Getting the boys to sleep! (and warming up for winter)
My twin boys just turned 4 months old and have recently found their thumbs/fingers/hands (yeah!). My wife and I decided that maybe it was time to stop swaddling and letting them use their new-found appendages to soothe themselves back to sleep at night (vs us going in to replace pacifiers, etc). It’s also winter, meaning that their room is a bit colder than it was over the summer.
Due to all of these changes, we knew we’d need to make some edits to the sleep outfits and accessories. With that in mind, I’ve pulled together a brief selection of some of the better sleep accessories that we’ve used over the past four months:
Sleep positioners
Secure Sleeper Ultra 3-in-1 Sleep Positioner by Dex
This was the first sleep positioner that we used with the boys. They didn’t seem to mind it, but they did slide down a bit (since it’s on an angle). We used it for about a month before going to a different one. It was good, but once they got to be above about 10 lbs, it seemed too small.
The First Years - Air-Flow Back Sleeper
This was the second sleep positioner that we used. The boys didn’t seem to like this one as much. Also, we tried to use it to keep them a bit on their sides (so their heads wouldn’t be flat) but they always managed to turn onto the backs with this. It was easy to use though and they didn’t slide down (since there’s no angle on it).
Swaddles & Blankets
Aden + Anais Muslin Swaddling Blanket
These blankets are great. They’re lightweight as a “single ply” but fold them over and they have enough weight to keep a baby semi-warm. You can use them to swaddle (for the first while at least), to keep out the sun in a stroller, as a regular blanket or, if you’re playing and don’t want your kids directly on the ground, you can put them on the floor. However, once your kids get strong enough, they’ll be able to break out of the swaddle and that’s when trouble comes. Our boys 1) woke themselves up and 2) had the blanket over their heads (luckily this is a lightweight blanket and we caught this issue early). We still use these blankets, but not for swaddling
Yes, the name of this blanket makes you think it’s manufacturers are a bit arrogant… I mean, “miracle”? Well, they deserve the name. We tried using regular blankets to swaddle our boys… then we used special “swaddle blankets” with mixed results (see above)… Then our friend recommended the miracle blanket. As she put it, “It’s like a straight jacket. But our son wouldn’t move, wouldn’t wake himself up and fell right to sleep.” She was right! This worked great. It’s lightweight (so you don’t need to worry about overheating in the summer or spring) and it is pretty easy to use. I also liked that you can use it in a few different ways (feet out, one arm tucked, the other free, etc). This blanket was truly a miracle.
*Note: this isn’t a pic of either of my kids — I took this off of Amazon
Micro-fiber Swaddle Sleepsack™ by Halo
Once it got cold out, we figured we’d move to a thicker version of something similar to the Miracle Blanket… No such luck. We tried the Swaddle Sleepsack and it was like a mediocre version of a sleepsack and a mediocre version of a swaddler. Our boys didn’t like this at all and we nixed this one after a few nights. I think the fact that their legs are covered with the sleepsack and that their arms are wrapped with the velcro-pads was too much for them.
SleepSack™ Micro-Fleece Wearable Blanket by Halo
This sleepsack is great (and it’s what we’re currently using). It gives the boys enough freedom to suck their thumbs (which is perfect for us too, as mentioned above) and is nice and toasty for the winter. They have a non-fleece version that we’ll probably get for the summer. I like the reverse zipper so that anything dangerous and metal is kept away from their face. And the leg area is roomy enough that they don’t feel constricted. Overall, again a good product im my opinion.
Keep an eye out for my next post on mobiles, crib CD players, other Crib baby-entertainment systems and whatever else can keep them busy during the witching hour!
