Baby Sleep Training Blog

Baby Seats: Bumbo or Bebepod?

February 12, 2012 by getbabytosleep 1 Comment

There are times when you want to put your baby down, but don’t want him laying down. Maybe he’s fussy about being left on the floor, or maybe he just downed a 6-ounce bottle. Bouncers and play yards probably aren’t the best choice when your baby’s just eaten.

Baby seats like the Bebepod or Bumbo offer a nice alternative. These soft, molded plastic chairs are contoured to support your baby in a comfortable sitting position. They’re incredibly cute and wildly popular, and here’s why.

Features of Baby Seats

Ergonomic sitting support, to prevent spit-ups or let you interact with your baby. They’re great for feeding, too.
Light-weight and portable. Small enough to throw in the car as a backup high chair; you can usually strap them to a regular chair so your baby can join the table.
Keep your baby off of the floor, which is nice when you’re in public or visiting another home.
Non-toxic plastic construction makes them safe, durable, and easy to clean with warm soapy water. The broad base ensures that your baby can’t tip over.

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Bumbo Baby Seat

Baby Seat Review:

The Bumbo baby seat is the “classic” model, the first of its kind. It’s basically a plastic seat with a round base, contoured to fit your baby, chubby legs and all. The key features

Comes in four colors: aqua, blue, pink, or green.
No straps or anything to fumble with; you just put it on a solid, flat surface.
Padded foam interior and a safe, hygienic, non-toxic plastic exterior.

If there’s a down side to the Bumbo, it’s the price: these tend to be on the higher end ($45-50) than some other baby seats. You might get lucky in your local children’s resale shop, you might not. The good news if you buy one second-hand is that the hard plastic is easily washed (with hot soapy water) and dried.

Dimensions:	18 x 4 x 4 inches; 3.8 pounds
Reviews:
Price on Amazon:	[php]checkPrice(“B0092NNQ98”); [/php]

Prince Lionheart bebePOD Flex Plus Baby Seat

Baby Seat Review:

The Prince Lionheart Bebepod may have surpassed the Bumbo in overall popularity. We ended up getting two of them, and were most impressed with the fitted tray/play toy that’s included.

Straps in the chair (to secure your baby) and on the bottom (so that you can strap it to a chair). We don’t often use these because we usually keep the seats on the floor, but I like having them.
Includes an attachable tray with placemat and spinny, rattling, chewable toy.
Snap-on, twist-off pommel for when tray is not in use.
Ergonomic design and wide leg openings

The tray can be used with play toy (shown), for eating (using the watermelon slice), or removed and replaced with the soft rubber cap. We’re quite happy with these; anything that holds up for two destructive boys should win an award for durability!

Dimensions:	18 x 4 x 4 inches; 3.8 pounds
Reviews:
Price on Amazon:	[php]checkPrice(“B004NRNSXM”); [/php]

Summer Infant 3 Stage Super Seat

Baby Seat Review:

Currently the bestselling baby seat on Amazon, the Summer Infant 3-stage Super Seat has three different configurations to accommodate your growing baby:

Stage 1: An infant support seat with soft pad and 3-point harness
Stage 2: Activity seat with tray and toys./li>
Stage 3: A booster seat that straps to the chair

The Super Seat has a wide base for stability, and sturdy plastic construction so you can wipe it clean with soap and water. The soft foam insert for young infants (stage 1) is unique to this seat, and I really like it. The activity seat has both toys and two cupholders, which are handy for holding snacks or sippy cups when your child is big enough.

This seat has won lots of awards, including the 2008 National Parenting Publications award. I can see why!

Dimensions:	26 x 26 x 9.5 inches ; 5.5 pounds
Reviews:
Price on Amazon:	[php]checkPrice(“B001NJC5QY”); [/php]

Choosing the Best Baby Seat for You

Quite honestly, from talking to other parents and reading the reviews on Amazon, it’s clear that most people love their baby seat — be it Bumbo or Bebepod — and put it to excellent use. If you have a chunky baby, or want the tray to use it as a high chair, the Bebepod comes with these included. That’s part of the reason that we got two Bebepods (one red, one green) for our twins. Plan to spend about $40-50 either way. It’s an investment you’ll be glad that you made! Plus, they hold their value really well, so you can pass it along to another family or sell it.

5 Dangers Near Your Baby’s Crib

February 11, 2012 by getbabytosleep 2 Comments

A baby’s crib is supposed to be the safest place in the world for him. You tell yourself: I leave him in his crib at night, I put him on his back to sleep. He’s completely safe, right? Well, maybe not.

After reading through the American Academy of Pediatrics baby sleep safety guidelines, there are some other dangerous things in your baby’s room. Things you might not have even thought about. Here they are.

Crib Danger #1: Window Hangings

Room-darkening shade

You’ve probably heard about the dangers of mini-blind cords – these narrow, super-strong, knotted strings are strangulation hazards for children and pets. You probably shouldn’t have them in your baby’s room at all, and elsewhere in the house, you should be super-careful about tucking the cords up and away from a child’s reach.

Another worry for your baby’s room is curtains, particularly when your baby is big enough to start grabbing at things. These can easily be pulled into the child’s crib and thus are a suffocation/strangulation hazard. Now, I’m a huge proponent of blocking out the light so that your child can sleep. But the safest way to do it is a plain cordless room-darkening shade.

Crib Danger #2: Crib Bumpers or Sleep Positioners

What!? Those adorable crib bumpers that were the signature item of your $250 bedding set might be dangerous? Absolutely. I read a scientific study about this a couple of years ago, where they investigated SIDS deaths and what had caused them.

Crib bumpers was its own category – some infants had smothered when their face was against a bumper, and some had become entangled in the cords that are used to tie those bumpers on.

Don’t worry about the fact that your crib’s bars and sides are made of wood or a similar hard material. Your baby is not strong enough to bonk himself against it and cause any real harm.

I certainly didn’t read about any SIDS deaths attributed to the hard sides of the crib. It’s not easy to throw these away because they’re so cute and they cost money.

So I went to eHow and found some great ideas for recycling crib bumpers:

Crib Bumper Recycling Ideas

Make a wall hanging. You can cut the bumper into squares and hang them up like pictures. Or, sew large, evenly-spaced pockets on the surface of the bumper and hang it on the wall for some cute extra storage.
Make pillows or tooth fairy pillows out of them. Remove the straps, and cut a square out of the bumper. Sew up the cut edge, and then sew a little square of fabric right in the middle (leave one side unattached to make an opening). This is the perfect size to slide under your child’s pillow to await the tooth fairy.
Give yourself some cute new heating pads. Cut the bumper into square sections and remove the stuffing. Fill each section with rice, sew up the ends, and voila, a new microwaveable heating pad. Add herbs or aromatherapy oils for a more soothing effect.
Create a valance for your baby’s window. All you need is a wide satin ribbon that matches the baby room decor. Sew the ribbon in evenly spaced loops on the top of the crib bumper. Then, you can slide the loops onto a valance rod to hang across the ceiling.

Your crib should just have one thing in it: the baby. While we’re on the topic, don’t buy into the myth of baby sleep positioners.

Crib Danger #3: Heaters and Fans

You may need to control the temperature of your baby’s room to make it a little warmer, or provide some comforting white noise in the form of a small fan. These are both excellent ideas to help your baby sleep. A fan in the room actually can decrease the risk of SIDS.

However, it’s important that neither fan nor heater be close to, or pointing at, your baby’s crib. Hot air from pointed into the open side of a crib will heat it like an oven, and your bundled-up baby might easily overheat. A fan pointed at your baby’s crib (or a ceiling fan) has the opposite effect.

Protect your newborn by ensuring these are not right next to your baby’s crib and that they’re pointed away from it.

Crib Danger #4: Someone who smokes

You’ve heard of second-hand smoke, right? It’s worse, in some ways, than smoking a cigarette because the second-hand smoke is unfiltered. The thing about smoke is that it lingers and settles in your hair, in your clothes, and on your skin. Afterwards, the smoke residue and its 100+ known carcinogens go where you go, including into your baby’s room.

