US3536067A

US3536067A - Garment for infants

Info

Publication number: US3536067A
Application number: US710061A
Authority: US
Inventors: Helga Sternagel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1967-09-01
Filing date: 1968-03-04
Publication date: 1970-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 1987-10-27
Also published as: GB1218989A; FR1555252A; DE1654179A1

Description

ilited States Patent [72] Inventor Helga St schlesiersmsse 4, Furstenfeldbruck, 1-

Munich, Ge [21] Appl No. 710,061 [22] Filed March 4, 1968 [45] Patented Oct. 27, 1970 [32] Priority Sept. 1, 1967 [33] Germany [31] 7 ST 27305 [54] GARMENT FOR INFANTS 15 Claims, 18 Drawing Fig.

[52] 11.8. Cl 128/134, 2/695, 128/157 [51] Int. Cl A6115/46 [50] Field ofSearch 128/134, 156,157,159,1.33,17l;2/69.5,1l4,49;5/334 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,521,175 9/1950 Kruse 128/134 Primary ExaminerAdele M. Eager Attorney-Michael S. Striker ABSTRACT: A garment for infants or babies which comprises a sleeping bag or bunting and a pair of belts which are secured to the rear portions of the upper and lower parts of the sleeping bag and can be applied around a mattress or secured to the frame in an infants bed. The rear portion of the upper part of the sleeping bag is permanently connected with two relatively wide panels which form the wider portion of one of the belts and are separably connected to the narrower portion of such belt.The other belt extends lengthwise or transversely of the sleeping bag.

Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,536,067

Sheet Z of 3 FIG 3 H64.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 27, 1970 3,536,067

Sheet 2 0 1 3 .INVENTOR H 84 m S I'm/4 6'56 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 27, 1970 Sheet BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to garments for infants, particularly to garments which can be used to accommodate children in the age group in which the children are still unable to walk and must be properly supported and confined in sitting position as well as protected against overturning in or falling out of the bed, stool or carriage.

It is already known to provide an infants garment with a belt which is permanently secured to its rear side and can be applied around a mattress to prevent the infant from turning onto his or her stomach or from falling out of the bed. A serious drawback of such garments is that they cannot be separated from a bed unless the mattress is lifted to permit separation of the belt. Thus, in order to remove a bed sheet, the nurse or the mother must detach the belt from the mattress and such removal of the belt is possible only after the infant is lifted out of the garment. In other words, a bed sheet can be changed only after the infant is removed from the garment irrespective of whether such removal is or is not necessary. Furthermore, such types of garments are invariably provided with front zippers because their rear sides are permanently secured to the belt. Therefore, the infants upper limbs must be bent backwards in order to introduce them into the arms of the garment or to withdraw them from the holes or arms of the garment. Moreover, the permanently secured belt restricts excessively the movements of an infant, particularly a turning in or with the garment as well as partial lifting of the upper part of the body or a movement to a sitting position.

It is also known to provide a sleeping bag or a like infants garment with a belt which is permanently attached to the rear portion of the upper part of the gannent arid is coupled with a second belt by means of ribbons, cords or the like. The second belt can be attached to the back of a chair or to the sides of a bed frame. A drawback of such proposal is that the zipper or a like quick-release closure cannot be provided in the rear side of the garment so that the upper limbs of the infant must be bent backwards prior to introduction into or withdrawal from the arms or openings in the upper part of the garment. Moreover, the stresses which develop when the infant pulls the first belt away from the second belt are highly localized so that the rear portion of the garment is likely to be torn or separated from the first belt.

SUMMARY OF THE INVEN'HON It is an object of my invention to provide a garment for infants which is constructed and assembled in such a way that it can be used to properly support and to restrict undesired movements of infants in sitting or lying position and wherein those parts which come in direct contact with the body of an infant can be readily detached from the remaining parts to permit separate cleaning, washing aerating and/or other treatment independently of the remainder of the garment.

Another object of my invention is to provide a garment which can be applied around or removed from the body of an infant without necessitating undue flexing or bending of the infants limbs.

A further object of the invention isto provide a garment which can be readily and rapidly adjusted to support and confine an infant in sitting or lying position.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a garment which is of eye-pleasing appearance, which can be used to confine an infant in a bed, in a carriage, in a seat or in the hands of the person in charge, and which allows for a change of bed sheets without necessitating removal of the infant from those parts of the garment which come in direct contact with body.

