Oh baby sleep! One of my absolute favorite parts of having a newborn is the baby swaddle. There is nothing my sentimental mama heart loves more than a gooey, snug, newborn burrito wrapped tightly in a swaddle. I am obsessed with the aden + anais muslin cotton swaddle blankets, and still use them constantly. The material is so breathable, soft, and versatile along with incredible patterns. I highly recommend aden + anais and their beautiful patterns and quality. But as all good newborn moments, the swaddling time is fleeting. As parents, we want to make sure we do all we can to help baby sleep. One of the things I spent a lot of time researching was the best sleep sack to help our baby sleep.
As a first time mom, I was so apprehensive to switch from the swaddle. My daughter slept incredibly well being swaddled and I wasn’t ready to move on. I borrowed various magical sleep suits and sacks from my mama friends, but none of them were successful for us. My little one was upset due to not being swaddled anymore, and these products did nothing to comfort or improve her (or my) sleep. She always slept the best being rocked, so I knew I had to look for a different solution that was right for her. We ended up finding the absolute best sleep sack for our baby after quite a bit of trial and error! Self care for moms is essential, and part of self care involves quality sleep for you and your little one.
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Related: No Cry Sleep Training By A Working Mom
Nested Bean zen sleep sack
Enter the Nested Bean Zen Sack. The Nested Bean zen swaddles and sacks utilize a slightly weighted feeling to mimic a parents’s touch and engage the cuddle effect. As co-sleeping parents can attest, a parent’s touch is scientifically proven to soothe and help babies sleep. For this particular working mom, co-sleeping was not the best choice for our routine. But I knew I still wanted to be as close and comforting to my baby as possible. Also, since it was affordable I figured there was very little I could lose by trying.
The importance of touch and body contact with your baby is enormous and especially in terms of sleep. Your touch supports the incredible bond you have with your baby while reducing anxiety, improving sleep, and improving responsiveness, among other things. As a working parent, I have to sometimes make choices with parenting that may not be my first choice but work best for our whole family of four as a functioning unit. Using the Nested Bean zen sack was such a comforting choice for us and made both my girls so happy at night. A win win for this busy mama!
From swaddling to sleep sack
Our Nested Bean zen sack became part of our bedtime routine around 5 months, and was such a favorite for both of my children. Putting on the sleep sack immediately signaled bedtime and our babes actually enjoyed going to sleep. They love the comfort of the sack and the security of a routine. Once it became part of our routine, we could not go a night without the Nested Bean Sleep Sack. Both my girls ended up being belly sleepers, and this sleep sack is flexible enough to wear any way that is comfortable for baby.
I swear by this particular sleep sack brand for baby to help you baby sleep. I highly recommend it for any mama needing to make the transition from swaddling or looking for comfy alternative to support your baby with their sleep habits.
Related Baby Sleep Tips
While I am in love with the effect the Nested Bean sleep sack had on all my babies, there are other tips I used to help with our baby sleeping habits as well. The two strategies that worked best for us was fine tuning these two things:
Mastering these two items made a WORLD of difference in our little one’s sleeping habits. Once we tackled these, we were all getting a lot more zzz’s!
The baby sleep environment should involve everything calming for baby. Every baby is unique, so they may prefer slight differences in their ideal sleep environment. We found a sound machine, room darkening, and comfort items (with safety in mind) to be the most effective in setting the stage for sleep. As a first time mom, I was hyper aware of creating a safe sleep environment, so we always made sure anything we tried was safe for baby and did not involve any large crib items or alternative sleep positions. By setting up a calming sleep setting for our baby, we had a lot easier time trying to sleep train and ensure our kiddos were getting adequate sleep on a regular basis.
Along with the baby sleep environment, having a solid routine is gold! The important part is not exactly what your routine looks like. The importance lies in making sure it is something you can do consistently. As our family grew, we didn’t always have the time for a lengthy or elaborate bedtime routine. But we knew the importance of having something consistent and developed a bedtime routine that fit within our schedule.
Things that can make for a great sleep preparation routine include bath time, lotions, night bottle/nursing, reading a book, rocking in a chair, or a special song. You want to make sure whatever you include in your routine is consistent and calming for your baby. If sleep training is something you are pursuing with your little one, the first step to success is a solid sleep routine.
Baby sleep seems mysterious, but it can be really simple if you let it! Setting up an ideal sleeping environment, establishing a healthy sleep routine, and using an effective sleep sack solution allow for you to setup yourself and your little one for success. Being tired all the time and dealing with sleep regressions is part of newborn life. As you get to know your baby, poor sleep does not have to define your household. Getting quality sleep is essential for your baby as they grown, and also essential for everyone in your house. Nested Bean is an incredible sleep solution for those swaddled babes. If you have your own Nested Bean experience or another sleep sack favorite, let’s chat! Happy sleeping little beans!
All the best,
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