Parents should not be laying their babies down wrapped tightly in swaddling, because they can get tangled up. And bumper pads should be banished from all cribs, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Instead, lay baby on her back, tuck a blanket up to her nipples and tuck in the bottom and sides of the blanket.

And pacifiers and their nonnutritive sucking benefit preemies, says Kay Johnson, a developmental nurse with Children's Medical Ventures: It improves ability to interact, leads to oral feeding sooner, enhances weight gain, promotes calming and increases gastrointestinal motility.

Use of a pacifier for sleep is linked to 50 percent reduction in sudden infant death syndrome, she says.