An ancillary object of the invention is to provide a garment which is provided with one or more bands or belts adapted to secure it to a bed, mattress, carriage or stool and wherein the connection or connections between the belt or belts and that part of the garment which can accommodate an infant is such that the garment is not subjected to excessive localized stresses which could result in tearing or other damage.

In accordance with a feature of my invention, the improved garment comprises a main portion or garment proper which may resemble a sleeping bag or bunting having an upper part which can resemble the upper part of a dress with or without arms, and a belt which comprises a relatively wide portion secured to the rear portion or side of the upper part and a narrower portion which can be applied around at least a portion of a mattress or secured to an infants bed, to an infants chair or stool or to lateral frame members in a carriage. The connection between the wider and narrower portions of the belt is preferably of the separable type and the narrower portion preferably comprises two separable sections. This renders it possible to separate the wider portion from the sections of the narrower portion when the person in charge wishes to change diapers or to remove the infant from the bunting for another reason while the narrower sections remain attached to a mattress, bed, carriage or stool. Also and since the sections of the narrower portion of the belt can be separated from each other at the upper side of a mattress, they can be moved apart to permit replacement of a bed sheet without necessitating complete detachment of the narrower portion.

The garment may be provided with a second belt which can extend lengthwise or transversely of the hunting and is preferably detachably secured to the lower part of the bunting. This second belt can be used to attach the garment to the foot end of a bed or carriage or to connect the garment to lateral portions of a bed frame at points which are spaced from the points of connection between such frame and the narrower portion of the first belt.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims.

The improved garment itself, however, both as to its con struction and the mode of utilizing the same, together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWNG FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a garment which embodies one form of the invention, one of the two positions of the wider portion of the first or upper belt being shown by broken lines;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the garment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of a modified garment wherein the second or lower belt extends lengthwise of and away from the bottom part of the infant-accommodating main portion of the garment;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a third garment wherein the second belt is connected with two laterally spaced portions of the bottom part of the main garment portion which latter resembles a sleeping bag;

FIG. 5 is a schematic transverse horizontal sectional view of the garment shown in FIG. 1 and illustrates the manner in which an infant can turn while lying on a mattress;

FIG. 6 is a similar transverse sectional view of a modified garment wherein the narrower portion of the first belt comprises two discrete sections each of which is separably connected to a lateral frame member of an infants bed;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a further garment wherein the wider portion of the first belt consists of a single piece of textile or like material;

FIG. 8 is a similar fragmentary rear elevational view of a garment wherein the wider portion of the first belt comprises two laterally spaced panels which restrict turning movements of the infant;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a garment wherein the wider portion of the first belt comprises two panels of constant width;

FIG. is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a garment wherein the panels of the wider portion of the first belt together form a composite panel of oval shape;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a garment wherein the wider portion of the first belt comprises sections of greater and lesser width;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of a garment wherein the panels of the wider portion of the first belt restrict nearly all turning movements of the infant;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary perspective view of an infants bed and illustrates a further garment which is set up to maintain the infant in sitting position;

FIG. 14 is a perspective front view of the garment shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged perspective view of a detail in the structure shown in FIG. 13-,

FIG. 16 illustrates a modification of the structure shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of a portion of a belt in the structure of FIG. 15; and

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of an infants bed and illustrates an auxiliary rung which can be employed in combination with the garment of FIGS. l3--l5 or FIG. 16.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a garment for infants, particularly for babies in the age group of one year or less, including a main portion I which resembles a sleeping bag or hunting and whose upper or top part 3 resembles the top part or bodice of a dress with or without arms. The rear portion of the upper part 3 (shown in FIG. 2) is permanently connected with the wider portion of a first belt or upper belt which also includes a narrower portion 11 adapted to be applied around a mattress K7 in a manner as illustrated in FIG. 5. The wider portion of the belt comprises two

discrete panels

4, 5 which may consist of textile material and resemble triangles having narrower corner portions or

end portions

8, 9 which are separably connected to the narrower portion ll of the first belt by

coupling elements

12, 15. Such coupling elements may comprise buttons, snap fasteners, hooks or analogous readily separable devices of known design. The connecting means which secures the

panels

4, 5 to the rear portion of the upper part 3 comprises two elongated scams 6, 7 located at the opposite sides of an elongated slit 2 which extends substantially centrally of the rear portion of the upper part 3 and well into the rear portion of the lower or bottom part 3a (see FIG. 2). The slit 2 can be closed by a zipper (concealed), by a row of buttons, by a row of hooks or by another suitable quickrelease closure which enables the mother or the nurse to rapidly open or close the bunting 1 prior or subsequent to insertion of the infant. The

panels

4, 5 of the wider part of the first belt are sewn to the rear portion of the upper part 3 at the chest level.

