A sleep aid is specifically designed to help your baby fall asleep and stay asleep. Some babies fall asleep easily but others, despite a good sleep routine really struggle with it. But don’t despair as there is help out there with a range of products that make sleep inducing sounds, or soothing light or movement or even aromatherapy. When used in a safe way and according to the instructions they can really to do the trick in giving baby just that extra little something to help them drift off to sleep.
The Basics of Getting Baby to Sleep
There are some things that a parent or carer can do to assist baby in falling asleep. These include following a routine so your little one can learn to recognise when it’s getting to sleep time. This routine is something along the lines of bath, dressed, fed, read and bed. During this time frame it is recommended not to over stimulate baby with lights and sounds and activity. Instead dim the lights, lower the volume and don’t play with baby during this time.
This works for many but not all, so introducing a sleeping aid can work along side this sleep routine and get baby sleeping.
The Benefits of Sleep Aids
A good sleep aid can increase baby’s sleep which is one of the most important things for your baby’s development. Increased sleep helps their growth, weight gain, mental development & learning and their immune system.
If your baby is struggling to sleep a sleep aid is really worth a try.
Baby Sleep Aid Safety
Just before I get into our top picks of sleeping aids, it’s important that I stress to you the importance of following best practice for safe sleeping. Included in this is keeping their cot empty, especially when baby is under 12 months old – this is to prevent the risk of suffocation. So any sleep aid must be outside the cot or sleeping space.
Our Top Five Baby Sleep Aids
1. Aroma Snooze
The Aroma Snooze is a vaporiser, humidifier and ioniser that a has pulsing light on the red spectrum, sleep sounds and a built in voice recorder.
It’s light can also oscillate between shades of the full colour spectrum of LED light, for a soothing and mesmerising effect and can be set to individual colours if desired.
The Aroma Snooze’s built in music & sound component plays sleep inducing melodies like Rock-A-Bye Baby. You can choose the pink noise option to assist in slowing down and regulating brain waves allowing for a deeper, longer sleep. The comforting heart beat sound is great for relieving separation anxiety while the rain sound is soothing for both adults and children.
The built in voice recorder will allow you to personalise your Aroma-Snooze experience by making a recording (up to 30 seconds) that can be played on a continuous loop. Perhaps you may like to record a) A favourite song b) Positive words of encouragement c) A comforting ‘shhhh’ sound.
The Aroma Snooze adds a very light moisture (300ml over 10 hours) back into the atmosphere to create a better breathing environment. It may also help baby to sleep more comfortably and prevent dry skin conditions.
2. Dream Maker
The Tommee Tippee Dreammaker is here to save the day and revolutionize your baby’s sleep. It’s like a scientific sleep wizard, armed with pink noise, red light, and pulsing glows that will have your little one snoozing like a champ!
First up, we’ve got “pink noise.” No, it’s not the sound of a pig having a tea party. It’s actually a magical imitation of the sounds from the womb. This special noise helps your baby fall asleep faster, go deeper into dreamland, and stay there longer. Move over, other noises—pink noise is the new sleep sensation!
The volume is just right for your precious little one. It’s set at a maximum of 50dBA, which means the sounds are audible enough for those tiny ears to pick up on, but not so loud that they’ll wake up like a startled chipmunk. Phew, no more baby wake-up parties!
But wait, there’s more! We can delve into the world of light therapy too. Research has shown that incorporating red light into a baby’s sleep routine can work wonders. It helps them fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and keeps things calm during those pesky night-time awakenings. The Dreammaker has three brightness levels, with the maximum setting being 200 lux. It’s the perfect nightlight for those midnight breastfeeding sessions, ensuring minimum disruption to your baby’s precious slumber.
And now, get ready for the pièce de résistance—the rhythmical pulsing light waves. These magical waves encourage slow, deep breaths, setting the stage for ultimate relaxation and sleepiness. The first setting matches your baby’s adorable little resting breathing rate, around 20 breaths per minute. It’s like a lullaby for their lungs! And once they’re snoozing away, switch to the second setting, which mimics your own resting breathing rate. It’s like a gentle reminder to your body that it’s time to catch some Z’s too. Mama needs her beauty sleep, after all!
3. Baby Shusher
When my daughter was a newborn our maternal health nurse told me that one of the best ways to get baby to sleep was to make a rhythmic shooshing sound near her as she lay in the cot. If she was crying it would break her out of that and it was also soothe her to sleep.
This recommendation is based on the fact that this sound mimics life in the womb where babies experience many sounds from within and from outside their mum’s body.
Great in theory, but as a new mum I was simply too exhausted to sit next to the cot shooshing until I was out of breath. This is why I wish I had the Baby Shusher back then!
The Baby Shusher can be set for 15 or 30 minutes depending on your baby’s needs. Simply twist the top section to select the time you want. The volume is adjustable too.
Each Shusher comes with a handy wrist strap making it easier to carry or tether to the car seat.
4. Rockit
The Rockit is a sleep aid that is perfect for when you having baby out and about in the pram. Most babies fall asleep really easily with the gentle rocking of the pram, but once you stop the pram, baby with often wake up. This always seemed to happen to me when I went to pay for the groceries, or when I stopped to order well needed coffee.
But this problem has now been solved with the Rockit is a portable automatic pram rocker that secures to the pram handle and when turned on will work to rock the pram just as if it is still moving along. It attaches to the pram or stroller using a universal bracket, and at the push of a button will begin rocking the pram.
You can also adjust the speed all depending on whether your bub likes a more gentle motion or a more rocking ride. After 30 minutes the Rockit will automatically turn off but it can quickly and easily be turned back on by pushing the button.
It’s also nice and quiet so it won’t disturb anyone around you when it is turned on. Plus it is even ‘showerproof’ so it can take a little light rain.
5. Dex the Dog
Meet Zazu's Heartbeat Soft Toy, Dex the Dog – a delightful and soothing musical companion for your baby. This beautiful, super-soft toy is designed to calm and lull your little one to sleep with a range of proven sounds and melodies. Babies adore the plush, comforting feel of Dex the Dog, making it the perfect cuddly companion. Activate the soothing sounds effortlessly by giving it a gentle shake. Let Dex bring comfort and tranquility to your baby's sleep routine.