Belgian Baby Coach Pollet Tina on the "Fedde&Kees method" (3 September 2020)

Fedde & Kees stands for secure, safe, and easy sleeping.

As a baby coach specialising in restlessness and sleep, I had the opportunity to test both Nunki, the sheet, and Bundi, the sleeping bag, with my little clients.

The Nunki sheet is something I often recommend to parents who want to do things right from day one. Babies (under normal circumstances) have spent nine months in a small, cosy environment with limited room for movement. When a baby is suddenly placed in a large cot on their back, there's little sense of that cosiness left. The Nunki sheet provides the extra feeling of security that young babies need to be able to relax. When you make up the cot using the Nunki sheet in a way that allows the baby's feet to be against the bottom edge of the cot, the sheet is also extremely safe to use.

Harvey Karp, an American paediatrician, argues that babies are not fully “developed” at birth. In those first months, they are primarily driven by reflexes. For example, the sucking reflex causes a baby to start sucking as soon as the mother's nipple or a bottle teat enters its mouth. It's good that babies have these reflexes, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to survive. These reflexes are controlled by external stimuli. Many newborn babies have difficulty filtering these stimuli, which can prevent them from falling asleep due to uncontrolled movements, or cause them to startle awake when transitioning to deep sleep. These are the typical 30-minute naps seen in very young babies. As they are unable to achieve deep sleep this way, these babies quickly become overtired, making them even more sensitive to stimuli.

So a vicious cycle which they find very difficult to break out of themselves. Swaddling can therefore also be a good solution for this. The restriction of movement and the feeling of security bring the baby peace. However, tight swaddling is not necessary for all babies, and is also something that needs to be “unlearned” again. The swaddle bag not only restricts movement, but also quickly becomes a sleep association for a baby, and therefore something they will always need to fall asleep. That's why I would rather recommend starting with the Nunki sheet for security. This can be used for a very long time. However, if this is not sufficient, the Bundi sleeping bag can offer extra support.

The Bundi sleepsuit, in combination with the Nunki sheet, offers a gentler alternative to swaddling. The sleepsuit's sleeves can easily be zipped up, preventing the typical arm-flailing. These zips also make the Bundi sleepsuit a perfect way to wean from swaddling. The zips can be gradually unfastened, perhaps starting with one arm, then the other, and the sleepsuit can continue to be used afterwards.

Even for toddlers who no longer sleep in a sleeping bag, I myself am a fan of the Nunki sheet; that way they don't wriggle out from under the sheet as quickly, meaning they won't wake up cold, for example, in winter.

Following the many positive comments from my customers, I will definitely continue to recommend both Fedde and Kees products!

Pollet Tina

Baby coach for unsettled babies and sleep issues at the Baby Academy in Belgium.