My Favourite Baby Products for Sleep

F is 6 months old this week as I’m writing this so I thought it would be the perfect time to share the baby products we’ve loved for sleep. Also, when people say they grow up fast, they aren’t lying!

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Baby Sleep

Cribs, cots, next to me’s…

When it comes to sleep there are so many suggestions coming from all angles. Moses basket? Next to me? Cot bed? Crib?

We’re yet to transition F to his big boy crib but are planning to in the next couple of months. The next to me crib we have has been perfect and well worth the money. We have a SnuzPod which we bought when we brought him home from the hospital. We picked up a couple of their mattress protectors which are an essential as it still looks brand new. And the sheets are great quality, wash well etc. (boring I know) but they also have some super cute patterns.

When it came to sleeping downstairs in the early days we had a moses basket that was given to us. It did the job for around the first 6 to 8 weeks but then he grew out of it. Was it worth it? I’d say so, but we also didn't pay for it, so I guess you take that into consideration, too. What I will say is though, there are SO many on Facebook Marketplace. I think because they do take up space and babies aren’t in them for long, parents want them gone! So you can pick them up for free/cheap over there.

On the theme of sleeping downstairs we found a product with extremely mixed reviews a life saver. We managed to get it for free off of a local Facebook group but I’d have happily paid the money. We’ve just given ours to my sisters friend to save her paying for one, but it’s probably one of the only thing I’ve considered keeping in case we have baby number 2! The DokATot is marketed for babies between 0-8 months and I think depending on the size of your baby and when they decide to roll, you might get 8 months out of it. I’d say we got 4 months out of it and it was probably our favourite product in those early days. Being able to put our baby down on the sofa next to us knowing he was safe and comfortable was a winner. He’d sleep in it supervised during the day (please research safe sleep) but would also just chill and it was so helpful.

What should they wear?

A big topic in my mum group chats is always ‘what do I put my baby in to sleep?’ and it can be so confusing. There are plenty of things online that suggest the layers etc. but it’s all based on the temperature in the room. We’ve found the GroEgg2 perfect for giving us the temparature in our bedroom and when we move him into the nursery, that will go with him.

And speaking of what to put them in, we used a sleeping bag of some description from day 1 and still do. In the early days, we used a Love To Dream baby sleeping bag. He absolutely loved this as it positioned his arms where he felt comfortable. We had a couple of them in rotation and I actually took it into the hospital. We were in for 3 nights after giving birth and I definitely think it was a big contributer to him sleeping.

Once we felt he was growing out of that, they aren’t cheap so instead of moving up sizes/styles in them, we went for a traditional sleeping bag. Just keep an eye on the tog you are buying and ensure it’s correct for the time of year/temperature of the room your baby is sleeping in. We have 3 of these on rotation at all times which covers us if any are in the wash, inevitably get sick on etc. He’s been in 2.5 tog until the last week or so, when I bought a 1.5 tog.

White noise

Some people disagree with the use of white noise and as with all things parenting - you do you. Personally, we’ve found white noise has been great for F’s sleep and I actually think my own now too!

We’ve used two products for white noise and I’d recommend both for different reasons. Ewan has been our saviour since day one and a purchase I made before F arrived. He was another product we took into hospital with us once F was born and we knew we’d be in the hospital for a few days. Since getting home hes been strapped to his Snuzpod.

He is noise activated so if F fusses in the night or cries his red light and white noise come on. I don’t think you can ever say certain products are the reason your baby sleeps better as there are so many variables, but F has always been a pretty good sleeper so we’re still using this at 6 months. I daren’t change anything if I’m honest! Fellow mums, you’ll get me on this.

The other product was a newer addition and we’ve been using it for almost 4 months. The Whoosh is a portable white noise machine which we use when getting F down to sleep in the nursery and then clip on to his next to me crib. It’s rechargable which we love and the fact it’s portable and small. It means you can pop it into a changing bag or in the bassinet of the pram whilst on the go if you need it. It has a 10 hour setting so if your baby needs constant white noise, it can be a life saver. If you are reading this thinking of a gift for a pregnant friend, the Whoosh is a great one.

Routine?

Not a baby product but I know all mums are obsessed with other peoples sleep routines (guilty). We’re lucky F is a good sleeper at the moment - we aren’t taking that for granted and know it can change so quickly! But we do have quite a loose routine that we follow.

We aren’t rigid on timings and when I’ve spoken to my NCT mums, he actually has the latest bed time. He usually goes down around 9pm and according to the Huckleberry app (where we record everything because we’d definitely forget), he’ll sleep for on average between 9 and 10 hours, mostly without a wake up. Most nights we do bath, bottle and bed but some nights we drop the bath. My advice is to just do what works for you.

Travel Cot

When we went to Centre Parcs we bought a travel cot as F was only 3 months old and I wanted something with a built in bassinet. You can pay whatever you like for a travel cot, just like anything else with a baby so we went with a mid range one from Joie. My heart wanted a Bugaboo one because I think their products are gorgeous, but it was over £200 and we couldn’t justify it.

We’ve used ours a few times now and really like it. It’s pretty easy to put up and take down, has a built in bassinet which is perfect for smaller babies and well… it does the job!

Feel free to DM me on Instagram if you have any questions