As shown in FIG. I, the front portion of the upper part 3 is provided with additional coupling elements 13, 14 which may constitute buttons, hooks, snap fasteners or the like and can be connected with the

end portions

8, 9 of

panels

4, 5 upon separation of such panels from the narrower portion 1 1 of the belt. Such attachment of

panels

4, 5 to the front portion ofthe upper part 3 enhances the appearance of the hunting 1 when the latter is detached from a mattress or from the frame of a bed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the narrower portion 1 l of the belt may be provided with inserts 16 of rubber or other elastic material. The narrower portion 11 can be applied around a mattress 17 (FIG. 5) in such a way that the

coupling elements

12, 15 are readily accessible at the upper side of the mattress. This is important because the person in charge can readily detach the bunting from the narrower portion 11 in order to change diapers or to replace the bedsheet. The free ends of the narrower portion 11 of the first belt can be coupled to each other by a conventional buckle or by a special tightener 18 of the type to be described in connection with FIG. 17. It is normally preferred to employ a narrower portion 11 which consists of two sections 11a, 1111 (see FIG. 5) which are joined to each other and to the

panel

4 or 5 by the

coupling element

15 or 12. In this way, the tightener 18 need not be opened when the person in charge wishes to replace a bed sheet; all that is necessary is to detach the

panels

4, 5 from the narrower portion ll (button 12 or 15), to separate the sections 11a, llllb from each other (by way of the button 12 or and to thereupon fold the sections Ila, 11b outwardly over the sides of the bed frame so that the top face of the mattress I7 is fully exposed.

The coupling elements 13, 14 on the front portion of the upper part 3 may be connected with ribbons 19, 20 serving as an adornment and/or to adjust the width or size of the upper part. In this way, the width of the part 3 can be adjusted irrespective of whether the

panels

4, 5 are connected to the narrower portion 11 of the first belt or to the coupling elements 13, 14.

The rear portion of the lower part 3a is provided with a coupling element 22 which is preferably in line with the slit 2 and can be detachably connected with a second or lower belt 21 which is preferably (but not necessarily) of constant width. The second belt 21 can be applied around the mattress 17 in the same way as the narrower portion 11 shown in FIG. 5. The coupling element 22 may be a button, a hook, a snap fastener or the like. It is further preferred to assemble the belt 21 of two sections (corresponding to the sections lla, Nb of the belt portion 11) so as to render it possible to replace a bed sheet without necessitating complete removal of the belt 21. Since the coupling element 22 is located substantially centrally of and at the bottom end of the lower part 3a, the infant can move his or her lower limbs without undue interference on the part of the belt 21. Furthermore, the two belts permit the infant to turn in a manner as indicated in FIG. 5, especially if the narrower portion ll of the first belt comprises one or more elastic inserts 16. However, the belts invariably prevent the infant from turning through full to lie on the stomach or from getting up in the bed. Since the scams 6, 7 are relatively long, tensional stresses which arise when the infant turns or attempts to get up are distributed over a large portion of the upper part 3 to avoid excessive localized stressing of the zipper which normally closes the slit 2. Furthermore, and since the two belts are connected to the rear portions of the bunting I, the infant cannot become entangled therein.

If the person in charge wishes to remove the infant and the bunting from the bed, the coupling elements l2, l5 and 22 are manipulated to detach the

parts

3, 3a from the narrower portion 11 of the first belt and from the second belt 21. The

parts

3, 3a and the

panels

4, 5 are then ready to be removed with the infant and the slit 2 can be opened to permit removal of the infant from the interior of the bunting, for example, to change diapers. The feature that the slit 2 is provided at the rear side of the bunting is of advantage because the hunting can be ap plied without bending the infants arms backwards. If the infant is to remain in the arms of the person in charge, on the diaper changing table, or is to be placed into a carriage, the

end portions

8, 9 of the

panels

4, 5 are preferably connected to the front coupling elements l3, 14 to enhance the appearance of the bunting.

