Tips On Getting Your Baby To Sleep: I received product in lieu of this post from Dockatot but as always all opinions are my own.
Photos by Chelsea Rochelle.
Look at those little nuggets all snuggled their beds. You’d think they sleep like champs… but it wasn’t always this way? They say to new parents all the time, “sleep when they sleep.” But what if they don’t sleep? My first-born was an excellent sleeper, she could sleep anywhere. When Charlie was born, I just assumed she would be the same. I bought my fancy bassinet and placed it beside my bed, thinking she would just peacefully sleep beside me each night. Boy was I wrong. She didn’t even last 10 minutes every time.
We put Keatyn in her own bed at about 4 months old and sleep trained her. I had full intention on doing that with Charlie even earlier but then CNN released this article stating babies should sleep in their parents rooms until at least 6 months of age. If you know me at all, you know how crazy paranoid I am, so this was all I needed to hear to keep her in my room. Knowing I am an extremely light sleeper, I would’ve felt comfortable letting her sleep in my bed with me but knowing how sleep deprived I could be at times taking care of two and working, I opted to try out the Dockatot. I promise you I’m not exaggerating but she won’t sleep in anything else.
She was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at 6 weeks old so we couldn’t put her in the rock and play etc, anything that pushed her hips together. We ended up getting the larger Dockatot too but now that her harness is off, she sleeps in the smaller one again. Her big sister has completely stolen the Grand Dockatot. She says it’s her bed and she just lounges in it and watches tv. She’s 5 years old and still fits in it so I’d say that’s pretty impressive.
A few tips on getting your baby to sleep that I could recommend to you from a lot of trial and error:
- A good routine. I know it’s a lot harder with multiple children especially but if you set a good routine it will help you more than you know. Babies and children need routines and trust me, you’ll have it a lot easier if you set them early on. I make sure Charlie is fed every 3 hours until about 7/8 pm when I feed her the next to last bottle of the day. She naps at 10 am and 2 pm. We put her down in her dockatot around 7:30-8 after bath time. She wakes up between 11:30-12 and she gets her last bottle of the night. She sleeps till about 7 then we start our day.
- Whitenoise. Get them used to sounds or you’re in for a world of chaos. I have found the perfect sound machine ever. The Sound Oasis Bluetooth machine is compact for travel and comes with a SD card with 12 pre-loaded sounds that are not only perfect for the babies but also for mom and dad to sleep better. Trust me you’ll love it.
- Feed your baby right before you put him/her to sleep. Make sure their bellies are full and they will nap/sleep so much better and longer.
Photo by Elizabeth Scott.
I hope you guys enjoyed these tips on getting your baby to sleep. By no means am I an expert but this is what has worked for me. Feel free to message me with any questions. Xoxo.
