The Art of Sleep

Sleep is a bit of a tricky subject for all parties involved. Whether you’re the parent desperately trying to cling on to any sleep you can possibly get or the child fighting sleep with every fiber of your being because you’re just so tired.

It hasn’t been all that bad these past few months. I mean, yeah, there’s been some nights that have been much harder than others, and it can really take its toll, but there are just some things that make it all worth it every single day. I’m what most might call a “crazy” parent because the wife and I have been co-sleeping with Player 3 as of late. For those not aware “co-sleeping” is pretty much sharing a bed with your little one, which is a blessing and curse all in itself.

We tried to get Player 3 to sleep in his bassinet for such a long time, but his idea of sleeping in it was pretty much cut short to 20 minute naps. So we tried co-sleeping and it’s been working pretty well so far. We have transitioned him back and forth to the bassinet and he’s managed to get full nights in it, but sometime you just miss the snuggles. Getting back to my original point, it’s worth it every single morning when I get to say “good morning” to Player 3 and watch his face light up with smiles. Folgers aint got nothing on this kid. He’s been clocking in some pretty serious sleep time with it lasting anywhere from 4-6 hours before a feeding is needed, so I’ve felt pretty fortunate so far. This didn’t come without its share of trials. To this day we still get his night-time fights which mainly consist of him smiling a lot at us to distract us until we somehow manage to get him down.

We had to get Player 3’s bedtime routine down to a science to finally get things running smoothly. He wasn’t particularly fond of jumpers or most or his jammies unless we put him in his Zipadee Zip with it (which by the way is awesome because he looks like a cute little penguin with his flipper hands). This, a before-sleep feeding, bundled with some remarkable lullabies sleeping has become somewhat of an art-form for this household.

I want to talk about the Zipadee Zip a little bit more as it’s become a bit important to Player 3 to sleep in. Its unique design is meant to help babies who don’t quite fit (or really stay inside) a swaddle anymore but still need a little bit of that resistance to help comfort them at night. I love it. Really, the Zipadee is not only helpful for sleeping, but just looks adorable on your little ones.

LULLABIES!! So I recently fell in love with some lullabies that someone behind Sparrow Sleeps has created. What’s so great about these particular lullabies is that majority of what is put out is from bands/artists that I grew up loving. I currently purchased Player 3 the lullaby renditions of Brand New songs entitled “Your Favorite Lullabies” (clever because one of Brand New’s albums is called “Your Favorite Weapon”) and he seems to love them as much as I do. Anyone that’s a fan of bands like Thrice, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, The Starting Line, MXPX, Senses Fail, etc. might find something worth playing for their little one with these lullabies.

Believe me when I say that this is just how I feel currently, because this can easily take quite the left-turn some months down the road. I really just wanted to get out there and say that, create a bedtime routine as soon as you can to get some good sleeps in. Who knows how long it’ll last, but at least this way you can enjoy your current standing and the snore-king/queen once the little ones are out.