Here are a few of my favorite newborn sleep essentials:
Fisher Price Newborn Rock ‘n Play Sleeper – We acquired this from my sister who used this with my nephew when he was first born. We used to put Baby Checkers to sleep in this ALL the time when she was a newborn! It is so much more convenient than a bassinet. It’s about half the cost, and it’s also super light and portable. Plus, you can use it to rock your newborn to sleep and give your arms a rest. It was also great for us because we live in a two-story townhouse, and it took so little space in our living room downstairs.
Cloud B Sleep Sheep On-the-Go – This was gifted to us and I never even knew it existed! This is a great little white noise/sound machine to put in the crib or travel crib if you ever need to travel with your little one!
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child – This book was another recommendation from a mama friend and it was great for sleep training. I guess this is not really a “newborn” essential, but a helpful read for anyone who is thinking about sleep training after a few months.
Miracle Blanket – We tried several different swaddling blankets, but this one seemed to work the best for us and our baby. It is super easy to use and we used it for months; after Baby Checkers was arms free, we would use it to swaddle her from the waist down.
Wubbanub Infant Pacifier – A fellow mama friend introduced this to me and it is super cute and ingenious! The plush stuffed animal attached to the pacifier helps it stay in your baby’s mouth and stay asleep.
Summer Infant Day and Night Video Monitor – I read a lot of reviews on different monitors (both on-line and in my Baby Bargains book) and I am very happy with this one! We can check on our little one when she’s sleeping and be at ease.
Fisher Price Precious Planets 2-in-1 Projection Mobile – After weeks of watching her smile at the ceiling fan, I caved in and bought my child a mobile. Coolness factors: 1) It plays Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart, nature sounds, as well as heartbeat sounds (which worked wonders at lulling Baby Checkers to sleep in the early days); 2) You can remove the “mobile” part as the baby gets older and the device projects animal figurines onto the ceiling. We still use the projection with Baby Checkers and she LOVES it.
Bjorn Travel Crib – Speaking of travel cribs, this one is awesome! I know many of my mom friends registered for pack and plays since they are cheaper and are super handy. The thing I didn’t like about the pack and play was 1) all of the parts to assemble it and 2) it is super heavy (some 20-25 lbs.) and laborious to take anywhere. What I love about the Bjorn Travel Crib is it is 1) light and easy to carry (11 lbs.) and 2) it comes in ONE PIECE. For someone who hates assembling and reading instructions, this was fantastic. It is on the pricey side, but it’s worth it in my opinion.
Is it any wonder that 100% of my favorite things are in one way or another related to SLEEP? It is amazing how much money you will spend on books and products just to get your child to sleep. You can hardly put a price on your sleep, especially in those weeks when you are getting absolutely none.
What are some of your favorite sleep essentials?
Newborn Essentials part 5 of 13
1. My Top 15 Most Used Baby Products by Mrs. Bee2. Absolute Essentials for a Newborn by Checklists
3. Newborn Essentials by Mrs. Hopscotch
4. Mrs. Markers' Newborn Essentials by Mrs. Markers
5. Newborn Sleep Essentials by Mrs. Checkers
6. The Essentials: Newborn Edition by mrs. tictactoe
7. Mrs. Sketchbook's Budget Gear Faves: Newborn to Six Months by Mrs. Sketchbook
8. Twin Newborn Essentials by Mrs. Blue
9. Top 10 adopted newborn essentials by Mrs. Jacks
10. Newborn Essentials by Mrs. Tea
11. New Mom Tips by Mrs. Bee
12. Newborn Must Haves by Mrs. Sea Otter
13. Mrs. Rabbit's Top 10 Newborn Must-Haves by Mrs. Rabbit
Sleep Essentials part 1 of 3
1. Newborn Sleep Essentials by Mrs. Checkers2. My Top Ten Picks for Registering ~ Part 1: Sleep by Mrs. Tea
3. Newborn Essentials by Series
pear / 1517 posts
Did you use the wubbanub with a tiny newborn? DS is 1month old and I am dying to find a way to keep the pacifier in, but I was under the impression the wubbanub is more for slightly older babies?
nectarine / 2886 posts
@Beyond2: We used the wubbanub pretty early on, and it definitely helped keep the pacifier in LO’s mouth. Then as she got a bit older, she would self-soothe by playing with the animal part!