This is called third-hand smoke and it’s a scientific fact. People who smoke or who have recently been in smoky places (bars, casinos) should not be allowed in the baby’s room and certainly not near the crib, where the residue can be absorbed by soft bedding. At the very least, you should offer a clean shirt and ask them to wash their hands before coming near your baby or his room.

Crib Danger #5: Electrical outlets and cords

You should try to position your baby’s crib away from electrical outlets, especially those with active cords for lamps, night lights, or other devices. This is more of a danger for babies that move around and grab at things (usually after 6 months). The outlet itself is a shock hazard for tiny fingers. Electrical cords could be pulled into the crib and become a strangulation hazard.

Make sure any outlets near the crib are covered securely with plastic outlet covers. Devices that need to be plugged in should be as far away from the crib as possible. Lastly, don’t let a baby or (worse) a toddler see you remove an outlet cover and/or plug something in. They imitate the things their parents do, so don’t teach them that one!

See also our review of mini cribs and bassinets for recommendations of safe places for your baby to sleep.

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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.	Our video monitor reviews compare the latest cutting-edge wireless color video baby monitors.

How to Help a Teething Baby

February 8, 2012 by getbabytosleep 3 Comments

Let me guess: Your baby, somewhere between the age of 3 and 12 months, is fussing more than usual, waking up crying, and refusing to eat. That’s right, your baby is probably teething. You’re in for a bumpy ride for the next few days, but you’ve come to the right place.
Contents:
At What Age Do Babies Start Teething?
Teething Symptoms and Signs
Baby Teethers and Toys
Pain Relief for Teething Infants
Update: Frozen Waffles
Teething Necklaces for Mom
The Amber Teething Necklace

At What Age Do Babies Start Teething?

Generally, your baby will get his first tooth between the age of 3 to 7 months. There are exceptions, of course — some babies start at 1 month, or are born with a tooth, while some won’t begin until nine months. Usually the bottom middle two teeth are the first to come in, then the top two, and then they fill in on the sides. Most times, it’s one or two teeth at a time, which means that you can expect to repeat the process over and over again until your baby’s final set of teeth (second molars) start coming in by around 24 months.

Teething Symptoms and Signs

There are a set of common symptoms that most parents notice in a baby that’s teething:

Lots of drooling. This is one of the most obvious signs that your baby might be teething, though it’s not conclusive, as there’s usually some amount of drool on any given day. Sometimes this will cause irritation in the form of a rash on baby’s chin, or in the wrinkles in his chubby little neck. Use a warm washcloth to clean the chin and neck. Our pediatrician also recommended non-talc baby powder to keep the neck dry.
Sensitive and swollen gums. Sometimes this is visible when you look in your baby’s mouth; other times you learn about it the hard way — by bumping his gums with a spoon, nipple, or pacifier.
Refusing food or a bottle, even when hungry. This is an obvious and frustrating symptom of a teething baby. You can tell he’s hungry, and he needs to eat, but he turns his head away when you offer it.
Problems sleeping. This is related not only to the discomfort of teething, but also because a teething baby has trouble eating and keeping a pacifier — two things that generally help your baby get to sleep.
Sudden bouts of crying or screaming. I think this occurs when a baby bumps sensitive gums, and gets a jab of pain. Sometimes this happens while eating or playing, but often it catches you by surprise. It’s not just the fussy cry either. It’s the louder, penetrating, I’m-hurt-and-angry-about-it cry, at least in my experience.

Last of all, as a companion to or direct result of these symptoms, you’ll notice general fussiness in your baby when he’s teething. This is understandable, because he’s in pain, poorly rested, hungry, and doesn’t understand why this should be! So next, let’s walk through the various things you can do to offer your teething baby some relief.

Sophie Giraffe Teether

Baby Teethers and Toys

The classic remedy for teething babies, the soft infant teether, now comes in a million shapes and sizes. The thinking behind these is that giving a baby something soft and yielding to chew on will soothe the discomfort of new teeth coming in.

There are plenty of teethers out there, so try a few. According to my research, the universally most popular one is the Sophie Giraffe Teether pictured at right.

Some of these can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer, after which the cold provides a sort of numbing effect, and let me tell you, this works. I was surprised to see that (1) my baby was willing to hold and touch something icy cold for several minutes, and (2) how well it seemed to quiet him down.

Pain Relief for Teething Infants

All play teethers aside, you’ll probably want to offer some pain relief to your teething infant, particularly at night. There are a few options for this. The most popular by far is a topical pain relief gel, such as Baby Orajel, which contains a mild anesthetic like lidocaine. I know this works, because I’ve put it on with a finger before, and then noticed that my fingertip goes numb. There are homeopathic alternatives to this (most with clove oil as the key ingredient) but the reviews of these suggest that they have a strong smell and/or taste, which makes it hard to apply to a squirming infant.


Little Teethers	Baby Orajel	Gum Massagers	Gum Cleansers

There are also gum massagers and baby toothbrushes, both of which can offer some relief by letting you massage your baby’s swollen gums a little bit. The toothbrush is nice when your baby’s getting his first teeth, because he gets to munch on your finger a little bit while you massage him.

Update: Frozen Waffles

So I’m updating this article because was just went through a hellish week during which one of our twins was cutting an especially sensitive tooth. He’s 11 months; we usually give him baby cereal after dinner but before bedtime. With enough solid food in his belly, sleeps through the night just fine. The problem: the pain of teething was enough that he refused to eat solid food, even when clearly hungry. He did better with bottles, but only slightly. Between the hunger and the teething pains, he was quite the cranky baby and didn’t sleep well.

We took him to see the pediatrician to rule out a baby ear infection. Our doctor told us his gums were really swollen, and asked if we’d offered him some frozen waffles to chew on. We hadn’t, but it turned out to be one of the best ideas ever. You can buy them at the grocery store, or make your own and freeze them. Frozen waffles work wonders, because:

They’re cold and just the right density for a baby to chew on.
They’re easy for him to pull apart and eat
The unusual shape alone keeps babies entertained
They taste good too, which helps fill him up

Frozen waffles seemed to help comfort his gums during the day. At night, we did Orajel and dose of baby pain reliever. Success! I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to have him sleeping through the night again!

Teething Necklaces and Bracelets for Mom

Stylish teething necklaces for the mom whose infant grabs at her neck, jewelry, or hair are all the rage right now. I wish I had thought of this, because these necklaces have several advantages:

They’re stylish and designed to be worn as an accessory.
They’re soft and safe for your infant to grab at or chew on while you hold him
They offer a quickly accessible teether while you’re out and about.

The Pink Cupcake Teething Necklace (shown at left) is one of the most popular of these, though they come in a variety of styles, colors, and designs.

Chewbeads makes a teething necklace and a teething bracelet for moms, both stylish and made of 100% silicone (the same material used in most pacifiers) for on-the-go chewing.

The Amber Teething Necklace

Finally, another thing you can try to help a teething (or fussy) baby is an amber necklace. These are usually made from Baltic amber, harvested in the largest known deposit of amber near the Baltic sea in Europe. The necklace is worn (but not chewed) by your baby, so you’ll have to make your own decision regarding its safety.

This is a homeopathic remedy thousands of years old; to my knowledge, there’s no scientific evidence that amber necklaces (1) release succinic acid when worn by an infant, or (2) have any physiological effect. But many parents swear by the soothing effect of amber necklaces. For less than $20, if you’re desperate, this may be something to try. Leave us a comment if you’ve used an amber necklace, and tell us how it went!

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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.

Early Bedtime Benefits for Baby

February 3, 2012 by getbabytosleep 4 Comments

A common myth among new parents is that if you put your baby to bed later in the evening, he’ll sleep later. This seems logical; it’s true for adults, so it must be true for babies, right? Wrong. So wrong! If you haven’t figured this out already, you soon will. Strange as it may seem, your baby will sleep better through the night with an early bedtime.
Contents:
Why Early Bedtimes?
Keeping Baby Up Too Late
Finding Your Baby’s Bedtime
Early Bedtime Benefits

Why An Early Bedtime?

Babies are hard-wired to go to bed in the early evening, usually shortly after dinner. They have no need of television or winding down in the evening. Once they’ve had dinner, they need just a little time for that food to settle, then bath, bottle, and bed.

