For little angels who have coat tantrums

Jul 10 2006 By Catherine Hendrick, Birmingham Mail

IT'S the sort of tale sleep-deprived parents everywhere can sympathise with.

When Karen Cross' three-year-old son Nathan was a baby, he just wouldn't sleep.

Karen, from Olton, grew so desperate with her tot's unwillingness to get some shut eye that she even found herself driving around the streets with him in the middle of the night.

Karen explains: "He was one of those babies who just wouldn't sleep at night and he cried constantly.

"The motion of the car seemed to be the only thing that would soothe him sometimes."

Even when Karen managed to get Nathan to nod off, he would wake up at the slightest thing.

And if there was one thing guaranteed to upset the tot more than anything else, it was having his coat taken on and off!

"He absolutely hated it and if he was asleep and I tried to put his coat on that was it, he'd start crying all over again," Karen recalls.

"When I took my daughter Victoria to school, it would take me longer to get Nathan's coat on than to walk there. It was ridiculous."

The 37-year-old, who used to be a phlebotomist (that's someone who takes blood) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, adds: "I kept thinking there must be something on the market to make it easier for parents.

"I scoured the shops and internet but couldn't find anything."

So Karen, who studied fashion and photography at Bournville College, decided to put her background to good use.

Armed with a sewing machine and some fabric she set to work.

The result was the Wrap 'n' Go - a cross between a traditional baby coat and a sleeping bag style wrap.

"You can fasten it without having to lift your baby out of their pushchair or car seat using a button and loop system.

"That meant I didn't have to wake Nathan up," explains a relieved Karen. "If he was holding a toy, bottle or his dummy I didn't have to take them off him either.

"I could just wrap the coat round him. I noticed a difference straight away. It was easier to get him into some sort of routine and after a while, because he was getting more sleep, he seemed a lot calmer."

Other mums soon began to notice Karen's innovative design and ask her where it was from.

When they found out, they asked the mum-of-two to make them one too.

Soon Karen, who lives in Richmond Road with her partner John Bland, began to realise there might be a market for her design.

Two-and-a-half years later the jackets, which cost from £25 to £30 and are suitable for children up to two years-old, are in production and on sale.

At the moment parents can buy them directly from Karen. But the mum-of-two is planning to launch them at a trade show at the NEC this month and hopes shops will soon snap up her idea.

She says: "I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. It made such a big difference to Nathan and hopefully it will help other parents too."

For more details contact 0121 706 8488 or click on www.wrapngowithkaross.co.uk