“Is he sleeping through the night?”
Why is THAT always one of the first questions people ask when they learn you have a baby? I think it’s because sleep brings us all together. Anyone who has ever been a parent knows that, no matter how you parent, your world revolves around sleep those first few months, and even beyond.
Not just getting the baby to sleep, and keeping baby asleep, and figuring out baby’s sleep schedule, but feeling confident baby is sleeping safely. Sleep, in general, can be super stressful when you have a baby.
Wallace isn’t sleeping through the night, like, at all. He’s up every 2-3 hours still. But, having been through this 3 other times, we’ve settled into a sleep routine that makes life with a baby minimally stressful.
Part of that routine includes the HALO Bassinest Swivel Sleeper and HALO SleepSack Swaddle. HALO is sponsoring this post.
The first, most important piece for me is that Scott helps, however he can, at night. For the first couple months, this looked like him sleeping with the HALO Bassinest Swivel Sleeper on his side of the bed, waking to change Wallace’s diapers if needed or rocking him in the Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper before or after I breastfed Wallace.
Once he went back to work, I woke more with Wallace at night by myself, but if it’s a really rough night, then Scott is there to help again, and we share the burden. Sleep deprivation triggers my postpartum anxiety, and it doesn’t do anyone in our family any good if I’m trying to live off 4 hours of sleep a night. Better for us both to be a little sleep deprived than for me to be incapacitated by anxiety.
Swaddling has always been a must for our babies. All 4 have slept significantly better in a tight swaddle, so we keep a few swaddles on hand, like the HALO SleepSack Swaddles. I love how easy they are to use. Your sleep deprived brain simply needs to know how to work a zipper and Velcro.
In fact, our hosptial provides us with HALO Swaddle SleepSacks! Wallace has been rocking one since he was hours old. (Oh my heart, those lip bubbles!)
After we had our first two babies, I felt a lot of pressure to get them sleeping in their own rooms as quickly as possible. By the time the 3rd got here, I gave up even having a crib in another room for him. Life’s so much easier, and sleep is more plentiful (even if just marginally) when the babies sleep in our room.
Plus, last October (2016), the American Academy of Pediatrics announced new safe sleep recommendations to protect against SIDS and sleep-related infant deaths.
“Infants should sleep in the same bedroom as their parents – but on a separate surface, such as a crib or bassinet, and never on a couch, armchair or soft surface — to decrease the risks of sleep-related deaths.” – www.aap.org
This touches on that part about sleep stressing us out because we want to be sure our babies are sleeping safely. I get much better sleep, and we get more of it, when we feel confident that our babies are sleeping in the safest environment possible, so room-sharing, it is!
Finally, I love that the HALO Bassinest Swivel Sleeper offers a Cuddle Insert now. It’s a flat surface that gently hugs baby, giving them that comfort of the womb. It’s not a baby hammock. It rests on the mattress, providing a sleep surface that aligns with the AAP’s recommendations. Wallace seems to enjoy how snug he feels in it.
When people ask me, “Is he sleeping through the night?” I usually reply, “No, but we’re managing.” Because we are.
Thanks to HALO for sponsoring this post. We’ve had the HALO Bassinest Swivel Sleeper in our room since we brought Wallace home. All opinions are my own based on our real life experiences.
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