The traditional colic time for babies is around 5 to 7 p.m., when they’ve been awake for most of the day. Part of why they’re particularly fussy is that their bodies are ready for sleep. Keeping a baby awake past his “natural” bedtime is a recipe for disaster, as over-tired babies have more problems falling asleep and seem less comfortable overnight.

Keeping Babies Up Late

There are numerous reasons why parents keep their babies up too late at night.

First, and foremost, they may not realize just how soon a baby is ready for bed. When our boys were three months old or so, we mentioned to the pediatrician that we put them to bed at around 9:00, fed them again at midnight or 1:00, and then they slept pretty much through the night. He said “Try putting them down at 7:30.” We did just that, and what a difference it made! I was certain it would have the boys waking up at 2 a.m. Instead, they now go to bed at 7:30 or 8:00, and generally sleep through the night. You won’t believe it until you try it with your own baby.
Working parents want more time for the baby. This is totally understandable – you get home from a long day of work, and you want to spend a few hours playing with your cute baby! A little bit of play time is fine, but baby’s needs should come first. Make the most of the time that you and your baby have, from the moment you get home. Skip the e-mail and Facebook, and put in some quality time first. You can do these things while your baby’s asleep, and you’ll both be happier for it.
Some parents think tire the baby out, and he’ll sleep in. This strategy usually backfires for babies and for toddlers. The later you put them to bed, the earlier they tend to wake up. It makes no sense, but there you have it. Circadian rhythms may have something to do with this. Your baby naturally wants to sleep from sunset to sunrise. Guess what? That’s usually 7:30 or 8 in the evening until 6 or 7 in the morning. This happens to overlap almost exactly with what experts recommend as your baby’s overnight sleep schedule.

Finding Your Baby’s Bedtime

So, you’re willing to try it. How do you start putting your baby to bed early? I think this is best done by monitoring your baby, starting half an hour after his dinner, for signs that he’s starting to tire. This might be “sleepy eyes”, or rubbing the face, or just general fussiness. As soon as you notice these, start the bedtime routine that you’ve established.

At most, your baby should be bathed, fed, swaddled, and in bed by about 2 hours after dinner. Stick to the same time for 2-3 nights in a row. Then, if you need to adjust, do so by 15 or 20 minutes and try two more nights. Do this until you find a time that seems to work. Here’s our own typical schedule:

6:00 Feeding	6:30 Play Time	7:30 Bath	7:50 Bottle	8:00 Bed

A solid dinner: veggies or meat with lots of baby cereal.	In the activity jumper or baby gym, then maybe some tummy time	A nice warm bath seems to help a lot, when we find time.	4-6 ounces from a Dr. Brown’s, then lots of burping.	Nighttime diaper, pajamas, sleep sack, and a good pacifier.

Benefits of an Early Bedtime

An early bedtime has a number of advantages, for both you and your baby:

It matches your baby’s longest sleep cycle to nighttime and his or her natural circadian rhythms. Let’s hope this gives you the most important benefit: a baby that sleeps through the night!
Your evening will be more relaxing. Instead of dealing with a fussy baby or dreading the next wake-up, you put your baby down and assume he’ll sleep through the night.
More time with your spouse or other children. Let’s face it, the new baby in the house probably gets most of your attention for the rest of the day. While they sleep peacefully in the evening hours, you can get in some quality time… with the others in your nest.

Bottom line, there are lots of things to like about giving your baby an early bedtime. Give it a try, tonight!

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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.

8 Baby Sleep Habits to Avoid

January 28, 2012 by getbabytosleep 57 Comments

The path to healthy, consistent sleep habits for your baby is spider-webbed with tempting side roads. They seem like good ideas at the time. Short-cuts, if you will, to make life as a new parent a little easier. But there are some baby sleep habits that you really need to avoid.

These practices will come back to bite you, and make training your baby to sleep through the night on his own that much more difficult.

1. Not setting a schedule. 2

Newborns eat on a 3-hour or 4-hour schedule so you can use the points of the clock: 3, 6, 9, and 12, (three-hour schedule) or 4, 8, 12 (four-hour schedule). These are the times your baby should eat. Try not to waver more than half an hour.

This means holding your baby off, if he wakes up at 11:15, or waking him up by 12:30 at the latest. Don’t get into the habit of letting your baby eat and sleep every hour. Set your schedule, and stick to it. This is just as important during the day as it is at night; for some tips, see our article on baby nap questions.

2. Letting baby sleep outside the crib. 2

Your baby needs to learn to go to sleep in the crib on his own. If you let him fall asleep in your arms every time, or to doze off in a favorite swing, he’ll grow to expect that. He won’t be able to sleep without it, and that’s going to be hard, especially as your baby grows.The solution to this is simple, but the earlier the better: put your baby in bed just before he falls asleep. If you need to pick him up and soothe your baby, that’s fine. But put him back down as soon as he’s calm.

3. Putting baby to bed too late. 2

There’s a strange law of opposites with babies and bedtimes: the later they go to bed, the earlier they tend to wake up. That’s why many of the forums, guides, and sleep experts advise the early bedtime (EBT) technique. For my boys, they’re ready an hour or two after dinner: 7 or 7:30. Babies just aren’t programmed to stay up late.

Lots of parents want to keep their babies up a bit later than that, especially those who work and want to get in some quality time. It will be hard for you to do this, but you must.

Establishing a nighttime routine is crucial for you and your baby. Set an early bed time, stick to it, and make the most out of every waking minute you can.

4. Letting loose items collect in the baby crib. 1

I admit that I’m guilt of this. As you’re changing the baby, swaddling, switching blankets, etc., you tend to collect a lot of cloth “debris”. Dirty clothes, extra blankets, burp cloths, that sort of thing. Even compact cribs, with their wide opening and flat surface, make excellent collection areas for these things.

We all know this is a danger, even if you put the baby on the other side of the crib. Put a big hamper or basket in your baby’s room and use that to collect the stuff instead. Remember, sleep safety guidelines now say that the only thing that should be in your baby’s crib is the baby himself.

5. Over-responding to baby’s first cry. 2

Winter is coming! Etsy’s cutest hand-sewn baby blankets

Some babies cry in their sleep, and most (if not all) babies occasionally wake up randomly even when they’re routine sleepers. That’s the bad news. The good news is that if you apply good techniques, your baby learns to fall back asleep on his own and to self-soothe. Perhaps one out of every four unexpected wake-ups, my boys will cry, but then konk right out again.

Two times out of four, I can apply soothing techniques to get him back to bed. Only one time out of four do I have to pick him up and offer a bottle.
Invest in a good baby monitor to help you distinguish between little cries and full-on tantrums, and also to reassure yourself that your baby is safe. Baby monitors have come a long way in recent years. See our wireless video monitor reviews for some good options, including one monitor that transmits to your iPhone or smartphone!

6. Putting baby to bed hungry. 2

Or, if not hungry, then insufficiently fed. The nighttime feeding is crucial to getting your baby to sleep through the night. You get one shot at it, so make it count. At dinner time, feed your baby solid food (if permitted), ideally a vegetable mixed with baby cereal. If baby’s still hungry, mix up more baby cereal and offer it. Then you can play with him for a bit while that settles.

Just before bed, at the right part in your routine, offer a bottle of nice warm milk — offer as much as he’ll take. Don’t let him go to sleep if you know he needs more to drink! Often the more a baby eats, the longer he can sleep at night (notice I say can, not will).

7. Skipping parts in, or not even having, a bedtime routine. 2

You should establish a routine for putting baby to bed, including a bath (optional), a fresh overnight diaper, clean pajamas, and swaddling. All of these are key elements to getting your baby to sleep as quickly (and for as long) as possible. I admit that I’m tempted to skip things occasionally.

Does he really need pajamas when I have him in a onesie already? Should I put him into a nighttime diaper when I just changed him 20 minutes ago? He looks warm enough; do I need to swaddle him?

Yes, Yes, Yes! Any skipped step could be the one that has him waking up at 2 a.m.

8. Bringing baby to your bed to sleep. 1,2

Oh, no! Thought you were going to get away with that, did you? There are a few types of co-sleeping with baby that parents might make a habit of. Sharing a room, but not a bed, with your infant is actually recommended by pediatricians, as it lets you monitor your baby while he sleeps overnight.

