Baby Sleep Training Blog

The Myth of Baby Sleep Positioners

March 15, 2012 by getbabytosleep 1 Comment

Having a newborn changes your life in numerous ways, one of which is that you worry a lot more. You worry about putting your baby down for naps or to sleep for the night. Will he or she be safe? We’re all terrified of SIDS. Naturally, we’re intrigued by any products claiming to prevent it.

There are many legitimate strategies for reducing the risk of SIDS; the Back to Sleep campaign has reduced the rate significantly. Yes, most of us were put to sleep on our bellies as infants, and we turned out just fine. But there is concrete evidence that putting your baby on his or her back to sleep is safer. Maybe it’s just 0.01% safer, but it is safer.

Updated Baby Sleep Safety Guidelines

The American Academy of Pediatricians recently published their updated sleep safety guidelines for infants. Every recommendation is supported by scientific evidence. Pacifiers, for example, are recommended because they have slight protective effect. Ironically, the pediatricians recommend against any product that claims to reduce the risk of SIDS. They specifically mention baby sleep positioners as something that purports to make sleep safer for your baby but has not been proven to do so:

“Avoid commercial devices marketed to reduce the risk of SIDS—These devices include wedges, positioners, special mattresses, and special sleep surfaces. There is no evidence that these devices reduce the risk of SIDS or suffocation or that they are safe.” Pediatrics 2011;128:1030–1039

What’s Wrong with Sleep Positioners?

How can this be? How is it safe to put your baby to sleep on his or her back, but not to use a device designed to keep them in that position? The simple answer is this: the only thing that should be in the crib is the baby. A positioner might help keep your baby on his or her back, or it might not. But the moment your baby gets out of it, that thing is a hazard just like any loose bedding, pillows, or other objects. And you know the dangers of those:

Keep soft objects and loose bedding out of the crib to reduce the risk of SIDS, suffocation, entrapment, and strangulation. Pediatrics 2011;128:1030–1039

There’s no evidence supporting a safety benefit for sleep positioners, so there’s no reason to have one in your child’s bed. If you’re that worried about your baby at night, invest in a baby sleep movement monitor that alerts you of any irregularity in your infant’s breathing. You can also get a mini crib or bassinet and let him or her sleep next to your bed.

One Baby Positioner We Endorse

Boppy Noggin Nest

There is one baby positioner that I do use, because it’s handy and because we received it from the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital. I’m talking about the Boppy Noggin Nest, which supports your baby’s head when he or she is laying on a hard surface. It’s not for sleeping unless you’re there to monitor your baby. However, the Noggin Nest is especially useful on the diaper changer, because:

It keeps your baby “in position” and keeps him or her comfortable.
It helps prevent “flat head” issues that can arise from always having your baby laying in the same position.
It’s machine washable
It’s cute, especially in pink!

We actually got two of these, that way one can be in the laundry and the other can be in use. Get it here for $14.99 with free returns!

Baby Sleep Sacks and Sleeping Bags

March 10, 2012 by getbabytosleep 1 Comment

Baby Sleep Sacks

Swaddling babies helps them fall asleep faster and sleep for longer, especially overnight. At some point, though, your baby will outgrow swaddling. Either they kick out of it every time or simply don’t fit into any blankets or velcro swaddlers any longer. When this happens, it’s time to move to the baby sleeping bag, also called a sleep sack.

Sleep Sack or Sleeping Bag?

Grobag Sleeping Bag

Baby sleep sacks and sleeping bags are very similar in appearance. Both are usually zippered and have either arm holes or long sleeves for your baby’s arms to go through. The legs are loose inside the zippered section, which keeps them warm but lets your baby move around more. A sleep sack is usually cotton or flannel; many of them have sleeves to make a sort of wearable baby blanket.

Baby sleeping bags have a wider range of sizes and designs; usually they’re multi-layered and thus a bit pricier. They even make “baby” sleeping bags for older children to take to preschool for nap time. Otherwise, baby sleep sacks and baby sleeping bags are pretty much the same.

Halo Sleep Sack

Halo Sleep Sack

Halo makes a variety of sleep sacks for newborns and older babies. These are designed to be worn over regular sleepwear and take the place of loose blankets, which you aren’t supposed to have in the crib. Like I said, these allow room for your baby to kick, but they can’t be kicked off so they’ll continue keeping your baby warm overnight. One feature that I do like is the reverse-zipper: it zips from the neck down, so that you can make a diaper change without taking your baby out of it.

These are used by hospitals all over the U.S. and Canada, in part to promote safe sleep practices. In fact, two of our boys’ sleep sacks are made by HALO, and they’re embroidered with Back to Sleep, the slogan of the national sleep safety campaign. If you buy one through Amazon, a portion of the sale goes to First Candle/SIDS Alliance and The Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths.

