The other day I was reflecting on all the different sleep apparatuses we used for each of our three kids. And no child was the same. Adeline was a pretty standard newborn sleeper from months 0-2. She’d get up every three to four hours, and by month two she was sleeping through the night. Then months three through six happened and she was up every hour. It was horrible.
Hank? He was not meant to be a baby. He spit up an average of 30 times a day, so sleeping on his back was not comfortable for him. You could also tell he was going to be an active little guy from the start, so when we unswaddled him, his startle reflex kept him up all night, too. We were tired.
Grace was our best sleeper. She was the baby we’d heard other parents talk about, but thought they had to be joking when they said their newborn only got up once in a night.
So where am I going with all this? Here’s a list of all the different types of sleepers we used and why. Some babies don’t like to be swaddled. Some love it. But below are the items we had success with and mayyybe it will get you another hour between feedings. Because we know what a difference going from three to four hours can make!
- Halo Sleep Sack. Ole reliable. All three of our kids loved being swaddled, so these got a lot of use for us. And when Adeline started rolling over, we just took her arms out and kept using it. Also comes in fleece options.
2. Halo Wearable Blanket. Grace still uses this at night. We are too terrified to give our kids a blanket in their crib until they’re age one or older, so this is great for an added layer so they don’t get cold at night. Also comes in fleece options.
3. Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit. If you have an active sleeper like Hank, who’s startle reflex wakes them up a lot in the night after they’re too old to be swaddled, try this Michelin Man suit. Hank wore it for many months and it helped him a lot. He was also able to roll over in it when he got old enough.
4. Love to Dream Swaddle Up. This little lobster suit was new to us when Grace was born, but it was a great transition after being swaddled. Babies also tend to like their hands by their face, so this seems like a more natural way for them to sleep. You could easily start them in this little number from the get-go.
As a side note, we also began giving our kids a comfort item to sleep with when they were about 6 months old. Each had a little item similar to what Grace uses now in the picture below. This was especially helpful when we traveled and they had something familiar to snuggle with.
As happy as I am to be getting a full night’s rest now, I will always be so grateful for those quiet moments in the night when the world was asleep, except baby and me. But I’m happy to be getting a full night’s rest now. They’re lucky they are so cute when they’re little.
twss,
Kelsey