The worrisome kind is bed-sharing, when your baby sleeps in the same bed as the parents. It’s not safe to have a tiny infant sleeping with lots of pillows, loose blankets, and 1-2 exhausted parents. Further, this practice disrupts your own sleep as well, because you’ll:

hear every little noise or movement the baby makes, and
probably be paranoid about rolling over on him or her.

If you find yourself in this circumstance, begin by bringing a bassinet or small crib into your room. See our mini crib reviews for some compact but stylish cribs. Start transitioning your baby to sleep in that whenever he’ll take it, but at least one night per week. Then go to two nights, then three. For more help, see our article on getting baby to sleep in the crib.

Maybe you just want to be able to watch your baby at all times, even when he or she is asleep. Wireless video baby monitors make that possible, and we’ve reviewed some of the latest models.

Conclusion: Improving Baby Sleep Habits

Don’t feel badly if you’ve picked up a bad habit or two. Nobody’s perfect, and certainly not the author: I’ve been guilty of every single bad habit listed above at some point or another. But you’ve read this far, which means you’re willing to work at improving your baby’s sleep habits. Don’t be afraid to tackle some of these problems.

The latest research on baby sleep training intervention shows that it has both short-term (baby and parents getting some sleep) and long-term (reduced maternal depression) benefits, but no long-term harms. You have nothing to lose by trying it!

Start tonight. The sooner you ditch those bad habits, the sooner your baby will have a longer, safer, more consistent night of sleep. For more help, get our e-book, Baby Sleep Training 101.

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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.	Learn about Aden+Anais swaddle blankets and why your baby will love falling asleep with one.

Best Crib Mobiles reviews musical, black/white, and organic crib mobiles.	6 tips for starting solid food has some good advice for when your baby starts eating solids.	Best Baby Pacifiers has our recommendations for newborns, older babies, and teething infants.	Early Bedtime strategies that work surprisingly well for helping babies sleep through the night.

References
 [1] Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Moon RY. SIDS and
other sleep-related infant deaths: expansion of recommendations for
a safe infant sleeping environment. Pediatrics. 2011 Nov;128(5):1030-9.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/10/12/peds.2011-2284
 [2] Weissblut, Marc. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Ballantine Books; 1 edition
(October 4, 2005). Read our review.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345486455/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=erudisysteinc-20

Getting Baby to Sleep Through the Night

January 24, 2012 by getbabytosleep 18 Comments

Getting your baby to sleep through the night is a huge victory for parents. For most of us, it doesn’t come easy. It comes after weeks upon weeks of establishing sleep routines, figuring out your baby’s wants and needs, and trying lots of different strategies. You can and will get there. Here’s how to get started.
Table of Contents:

When do babies sleep through the night?
What does “through the night” mean?

Strategies to Get Through The Night
Setting a nightly routine
Feeding your baby at night
Dressing your baby for sleep
Setting the stage: Your baby’s room

Problems and Troubleshooting
Be prepared for any problem
When your baby wakes up at night
3 last tips for getting baby to sleep longer

When do babies sleep through the night?

It varies quite a bit between babies, but almost never before two months of age. Newborns have to eat every 4 hours or so, so even if they could go all night, they probably shouldn’t. Sorry, that’s part of having a baby! You’ll probably turn a corner at 3-4 months, when babies can sleep five hours or longer after a good feeding. See the baby sleep chart for more. Food is, in my opinion, the ultimate determinant of when babies start sleeping through the night. As soon as your baby can take, and hold, enough food to last for a long stretch, you can start working toward sleeping through the night.

What “through the night” means

You, as an adult, probably like to get 7-8 hours of good, uninterrupted sleep each night. When the baby comes, you’re lucky if you get 3 or 4 hours at a time. On the bright side, newborns sleep about 18 hours throughout the day, so when they sleep, you sleep to make up for those late nights. You should set milestones, based on your baby’s adjusted age, for the longest period of nighttime sleep:

By twelve months, your baby should be able to sleep 10-11 hours through the night without waking. Here’s what you’ll need to get there.

Setting A Nightly Routine

Choosing a nightly routine for your baby is critical to help him sleep through the night. The bath-bottle-bed routine is a classic example. Performing the same steps with your baby, in the same order, helps train them that it’s time for “the big sleep” at night. It also helps you remember to do everything that matters – change the diaper, put on the pajamas, swaddle, etc.

Dinner Solid foods mixed with cereal, as much as the baby will take.	Play Time Bouncer, play yard, bumbo chair, and/or tummy time (not right after eating, though)	Bath As often as possible. This really relaxes them.	Bottle As much as your baby will take, followed by a good burping.	Bed Clean diaper, warm pajamas, full belly, swaddler, sound machine.

Even the best parents can forget a step; we’re all working on limited sleep, right? For a detailed guide on what your baby’s nightly routine should look like, see Establishing a Bedtime Routine.

Feeding Your Baby At Night

The principal reason that babies wake up in the middle of the night is to eat. This is a powerful, biological urge that they can’t really control. For this reason, newborns less than 2 months of age typically can’t sleep more than 3-4 hours at a time. The hunger pangs are too strong. As your baby gets older, though, he’s able to take more food and (eventually) to take solids, which really seem to make a difference. Even before that time, there are steps you can take to help your baby sleep at night:

Save the formula for nighttime. If you supplement with infant formula, which is common, you may wish to do so in the evening or at night. I am not suggesting that you feed with formula instead of breast milk. We all know and appreciate the benefits of breast feeding. However: a lot of moms supplement breast milk with formula, either out of convenience or necessity. For these moms, I suggest favoring breast milk during the day (as it digests more quickly) and favoring formula at night. Or, offering a little bit of formula once the milk is exhausted at nighttime feedings. The goal is just to make sure that your baby has a full belly, which gives him or her a better chance at sleeping through the night.
Baby Vegetables
Solid food at dinner. As soon as your baby is allowed solid food, start offering it to him. You’ll probably be instructed to try single-grain cereal before baby food. It takes a while for babies to get the knack of it, but your efforts will pay off. Solid food makes a HUGE difference in keeping your baby satisfied. When your baby starts eating a container with a bit of cereal mixed in at dinner, you’ll see a big difference in nighttime sleep. See our article on 6 Tips for Starting Solid Food.
Thicken food with cereal. The single-grain cereal is a great thickener, and it helps your baby stay full for longer. You can mix it into runny baby foods, especially carrots, sweet potatoes, and most fruits, to make them more substantial. They also stick to the spoon better and make feeding less messy. Baby cereal is very nutritious, so don’t feel like you’re short-changing the baby’s diet.

About cereal in the bottle

As a rule, many pediatricians and nutritionists advise against adding cereal to bottles. They have convincing reasons for this. Realistically, this is a rule that is “broken” by many parents whose babies wake up hungry in the middle of the night. Whether or not you should try this is is up to you.

I am neither advocating it nor speaking out against it, but a little bit of cereal into the last bottle of the night can help a baby sleep longer. Not more than a teaspoon or two; it should still be liquid after you mix it. Be sure to use a level 2 or level 3 nipple and watch for clogs. This should not be the only way that your baby gets cereal. You still have to do the work of teaching him or her to eat with a spoon.

Whatever you use, make certain that you offer your baby all that he’ll take at the nighttime feeding. If he finishes a bottle and seems interested, offer another 2 ounces. Make sure to burp regularly, of course. The more you can get your baby to take, the longer he’ll be able to go without waking up.

For more help, see Nighttime Feeding and Sleep.

Dressing Your Baby to Sleep At Night

Ensuring that your baby is warm, safe, and secure will help him get a good night’s sleep. He or she may not tolerate a baby hat or mittens, but here are some other, more essential things.

A fresh diaper. Even if you changed it half an hour ago, put on a fresh one. Every bit of dryness counts. As soon as your baby’s big enough for a size 3-5 diaper, look into Huggies Overnites, which are extra absorbent and designed specifically to wick away moisture overnight. These things are lifesavers!
Clean, soft pajamas. I prefer long-sleeve pajamas with footies. A little over-sized is okay, but never put a baby in pajamas that are too tight. Soft pajamas are not only more comfortable, but they’re a tactile clue that your baby will associate with sleeping at night. See our review of cute baby pajamas.
Good swaddling. A well-executed swaddle will keep your baby warm and snug, but also acts as a safety measure because it prevents him from getting a limb caught in the crib. Such incidents aren’t usually life-threatening but they tend to evoke a screaming fit, so prevention is key. Learn how to swaddle a newborn and do it every night. If your baby kicks out of it, check out our review of sleep sacks and sleeping bags.

