I partnered with Newton Crib Mattress for this post. All opinions shared are based on my own experience.
While I was pregnant I wondered when and how the baby would sleep? With two kids, 4 and 7 years old, our home is rarely quiet. I imagined the older kids would wake her up whenever she settled into her sleep as they ran around or banged their toys. I was scared she wouldn’t get enough sleep but fortunately, that hasn’t been our experience. Actually, she adapted to this not-so-quiet life really well and she gets all the sleep she needs. That’s not to say that the kids don’t wake her up sometimes or that there aren’t days when she’s just not interested in sleeping no matter what we do, it’s far from a perfect scenario but she does sleep as much as any other 6-week-old. I wanted to share few things that I believe have helped, I know all kids are different but it’s good to have as any many tools in your mom arsenal as possible, especially to get your baby to sleep.
Putting her down before she falls asleep.
This is my third baby and the first that I put down to sleep while she’s still awake. If you follow my Instagram stories you’ve probably seen this in action a few times. I always rocked my babies to sleep or they would fall asleep while I was nursing them but one day shortly after bringing her home, I placed her down in her crib while she was sleepy to do something and when I got back she was fast asleep. I think she enjoys going to sleep on her own and I prefer it as it’s much easier than putting her down after she’s asleep hoping to not wake her up. Although I thought I would miss out on the closeness of rocking her to sleep, watching her little smiles as she drifts off to dreamland on her own stirs just as much joy.
A good crib mattress makes a big difference.
The first crib mattress I purchased 7 years ago was a major fail! As a first time mom, I researched everything thoroughly including crib mattresses. The one I settled on had good reviews but my daughter hated that mattress and rarely ever slept on it. I knew that a crib mattress needed to be firm but that one was too firm, it was hard. I was actually bummed that I did all of that research and still ended up purchasing a terrible mattress. After that experience, I knew that firmness, safety, and comfort (lots of comfort) are what babies need from a crib mattress so when I first learned about Newton Crib Mattress my interest immediately piqued. I spent a lot of time on their website learning about their mattresses and when my daughter’s finally arrived I was extremely impressed. First of all, these mattresses do not contain any of the toxic materials that are usually found in crib mattresses like glue or latex. It’s completely breathable, with a patented Wovenaire core that’s 90% air and 10% food-grade polymehich, I mean have you ever seen anything like this?
The first time I laid her on this mattress, I could feel the difference from that very first crib mattress and I knew my little lady would enjoy sleeping on it and she does. The cover can be easily unzipped and is washable so I don’t have to worry about leaks (which will be important for the toddler years to come).
A little noise helps.
We live in New York City, in an apartment building with older kids so there is always some degree of noise. What I’ve learned over the years is that if the room where the baby is asleep is too quiet she would wake up easily so there is always a little noise to help her rest well. She seems to like R&B or jazz music and white noise. We do white noise during the night and music sometimes during the day.
These are the three things that help these days but as she grows older and I learn more, I will be sure to share.
What do you do to help your baby sleep better?