Baby Aspen Sleep Sack

Baby Aspen Snuggle Sack

The Baby Aspen Snuggle Sack is really cute; it has a matching hat with a pair of antennae on it. Like the HALO sleep sacks, it has a zipper on the bottom. Included is a leafy branch-shaped cardboard hanger with little ladybug accents. This Snuggle sack has:

Plush fabric on the outside, with a 100% cotton inside lining
Rose-pink polyester wings separated by a deep-pink wedge
A soft-gray jumper-like fit at the top
A ladybug applique that says Snug as a Bug.
Shiny, silvery circle appliques on the front and back.

Grobag Baby Sleeping Bag

Grobag Sleeping Bag

Grobag makes several baby sleeping bags and their patterns are adorable! Most of them are 2.5 tog, which indicates a thickness that your baby can wear year-round to sleep at night. It’s 100% woven textured cotton with applique and embroidery details, 100% super-soft jersey lining, quick dry polyester filling on the 2.5 tog. The 6-18 month and 18-38 month sizes have front zips with zip clicks; a cover on these prevents your clever little ones from opening their bags.

One of the best features of these baby sleeping bags is that they’re machine washable and can tumble dry on low. Grobag is all about baby sleep safety and includes a booklet of safety guidelines with every bag.

aden + anais Muslin Sleeping Bag

You might recognize aden + anais from their widely popular baby swaddling blankets, which I’ve already reviewed (and praised) elsewhere on my blog. This is a great fabric because it’s woven to be extremely breathable, which makes this sleeping bag one of the safest you can get. It’s incredibly comfortable for babies (and adults), and becomes even softer the more you wash it.

It turns out that they also make sleeping bags of the same material.

The also zip from the bottom as well to allow diaper access. If the swaddling blankets are any indication, the Aden+Anais sleeping bag is probably the most comfortable baby sleeping bag out there.

Deedee Sleeping Bag

Baby Deedee Sleeping Bag

Oversized, glow-in-the-dark zipper. Now there’s a feature that any parent can appreciate, especially those of us who have stumbled into the nursery in the middle of the night to soothe a crying baby. The Baby Deedee Sleep Nest is a quilted sleeping bag for babies and toddlers 0-36 months.

Unique shoulder snaps make it easy to place baby into the sleep nest, even while sleeping, in just 2 easy snaps. I loved this feature in our Deedee sleeping bag and regretted the day that our boys grew out of it (they’re in Halo sleep sacks now).

For pure ease of use, the Deedee Sleep Nest definitely wins the prize.

Baby Sleeping Bag Size Chart

This chart, adapted from the one provided by Baby Deedee, will help you choose the right size sleep sack or sleeping bag for your baby. A word of caution – they’ll fit into a slightly oversized sack, but won’t tolerate one that’s too small. So buy big!

Size	Age	Length	Weight
Small	0-6 mos	22-26″	10-18 lbs
Medium	6-18 mos	25-32″	16-26 lbs
Large	18-36 mos	31-39″	24-36 lbs

Which Sleep Sack for Your Baby?

So which sleep sack or sleeping bag is right for your baby? Here’s my 30-second summary.

The Halo sleep sack is your basic model, the top seller, where part of the proceeds goes to promote baby sleep safety.
The Baby Aspen ladybug sleep sack makes your little one into a cute lady bug! Guaranteed to win all of the “cutest sleeping baby” prizes.
Grobag sleeping bags have many adorable patterns and can be put in the dryer.
Aden & Anais sleeping bags probably offer the best comfort due to the breathable muslin material.
The Baby Deedee sleeping bag is for light-sleeping babies: it’s easy to put on and take off, with its oversized zipper and unique shoulder snaps.

Even if you’re still swaddling your baby, go buy one of these now! You’ll want to have it ready when he or she starts kicking out of the swaddle.

Review: The Best of Baby Pacifiers

March 7, 2012 by getbabytosleep 2 Comments

The pacifier is arguably the best baby product of all time. It’s the ultimate soother for a fussy baby – in the car, at the dinner table, and most importantly in the crib at bedtime. I hear occasionally from parents that their baby refuses to take a pacifier.

This leaves me aghast! First, because I feel very sorry for parents who aren’t able to use this incredible tool. And second, I can’t shake a sense of disbelief that a baby would drink from a nipple but then not take a pacifier.

It is quite clear, though, that all pacifiers are not created equal. Here, I’ll break down which ones I think I are best.
Contents:
Which Pacifier Is Best for Newborns?
Best Pacifier for Older Babies
Pacifier Clips
Teething Pacifiers
Why Use A Pacifier?

Which Pacifier Is Best for Newborns?

At baby showers, expectant mothers receive all manner of adorable pacifiers: pink ones, baby blue ones, with sleek shapes and cute cartoon characters on them. The unfortunate truth from my perspective is that the cute pacifiers are rarely the ones that our babies will take. For most babies, when it comes to pacifiers, the uglier, the better.

Have you ever seen the pacifier that’s used in hospital nurseries and NICUs? It’s an awkwardly shaped monstrosity that seems far too big for a newborn. The color is a hideous blue-green that hasn’t been popular since the 1980’s. It looks nothing like the pacifiers you see in Babies R Us. But newborns take to it like nothing else.

