Putting and Keeping Baby To Sleep

Now I by NO means have the answer to the asked question of "how do you keep a baby asleep?" but this is what has worked for me!

I have linked each picture to where you can purchase each item.

First off, here are the thing I use for her sleep time.

I would be lost with our swaddle blankets. The swaddle me blankets are my favorite because Raegan is a wiggle worm and will wiggle out of the best of swaddles, but these swaddles have velcro and try as she might, she has a hard time getting out.

AND they come in large too (14-20 pounds) So we can use them for awhile! They come in boy and gender neutral colors too!

Next up is the paci. Yes, we use a paci and I LOVE THEM! And so does Raegan. They really do an amazing job at soothing her. I'm so glad she takes a paci. These are the ones we use. Since she has a cleft palate and can't get a very good suck and seal of the cleft, these are great because the nipple is long and she's able to suck and close that hole with the paci.

And along with her pacifers she has a wubbanub. I love her "wubby" because it has the lamb attached to it and it's hard to lose BUT I can also swaddle wubby in her swaddle and it doesn't fall out of her mouth as much. We didn't start doing this until she was a little older and had more head control. She can still get the paci out of her mouth so there is no risk of suffocation. The wubbanub comes is many different animals!

Next up is what she sleeps in. We have the graco pack n play set up in our room and when she first came home she slept in the bassinet portion of the pack n play. It actually detaches from the pack n play so we were able to move it wherever we needed to! Loved that feature!

Now that she's older and LONGER she's not always a fan of the pack n play. So we purchased a Fisher Price rock n play and this what she sleeps in at night and for her naps. It's also good because she can sleep alittle reclined and with her cleft palate she is very stuffy so this allows her to breathe better. And it vibrates! Halle to the lujah!

Ok so now that you've seen WHAT I use let's get to the HOW! Well first off, with her schedule she eats right before she goes down. So I always swaddle her and get ready to go to sleep before feeding her. It's her cue that it's time to eat then take a nap.

After she eats I do not rock her for very long since I don't want her using me as a way to fall asleep. So I put her in her rock n play and rock her. Yes, she is using the rocking to fall asleep, but that habit we can break later. And I am not saying I don't rock my baby because if she needs it, I'm the first to give it to her. (fussy, gassy, just needs some momma loving, etc).

I make sure she has a paci in her mouth and the swaddle strategically holding it in her mouth so she doesn't spit it out, and I rock the rock n play with my foot. Lots of multitasking!

I also like to hold the paci in her mouth and rest my hand on her chest as she falls asleep. This gives her the sense that I'm still there and haven't left and I'm able to keep the paci in if she starts moving her head around. She tends to do this right before she falls asleep.

Now here is the kicker. How long do you does this for? It all depends. If Raegan is acting like she's not sleepy then we may play a little before attempting the nap. Remember from my last post, activity and sleep can be switched around, except of course if it's bed time.

And if I've given it a good 15 minutes and Raegans's eyes still haven't closed, I may need to pick her up and rock her a bit to get that sleepy phase started. She may even cry at me a little in her rock n play, and then the next minutes, she's asleep! I will be at my wits end and am about to pick her up because I don't think she's sleepy and then BAM! Asleep. Which is why I say give it some time! Don't pick baby up as soon as they let out a cry or seem annoyed to be in the bed.

When you are sitting and rocking the seconds creep by! You feel like it's been 20 minutes, but really it's only been 2. I urge you to give it a good 5 minutes after baby has closed their eyes. Set a timer, play some candy crush on your phone, but don't walk out just yet. Because they aren't asleep when they close their eyes. Give them some time before walking off to really fall asleep. Better to give it 5 minutes then than having to come back in a few minutes because the paci has fallen out because they weren't in a deep sleep and it woke them up. Just my two cents!

And when she does wake up in the middle of her nap or at night, I put the paci back in and start the whole process over. I don't pick her up unless she's crying. We will work on self soothing when she's alittle older, but this process is helping her learn that a little bit at a time.

Just remember, babies change constantly! Just as you are about to pull your hair out because they aren't sleeping more than 30 minutes or a time or they won't nap or they won't sleep unless you're holding them, they will change! Then something new will cause you to want to pull your hair out :)

As hard as this time is, baby is learning how to cope with the outside world and you have to help baby to do that.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below. I will try to answer them as best I can!

And how can I post without a picture of Miss Priss?

spit bubbles!

oh that double chin! swoon