Baby (and toddler) sleep hacks
Baby won’t sleep? Up a lot in the night? You are not alone; believe us!
Newborns sleep about 16 to 17 hours a day. But sometimes it feels like they would rather do anything than sleep… especially at night!
During the first few months (and sometimes even the first few years) there will be times when you will be bleary and red-eyed in the mornings. There will be a need for copious amounts of coffee. You will feel broken. Literally exhausted. Please be kind to yourself during these moments.
We’ve researched and asked the dayze community for tips, hints, and tricks (plus honest advice) to help your kids fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up in their own bed!
Here are some tried, tested and loved parenting hacks to get babies (and toddlers) to sleep. We will publish a post with tips for preschoolers and primary kids in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
Dr. Harvey (The Baby Whisperer) Karp
The author of ‘The Happiest Baby on the Block’ is known for his baby sleep tips. According to the pediatrician, you gently swing your baby to sleep as you make gentle ‘ssshhh’ sounds. Dr Karp recommends also swaddling your baby, holding them on their side while you ‘shh’ (but always putting them down in their cot on their back), and using a dummy when needed. We remember that ‘ssshhhh’ and gently swinging worked a treat. The challenge was to know when it was ‘safe’ to transfer them to their cot!
The Moshi Kids App
One of the dayze gang said this app was a complete game-changer for their little one. The subscription app has hundreds of original audio stories to help kids relax and go to sleep faster.
White Noise Apps
New mum and radio presenter Jennie Longdon has found that her newborn LOVES the sound of the hoover. Lots of the dayze gang also recommended White Noise apps such as Baby Sleep White Noise, White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds, Spotify playlists, and YouTube videos (minus the annoying adverts!)
The Tissue Stroking Hack
This super simple hack can apparently get your baby to sleep in around 40 seconds. Nathan Dailo got a whopping 12M views on his video that shows him gently stroking a soft tissue over his child’s face who is asleep in seconds! While it didn’t work for us, some friends confirmed it does for them.
The Wheat Bag Trick
Hannah, the founder of our fave kids’ skincare brand, Toddle Born Wild, has shared a genius parenting hack with YOKO as part of her Monday Meet Feature “My son wouldn’t fall asleep unless I kept a hand on his back. I used to leave a heated wheat bag on his back so he’d think I was there, and he’d nod off on his own! It took me 18 months to figure this out, and I wish I’d found it sooner!”
Alexa Bedtime Tips + Tricks
Did you know Alexa has some fabulous bedtime hacks at the ready? You can set her to whisper mode, create a lullaby playlist and ask Alexa to play it at any point during your kids’ bedtime routine. You can also set a timer so Alexa can stop playing the bedtime playlist or story when the little ones are asleep.
Discover the dayze community members’ picks of the best baby sleeping brands and products you need on your radar on our Family Brand Directory.
Let us know of any more tried and tested tips and we will share with the rest of the dayze gang!