7 Conscious Sleep Companions For A Well-Rested Baby
Better Sleep For The Whole Family
There are numerous parenting styles (attached, authoritative, permissive) and methodologies for getting your little one to rest.
“Do the research, listen to your intuition (and your baby), and choose what’s right for your family.”
Every baby is different, and what worked for my family might not work for yours, and vice versa. The best advice I can give is to do the research, listen to your intuition (and your baby), and choose what you think is right for your family.
It can be so helpful to find groups of women who are ahead of you, and who can support, encourage, and educate you when you’re in the thick of it and suffering from bouts of sleep deprivation. Facebook groups like Raised Good are available for nearly any type of sleep or parenting methodology, as well as things like baby-led weaning.
Regardless of the sleep strategy that you land on for you and your little one, here are some universal resources that can help every parent:
1. SlumberPod®
If there’s anything I wish I would have learned about earlier, it’s this magical little number. After several rounds of blackout curtains that didn’t quite do the trick, we found ourselves noticing that our baby’s naps were twice as long when we were on vacation. We started to credit it to the total darkness that the portable SlumberPod® offers, and this soon became a permanent fixture in our baby’s nursery.
2. Sleep Sack
Once your babe has transitioned from bassinet to crib, a sleep sack is a safe alternative to a blanket and ensures your little one doesn’t get tangled up. This one from Coyuchi is woven in India and made of organically grown, GOTS certified cotton. As a company, Coyuchi has excellent sustainable production standards.
3. SNOO
The Snoo boasts that it’s the safest baby bed ever made. Created by American pediatrician and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Harvey Karp, this revolutionary bassinet will swaddle, sway, and shush your baby (three of Dr. Karp’s infamous 5 S’s), buying tired parents a few extra winks of sleep. The Snoo is also nontoxic and is phthalate- and BPA-free. While the price tag is steeper than some basic baby sleepers, Snoo offers a rental option for affordability and short-term use, lessening the number of new beds needing to be created and reducing the overall carbon footprint.
4. Dohm Uno Natural Sound Machine
The Dohm sound machine has been around for decades. It’s made right here in the USA and uses natural sound instead of a recording. The National Sleep Foundation deems it the national sound conditioner, and it has thousands of positive reviews online.
5. Nanit Baby Monitor
A baby monitor provides parents with an invaluable sense of peace, but many monitors use technology with high levels of radiation, which can potentially harm your baby’s brain development, immune system, and more. The manufacturer of the Nanit claims that its antenna directs 10 times less radiation in the direction of your child, and far less than other home devices like TVs or computers.
6. Compassionate Sleep Solutions
I stumbled upon Eileen Henry through my love of author Janet Lansbury and her podcast, ’Unruffled.’ Eileen was an early pioneer of sleep consulting and has spent nearly two decades helping families sleep. As the title of her Compassionate Sleep Solutions business alludes, she leads with compassion in her truly customized approach to helping families get the sleep they need. She has a book and also offers personalized consulting services, which—after one week of working together—had my husband and me sleeping through the night for the first time in 10 months.
Speaking of books, they are one of the sweetest and most powerful parts of a nightly bedtime routine. But you don’t have to break the bank or your sustainability commitments to get your hands on the best ones. Local libraries offer an array of reads to help you and your little one wind down every night.
7. Dyson Hot + Cool™
In addition to ensuring total darkness, the temperature of your baby’s room seems to be the most emphasized and agreed-upon contributor to great baby sleep. We love using this Dyson air purifier that ensures our little one breathes clean air in addition to snoozing at a consistent 70 degrees.
Do you have any tips on getting your babe to bed? 👶💤 Share in the comments below!
Danielle Finck is the founder and CEO of Elle Communications, a conscious communications agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco that represents mission-centered brands, nonprofits, social enterprises, CSR teams, sustainably made products, activists, and leaders who are making the world a better place through their ideas and endeavors. She lives in Venice, CA with her son, Weston, and her husband, Adam. Connect with her on Instagram here.