This may be because the hospital Soothie is, well, realistically shaped.

Not so long ago, you could only get Soothie pacifiers at the hospital. At the urging of the nurse who taught our baby classes, I “accidentally” dropped several into the diaper bag while we were at the hospital. It’s a good thing I did.

For the first couple of months, our babies wouldn’t take anything else. Not that we haven’t tried lots of different colors and space-age shapes and Sesame Street character pacifiers. Nothing outperformed the Soothie.

Pacifiers for Older Babies

The Soothie fell out of fashion at around 3 months for my children, though I sometimes see other, older babies still taking them quite happily. We went through a lot of pacifiers that we received as gifts or bought on our own, looking for the next hit. It came in a somewhat surprising form: the low-profile silicone pacifiers that are made by MAM.

These are smaller and lightweight compared to most pacifiers, and they seem to stay longer in the baby’s mouth. Another nice feature is that there’s not a large shield section, so they’re easy for baby to breathe and make noise even when he has a pacifier in. They also prevent skin-saliva-silicone contact that sometimes can make babies break out.

If your baby gags on larger pacifiers or has broken out, the MAM pacifier is for you.

Pacifier Clips

Another reason that we love MAM pacifiers so much is because you can get a pacifier clip (also from MAM) to clip the pacifier to your baby’s clothes or blanket or car seat. This is one of those types of baby gear that you don’t appreciate until you start using it.

A pacifier clip basically ensures that there’s a pacifier within reach of your baby’s mouth at all times. It also keeps you from losing pacifiers or having them fall on dirty sidewalks, store floors, bathroom floors, etc.

The MAM clip is nice because you can fasten and unfasten it one-handed, and it’s got an excellent grip. They fit MAM pacifiers quite snugly, or you can use the velcro strap to connect just about any pacifier.

Teething Pacifiers

Sometime after the age of 2 months your baby will become unusually fussy, refusing to eat, refusing to take a pacifier, and waking up screaming in the middle of the night. Yep, your baby is teething. This is a rough period for your baby, torturous enough that I’ve written entire articles about babies and teething.

When it comes to pacifiers, there’s an interesting option in the form of the Razbaby teething pacifier. This pacifier’s design is stimulating and multi-textured to soothe a baby that’s teething. Thus, it’s two good things in one: a form of teething relief and a pacifier that they’re less likely to spit out.

Why Use A Pacifier?

Pacifiers have many benefits, and there are lots of reasons why you should encourage your baby to take one. They offer a non-food form of relief for the car or the crib. They give your baby something to play with that you don’t mind them sticking in their mouth.

Pacifiers even reduce the risk of SIDS, though it’s not understood why. One last piece of advice: you can never have too many pacifiers. If you liked any of the ones above, go buy a couple and stick them in the stroller or the crib. Do it now, and at some point in the middle of the night or in a crowded store, you’ll thank me!

Buy A Pacifier Now

They’re small, they’re light-weight, and they’re usually cheapest on Amazon. Here are six more bestsellers that you might prefer: three serious, and three fun ones.


Dr. Brown’s Pacifier by the world’s leading bottle maker.	Natursutten Pacifier provides orthodontic comfort.	Philips Nighttime Pacifier helps your baby breathe easy at night.

Princess Pacifier for your little princess.	Baseball and Football Pacifiers for your little future athlete.	Mute Button Pacifier is guaranteed to get a laugh wherever you go.

What To Read Next


Newborn Sleep Wear covers the six things that your newborn should sleep in every night.	Learn about the benefits and bestsellers of baby sleep sacks and sleeping bags.	Projection Night Lights keep your baby entertained while in the crib and help soothe him back to sleep.	Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night.

Better Baby Sleep Book

March 5, 2012 by getbabytosleep Leave a Comment

Ready to get your baby to sleep through the night? Sleep training your baby is a challenging task, one that takes dedication, hard work, and sometimes a few tears. But the benefits are substantial: sleep is essential for immunity, health, parent-child relationships, maternal mental health, you name it! If you’ve come across our site, that’s a good sign. It means you recognize the potential benefits of healthy baby sleep habits, and you’re willing to work at it.

Baby Sleep Training Information

We’ve compiled the best of my sleep training articles, baby sleep charts, and advice on baby sleep problems into a free e-book, Better Baby Sleep Habits. This full-color book contains the very best of our advice on:

Baby sleep schedules
Establishing a bedtime routine
The Early Bedtime (EBT) technique
Through the night strategies
Handling baby sleep problems

Electronic Book Formats

You can download it in PDF (which works on Kindle), Mobi, or Epub formats. Just put in your e-mail address, confirm it in the confirmation message, and we’ll send you the links to all three formats.

We will never sell or share your information with anyone else, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you have any questions or suggestions for our book, we would love to hear them. Please use the comments section below.