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
We have and use EVERY SINGLE ITEM on your list except the travel crib! (we don’t travel much.) Seriously, EXACT same items.
squash / 13199 posts
I have the same fisherprice rock & play sleeper and also the same crib mobile. I found the crib mobile to be a bit quiet though, I can barely hear the music
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
i LOVE the rock and play – seriously some of the best money we’ve spent on baby stuff. we also use it when bathing our newborn alone, to get him out of the bath and all wrapped up in his towel.
cherry / 119 posts
we love the graco sweet slumber sound machine. i like it because you can keep the white noise/sound playing all night. it’s also small enough to travel with.
guest
Technically, this is for mama, not baby – but it’s absolutely essential, especially in those early sleep-deprived weeks (months?) when the sleep/eat/nap/eat/etc. schedule is happening ’round the clock:
It’s a watch – super comfy, super cute, soft and can be worn 24/7. Has double-bezels so you can easily track how long it’s been since whatever (nap began, last feeding, etc.), and a subtle little Left/Right switch on the side for when it’s time to nurse and you’re too sleep-deprived to remember which side to start on!
Benbini: http://www.benbini.com/
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
I wish I knew about the rock ‘n play when N was an infant… I don’t think I heard of it until she was practically 1! It’s #1 on my wish list for the next baby!
grapefruit / 4400 posts
We have the rock & play sleeper (used it non-stop until C was 5 weeks old), the sleep giraffe, the wubbanub (in Froggy and Red Dog– C likes to pay with the animals as she soothes and she’s now 3 months old), the Miracle Blanket, and the same mobile! All have been lifesavers.
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
@Beyond2: No, I think I started using it a bit later when she was around 1 month.
@Mrs. Wagon: How funny!!! Great minds :).
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
@Mrsbells: Do you have it on the highest setting? I think the loud setting is SO LOUD!
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
@Mrs. High Heels: You can borrow mine!
Problem solved.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@Mrs. Checkers – Thank you!!!!
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
@Beyond2: Our LO was a 4 lbs 3 ozs when he left the hospital and he used the wubbanub just fine. I’m not sure how small your baby is but it worked for our little man.
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
We used pretty much everything on the list some things we loved which aren’t on the list are the sleep giraffe, pack and play with newborn napper (he slept in this until he was 2 months old), and a boppy.
coffee bean / 29 posts
Love checking out these types if lists! I’m going to look at getting the sleep sheep instead of using an iPhone app for white noise. Does the pacifier really stay in the baby’s mouth?
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
@scsgalexander: The Sleep Sheep is great b/c 1) it’s so tiny and portable and 2) it has a timer on it so it’ll shut off on its own after about 20-30 minutes or so.
The Wubbanub helped it stay in b/c the doll helps apply more pressure/weight. In the early early days though, her pacis always fell out.
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
@krsmall: I’ve heard the boppy is great for resting your newborn on, but I never got one! Maybe I’ll try that w/#2
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
So many of these were our essentials too! I ultimately ended up liking the iPod + speaker better than the Sleep Sheep, though, just because I can make it a bit louder and don’t need to worry about the sound shutting off.
pea / 8 posts
We use the rock’n play and the noise machine EVERY DAY. Our baby absolutely loves the background noise from the Sleep Sheep (with 5 different sounds and her favorite is the raindrops). We have the sheep in her bedroom so she knows it’s “sleep time”. Our baby naps in the rock’n play during the day. She has no trouble sleeping in both the rock’n play and crib.
I will also recommend Halo Sleep Sack for newborn. It comes in cotton and micro fleece (sizes in NB, S, M, L). The fleece is so soft and is great for colder days and it makes sleeping so much easier for all of us. We used the NB since she was born and now our daughter is 11 lb-4oz and we’re moving to size S!