As shown in FIG. 6, the narrower portion of the first belt may comprise two

sections

24, 25 which need not be connected to each other by a tightener or buckle (see the parts lla, 11b, 18 in FIG. 5). Each of the

sections

24, 25 may be attached to a lateral frame member 26 at the sides of the mattress in an infants bed, and each of the

sections

24, 25 may be detachably connected to one of the

panels

4, 5 by buttons 27 28 or like coupling elements. If desired, each of the

sections

24, 25 may be folded over itself (see FIG. 6) and each of its ends connected to the

respective coupling element

27, 28. The median portions of the thus folded

sections

24, 25 are then simply trained around the respective frame members 26. The

sections

24, 25 may consist of rubber or elastic plastic material. If the

coupling elements

27, 28 are buttons which are affixed to the free end portions of the

panels

4 and 5, the ends of the

sections

24, 25 may be provided with rows of buttonholes so that their effective length may be changed in dependency on the width of the bed.

FIG. 3 shows that the

second belt

21 or 24, 25 may be replaced by a belt 30 which is detachably connected to the coupling element 22 and may be attached to the foot end of an infant's bed, i.e., the belt 30 extends in parallelism with and away from the slit 2 shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 4, the second belt comprises two

discrete belt sections

31, 32 which are separably connected to

coupling elements

33, 34 provided at the two bottom corners of the lower part 3a, preferably on the rear portion of the lower part. This construction restricts movements of the infants legs by preventing excessive lifting of the bottom corners of the lower part 3a.

If the slit 2 is replaced by a lateral slit or by a front slit, the two

panels

4, 5 can be replaced by a one-piece wider portion 36 of the first belt in a manner as shown, for example, in FIG. 7. In this embodiment of the invention, the wider portion 36 comprises two integral panels which are secured to the onepiece rear portion of the top part 3 by an elongated seam 37 or by two or more rows of seams. It is also possible to replace the seam or seams 6, 7, 37 with a row of buttons or like separable connecting means.

If it is desired to restrict the movements of an infant in the bunting, the

panels

39, 40 of the wider portion of the first belt may be attached to the rear portion of the top part 3 by scams or like connecting

means

39a, 40a which are laterally spaced from the slit 2 in a manner as shown in FIG. 8. In order to further restrict movements of the upper part of the infants body, the

panels

41, 42 of the wider portion of the first belt may be attached to the lateral sides of the top part 3 in a manner as shown in FIG. 12. The seams or like connecting means which secure the

panels

41, 42 to the top part 3 are then located in line with the armpits of the infant.

FIG. 9 shows that the triangular panels of FIGS. 1, 2, 7, 8 and 12 can be replaced by

panels

4A, 5A of constant width which are secured to the rear portion of the front part 3 by

elongated seams

6A, 7A provided at the opposite sides of the zipper in the slit 2. FIG. 10 illustrates two

panels

48, 5B which together form a substantially oval wider portion of the first belt and are secured to the rear portion of top part 3 by elongated seams 6B, 78 located at the opposite sides of the slit 2. As shown in FIG. 11, the

panels

4C, 5C may comprise wider sections which are sewn to the rear portion of the top part 3 by

elogated seams

6C, 7C, and

narrow extensions

44, 45 which can be detachably coupled to the narrower portion of the first belt, for example, to the elastic inserts 16 of the first belt shown in FIG. 2.

Since the

panels

4, 5 or 39, 40 or 4A, 5A or 4B, 5B or 4C, BC or 41, 42 (which preferably consist of suitable textile material) are connected to the rear portion of the upper part 3 by relatively long scams 6, 7, etc., the zipper which normally closes the slit 2 is not subjected to excessive localized stresses and can stand long periods of use. Of course, it is also possible to provide the bunting 1 with a slit which extends centrally of the front portions of the

parts

3 and 3a, or with a slit which is provided along one side of the bunting. It was found that the infant has substantial freedom of movement in lying or sitting position if the seams for the panels of the wider portion of the first belt are closely adjacent to a centrally located slit 2 which is provided in the rear portions of the

parts

3 and 3a. The belts (e.g., the

belts

4, 5, 11 and 21) may be used with equal advantage to tie an infant to a stool or to a carriage. Also, the section 11 and the

belt

21 or 30 may be removed when the infant grows up sufficiently so that it is not necessary to tie the bunting to a bed, mattress, carriage or stool.

The bunting is preferably assembled of parts which are free of any transverse seams, for example, of two sheets of textile material which are sewed together at the sides and at the lower end or of a single piece of textile material which is folded over itself at the bottom end to form two panels which are sewed together at the sides. The bunting may be provided with a permanently installed or detachable lining and may be padded, particularly if it forms part of a winter garment.