Baby Swings Reviewed

March 2, 2012 by getbabytosleep Leave a Comment

The baby swing is a critical piece of baby gear, especially for parents of newborns. The rhythmic back-and-forth rocking motion of swings is an ideal soother for fussiness or just to induce a little nap. Fair warning, though: some babies love swings, some babies just tolerate them, and some will wail any time you try to put them in. Occasionally it’s just a phase, and you can acclimate your little one to a swing over time.

It’s important to find the right swing. We’ve owned three of them, two full-sized and a portable one. There are dozens upon dozens of different swings, in various sizes, with a wide range of features. Fisher-Price and Graco are the market leaders; it’s hard to find a swing in the top 20 bestseller list that’s not made by one of those two companies.

Here we review a few of the bestselling models of different types of baby swings.
Contents:
Important Features of Baby Swings
Fisher Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle ‘n Swing
Fisher Price Space Saver Swing
Graco Sweetpeace Newborn Soothing Center
Fisher-Price Tree Party Cradle Swing

Important Features of Baby swings

We’ve been through a few baby swings, and there are a few important features to consider.

Swing size. Because baby swings have moving part and nobody wants a lawsuit, they have very solid bases. This translates into a big space “footprint” in your house when you have the swing set up, so plan accordingly.
Swing options. The more speeds, the better. A newborn will usually be fine with the lowest setting. You can slow it down even more by adding weight (such as a swaddler or receiving blanket under the baby). Also, a swing that pivots or otherwise swings front-to-back and side-to-side is a nice feature.
Power source. More than any other type of baby gear I’ve encountered, baby swings eat batteries. Usually we’re talking C or D batteries, too, which are expensive. Taking AA’s is good. Having an A/C plugin option is even better.
Music and sound. Most baby swings come with built-in baby lullabies, music, or soothing sounds. These are a nice feature but I personally don’t find it critical, since you could always keep a soother or sound machine nearby.

Fisher Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle ‘n Swing

The current #1 bestselling swing on Amazon is your all-around, fully featured swing from Fisher Price. The My Little Snugabunny Cradle ‘n Swing has all of the bells and whistles: a bird mobile and mirror ball to keep your baby entertained, 16 songs and 2 nature sounds, and three different swing positions to offer your baby a range of motions.

It folds up for storage, but this is a big piece of baby gear even folded up. Prepare for that. The footprint for a swing in your home (while not folded) is probably 3 feet by 3 feet. My favorite feature of this swing is the A/C adapter power option, which lets you run it from a plug rather than batteries. Swings eat batteries like no other device I’ve ever seen, so this is a real advantage.

Features:	3 swing direction positions Mirror globe and bird mobile Plays 18 songs and sounds 6 speeds A/C adapter option
Reviews:

Fisher-Price Space Saver Swing and Seat

Next up is the portable Space Saver Swing and Seat, also from Fisher Price. We bought one of these and found it incredibly useful due to its smaller size. It’s about half the size of a full swing when set up. It has handles for moving the swing even while your baby is in it, which is good for moving room-to-room. The Space-Saver Swing is exactly that: because it folds up almost completely flat, you can throw it in the car and bring it just about anywhere.

Even though it’s small, the bucket seat really holds the baby well. You must use the harness, though; an active baby can otherwise find a way out. That little clip on the bottom lets you convert the swing to a stationary seat. The only down-side is that this runs on 4 C batteries and goes through them rather quickly. Over 6 months I probably changed the batteries 5-6 times. I still think it’s worthwhile.

Features:	Lightweight and folds up flat Bucket seat with 6 speeds Plays 7 songs to entertain baby Machine washable pad
Reviews:

Graco Sweetpeace Newborn Soothing Center

Next up is a unique-looking swing, the Graco Sweetpeace Newborn Soothing Center. This swing benefits from a patented “Mommotion” rocking motion that simulates the way that a mother rocks her baby. It also has a removable seat with vibration, so it can be used as a floor rocker as well. You can even swap in most Graco car seats (if you have one) to provide an easy transition between car and home.

There’s a good selection of natural sounds, white noises, and upbeat songs; you can also plug in your iPod or MP3 player. The swing itself plugs into the wall, which I love, but the seat vibration takes D batteries.

Given all of these soothing features, this is my recommended swing for a fussy baby.

Features:	4 seating positions, 3 reclines Removable seat with vibration 15 sounds and lullabies Swap in most Graco car seats A/C adapter + D batteries
Reviews:

Fisher-Price Tree Party Cradle ‘n Swing

How cute is this Tree Party Cradle ‘n Swing from Fisher Price? This butterfly-themed swing is the ultimate soother: a comfy bucket seat, six different speeds, and it rocks either front to back or side to side. Probably the most important (and rare) feature is a quick-release power cord so that you can save money on batteries while at home.

Additional soothing features include bullfrog or cricket sounds, eight lullabies, and a little projection butterfly light display that dances on the canopy, entertaining your baby as she rocks off to sleep.

