A letter from Michael Gatten
My name is Mike Gatten,
inventor of the Miracle Blanket. More importantly, I'm also
the father of three incredible boys.
Our first and third
were extremely colicky babies; the first one was the very
embodiment of severe colic. Needless to say, my wife and
I didn’t sleep for four months that first time around. When
our third son, Jake, began to show signs of colic, I knew
there had to be a way to stop it before being forced to
endure that incredible misery again.
I had done a lot of
“homework” during the sleepless nights of our first bout
with extreme colic, so by the time Jake was eight weeks
old I was lucky enough to find the “magic” combination of
ingredients to create a veritable “off switch” for crying
and sleepless babies nearly every time.
Since Jake (and my wife
and I) had the advantage of the Miracle Blanket, I am very
aware of the effectiveness of the blanket. And because Chandler,
our first son, didn’t experience the Miracle Blanket, my
wife and I have an incredible perspective on life with the
blanket compared to life without it. We knew we had to get
this into as many hands as possible as soon as possible.
We tested, researched
and developed this product over more than a year. We didn’t
even attempt to set up our distribution channels until late
2002 AFTER we were totally convinced that the blanket was
everything it seemed to be. At the time of its public launch,
the Miracle Blanket was, by far, the most tested, tried
and effective product of its kind and has remained so ever
since.
Because it actually
does what we say, you can imagine that once it hit the market
word spread like wild fire – to put it lightly. As a result,
within weeks of our launch, demand became overwhelming.
Even the most widely distributed and trusted magazine in
the world, Good Housekeeping, got a hold of the Miracle
Blanket. They were so excited they wrote a half-page article
about it.
I like to point out
that when someone sleeps for the first time in a couple
weeks/months, they tend to tell a lot of people about it
... passionately. So, since our launch, we have tried to
stick to three things: 1) get the blanket to those who need
it no matter what it takes, 2) take better care of our customers
than any company of any kind has ever done, and 3) hang
on tight ... at times its been a very wild ride.
Be sure to visit our
press page, testimonials page and professionals’ page to
see what people are saying about this incredible blanket,
which, by the way, was named by the people that tested it
in the early stages. Drop us a line or give us a call if
you have any questions at all.
Sincerely,
Michael Gatten,
The History of the Amazing Miracle Blanket®
When our first child was born, my wife
and I found out how tough a fussy baby could be. For the first three
months of his life, he spent most of his time screaming (seemingly
in pain) and keeping us from sleep. My wife would stay up until I got
home from work at 4:AM (Back then I was a Manager for Harrah’s
Entertainment). I would then take over comforting him until she awoke
at 8:AM or 9:AM. Finally, I would go to bed and sleep until it was
time to go to work in the evening. Those were the longest three months
of our lives! And although it was several years - and a couple executive
jobs - later, we remember it like it was yesterday. I remember searching
high and low for a remedy; but in the end, more than three sleepless
months was the only cure.
When our second son was born we got lucky;
he was happy. He began sleeping through the night within a couple of
weeks. We assumed that it was because we were now "experienced parents" -
our calmness and patience created the difference. We were very proud
of ourselves.
Then our third son was born. He wasn't
as tough as our first, but we knew right away we had a problem. But
this time we were determined to find a solution. We'd kept the books
from the first time around, so we dug them out and started reading
up. Throughout our research we noticed some recurring themes:
- Swaddling is the most helpful ingredient in every
effective calming method,
- Holding your baby on your forearm, face-down (or
face-forward) while rocking or jiggling him (gently) seems to enhance
the calming effect, and
- Using a pacifier and making a loud shushing sound
in his ear further adds to the effectiveness.
We noticed right away that if all of these things
were done at once, babies almost always calm down very quickly. So what
was the problem?
Well, we quickly found that it was difficult
(or nearly impossible) to bundle a baby in a way that keeps him snug
all night during restless sleep with a normal, square receiving blanket.
Many of our friends mentioned that their pediatricians suggested swaddling,
but they too found it very difficult to do properly. They quickly became
frustrated and gave up swaddling. One thing everyone agreed on was
that no matter how well you swaddle them, babies seem to have an incredible
ability to get at least one hand free to scratch their face right about
the time you finally fall back to sleep. Additionally, if you watch
your baby sleep, you'll notice her twitching - often (this is called "The
Moro Reflex"). If the baby is not wrapped snugly, this twitching causes
her arms to flail, which eventually wakes her up. However, like most
parents, we didn't feel comfortable using safety pins, Velcro, tape,
belts, or straps while our baby was sleeping. We knew there had to
be a better way, but there wasn't! So one day, out of pure frustration,
I went to the fabric store and bought a couple yards of high quality
flannel and made a prototype of a blanket that was taking shape in
my mind. I had my wife wrap our baby first with a quick explanation
of how to do it. It took her a total of about 5 seconds. The baby loved
it, and my wife looked at me and said, "WOW! I think we have something
here!" We used the blanket until Jacob was just over 3 ½ months old.
And he slept well every night.
I then went about the task of finding
anyone, anywhere, who had a baby that was less than 4 months old. I
asked them to test the blanket for me. 100% of the people who tried
it became very excited and impressed with its effectiveness and simplicity.
I then knew, for sure, that I had to become an expert on swaddling
- find all the pros and cons. One of the first things I realized is
that there was an overwhelming amount of new research coming out in
2002 regarding swaddling and its benefits. Many pediatricians were
beginning to publish studies proving the importance of swaddling. And
they all had one thing in common: They all mentioned how tough it is
to do right. They called it an "art" or a "tradition" passed down from
generation to generation … all of them made swaddling sound inconvenient
and difficult. Then we really knew we were on to something! During
my research I was able to find some different "swaddling" blankets
but they all have several problems: many cover the head which increases
the risk of overheating; many touch the cheeks which triggers the rooting
response; many are simply "baby bags" that don't give the snug sensation
of real swaddling; many made the process of swaddling even more difficult
with complex folds, arm pockets, adjustments for different size babies,
buttons, Velcro or straps; and some designs bind the legs and hips
no matter how big the baby grows. The Amazing Miracle Blanket eliminates
all these concerns through the simplicity of its design.
Getting from that point, through the
testing and research stage, to where we are now is a long, boring story;
but suffice to say we are incredibly happy to be able to help so many
parents. We hope you absolutely LOVE The Amazing Miracle Blanket and
would love to hear your feedback.
Contacting Us
We hope The Amazing Miracle Blanket® works
wonders for you like it has for so many others and us. If you have
any questions, comments or want to order more blankets, please call (TOLL
FREE) 1-866-286-6386. Or, visit
our Contact
Us page and send a message to us that way.
The Amazing Miracle Blanket® makes
a great gift and you'll want to be sure to have an extra one or two
on hand when one is in the washing machine.
*The Amazing Miracle Blanket® (U.S. Pat.
No. 6868566) is not intended for use with babies over four months old.
After this age, babies need to have their hands free to suck and explore.
A great weaning method is to put them to bed without the blanket. If
baby wakes more often, wrap her in the blanket to help her sleep. Each
night your baby should sleep a little longer without the blanket. After
a week or so she'll forget about the blanket all together.