Setting the Stage: Your Baby’s Room

Periodic table of baby sleep through the night

Periodic Sleep Table

There are lots of things you can do in the baby’s room to make it a safe, comfortable environment that encourages long hours of sleep. You want to make your baby’s room and crib a place where he feels cozy and secure, a place where he knows it’s time to sleep.

This is why you shouldn’t play with your baby while he’s in his crib, no matter how cute he’s being. The crib is for sleep only. Here are some other tips that I’ve found useful in extending a baby’s ability to sleep through the night, most of which are also highlighted on the periodic table of baby sleep.

Consistent darkness. Unless you enjoy waking up at sunrise, invest in some good room-darkening shades for your baby’s window. Also, install a small lamp or baby night light, somewhere near the changer and away from the crib, to help you see while not over-stimulating the baby into wakefulness. See our review of baby night lights for some suggestions.
Quiet or white noise. When the baby goes to bed, try to keep the noise to a minimum. This probably isn’t possible if you have other children. We set up a small fan in the baby’s room by the door and turn it on when he goes to bed. This provides a nice, consistent white noise and has the added benefit of moving some air around in the room, keeping the temperature more consistent.
A wind-up or electric music box is an exception to the “quiet” rule: soft music can have a soothing effect at bedtime. You might try a soother or sound machine and see how it goes; some babies like them, some babies hate them. Make sure you have something that either winds up or has a shut-off timer, so you don’t have to go back in to turn it off. With luck, the music from it will be another cue that it’s time to go to bed and sleep through the night.
For safety reasons, your newborn’s bed should be clear of anything that could pose a hazard, including baby clothes, blankets, stuffed animals, pillows, and crib bumpers. Yes, crib bumpers. I know they’re cute, but they have been linked to infant injuries and deaths. I don’t know why they even make these any more.
If your baby has reflux or wakes up due to gas, you can try slightly elevating the head of your baby’s bed. Often this can be accomplished using the crib’s height settings, and lowering the “foot” of the bed one peg to create a slight incline. This puts gravity on your side and reduces spit-ups. You can also go the low-tech route and put a phone book under one side.

Be Prepared for Any Problem

Almost every problem that prevents your baby from sleeping through the night has a fix, and you should keep that solution close at hand. Before you put your baby to bed for the night, think about the common reasons babies wake up or won’t sleep and get everything prepared:

Have clean diapers out where you can reach them. Whether or not to change the diaper is a judgment call, since you risk waking the baby up even more, but if it’s soaked or dirty, you should do it. Have the new diapers unfolded with tabs at the ready.
Make sure the wipe warmer is stocked. I’m a big proponent of baby wipe warmers; not only do warm wipes help avoid stimulating the baby, they seem to reduce the number of times the baby pees on you.
Keep extra pacifiers in the bed and on tables in your room or the baby’s room. You can never have too many pacifiers, and they’re often hard to find at night. See our review of the best pacifiers.
Set out bottles with pre-measured formula, nipples, and a burp cloth. When they wake up hungry, babies want food NOW. Save time and minimize fumbling by having this stuff ready to go.
Make sure the rocking chair is clear so that you have a soft and safe place to take your baby for feeding or soothing.

With this arsenal to handle any problem, and the strategies outlined above, you’ll have your baby sleeping through the night better than ever before. Good luck!

When Your Baby Wakes Up At Night

Why Baby Won’t Sleep

No matter how perfect your preparation, there will still be the occasional wake-ups in the middle of the night. How to handle these is an area of contentious debate among sleep experts. In my own case, I don’t have the option of letting a baby fuss for long, because our twins share a room and are close to their 2-year-old sister.

Wake-ups are common, even among babies that routinely sleep through the night. You might not be doing anything wrong! To the left you’ll see a pie chart from my article on Why Baby Won’t Sleep depicting the most common reasons that babies have trouble sleeping. There are several possible causes, but when your baby wakes up, here are some response strategies that you should keep in mind:

Respond quickly, but quietly. Don’t go barging in and throw on all the lights. Don’t say anything. The less you stimulate your baby, the better.
Try soothing him in his bed first. Resist the urge to pick him up. At least half of the time, I can get a baby back to sleep by re-inserting the pacifier, tucking his blanket in, and shushing him with a soft voice. I’ve also had luck pushing down on the crib mattress (gently) near the baby to offer a little bit of vibration, almost like taking baby on a car ride.
Find the problem, and fix it. If it’s clear that your baby is hungry, and you’re both up anyway, you might as well feed him. If he looks uncomfortable or squirmy, try burping him. If she looks frightened, hold her close and rock her.
Leave the room as soon as the baby is settled. Don’t stick around to see if it worked, just leave the room and listen outside the door. That way, your baby won’t see you and think it’s time to be extra-cute and wake up.

For more help, see the in-depth article on How to Soothe Your Baby Back to Sleep.

Three Things to Try to Get Baby to Sleep Longer

If you’ve followed my advice so far, you’re a long way on the road to having your baby sleep through the night. There are three “sleep extending” strategies I haven’t touched on that might help your baby sleep longer and more consistently.

1. Bath before bed

Bath Thermometer

Babies seem to respond differently to baths – some love them, some hate them. I think that water temperature is key here. It should feel slightly warm to your touch, about 90 to 95 degrees. A baby bath thermometer helps. Splash some warm water on the seat or platform that holds your baby up right before he or she goes in – if these get wet and are exposed to air for a couple of minutes, they turn cold very quickly. Regardless of how much they enjoy the bath itself, 100% of my babies are more relaxed after a bath. They fall asleep easier and usually sleep for longer.

2. Early bed time

This is a strategy that you often hear about from sleep experts – the early bedtime. A lot of parents put their babies to bed for the night too late. It seems counter-intuitive, but often putting babies to bed earlier helps them sleep longer. For us, the right time was around 1-2 hours after dinner, around 8:00 or 8:30. Experiment with this and find the right time for your baby.

Aden + Anais Blankets

3. Hands free to soothe

This is for older babies, ones that are using their hands to grab and hold things. Try giving your baby a light-weight blanket, blankie, or extra-soft plush animal to hold at bedtime. Again, not for newborns. Technically, this is not in line with the current sleep safety guidelines so consider it carefully. If you decide to try it, experiment with a few different items. Our boys like the corner of a thin receiving blanket, specifically the legendary Aden+Anais blankets. The soft touch against their cheek soothes them to sleep, and often back to sleep if they wake up.

What To Read Next

Our complete guide to teaching healthy baby sleep habits is called Baby Sleep Training 101. 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.

Baby Gym and Activity Jumper Reviews

January 19, 2012 by getbabytosleep 5 Comments

As your baby gets older, he’ll spend more of his daytime hours awake. Newborns sleep up to 18 hours a day; a three month-old sleeps 16 hours, and by six months, most babies sleep around 14 hours per day. They’re getting stronger, too, and have more energy for moving around. You may notice that your baby has trouble falling asleep because he’s keyed up and wide awake, even at night. It’s time for some baby exercise!

There are two types of baby gear specifically designed for this purpose: activity gyms and baby jumpers. We have twins, so of course we have one of each. In this review, I’ll discuss the different advantages they offer.
Contents:
Baby Play Gyms
Fisher-Price Play Gym
Tiny Love Music Gym
Infantino Twist and Fold Gym

Baby Activity Jumpers
Fisher-Price Zoo Jumper
Baby Einstein Jumper with Music
Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumper

Baby Activity Gyms

A baby gym is a frame-work thing with two parts: (1) arched “arms” that reach about two feet off the floor and have toys dangling from them, and (2) a soft cloth bottom for your baby to lay upon. I received one as a gift from a co-worker and I admit that initially I thought I wouldn’t use it. How wrong I was! When the boys were about three months old we set it up, just as a place for one to lay while the other was fed or changed. They loved it, and I quickly realized that a baby activity gym has some key advantages:

Good for tummy time. The cloth bottom is undoubtedly softer and probably cleaner than our berber carpet. Our boys like the feel of it; they do most of their “tummy time” and rolling practice in the play yard.
Comfort and protection. Babies don’t seem to like open spaces, so the enclosing arms offer a bit of comfort. They also happen to get in the way of older siblings or visiting relatives who mean well, but want to pick your baby up all the time. The bright colors and criss-crossed arms make it more visible, too, especially in the peripheral vision.
Entertainment. Activity gyms have dangle toys, mirrors, and other things to keep your baby entertained. Don’t be disappointed if your baby doesn’t reach for these right away – it takes time to get the strength and coordination.
Portability. The arms are narrow plastic rods, and the cloth bottom rolls up, so this toy is easy to pack up and stick somewhere or take along with you. It’s handy if you want your baby to play on the floor at someone’s house, but in a defined and clean area.