Features:	Rocks front to back or side to side Six swing speeds and 8 built-in lullabies A/C adaptor included for plugging it in Folds up easily for storage
Reviews:

What To Read Next

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Newborn Sleep Wear covers the six things that your newborn should sleep in every night.	Baby Sleep Sacks & Bags reviews the benefits and bestsellers of baby sleep sacks and sleeping bags.	Projection Night Lights keep your baby entertained while in the crib and help soothe him back to sleep.	Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night.

Let Baby Cry To Sleep

February 29, 2012 by getbabytosleep 3 Comments

At some point, you will probably have to let baby cry to sleep. This is the hard but necessary part of baby sleep training, because your goal is to teach your baby to do something he or she does not like, such as:

Fall asleep on his or her own (i.e. not in your arms)
Go to bed in baby’s own room, instead of the parents’ room
Sleep in the crib instead of a swing or mommy’s bed
Soothe himself back to sleep after waking up
Sleep through the night without waking up to eat.

You have a lot of things working to your advantage when sleep training your baby, especially at the newborn stage. Newborns must sleep 16-18 hours a day, a need that eventually overpowers the will to make your life miserable.

The sooner you establish good sleep habits for your baby, the better, because as he grows and gets stronger, he’ll be able to cry much louder for a longer period of time.

How To Let Baby Cry to Sleep

I do not subscribe to the cry it out method, in which you just let your baby cry for hours until he or she falls asleep exhausted. Nor does our pediatrician. Instead, you should let your baby cry for 10-15 minutes. Then, you go in, tuck in the blanket, re-insert the pacifier, and walk back out. For this to work, your trips in and out must be brief, and you must not pick up the baby!

If you’re serious about sleep training your baby, you must resist this compelling urge. Otherwise, you’ll teach your baby that if he cries enough, you’ll cave and pick him up. Instead, you must keep your visit brief, so that the baby comes to realize that this is how it’s going to be. Still, your brief visits will reassure the baby that you’re close by and can hear him or her, which is important. It’s a bit more work, but less draconian than the cry it out method. I personally think it’s just as effective. Heck, we’ve used the same technique on an unruly 2-year-old and had success.

Common Concerns for Letting Baby Cry

It breaks my heart. Yes, it usually does. There’s a fundamental, biological instinct to run to your child when you hear crying. Be strong! In the long term, your baby will have no memory of being left to cry. Of the two of you (parent and baby), only one is strong enough to teach proper sleep habits. It’s you. If you have to, close the door tightly, go to the far side of the house and put on the radio or TV or something.
Concern about injury or long-lasting psychological effects. There’s no need to worry about this! I have read many times from reliable sources how unlikely it is that your infant could be hurt simply by crying. And, as I mentioned, your baby will have no memory of this by the time he’s a few years old. So no worries about long-term psychological issues. See our reviews of video baby monitors if you’re still worried.
The crying baby might wake siblings or others in the house. This is a tough one, especially for us since we have twins and a 2-year-old. If you’re serious about sleep training and want to get results, you will have to find a way to make it work. We brought the good sleeper into our room (in a small crib) and put a fan for white noise in the 2-year-old’s room to help keep everyone [else] asleep.

Tips for Success

Graco Sound Machine

The first and best piece of advice that I can offer is this: remember the big picture. You’re not doing this to torment your precious baby, you’re doing it to help him or her establish healthy sleep habits. Succeeding will pay you dividends, not just tonight, but every night thereafter. More sleep for you, healthier sleep for your baby. That’s the goal.

Set up a sound machine or soother to comfort your baby while you’re out of the room.
Be consistent! Use a timer (set for 10-15 minutes) to indicate when you can go back into the nursery.
For your own sanity, turn on a TV, radio, fan, or some other form of noise.
Keep extra pacifiers and a night light handy to make your soothing visits brief.

Good luck!

What To Read Next

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Baby sleep problems takes you through the most common sleep issues and how to address them.	The periodic table of baby sleep has all the essential elements for healthy baby sleep habits.	Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night.	Check out our reviews of Essential baby gear for helping babies sleep at night.

Baby Monitor Reviews

February 28, 2012 by getbabytosleep Leave a Comment

Baby monitors are incredibly useful tools for sleep training a baby. Like many types of baby gear, there are many options out there for baby monitors. Unfortunately, the quality of different baby monitor products varies widely, and price isn’t always a great indicator. We’ll walk you through the features to look for, and then review three of our favorite baby monitors.

Contents
Benefits of Baby Monitors
Features to Look for in a Baby Monitor
Our Favorite Baby Monitor Reviews

Benefits of Baby Monitors

Peace of mind. Baby monitors let you monitor a baby’s sleep without being physically in the room.
Quick response time. It’s easier to hear when your baby They allow you to respond quickly when your baby starts waking up.
A bit of freedom. Perhaps most importantly, they give mom and/or dad a chance to sleep or get things done around the house while the baby is asleep.

Important Features of Baby Monitors

There are lots of numbers and acronyms thrown around on the side of baby monitor boxes. When push comes to shove, however, there are a few features that you should care about.

