So, you’ve brought home your little bundle of joy. You may be sitting there saying to yourself – this isn’t so bad! They sleep all the time! And then bedtime comes and you realize your definition of bedtime isn’t the same as theirs.
Now you’re not only tired but you’re confused, too. How can this baby still be awake? Surely he has to be tired! You decide to:
- Give him a bath
- Read him a story
- Sing to him
- Hot stone massage (Just kidding, don’t do this)
And yet, he is still wide awake.
This is not a brag—OK, yes, it is. Don’t hate me for saying this. OK, you can hate me a little. Anakin is a fabulous sleeper. I used to say this while crossing my fingers, just in case I jinxed it. But 16 months later, he’s still the same great sleeper. He sleeps from 6 pm to 7:30 am (every single night) and takes naps from 12:30 to 3:30 every single day. Sometimes, it feels like he sleeps more than I get to see him.
There was no secret sauce to this; it was just a few products I found that not only helped me but also helped him stay calm and relaxed at night.
Note: these were used when he was a few days old until 6 months:
- Yellow dimming light
- I have read so many articles that keeping the lights off is the best way to keep them calm, but I was finding it super hard to change a diaper while trying to hold my phone for light.
- Any dimming light will do. This one was cool because you just tapped it, so I didn’t need to put him down to turn it on.
- Sleep Swaddle Sack
- If you have ever had to try to swaddle a baby while they’re almost fully asleep and then wake up because you forgot how to tuck the blanket again, get this swaddle.
- I used to put Anakin in it and zip it up, but I left the arms free while I nursed him. Once he fell asleep, I wrapped the Velcro arms around him and placed him in the crib. It was super easy.
- Halo Bassinet
- I’m sure any bassinet will do, but I truly liked the Halo because it allowed for the bassinet to sit in the bed next to me (it can be adjusted upper or lower).
- I was able to see him clearly through it and didn’t worry he couldn’t breathe with the mesh covering
- There are also some cool sounds with it. We liked the heartbeat one.
- Boppy
- When you’re hunched over all day, having this little pillow is a game-changer.
- I used to hug it around my body and nestle Anakin right on top to nurse him.
- Definitely buy the cover for it, there will be messes!
- Robe
- Any robe doesn’t matter as long as you can just open it easily from the front.
- This made skin to skin time and quickly taking my breast out super easy at all hours.
- The longer it takes to take it out, the fussier they get. I mean you get it, you’ve waited for food before, right?
- Kimono Shirts:
- It doesn’t matter what type here, either as long as it doesn’t connect between their legs. You want easy access to their diaper. Think – the less disturbance, the better
Cuddles & Chaos 