Fisher Price Play Gym

The current best-selling play gym is the musical light-up gym from Fisher-Price.

Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym
Reviews:
Features:	Brief movement-sensing play or continuous 20 minutes of music Lots of things to catch baby’s attention: a spinner, rattling beads, spinning butterflies, a mirror, and a crinkly leaf. Runs on two “C” batteries
Baby Gym Review: This bright and cheery activity center features a quilt with a silky border and colorful arches supported by an adorable giraffe. A variety of links let you attach toys up above or down below to capture baby’s attention. A cushy monkey, jingly toucan, cute elephant, and parrot with spinning paddle invite baby to bat them around, an action that helps develop gross motor skills.Or, you can put your baby on his belly for some tummy time on the soft quilt bottom.

Tiny Love Play Gym

Tiny Love makes a stimulating baby play gym with lots of activities, lights, and musical sounds.

Tiny Love Lights and Music Gymini Activity Gym
Reviews:
Features:	Folds up and travels easily Runs on three “AA” batteries Padded mat is machine-washable
Baby Gym Review: Tiny Love’s award-winning activity mat folds out into a 32″ by 32″ square. The padded arches are loaded with cute safari animals to engage your baby’s hands. One especially nice feature is that this mat’s hidden music box plays classical music (Mozart). The giraffe’s tail and the zebra’s mane offer interesting textures for your baby to touch, and the elephant’s ear is perfect for peek-a-boo!

Infantino Twist & Fold Gym

The most portable baby play gym is the Twist and Fold from Infantino.

Infantino Twist and Fold Gym
Reviews:
Features:	Dangle toys can be used as teethers and stroller toys Mat is machine-washable, which is good for spit-ups. A good all-around baby play mat.
Baby Jumper Review: The Infantino provides a travel-friendly gym that’s a soft, safe place for baby playtime and tummy time. The patchwork quilt design features gender-neutral colors. The portability of this gym is its strength: it folds flat, has a unique twist-and-fold breakdown, and the dangling animals are removable. All told, this fits nicely into a suitcase.

Baby Activity Jumpers

Baby bouncers have come a long way since the hangs-in-a-doorway model of years past.These days, jumpers are bigger, self-contained, and decked out with toys, sounds, and lights. We have the Fisher Price Laugh-N-Learn Jumperoo and our boys absolutely love it. I recommend a bouncer for your infant for several reasons:

Protection and safety. Our jumper has a very solid metal frame, a cloth/polyester saddle seat, and a plastic platform (tray) at baby’s chest level. The ring base and wide platform keep your baby fairly well ensconced, away from pets and over-eager siblings. Less supervision is required than a play yard because the baby can’t go anywhere.
Muscle development. My boys get a good workout from this and I’m sure it’s been helping strengthen their legs, which is important for when they start crawling and then walking.
Keeps baby upright. When a baby has recently eaten, we might put him in here to prevent reflux.
Lights and sound keep your baby pretty well entertained. There are two different modes (songs or alphabet) and two volume settings.
Durable toys. The toys on the platform are built in and of sturdy construction, so I’m not worried as much about losing or breaking them.

The minimum age/size is probably higher for a jumper than for a baby gym, since your baby must be able to hold his head up. We put a pillow under the feet area until they’re heavy and tall enough to reach the floor comfortably. You can also adjust the height of the platform if you turn it over. Our boys usually tolerate the bouncer for 20-30 minutes, a few times a day. One caveat to the jumper is that it’s big. It has a 3′ x 3′ or so “footprint” on your floor. Not ideal for traveling, but perfect for keeping at home.

Fisher-Price Zoo Jumper

The Fisher-Price Zoo jumper is very similar to our own. It has a safe design and lots of activities to keep your baby entertained.

Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Jumperoo
Reviews:
Features:	The seat spins around to let your baby reach all of the toys Height adjusts so you can keep using it as your baby grows No doorway required; this is free-standing
Baby Jumper Review: This jumper offers a lot of entertainment for a baby – flashing lights, melodies, and lots of movable toys. Your child will love being able to spin and jump in the Luv U Zoo Jumperoo. A bright and cheery zoo-themed tray plays music, makes animal sounds, and lights up with every movement. He or she will learn to pull and tug on the hanging mobiles to discover cause and effect. Whether your baby is turning, jumping, or grasping, the Jumperoo encourages gross motor development, hand-eye coordination, and introduces baby to a variety of textures, shapes, and colors.

Baby Einstein Musical Jumper

Currently the #4 bestseller on Amazon.com, the Baby Einstein Musical Activity Jumper has a lot to like about it, and over 130 5-star reviews.

Baby Einstein Musical Motion Jumper
Reviews:
Features:	2-in-1 stationary jumper and entertainer with 12 activities to grow with baby Secure support seat with high back provides added comfort and support
Baby Jumper Review: The Musical Motion Activity Jumper is designed to grow with your baby with a 5-point height adjustment on seat. It also features padded toy bars and covered springs for added safety and folds for storage and portability. There are four activity stations and an electric piano with 7 lights and melodies.

Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumper

I saved the best for last: The Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo is the #1 bestselling baby jumper on Amazon.com, with more than 1,100 5-star reviews.

Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo
Reviews:
Features:	Designed to help encourage healthy development. Moving, spinning, and jumping in a baby jumper enhances large motor skills Perfect for babies not yet able to crawl or walk
Baby Jumper Review: The Rainforest Jumperoo is a safe and comfortable place for baby to sit and play, whether he stays for just a moment or for several minutes. Two soft leaves extend from the frame to create an overhead canopy with soft toys that dangle down for fun bat-at play. It also features a rotating seat with soft spring covers that keep little fingers safe from pinching, and three-position height adjustment for a custom fit.

Favorite Baby Bedtime Books

January 14, 2012 by getbabytosleep 7 Comments

Reading books to your baby at bedtime is a wonderful and intimate way to spend time together and mentally prepare him or her for bed. Right away I can think of at least five reasons to read to your baby before bed, and no doubt you can think of plenty more.

Here, I’ve assembled a collection of my favorite books to read to babies at bedtime. Choose a category, or click any of the titles below to see details and my review of the book. Please, use the comments section to add your own favorites!

