Sleep Tips for Baby: Safe Sleeping From Bassinet to Crib

SAFE SLEEP PRACTICES for baby from bassinet to crib

Give yourself peace of mind. When laying your infant down in her new crib, you need to make sure it’s a safe place for her to sleep. This is what you need to check out before using a crib:

• Always place baby to sleep on his or her back.
• Use a crib that meets current safety standards with a firm mattress that fits snugly and is covered with only a tight-fitting crib sheet.
• Your babe’s sleep area should be clear of all loose blankets, bumpers, pillows or toys in or on the crib. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests using a wearable blanket to keep your baby warm.
• Decorate the nursery, not the crib, to eliminate suffocation risks. Bare is best, just a mattress, sheet and your baby… which is why a great swaddle blanket or wearable blanket like the HALO SleepSack is so great! It keeps your little one wrapped up through the night, while still  keeping it simple for mom and dad to change.
• Remove strangulation hazards: Ensure nothing is hanging above or near the bed that could fall and injure baby, such as a loose mobile or baby monitor and avoid having blind or drapery cords within reach.
• Cribs older than 10 years may not meet the most recent safety standards. Cribs made before 1978 could have a finish containing lead, so a multi-generation crib might not be a safe choice, or at least give it a close look and possible overhaul before using.

SLEEPY NIGHT ROUTINE TIPS for babies and kids

1. Curtains – Keeping the room dark has always helped my littles calm down for sleep. Though it’s usually recommended to keep it light for naptime, my kids have always slept better when it’s dark no matter the time of day or night, and blackout curtains are the best way to insure it happens. Thankfully there are some cute blackout curtains available now, so you don’t have to sacrifice style for functionality! 
2. Sounds – Right from the beginning, we determined to not tiptoe our way through naps or evenings. What has always helped (all of us!!) sleep so much better through the night are fans and/or noise machines! I don’t always like the look of a large box fan in a room, but seriously, everyone sleeps so much longer with that white noise rumbling in the background. We keep the fans and sounds going to drown outside noises and lull my kiddos right to sleep. And as we’ve transitioned Aria to the crib, the HALO SnoozyPod has been an amazing help in the lull department! With the selection of sounds to choose from and the option to keep the sound continuous, she’s soothed all through the night. Another feature I’m loving is the vibration. As soon as I lay her down (awake but drowsy), I turn on her favorite sound and the vibration, she gives me a little nod and within minutes she’s out! 
3. Soothers – Aria has been our only wee one to take to a pacifier. After three others that didn’t want anything to do with one, I’m surprisingly relieved that she takes to one… we’ll see if my opinion changes later on when we want to break the habit, but for right now, I don’t mind her being soothed by something she loves and keeping her pacifier close at night is a great help in her sleep pattern.
4. Diffusers – We’ve long been essential oil users, although weeks like this past week, I realize I’ve been slacking in that department. Using a cold-air diffuser works wonders, especially when there seems to be more restlessness, stuffy noses, fevers, coughs and even headaches. We usually keep one in each bedroom for a nurturing night sleep.
5. Routines –  If you don’t have a consistent bedtime routine yet, it’s never too late to establish one. Though it usually takes at least a couple of weeks for my kids to adjust to a new evening routine and sleep schedule, the do learn that after bedtime routine, it’s time to sleep! It can be simple, like reading a book or singing lullabies or more robust, such as taking a bath, giving massage, story telling, or whatever it is that works for your family. We’ve found that with four, it’s best to keep it fairly simple, or the evening routine can tend to last all night! Right now we are in that phase of switching from the summer routine to back-to-school schedules and we’re totally feeling that adjustment period. Anyone with me?!

Now that we’re going through this phase of transitioning our babe from bassinet to crib, and even more so, from our room to another room in our new house, we’ve got a few more practices that have been helping up make the whole thing easier on us all. Making the switch from bassinet to crib doesn’t need to be miserable, though it does take some finesse!