Frequency. In general, higher is better. That’s because a higher frequency usually means a stronger transmission signal, allowing your baby monitor a greater range. Don’t settle for less than 900 MHz; the high-end models usually have 2.4 GHz.
Channels. Multiple channels are useful if you have neighbors using baby monitors, or notice interference with other electronics. Otherwise, they’re good to have but you probably won’t use them.
Voice activation. This is actually one of my favorite features. Rather than just being “on” all the time, the monitor only transmits when it picks up noises. It’s pretty sensitive (on the Sony, at least) and saves battery power.
Baby movement sensor. Some monitors, like the Angelcare, come with a sensor pad that picks up baby movements and sets off an alarm if it doesn’t detect movement for a certain period of time. This is a good idea for the overly safety-conscious, though I’ve heard that occasionally they give false positive alarms.
Temperature sensor. This, I admit, is a nice feature if your baby’s nursery fluctuates in temperature. It transmits (remotely) the ambient temperature in the nursery to give you an idea of if it’s too warm or too cool in baby’s room. If the nursery is on the cooler side, a baby sleep sack or sleeping bag is a good idea.

Favorite Baby Monitor Reviews

Here’s our review of three of the most popular and well-reviewed baby monitors, which happen to be made by Sony, Angelcare, and Motorola.

Sony Baby Call Nursery Monitor	Angelcare Baby Movement and Sound Monitor	Motorola Digital Video Baby Monitor with Color LCD Screen

Best value: a solid, durable, basic voice-activated baby monitor	Peace of Mind: Baby sound, movement, and room temp monitor	Best features: Night vision camera with color LCD screen
Features: 900 MHz frequency 27 channels Voice activation Rechargeable receiver Water-resistant (receiver)	Features: 927 MHz frequency for sound 8 channels Voice activation Baby movement sensor Room temperature monitor Built-in night light	Features: 2.4 GHz FHSS technology Data encryption for privacy Two-way communication Room temperature monitor Night vision infrared camera 5 built-in lullabies Additional camera capability
Review: We’ve used this exact model for all three kids and it worked quite well. The voice-activation mode is excellent; it picks up baby noises but ignores the fan. These are fairly durable too; we’ve taken them to family gatherings and on trips without any problems. I do wish that they had longer range, but this is a pretty good baby monitor all around.	Review: The Angelcare is one of the best reviewed monitors on Amazon. The temperature and baby movement monitors offer some extra peace-of-mind that your baby is sleeping snug, warm, and healthy. And the night light is a practical feature that I really like; you can never have enough night lights.	Review: Imagine being able to watch your baby sleeping via secure, remote video feed. Sounds great, doesn’t it? That’s probably why this is the #1 bestselling baby monitor on Amazon. The two-way communication feature is especially nice; you could even try soothing your baby remotely. Just about everyone who buys (and reviews) this monitor loves it.

What To Read Next

If you like this article, you might want to subscribe by e-mail or RSS so that you’re notified when new content is posted.


Baby sleep problems takes you through the most common sleep issues and how to address them.	Our video monitor reviews compare the latest cutting-edge wireless color video baby monitors.	Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night.	Check out our reviews of Essential baby gear for helping babies sleep at night.

One Week to Better Baby Sleep Habits

February 25, 2012 by getbabytosleep 13 Comments

At eight months, one of my twins suddenly started waking up in the middle of the night. Normally, we’d let him cry it out, but we didn’t want him to wake his brother. Or the 2-year-old, for that matter. So we took to giving him a little bottle to settle him back down.

The trouble was, this conditioned his body to want that 3 a.m. bottle. It happened more and more. Finally, we figured out some of the contributing factors, and (with the help of our pediatrician) came up with a one week plan to get back on track. Here it is: seven days to healthy baby sleep habits.
Contents:
Baby Sleep Fundamentals
Day 1: Beginning Adjustments
Days 1-3: Weaning the Late-night Feeding
Days 4-6: Less Feeding, More Sleeping
Day 7: Sleeping Through the Night without Eating
Final Words: On Babies and Sleep

Baby Sleep Fundamentals

You’ll need to have some basic elements of baby sleep in place already to have a shot at this. Read these and think them over. Are you still taking all of the necessary steps to give your baby the best chance possible of sleeping through the night?

Sometimes it becomes easy to cut corners: to go without the swaddler because it’s laundry day and you’re out of blankets, or to skip the last bottle because you’re just too tired. Remember that healthy sleep habits will pay dividends, not just tomorrow, but every day after you get them established. Let’s cover the basics:

Nighttime Feeding. Your baby needs a fully belly to fall asleep, and the right food to stay asleep. If your pediatrician has told you to start offering cereal, do it. If you’re on solid foods already, feed your baby a filling, nourishing meal at dinner time. Be aware that your baby will need more and more food as he grows. If you’re not surprised at how much he can pack away, you’re not offering enough. Right before bed, offer that last bottle of perfectly-warm milk or formula, to give him that warm and comfy feeling in his belly that puts even adults to sleep.
Good burping. Especially with milk and formula, but even with solid foods, you have to get the gas out. This is especially true before bedtime, since digestive discomfort can wake your baby up at any time in the night. Burp early, and burp often.
Clean, dry diaper. Right before bed, even if you just changed him 20 minutes ago and you’re sure that he’s still completely dry. Read more on why diapers are important for sleep.
Soft, clean pajamas and a swaddler or sleep sack. Make your infant as comfortable as possible while ensuring that he won’t get chilly overnight. I prefer long-sleeve pajamas and a sleeveless fleece sleep sack, but find what seems to make your baby the most cozy. For help, see our guide on what a newborn should sleep in.