As shown in FIG. 13, the narrower portion of the first belt may comprise two

sections

47, 48 which are detachably coupled to the

panels

4, 5 of the wider portion and to

upright rungs

49, 50 of ladder-like side walls of an infants bed. The

sections

47, 48 may consist of rubber. When the infant is to be supported in sitting position, the outer ends of

sections

47, 48 are moved upwardly along the

rungs

49, 50, i.e., away from the mattress. If the infant is to be held in lying position, the

sections

47, 48 are simply slipped downwardly toward the mattress.

FIG. 14 illustrates the garment of FIG. 13 from the front side. The second belt 30 is of the type shown in FIG. 3 and is connected to a transversely extending front member of the bed frame at a level below the mattress or directly to the frame of the mattress. FIG. 14 further shows that the ribbons I19, 20 of FIG. 1 can be replaced by a decorative width-adjusting strip 64 which is provided with a row of buttonholes and can be at tached to buttons on the front portion of the upper part 3 so as to determine the effective width or size of the upper part. When used in a bed of the type shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the garment of the present invention may be employed as a means for supporting an infant in sitting position or for restricting movements of an infant in lying position.

The manner in which a belt may be afiixed to a rung 49 or to another upright part of the bed or mattress is shown in FIG. 15. This illustration shows the belt section 47 of FIGS. 13 and 14, a portion of the panel 4 and a portion of the rung 49. The section 47 has a row of holes 51 and the coupling element 15 is a two-piece snap fastener which can pass through a pair of aligned holes 51 and through a hole in the end portion 8 of the panel 4 to provide a readily separable coupling between the panel and the section 47. Alternatively, the coupling element 15 may be a button which permanently connects one end of the section 47 to the end portion 8 of the panel 4 and which may be caused to pass through a selected hole 51 in order to determine the effective length of the section 47. The holes 51 can readily expand to permit passage of the button 15 if the section 47 consists of rubber or like elastomeric material. The coupling element 15 may be a twin button which is permanently secured to the end portion 8 and comprises two heads which can be passed through a pair of spaced holes 51. In order to prevent the section 47 from sliding along the rung 49, the structure of FIG. 15 preferably comprises a substantially 8-shaped tightener 53 of springy metallic material or plastic which has two facing centrally located projections or

thorns

54, 55 adapted to enter two holes 51 of the section 47 to cause the latter to form a tight loop around a selected portion of the rung 49.

It is clear that the

sections

47, 48 need not be elastic: for example, they may consist of flexible textile or synthetic plastic material and their holes 51 may be reinforced by metallic eyes or the like. The inner sides of sections which replace the

sections

47, 48 and consist of a material other than rubber are preferably provided with coats of rubber or like friction generating material. Furthermore, and as shown in FIG. 16, each of the

sections

47, 48 shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 can be replaced by a modified section 57 one end of which is permanently or detachably connected to the end portion of the

panel

4 or 5 and which is simply trained or looped around a rung 49 and is held against separation from this rung by a tightener 53 or the like. In other words, it' is not necessary to connect both ends of the section 57 with the

panel

4 or 5. Sections of the type shown in FIG. 16 are especially practical when the bed is rather wide. It is further clear that the tightener 53 shown in FIGS. 15 to 17 can be replaced by a conventional buckle.

If the garment shown in FIGS. 13 to 17 is to be used in beds whose sides do not have rungs, for example, in beds whose side walls consist of mesh or canvas, the sections 47 48 or 57 of the narrower portion of the first belt can be affixed to the bed frame in a manner as shown in FIG. 18. Each side wall of the bed comprises two spaced parallel horizontal rails 59, 60 but without any rungs between such rails. An auxiliary band or belt 61 which is applied around the rails 59, 60 is provided with a buckle or an analogous tightener 62 to form a temporary rung which can be separably connected with a

section

47, 48 or 57 in a manner as described above. The sections are slipped downwardly toward the lower rail 60 when the infant is about to go to sleep. The infant is then free to bend his or her torso at the waist but cannot assume a sitting position. if the infant is to be held or supported in sitting position, the sec tions of the narrower portion of the first belt are simply slipped upwardly along the

rigid rungs

49, 50 or along temporary rungs of the type shown in FIG. 18. Also, the second belt (for example, the belt 30 of FIG. 14) is then lengthened so as to allow for greater freedom of movement of the infants legs. The first belt prevents the infant from falling out of the bed, from falling forwardly onto his or her face, or from falling backwards.