Classic Bedtime Baby Books
	I Am A Bunny by Richard Scarry	This is one of my favorite books of all time; I remember it from my own childhood. Nicholas the bunny, who lives in a hollow tree, goes through each of the seasons and then curls up in his hollow tree to dream about spring.
	Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown	Perhaps the best-known bedtime book of all, about a bunny saying goodnight to all of the things in his room. Great illustrations and a near-hypnotic cadence to it (“Goodnight light, and the red balloon. Goodnight bears, goodnight chairs…”)
	Home For A Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown	Another excellent book by Margaret Wise Brown, also featuring a bunny, but this time he’s hopping along trying to find “a home for a bunny, a home of his own. Under a rock, or a log, or a stone.” He’s turned down by various creatures and (spoiler alert) eventually shacks up with another bunny.
	Good Night, Little Bear by Patricia M. Scarry and Richard Scarry	This book is by Patricia M. Scarry, the wife of Richard Scarry, who illustrated it. It’s about a little bear who doesn’t want to go to bed, so he “hides” on his dad’s shoulders and the father goes around looking for him.
	Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak	The book I cherish most from my own childhood. A boy misbehaves and is sent to bed without supper, where he takes a journey to become king of the wild things for “almost a year” and then comes home to find his supper. And it was still hot.
Feel-Good Bedtime Books
	A Night Night Prayer by Amy Parker	Shh! It’s time for sleeping. For snuggling in so tight. But first I say my night night prayer, and to God’s world, goodnight! This is a quick read with unique and soothing illustrations as a little child says goodnight to the trees, the sun, the birds, and so on.
	You’re My Little Bunny by Claire Freedman and Gavin Scott	This is a cute little book about a little bunny’s relationship with his mommy, following them for a day as they wake up, hop around, and eventually find their way home to go to sleep.
Beautiful Illustration Bedtime Books
	The Very Special Valentine by Maggie Kneen	Talk about absolutely stunning illustrations. In this book, Little Bunny Gray searches for a valentine to give to Rosie. Every page is an exquisite oil painting with glittery cut-outs and a lift-up flap revealing that each “jewel” Bunny Gray finds turns out to be something in nature. “Are those sparkling diamonds? What a fine gift they would make… But they’re dewdrops on a spider’s web, which bunny dare not take.”
	It’s Time to Sleep My Love by Eric Metaxas and Nancy Tillman	Nancy Tillman illustrates this lovely book in which the animal parents are soothing their children for sleep. There’s one page where a little girl is sleeping with a panda, another one where a baby snuggles a swan. The writing has a nice rhythm to it… later you find yourself wanting to say “It’s time to sleep, my love, my love, it’s time to sleep, my love.”
	While the World Is Sleeping by Pamela Duncan Edwards and Daniel Kirk	In this book a little girl flies on her owl’s back over various nighttime scenes, wonderfully illustrated by Daniel Kirk. Lots of animals are visited — deer, fox, mice, porcupine, and others — before the owl flies the girl home to rest her head.
Fun Bedtime Books
	Honk Honk Beep Beep! by Daniel Kirk	In this book, a jeep drives around a boy’s room at night, picking up various passengers and stopping to honk the horn. There’s nothing fancy about the writing or story line, but the illustrations by Daniel Kirk are excellent, and your babies will love the repetitive “Honk Honk Beep Beep!” on every other page.
	The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton	Sandra Boynton is one of my favorite children’s author-illustrators; she has several books that we love, most of which feature a similar cast of barnyard animals. All of them have cute illustrations and are quick, easy reads. In this one they all run upstairs to bed as the moon rises.
Bedtime Books about Mommy and Daddy
	Daddy Kisses by Anne Gutman	A short but sweet book about a bunch of animal “daddies” kissing their babies, ending with “My daddy kisses me all over, like this!”.
	Mommy Hugs by Anne Gutman	Another short but sweet book for mothers who feel “left out” by Daddy Kisses. Similar concept, except a bunch of animal “mothers” hug their babies with cuddles and squeezes.
	I Love You, Daddy by Jillian Harker and Kristina Stephenson	One of my daughter’s favorites, a book about a little bear who’s getting big enough to climb a tree, eat some honey, and help his daddy pick out a place to hibernate for the winter (spoiler alert: it’s a cave). By the end of it all he’s so exhausted he can’t quite finish telling his daddy, “I love you, D-…” before falling asleep.
Nursery Rhyme Books for Babies
	Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Sanja Rescek	A collection of short nursery rhymes, many of them bedtime/nighttime themed, and accompanied by colorful illustrations. Star Light Star Bright, Jack Be Nimble, Wee Willy Winkle, and others are joined by a few of the author’s own little sonnets.
	Nursery Tales by Mary Engelbreit	The talented Mary Engelbreit re-tells and illustrates (in her own style) some of the classic nursery rhymes, including Goldilocks, the Three Little Pigs, and others. We have the hardcover, which is a very high-quality book with dust jacket.
Bestselling Books for Babies
	Time for Bed by Mem Fox and Jane Dyer	Lovely paintings and a soothing, repetitive prose make this an excellent book to read just before bed.
	Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld	One of the most popular books on Amazon right now, this one follows all of the machines in a construction site as each one goes to sleep.
	Counting Kisses by Karen Katz	A fun book where Mommy gives her baby “ten little kisses on teeny tiny toes,” and “nine laughing kisses on busy, wriggly feet,” ending up with a last kiss on her sleepy, dreamy head.

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Periodic Table of Baby Sleep

January 12, 2012 by getbabytosleep 28 Comments

We’ve created this clickable periodic table of baby sleep with all of the elements — sleep essentials, good habits, common sleep problems, and safety concerns — to help your baby get a good night’s sleep.

Sleep Essentials		Sleep Problems


	PERIODIC TABLE OF BABY SLEEP


Good Sleep Habits		Safety Concerns

Essentials for Baby Sleep

These are the basic things that your baby needs to fall asleep. In dark blue are the basic necessities for putting baby to bed; in light blue are the things he’ll need to fall asleep quickly and consistently.

	Routine. Establishing a sleep schedule and nighttime routine for your baby is critical for good sleep habits. You’ve probably heard of bath-bottle-bed, a classic bedtime routine. Following the same steps at roughly the same time each night helps train your baby that it’s time to go to sleep.
	Feeding. A full belly is one of the most important ingredients for success in baby sleep training. Simply put, the more food your baby has in his belly, the longer he’ll sleep. It’s all about the nighttime feeding. Solid foods, once your pediatrician OKs them, make a huge difference if you give them at the evening meal.
	Burping. One of the most common reasons, if not the most common reason, that babies won’t go to sleep or wake up crying is from stomach gas. That’s why you have to burp a baby extensively before bed. Knowing some alternate burping techniques will help get stubborn burps out.
	Quiet. This may seem rather obvious, but most infants sleep best in a quiet sleeping environment. White noise is fine, but random noises — from televisions, radios, siblings, or parents — will disrupt the rest and might wake your baby up for the night. Keeping things quiet can be especially difficult if you’re entertaining or traveling with your baby. Invest in a good baby sleep monitor to stay in tune with your baby overnight.
	Comfort. This has two parts to it: choosing the right clothes and blanket(s) for your baby to sleep in, and comforting him at bedtime. You, as a caring parent who’s online reading about babies and sleep, probably do this last part pretty well. For help with the first, see What A Newborn Should Sleep In and check out our guide to cute baby pajamas.
	Warmth. Being nice and warm helps a baby sleep just as much as it helps an adult. Babies have a harder job of it, though, because they’re so little. A velcro swaddler or baby sleep sack will help keep your baby warm and snug overnight. See also How to Swaddle A Newborn.
	Dark. You can help your baby sleep through the night by promoting his natural circadian rhythms – make sure he gets light during the day when it’s play time, but goes to sleep in a dark or nearly-dark room, with at most a night light to see by.

Good Habits to Help Baby Sleep Longer

There are numerous sleep strategies that parents use to help their babies sleep longer and more deeply. Not all of these will work for every baby, but these are some things I recommend when you’re trying to get your baby to sleep through the night.

	Pacifier. The pacifier is a must-have for bedtime. You should have two or three backups readily at hand so that you can find one in the dark in the middle of the night. Many parents use the hospital-preferred Soothie, though pacifiers by MAM seem more comfortable for older babies. See The Best Baby Pacifiers for more recommendations.
	Swaddle. If you ever look through the window of a hospital nursery, you’ll notice that the nurses tend to swaddle a newborn under their care. Sometimes one-handed, too, which is impressive. Swaddling your baby mimics the warm snugness and comfort of the womb, while also providing a safe wrapping for your baby to sleep in. A baby sleep sack or sleeping bag does the same while allowing the legs some movement.
	Night Light. This could be for your baby, to keep him entertained or distracted while he’s falling asleep in bed. More likely, though, it will be for the parents, to minimize the number of cracked knees and stubbed toes that inevitably result from bumbling around in the dark in baby’s room. See Choosing A Night Light for Baby for some recommendations.
	White Noise. Something that provides a low, steady humming noise helps shield your baby from other noises that might wake it. Further, it forms part of the baby bedroom “environment” in which your baby becomes accustomed to sleeping. A fan is a good choice here, because it has the added benefit of circulating air around the room. Soothers and sound machines are also a comfort for many babies.
	Cereal. As soon as your pediatrician approves it, get some single-grain cereal and start teaching your baby to eat it. Rice and oat cereals are good to start with. You can use cereal to thicken baby food (especially carrots, sweet potatoes, and most fruits). Give your baby cereal at the evening meal (or a bit with the bedtime bottle) and you’ll almost certainly notice him sleeping longer.

