Having four kids in five years means I’ve been running on very little sleep for quite a while. One kid starts to finally sleep through the night but then another child begins a sleep regression. This is just another example of how parenting allows us to humble ourselves and put our children’s needs above our own.
I tend to take a while to fall asleep, and unfortunately my children seem to have inherited that from me. Some of my children are also extremely light sleepers, like myself. My kids aren’t the type of kids that will just fall asleep in public our at the dinner table.
Even though my children take a while to go to sleep, my older kids tend to stay asleep (other than waking from bad dreams every now and then).
However, Lydia (my youngest) is still very small and wakes just about every two-four hours each night to nurse. She hasn’t been the easiest child to put to sleep but I’ve noticed an improvement from using certain products during her nap time and night time routines.
To be clear, I’m not a fan of the term “sleep-training”, but I do believe that what we do from day one will impact the way they sleep.
Here are my go-to items when it comes to helping my little ones sleep:
The Baby Shusher:
This was one of those products I bought mainly out of curiosity. We needed a sound machine for our baby and I was eager to see if this worked. I’ve used this with two kids now and it’s amazing! You can set it for 15 minutes and I like that it doesn’t play continuously because that mean less batteries and baby can learn to sleep in the quiet.
This product basically mimics the “shh” sound that we naturally make when our babies are upset.
It’s portable and I use it every time I lay my little one down to sleep.
Humidifier:
It’s Winter which means dryness and stuffy noses. Having a baby with a stuffy nose usually means you will be up twice as many times as you usually are in the night. I have this cool mist humidifier and it’s been great!
I use it on the low setting and it will keep running all night long. Also, since space is an issue for us, I love that it’s small and doesn’t take up much room.
Motherlove Birth and Baby Oil:
Gerber Soothe Colic Drops:
Colic is one of those words that makes me cringe. It can be so frustrating when your baby is fussy and you’ve tried everything to calm them. I’ve been using these drops for a few weeks now and I’ve seen a huge improvement. Basically it’s a probiotic for breastfed babies that helps improve good bacteria in baby’s digestive system.
I recommend trying them if your baby suffers from colic.
The Ollie World sent me their swaddler to review and I’m so excited to share my thoughts with you. This swaddler is unlike any others on the market. When it arrived in the mail, I immediately noticed how adorable the packaging was. It comes in a cute box that could be used for holding hair bows or pacifiers, etc.
Swaddling has many benefits but The Ollie World specifically decreases the risk of hip dysplasia and increases calmness. It also encourages baby to self soothe in a gentle way instead of using the “cry it out” method.
This swaddler is made with a fabric that reduces overheating and is extremely customizable with the velcro tabs. One of my favorite features is that this swaddler is one size. Many swaddlers that I’ve been using come in small, medium, and large and each size is around $25 each.
This swaddler retails for $59 and the elastic band at the bottom allows you to make the fit just right for your little one.
If you are looking for a one size swaddler, definitely check out Ollie’s World! It has been a huge blessing to us as Lydia suffers from reflux and colic.
By the way, I chose the sky color because I love blue on Lydia (maybe it’s because we were told she was a boy..) and we call it her mermaid tail. She sleeps so peacefully in it!
