This post is part of a series of posts intended to help my sister with her baby registry. Please see the other posts here and chime in with your advice!
The first few months, it seems like babies do more napping than sleeping. My firstborn didn’t sleep through the night until he was five months old. And he stopped as soon as he started. It wasn’t until he was about nine or ten months old that he started sleeping through the night regularly, and only because we let him cry it out. Ugh, it was awful.
My baby has slept like a champ since birth. I actually had to set an alarm to wake him up for feedings. He’s four months old and has slept for seven or more hours several times. If he were my first, I would have thought that I was doing something right. But he’s not, so I know better.
* Cradle Swing – we have this swing and absolutely love it. You can plug it into the wall so that you don’t have to deal with batteries. You can fold the legs to move it from room to room. The cradle part is soft and comfy and can swing back and forth or from side to side. It has music, nature noises, and a rotating mirror for baby. Cruz sleeps in it every night and during many of his naps. He sleeps much longer in it than he would just in the bassinet. My only complaint is that they don’t make one big enough for me to sleep in.
* Bouncy Seat – we have this one. I didn’t have one for Michael and wish I had. It’s great for naptime, feedings, or just for a safe place for baby to be if mommy needs to be hands free. I take it from room to room and have even taken it with us to other people’s houses.
* Pack & Play with bassinet insert – Cruz sleeps in the swing, but Michael slept in the pack & play bassinet in our room for several months. We’ll have to move Cruz to it when he outgrows the swing, which will be sooner than later since he’s a big baby. The pack & play also has a diaper changing station, which is how we change diapers in our room. We’ve used the pack & play (after removing the bassinet insert) for travel, playtime, and timeouts.
* Zippered Footie PJ’s – the button-up pajamas are fine for during the day, but the ones with the zippers are so much easier for night time when you’re changing a diaper half asleep.
* Velcro Swaddle Blankets – I will never be able to swaddle the way hospital nurses do even if I live a hundred lifetimes. These velcro blankets made that task a breeze for me.
How about you? What made naps/nights easier for you?
(Facebook friends, please remember to comment on the blog and not in Facebook so that everyone can benefit from your advice. Thanks!)
2 thoughts on “Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Sleeping”
nothing can make a baby sleep if they dont want to. D slept fantastically, E sleeps well at night but no naps–from super early on. I do let them cry it out though and that may have helped at night.
In the same vein, every child is different. D would nap very well in the bouncer and hated evertyghin else…including the swing.
E would only nap in the swing. We purchased a portable swing base that allows your carseat carrier to clip into it. It saves a sleeping baby from the car and also works well as a portable swing to take and go. Was a lifesaver although not used for super long…still would spend the money all over again (and remember can resell to recoup a bit of the cost)
Both of these I would recommend only as nice to have if your kid likes them. Remember, your child may not.
Ditto to zipper sleepers. Forget buttons.
The swaddling blankets NEVER worked for my overactive children.
We needed a second pack and play at times that was more portable so we used the laundry basket for my son when he was little. Whatever works.
Now that you mention it, the swaddle blankets didn’t really work for Cruz. Unlike most babies, he tends to overheat. I even had to unswaddle him in the hospital the night after he was born because he sweat right through his nightshirt and swaddle blanket. Michael didn’t have that problem, but it wasn’t long before he was able to pull his arms out of the swaddle. So we ended up “swaddling” him in the velcro blankets with his arms out, just to give him an extra layer of warmth. He seemed to like it.
I have heard that not all babies like swings, so I guess we lucked out that both of ours like them. The advice I’ve heard is to borrow a swing before buying to see if your baby likes it. Julissa, you’re lucky that I’m passing our swing onto you.