Common Baby Sleep Problems

When your baby cries in bed, or wakes up in the middle of the night, there are dozens of possible explanations. In my experience, though, a handful of the most common reasons explain 90% of the times that a baby won’t sleep.

	Hunger. In my opinion, this is the single most common reason that babies (1) refuse to go to sleep, or (2) wake up crying in the middle of the night. They’re growing all the time. They need food to do it. A good nighttime feeding strategy will help keep your baby’s tummy full overnight.
	Gassiness. Another major source of bedtime discomfort and baby waking up. Sometimes there’s not much you can do; infant digestive systems are still maturing and need some time to work the kinks out. Just be sure you know how to burp a baby thoroughly before bed, and be certain to do it every time.
	Diaper. A fresh, clean diaper is a must when putting your baby to bed. Babies with a wet or dirty diapers usually won’t even go to sleep, much less stay there. When your infant is a little bit older (say 3 months), look into the Huggies Overnites diapers. These wick away more moisture to keep your baby dry overnight. See our article on the Importance of Diapers for Sleeping.
	Reflux. Spitting up is a common problem with newborns, and especially frustrating around bedtime because (1) your baby messes up his pajamas, and (2) he’s just regurgitated the food he’ll need to sleep overnight. You can protect against this by keeping him upright (holding, bouncer, or Bumbo seat) for 20-30 minutes before bed. For more tips, see Handling Reflux or Colic.
	Sick. Even the best-trained babies have trouble sleeping when they’re sick. They feel icky, they’re congested, they can’t breathe, and they cough the pacifier right out. Getting A Sick Baby to Sleep takes extra patience and extra work, but it can be done.
	Teething. This is one of the reasons why baby won’t sleep that’s hard to diagnose. Sometimes your baby has a runny nose, or refuses to eat even though he seems hungry. My boys would suddenly wake up screaming, as if in pain. Luckily there’s a good solution for this problem: Baby Orajel.

Unsafe Sleep Practices

All of us have bad habits. When it comes to babies and sleep, however, your weak points can actually create a dangerous situation for your baby. Some of the most worrisome safety concerns warned about by the American Academy of Pediatrics are in orange and red.

	Co-sleeping, or sleeping in the same room with your baby is actually a recommended practice to help you monitor him overnight. A mini crib is ideal for this. Bed-sharing (letting the baby sleep in your bed), however, can be dangerous. This is a major risk for SIDS and you shouldn’t get into the habit. See Cosleeping with Baby for some advice. And check out the safe crib for co-sleeping.
	Smoking. Room-sharing and bed-sharing with someone who smokes increases a baby’s risk of SIDS, even if that person doesn’t smoke while in bed. The carcinogen-containing smoke particles cling to a smoker’s clothing, skin, and hair, and can still be transferred when he or she touches or goes near an infant. Quitting smoking is something you should try very hard to do. For you, and for baby.
	Overheating. With all of the flannel pajamas, swaddlers, and baby blankets, it is quite possible for your baby to overheat. The AAP recommends that your baby have, at most, one more layer of clothing on than an adult would need to feel comfortable. Some of the digital video baby monitors that we reviewed include remote temperature sensors for the nursery, which seems like a nice idea.
	Drugs and Alcohol. Parents taking prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs (you know what I mean), or alcohol can endanger their baby because these things make them (1) less responsive, (2) groggy and/or clumsy, and (3) poor in judgment. The risk of SIDS is even higher when parents also let the baby sleep in their bed.
	Loose Bedding. This is the danger that we all know about, and all of us eventually become guilty of. When you’re trying to get a baby to sleep and comforting him, it’s tempting to put a little stuffed animal or soft pillow or loose blanket in his crib. Be strong, and don’t do it. Your baby’s crib should only have one thing in it: the baby. Consider swaddling with an Aden+Anais blanket for extra comfort.

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How to Swaddle a Newborn

January 8, 2012 by getbabytosleep 12 Comments

Swaddling a newborn baby is an essential skill for new parents. A swaddled infant will stay warmer, safer, and more comfortable in bed. Thus, it should help them sleep longer. Translation: more sleep for you. Here we’ll discuss some of the reasons for why you should swaddle your baby, how to swaddle a newborn, and when to stop swaddling.
Contents:
Why Swaddle A Newborn?
How to Swaddle A Newborn
Newborn Swaddling Tips
When to Stop Swaddling

Why Swaddle A Newborn?

Newborn babies, having just left the womb, are a little frightened by their new world. Swaddling gives newborns a sense of the snug comfort they need to feel secure. There’s a reason that swaddling techniques are practiced by most hospital nurseries: Many newborns won’t sleep without it. Swaddling also keeps babies warm, especially their arms and legs, by keeping them close to the trunk of the body. Finally, swaddling is a safety measure for baby sleep; in fact, it’s the only safe way to keep a blanket in the crib.

How to Swaddle A Newborn

This step-by-step guide describes how to swaddle a newborn using a standard receiving blanket. You can and should master this technique. Do it right, and your newborn will never be cold at night!

	Before you begin: Choose a good blanket. A square or rectangular-shaped blanket, such as a receiving blanket, is best for this. The extremely popular Aden & Anais blankets are well-suited for this. Make sure that the blanket is big enough to perform all of the steps below; if you can’t tuck it securely, the swaddle won’t hold.
	Step 1. Fold one corner down, making a triangle. You can make this a perfect triangle if the blanket is big enough; the point must extend far enough below baby’s feet that you can fold it up and reach the chin. If not, don’t fold the corner all the way to the other side (see image to the left).
	Step 2. Add the baby. Your newborn’s neck should be over the edge of the fold that you just made or slightly above it so that the blanket stays away from the face.
	Step 3. Fold over one corner and tuck under your baby. Which side you choose doesn’t matter, but be sure to tuck the corner so that it’s smooth and secure under your baby’s back. Not loose, and not scrunched up.
	Step 4. Bring up the bottom corner. This is what separates swaddling from simply wrapping your baby up in a blanket. If your baby is a kicker, allow enough room for his legs to move so that he doesn’t kick out of the swaddle. The bottom edge should come up to your baby’s chin; if there’s extra reach, fold it over and around the first side-corner you folded in.
	Step 5. Fold over the other side. This should be a nice, even fold, wrapping over the bottom-folded section and reaching the other side. You will tuck the extra bit under your baby’s back, so that his weight holds it in place.
	Step 6. Your newborn is swaddled! Now you can feel free to feed him, rock him, or put him to bed. You’ll notice that I recommend keeping the newborn’s arms free, instead of wrapping them up. This bit of advice comes from the pediatric nurse who taught our baby class. She’s adamant that a baby’s arms should stay free, allowing a newborn to comfort himself.

Newborn Swaddling Tips

Use a relatively thin blanket of appropriate size. Due to the number of folds involved, swaddling doesn’t seem to work as well on blankets that are too thick or too large relative to the baby.
Start over, don’t salvage. If a fold was off, the newborn was positioned funny, or it just doesn’t seem to be working, start the swaddling over from the beginning. The result will be much better than a salvage job.
Practice swaddling a baby one-handed. Trust me, you’ll need to know how. You can watch nurses in the NICU or hospital nursery; they’re experts at this.
Try a velcro swaddle blanket. These things make swaddling much faster, and hold more securely in place around your newborn.

When to Stop Swaddling

At some point, it will be time to stop swaddling your baby. You’ll probably realize this over time, as your baby gets too big to be swaddled with most blankets, and manages to kick out of them whenever you do it. If you bought a velcro swaddler, you’ll notice that it doesn’t fit them completely any more and only wraps around the lower half. This, incidentally, may be around the same time that your baby starts moving on his own and rolling over.

When you start seeing these signs, it’s probably time to replace the swaddler with a plain sleep sack, which I highly recommend. These are light fleece garments, with or without sleeves, that zip up in the front. They are very warm and comfortable; both of our twins are currently sleeping in them. For more, see our review of sleep sacks and sleeping bags.

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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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