3 Things for Baby that Helped me Get More Sleep in the Morning
3 Things for Baby that Helped me Get More Sleep in the Morning. Learn what helped me to get a few more hours of sleep when my baby was up in the morning.
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When I saw this picture I thought it was just perfect for this topic. I know what that is like. When you are barely awake at the break of dawn but have to watch your baby.
This method is not for everyone. This is just something that has worked well for us. I want to share it with you if you in case it might work for you and your baby, too.
This method is for when your baby can hold his head and is showing interests in his surroundings. We started using this method when we were four months old.
We are 7 months old now and still use this method. Our son still doesn’t sleep through the night and wakes up a couple of times to feed. On top of that, my baby loves to wake up early! I guess that is the case for most babies.
Unfortunately, I am a night owl. Early birds are magical creatures to me. I have no idea how anyone can be a morning person. I’ve tried. I really have. I even planned every detail and found things to enjoy about mornings besides coffee.
Nothing helped me to become a morning person. After months of trying and really enjoying the dawn and the birds chirping, I realized that it was juts not going to happen.
I had to figure something out.
What we did for me to be able to get more sleep in the morning has changed my life
I have to thank my husband for coming up with this system. I can’t imagine life without this method now. I would probably be brain dead or crazy by now without it.
If you are a morning person who wants to get a little more sleep then read on. If you are a night owl who desperately needs help getting more sleep – this is going to change your life. I hope. It sure has changed mine.
First, I will list the products we used and then tell you how we used them to get more sleep in the morning.
Babysense Video Baby Monitor with Two Digital Cameras
Babysense Video Monitor with Two Digital Cameras has been a lifesaver for us in many ways. Check out my post on 10 Things for Baby that Helped Us Sleep Better at Night. I go over more details there about the benefits of this camera and its features.
However, for the purposes of this post, I will focus on how we used this camera to get more sleep during the morning hours.
Baby Einstein Neptune's Ocean Discovery Jumper
Baby Einstein Neptune’s Ocean Discovery Jumper is the second thing you need. It is an absolutely ingenious creation. When your baby wants to move, this will save your life and your back. More on that topic in a different post.
For this post, I will just say that once we got this creation, we never looked back. It is expensive at a little over $100. However, I can’t imagine not having it. This product has lasted us since we were four months old. Now we are seven months old and we are not going to stop using it anytime soon (at least not until he is 25 lbs.). It is so versatile and helpful.
IMPORTANT: Make sure your baby is wearing an outfit with comfortable bottoms. This way you make sure his legs down rub on the jumper's seat or the carpet below.
I recommend these clothes. They are incredible and I will write more on them in a different post. But for this post, I will just say that they have perfect footsies, hand flaps, and are made out of bamboo. Bamboo is one of the best natural fabrics for your baby.
Graco Simple Sway Baby Swing
Often our baby was getting tired and ready for his late morning nap. There have been times when we let him sleep in the jumper. Other times he was jumping and crying. I could tell he was tired and needed help. That is when this Graco Simple Sway Baby Swing came in to play.
In addition to all its amazing features, this swing is also sturdy and long lasting. We started using it since our baby was born. There is no end in sight to when we will stop using it (max wight is 30 lbs.).
I recommend putting him in this baby bear outfit for extra comfort and soothing. For some reason, our son just does not want to cry when we put him into this outfit and rock him to sleep in the swing. It is so soft and warm that he just dozes off really fast.
So, how did we do it? Let’s put it all together.
Let's put it all together.
First, you set up one of the cameras downstairs or wherever your baby will be. This camera comes with 2 sets. Check out my post on 10 Things for Baby that Helped Us Sleep Better at Night. I describe more details about this particular camera and why we love it so much.
Set up the camera to be directly focused on the Einstein jumper. In our case, it was downstairs in the living room. The monitor you take with you upstairs to your bedroom.
Set the monitor to show your baby. Also make sure you have the volume up so you can hear him.
Second, once you feed and change your baby after his usual morning routine, you take him downstairs. Set him up in the jumper. It has music buttons, rolling things, crinkle things, and all kinds of toys for him to play with. They really entertain him. We also turn on the Sesame Street on TV.
Once your baby is all set up and entertained – jumping and watching Sesame Street – you go upstairs with the baby monitor.
This Einstein jumper offers so much entertainment and range of motion for your jumping baby that he will be entertained for hours.
Once you get back in bed, check the monitor again. You want to make sure that you can see and hear your baby very well. You can also speak to him through the monitor to give him a little more extra comfort.
I usually set up this monitor next to my pillow and…sleep~!
If your baby starts crying, you check the monitor and see what he is up to. The camera offers a very clear view of your baby. If he needs your help, you go help him. Being able to see your baby clearly without having to get up is big help. You can tell when he needs you or not.
On average, I have been able to get at least 2 hours of sleep using this method.
Sometimes, he will actually tire himself out from jumping and doze off for his morning nap while he is still in the jumper. I can see him clearly through the camera’s monitor.
Other times, he keeps jumping and I can tell that he is ready for the swing. Then I just come downstairs, put him in his baby bear outfit and rock him to sleep in his swing. A few minutes (or sometimes a lot longer than just a few minutes) and he is asleep.
On average, once we started using the baby bear outfit, his falling asleep time in the swing has been reduced to 10-15 minutes. It used to be anywhere between 20-60 mins of nonstop rocking.
Make sure you point the camera monitor to face your baby in the swing. Then once your baby is asleep in the swing, you are ready to go back to sleep.
Once our baby falls asleep in the swing, I just make sure that the camera is pointing at him and that I can see him clearly in my monitor. Then I am ready to go get more sleep myself. The baby bear outfit makes our son sleep longer for some reason. From 30-45 minutes to 60-120 minutes. Not only that, but it helps him to comfort himself and keeps him from crying.
Of course, this method is not for everyone. This is just something that has worked very well for us. If you think your baby might enjoy it, give it a try and let me know. For us, this has been an incredibly life saving solution. I have been able to get so much more sleep than I ever imagined possible. I certainly would not be able to get as much sleep and rest without this system.
Below are a couple of our favorite pictures with the jumper and the swing. BE AWARE! Kitties also love the jumper! 🙂
Let me know your thoughts on this system. I would love to know what else you guys have done to get more sleep in the mornings. Leave your comments in the comment box below. I love to hear from you.