Referring again. to FIG. 1, the

coupling elements

12, 15 may be permanently or separably connected with clips 66 or analogous fasteners which can be secured to a blanket (not shown) when the infant is put to sleep. These clips then prevent the infant from removing the blanket. Similar clips can be attached to the coupling elements 13, 14 and/or 33, 34.

Since at least the narrower portion of the first belt and at least a portion of the second belt can be readily detached from the remainder of the improved garment, the

parts

3, 3a and panels 4, 5 (or the analogous panels shown in FIGS. 7-l2) can be readily washed or cleaned independently of those parts of the belts which remain attached to the bed or to the mattress. Since the narrower portions or sections of the first belt and the second belt are less likely to be soiled than the infant-,

accommodating parts of the garment, the belts can be used much longer than the

parts

3, 3a and

panels

4, 5 if they are 1 cleaned less frequently. This is important if the narrower portions or sections of the belts consist or contain inserts of elastic material.

It is further clear that the belts can be used with buntings of different size, color, shape and/or thickness. For example, and

referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the second belt 21 and'the narrower portion 11 of the first belt may be used in combination with several buntings (

parts

3 and 3a and panels 4, 5) which may but need not be identical. The nurse or the mother can use a lightweight bunting or sleeping bag without arms in the summer and a warmer sleeping bag with arms in the winter.

Also, and if the garment is furnished with two or more sleeping bags, one bag can be washed or cleaned while the other bag is in use. If the garment is used in childrens hospitals or in nurseries, it can be furnished with several sleeping bags of difierent size so that the bags will be selected according to the size of an infant but the mounting and or dimensions of the belts remain unchanged.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of my contribution to the art and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims.

l claim:

1. A garment for infants comprising a main portion having an upper and a lower part, said upper part having a rear portion provided with a longitudinal slit extending substantially centrally of said rear portion and being normally closed by a quick-release closure which facilitates insertion and removal of an infant from said main portion; and a belt for detachably securing said upper part to a bed or the like, said belt comprisand separably connected to said narrower portion, said wider portion of said belt comprising two discrete panels secured to said rear portion of said upper part at the opposite sides of said slit.

2. A garment as defined in claim 1, further comprising coupling means providing a separable connection between said panels and said narrower portion, said coupling means being located at a level above a mattress in a bed to which the garment is connected by way of the narrower portion of said belt.

3. A garment as defined in claim 1, wherein said upper part resembles the upper part of a dress and is provided with a longitudinally extending slit normally closed by a quick-release closure which facilitates insertion and removal of an infant from said main portion.

4. A garment as defined in claim 1, wherein said lower part resembles a portion of a sleeping bag.

5. A garment as defined in claim 1, further comprising means for changing the width of said upper part.

6. A garment as defined in claim 5, wherein said upper part further comprises a front portion and said means for changing the width of said upper part is provided on said front portion.

7. A garment as defined in claim 6, further comprising first coupling means separably connecting the wider and narrower portions of said belt and second coupling means provided on said front portion for separably connecting said wider portion to said front portion upon separation of said wider portion from said narrower portion, said means for changing the width of said upper part being secured to said front portion by way of said second coupling means.

8. A gannent as defined in claim 1, further comprising a second belt separably connected with said lower part and adapted to be secured to a bed or the like.

9. A garment as defined in claim 8, wherein said second belt is separably secured to a substantially centrally located portion of said lower part.

10. A garment as defined in claim 8, wherein at least one of said belts is of adjustable length. w

11. A garment as defined in claim 8, wherein at least a portion of at least one of said belts consists of stretchable materi al.

12. A garment as defined in claim 1, wherein the length of the narrower portion of said belt issufficient to permit application around at least a portion of a mattress in an infant's bed.

13. A garment as defined in claim 1, for use in a bed having side walls including upright rungs, wherein the narrower portion of said belt comprises two sections each of which'may be vertically adjustably connected to a rung in one of said side walls.

14. A garment as defined in claim 1, wherein said'narrower portion of the belt can be applied around at least a portion of a mattress in an infant's bed and comprises two sections which are separable from each other and from the wider portion of said belt.

15. A garment for infants comprising a main portion having an upper part and a lower part, said upper part comprising a front and rear portion; a belt for detachably securing said upper part to a bed or the like, said belt comprising a narrower portion adapted to be secured to a bed and a wider portion secured to the rear portion of said upper part, said wider portion of said belt comprising two panels each having a portion separable from said narrower portions; first coupling means separably securing said portions of said panel to said narrower portion; and second coupling means provided on said front portion for separably securing said portions of said panels to said front portions upon separation of said panels from the narrower portion of said belt.