These may seem like small things individually, but together they’re the full package of what your baby needs before bedtime. Assuming we have these bases covered, let’s start on our one week to better baby sleep habits. We’re going to assume that your baby is at least 4 months old and still wakes up once (or twice) in the middle of the night to feed. Our goal: to have your baby sleep through most of the night, ten or twelve hours.

Day 1: Beginning Adjustments

The first day of our program, we will make two important changes. First, you will try an early bed time. You’re going to start the bedtime routine at the first signs of drowsiness in your infant, no more than an hour after dinner. I know that it seems counter-intuitive, but babies often sleep longer when put to bed early. Their natural bedtime is sooner than you expect.

At the first yawn or other sign of sleepiness, start the bedtime routine. Second, you’re going to change the way that you respond to your baby. Once he’s in bed, if he starts to fuss or cry, wait 15 minutes before going in. This is a hard, but necessary, part of your baby’s sleep training. It teaches him to soothe himself, and not expect mommy to rush in whenever he cries.

Days 1-3: Weaning the Late-night Feeding

If your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, you’re going to respond differently. First, as we’ve said, you’ll wait for 15 minutes before going in. This may mean that you need to sound-proof or put a fan in the rooms of your other children, so that the crying doesn’t wake them up. Second, when you do go in, first try reinserting the pacifier, tucking the blanket, and leaving.

For another 15 minutes. If he’s still crying, make a bottle that’s half of the usual amount you’d offer at night. In my case, it was cutting 4 ounces back to 2 ounces. Feed it to him, burp him, put him back down, and leave the room. If he cries, go in every 15 minutes to soothe as I said before. But that’s all the food you should offer until morning. With luck, he’ll go back to sleep right after the bottle.

Days 4-6: Less Feeding, more Sleeping

After three days, you’ll cut the bottle in half again (in my example, from 2 ounces to 1). Everything else is the same – 15 minutes before you go in, offering just the one bottle, etc. Now the late-night bottle is really just a soothing gesture. Essentially, you’re training your baby’s body not to need food to fall back asleep.

These days may be rough for you, but they’re the critical part of your 1-week program, because 25% of the expected bottle isn’t going to satisfy your baby if he’s truly hungry. You have to let him cry it out (in 15-minute segments) to get over the hump.

Day 7: Sleeping Through the Night without Eating

The final night may be the hardest, because the rule is: the baby does not eat in the middle of the night. We’re at the point where we are trying to break the conditioning once and for all. With luck, your baby, after having been weaned down over the past six days, will settle back down if he wakes up at all.

On this last night, if it’s usually mom who goes in to settle the baby, dad goes instead. This was an important change we made, because we figured that when mommy goes into the room in the middle of the night, the baby expects her to feed him. Dad is a new and unknown factor at this hour. It’s less hurtful and less surprising when doesn’t offer food.

If the baby won’t settle down, dad can offer him a bottle with a little bit of water (1-2 ounces at most). And then it’s pacifier (the best pacifier you can find), blanket, back to bed. No food until morning!

Final Words: On Babies and Sleep

All babies are different; heck, even our twins were different. After 4-6 months by the baby sleep charts most babies are capable of sleeping through the night. By “capable” I mean that their bodies can physically go that long without food.

For some this talent comes easily, but most of us have to work at it. It’s worth a week of dedicated effort, by both parents, to improve your baby’s nighttime sleep habits. Please, give it a try, come back, and leave us a comment with how it went!

You might not succeed completely on the first try. But you’ll learn things about your baby’s natural sleeping patterns, and what he or she is truly capable of. Keep at it!

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Baby sleep problems takes you through the most common sleep issues and how to address them.	The periodic table of baby sleep has all the essential elements for healthy baby sleep habits.	Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night.	Check out our reviews of Essential baby gear for helping babies sleep at night.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby

February 24, 2012 by getbabytosleep Leave a Comment

A happy family is a well rested one. That’s the central tenet to Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, arguably the most popular baby sleep book of all time.

It is a step-by-step guide to deciphering your baby’s natural sleep patterns and establishing good habits within them. The first several sections of the book are useful for parents of any-age children:

Healthy sleep strategies

The first portion of the book is about recognizing the signs of drowsiness in your child and knowing when to put him or her to bed. There’s also a discussion about breastfeeding before bed, solid food, and feeding habits.

And then, techniques for soothing a baby to sleep, and pointers on establishing a routine that works with your baby’s natural sleeping patterns.

