This post is sponsored by Bundle of Dreams. All opinions are our own. Thanks for supporting brands that support this blog!
When you first bring babies home from the hospital, they typically sleep all of the time. It comes as no surprise that their sleep environment is typically the last thing on parents’ minds. They can snooze on your chest, in the car and even the crib. You’ll sit and stare at them in awe and snuggle rather than doing anything else.
After a few weeks pass, the reality sets in. Those peaceful sleeping babies wake up and are still often confused by day and night. This is typically when parents come to us ready to pull their hair out.
You see, young babies don’t yet know how to put themselves to sleep, transition through a sleep cycle, or even take that coveted 2-hour long nap that every parent dreams of. The reality is that babies need to learn those skills from a caregiver to help them develop healthy sleep habits and to ultimately become good sleepers.
Infant sleep is a rather involved and even complicated component of parenting. As new and exhausted parents, having a baby who won’t go to sleep, who is having trouble staying asleep, or who takes short naps can be one of the most frustrating things to work through.
We often look back on our own experiences, remembering the sleep challenges we encountered, and giggle at how much we had to learn. We are sharing the most common misconceptions about infant sleep and their sleep environment that we hear from parents whose babies might be struggling with sleep challenges.
Quiet Isn’t Always Best:
It seems counter-intuitive, we know, but babies don’t need and don’t even necessarily like to sleep in complete silence. The womb is a rather noisy place, often making a completely silent room difficult for babies to sleep in. The continuity that a white noise machine provides simulates the comfort of a noisy womb and can even help babies transition between sleep cycles. Unlike other baby “gear”, like a swing perhaps, a white noise machine typically won’t become a negative sleep association for babies because the noise is continuous and doesn’t require YOU to recreate it every time they wake.
Napping On the Go:
Yes, babies nap on the go, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are getting the restorative sleep they truly need. Life happens and you can’t always be home for a nap with your infant twins, especially if you have older children. Sleep on-the-go is still needed sleep.
Will your kids get more restful sleep if they are napping at home in their crib rather than a car seat? Probably! Does it mean they can’t take a nap in the car and still get restful sleep? No way. Sleep is sleep. As babies get older, however, we encourage parents to do their best to try and get babies into their home sleep environment when possible. In the end, the more consistent you are with where your babies sleep ultimately helps you the caregiver to teach those healthy sleep habits.
A Nap Time Routine Isn’t Necessary:
This is ALMOST as important as your nightly bedtime routine. As your twin babies start to sync their naps and really get into a scheduled sleep groove, you will find that you and your babies long for the downtime. Having a few sleep-inducing routines that you “perform” before every nap time will help your babies learn that sleep is coming! They will know when the lights are dimmed, the white noise comes on, and you sing a sweet song…that it is time to take a nap.
The Mattress Doesn’t Matter:
Invest where you sleep: Parents often ask us, “Does the type of mattress really matter?” Well, let us ask you this. . . do you feel refreshed after sleeping on a bad bed? Probably not.
There is a whole market of crib mattresses that you can choose from these days, but ultimately you’ll want to decide what is important to you before you invest.
And it’s just that…an investment.
Your babies will sleep in their cribs for several years before they transition into toddler beds or big kid beds. If you buy a crib that converts, your mattress will last even longer. Invest in sleep. Don’t skimp on the mattress.
When it comes to mattresses, Bundle of Dreams is by far at the top of our list as the all-around best choice! We simply fell in love with Bundle of Dreams mattresses for several reasons.
Not only are Bundle of Dreams mattresses extremely comfortable for babies and toddlers to sleep on, but they are also organic and water repellent. Having a water repellent mattress is key with little ones.
Another reason these mattresses rank at the top of our list is that they are 100% breathable and do not retain heat!
As Earth-friendly parents, we love that these are non-toxic and have zero VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions for indoor air quality! Can you tell we are geeking out over here?
The couple that started this company are also parents like us, who wanted a safe mattress on the market that their kids could sleep on! Manufactured in Brooklyn, NY, this couple has realized their dream by making an all-around great mattress!
The Crib Has Short Shelf-Life:
This brings us to our next point. It is a common misconception that the time a baby sleeps in a crib is short-lived, but that doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, Jenn’s twins (now 6) just recently moved from their toddler beds to full sized twin beds.
When you are a family expecting two babies, the expense of two cribs can feel overwhelming for parents. While you can get away with one crib for a while, it is generally recommended that twins sleep in separate beds once they start moving around a bit more.
Do yourself and your pocketbook a favor. Invest in a crib that converts.
There are cribs that will convert all the way up to a full sized bed and others that only convert to a toddler bed. Determine which conversion is appropriate for your family’s needs. We recommend a convertible crib so you that you are getting the biggest bang for your buck in the furniture department! Did we mention that Bundle of Dreams mattresses now come in twin and full size? Hollar!
Let us know your thoughts below. What are some other misconceptions about infant sleep did you have or are you wondering about?
