around your baby’s face and you don’t bind the legs and arms too tightly as this can cause hip and breathing problems. I liked to wrap my children in Muslin for the first 3 months but they were little houdinis and I found that the Sleepwrap helped to keep the muslin swaddling in place which meant that I didn’t need to be as firm with my swaddling technique.


From Maria at the Safe T Sleep family


Frequently Asked Questions

Safe T Sleep Story - Share your own with us!

As one of the Safe T Sleep staff I thought I would share my own story regarding Safe T Sleep Sleepwrap. I have 2 children and both have been big babies, early crawlers and walkers. My daughter rolled over at 3 1/2 months onto her tummy while sleeping but was not strong enough to get back over so would either wake me with her crying or I would find her face down in the morning which scared me. I did not know of  the Sleepwrap then and so tried several methods with rolled up towels etc. I used to wrap her quite tightly too in muslin but she would always seem to wriggle out and I would find it all bunched up around her face in the morning. It didn’t seem to matter what I tried I still could not get a real peace of mind while she slept.


7 years latter my son arrived and by this stage I had met Miriam and helped her with some marketing so I did not hesitate to get a Sleepwrap. The peace of mind was instantaneous especially from the 3-4 month period on when he again started rolling and moving. The other benefits I found were that he didn’t get his arms and legs caught in the cot bars as much and in fact because the Sleepwrap is a wrap I didn’t need to bind him in the muslin wraps which are very restrictive for movement. I could also position him better so he didn’t develop a flat head – had to keep him looking cute for those kindy girls!


We have received many other testimonials from grateful parents over the years and we would love to hear about your stories too and how the Sleepwrap has made a difference to you and your family – send them in to us at sales@safetsleep.net


Warm regards
Maria Lovelock – part of the Safe T Sleep Family.