Sleep Problems and How to Address Them

Dr. Weissbluth offers advice for parents of babies that have many of the common sleeping problems, including but not limited to:

Waking up too early
Unable to fall asleep
Refusing to stay in bed
Afraid of the dark or being alone
Refusing to take a morning or afternoon nap
Taking a nap that’s too short, too long, or at the wrong time
Transitioning from the parents’ bed to the crib.

Special Sleep Issues or Events

In the latter parts of the book, the author tackles less common but nevertheless serious issues which prevent the establishment of healthy sleep habits. These include specific issues like extreme fussiness/colic, night terrors, and bedwetting.

He also offers advice for events that tend to disrupt healthy sleep habits: daylight savings time, the mother’s return to work, the presence of twins or older siblings, etc..

Establishing Healthy Sleep Habits

The remainder of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child is devoted to establishing healthy sleep habits for babies, broken down by age group. Of course, every child is different. There’s no magic bullet to getting babies to sleep through the night consistently, or else we wouldn’t all be writing about it. In general, however, Dr. Weissbluth outlines several steps that parents can take toward healthier sleep habits for their baby:

Watch your child for signs of drowsiness
As soon as you see signs of drowsiness, put him down to sleep
Try an early bedtime. Most babies need to go to bed earlier than you think – often around 6:30 or 7:00.
At bedtime, let your child cry it out for 15-20 minutes before going in to comfort him or her.

Many of the key points of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Childare some of the messages we try to get across at Get Your Baby to Sleep. Establish a routine. Feed your baby enough, and then put him to bed early. Find out what works for your baby, and make that into a routine. This could be bath-bottle-bed, it could be something else. This is a great book, and a must-have for any parent!

The Importance of Diapers for Sleeping

February 22, 2012 by getbabytosleep 1 Comment

The other day while changing the two millionth diaper or so on one of my twins, I began reflecting on the importance of a clean, dry diaper. Particularly when you want your baby to fall asleep quickly and go through the night.

Choosing Diapers for Nighttime

When your baby starts sleeping through the night, it’s time to look into some serious diapers. You need something that will absorb and wick away moisture for 7 to 10 hours while keeping your baby comfortable.

If he gets too wet, and feels it, your baby might wake up crying. And this can be a hard problem to diagnose when he’s bundled up in pajamas and a swaddler or baby sleep sack. Thus, the nighttime sleep calls for a special diaper. For us, Huggies Overnites diapers, which go from size 4 to 6 (though we started when our babies were wearing size 3’s), were a lifesaver. As long as you can make it tight enough, a diaper that’s a little big for your baby is a good thing, as it offers more absorption.

Overnight diapers are just amazing. They’re extra thick, super absorbent, and I’m constantly surprised at how much they soak up over a long night. I’ve taken ones off that seem to weigh two pounds. They’re not designed for daytime use, when babies tend to want to move around. But they’re perfect for overnight, and also for long car trips.

A Classic Mistake: Not Changing Right Before Bed

Put your baby into a clean, fresh diaper right before putting him or her to bed. Do this even if the last diaper change was 20 minutes ago and you don’t smell or feel anything. It seems wasteful, especially if you’re trying to save money on diapers, wet wipes, and Diaper Genie refills.

Consider it an investment in a longer night’s sleep, for you and your baby. Because the moment the new diaper goes on, it’s a timer, ticking down. It’s only a matter of hours (if you’re lucky) until your baby will need a new one. If there’s ever a time not to skimp on diapers, it is at night.

And while you’re at it, make sure the flanges are out on those diapers! I’m talking about the thin plastic edges of the diaper that go along your baby’s cute little legs. These are designed to be on the outside of the diaper (not tucked in) to prevent leaks. The best way to ensure that they’re right is to run a finger along and under the diaper’s edge once you’ve put it on.

Watch For and Address Diaper Rash

One thing you should watch for at all times, but especially when your baby starts sleeping longer at night is diaper rash. There are lots of contributing factors to these, and it’s not entirely clear when or why they show up. If your baby seems unusually fussy or uncomfortable, even when fed and otherwise content, look for this at the next diaper change.

You can use cream-based ointments like Dr. Smith’s ointment to treat these whenever you put on a fresh diaper. If it’s hard to get the right angle on your baby’s bottom (even with a Q-tip), just put it on the diaper and it’ll rub into place on its own. Also, give your baby a quick, warm bath once every day or two and make sure his bottom gets a good soak. Dry him off well, and maybe skip the diaper rash cream right after the bath. If it persists longer than a week, you might want to call a pediatrician.

Make sure you keep plenty of hand sanitizer near the diaper changer, and wash your hands whenever possible!

So there’s the bottom line: keep your baby’s bottom as dry and comfortable as possible. It’ll keep him happier during the day and help him sleep at night.

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Baby sleep problems takes you through the most common sleep issues and how to address them.	The periodic table of baby sleep has all the essential elements for healthy baby sleep habits.	Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night.	Check out our reviews of Essential baby gear for helping babies sleep at night.

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