The holidays are right around the corner, believe it or not!
The holidays are a time when parents go to stores and excitedly spend lots of money on their children to make that magical time of year even more magical for them.
Well, itsi harder for some parents. AI can't tell you how many time we have went into a store and walked out empty handed for Billy. Or walked out with something we were excited that has since collected dust in his room, our living room, turned out to be a nice coat rack ;) or in a box in the basement because he is physically unable to use it.
So my hope throughout the next coming weeks, months, years is to give my experience on products that have worked for Billy. Better yet, AFFORDABLE products that were gifts he enjoyed. Because if you are in the special needs world, you know just like I do how expensive anything in the 'special needs' category to be.
First up, is this weighted blanket that we bought for Billy for his birthday this year. No, he doesn't need it again for the holidays because it is in great condition, but it was one of our better finds for him.
We use a weighted blanket for Billy mainly due to his lack of proprioceptive senses. He cannot feel where he is in space. This does cause some anxiety for him. Billy also gets painful muscle spasms and I do believe this helps with those as well.
If you have researched weighted blankets you know they can get pretty expensive. I knew I needed to stay in budget on this purchase but was nervous about quality as well. I did my research and this blanket had great reviews.
You definitely feel the weight on this blanket - but it is not super heavy, which I was worried about because Billy gets overheated very easily.
We got Billy the 41"x60" size - he is about 50 pounds. It is a perfect size for him and gives him a lot of room for growth.
Picking the weight of the blanket was the toughest part. Different people may require or like different weights - even if they are the same size. In my research I read that if purchasing a blanket for a child it should not weigh more than 10% of their body weight. Billy's blanket is 10 pounds - and he is only 50 pounds - so we are obviously over that. He is on a pulse ox all night and he has not had problems with his heart rate or oxygen and he sleeps GREAT, so it seems to work for him.
In my research I read that adults can handle up to a 30 pound blanket.
So I highly recommend this Zonli weighted blanket. It allowed us both a great night sleep!
