There is no way around it: for at least the first three months with a newborn, you will be so desperate for sleep that delirium will invariably set in. When you find yourself up at 12AM, 1AM, 3AM, and 4AM, you will do anything to preserve your sanity. With my sympathies, here are some gadgets your sleep-deprived brain may be deluded into thinking will help your baby to sleep better.
Baby Shusher
I have shushed for so long with our newborn children that I was seriously in danger of hyperventilating. According to Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby on the Block, the shushing sound mimics the sound that baby heard in the womb. I agree that the sound is soothing to newborns, but I’d gladly pay for something like this device to make the noise just so I don’t have to listen to myself shushing all night.
Suzy Snooze
When your little lamb cries out, the cry sensor on Suzy Snooze turns on soothing lights and sounds that may help her fall back to sleep. There is also an app that connects with it so it doubles as a baby monitor (sound only). When your megalomaniacal baby decides to let you sleep again, it will double as a pretty nightlight. Maybe the improbably high price ($134!) serves to convince the sleep-addled parent this just might be the one that gets baby to sleep.
Suzy Snooze – Smart Nightlight
Lulla Doll
This is the doll we’ve been waiting for! With a real-life recording of heartbeat and breathing that plays for eight hours, the Lulla Doll just may get your baby to give you a break. Rub the Lulla Doll on yourself to transfer some of your scent before placing it near baby. Make sure you also turn on a recording of that infernal shushing sound you make and let me know how this works out.
I’m not too optimistic any of these will give you rest with a newborn; anyone who sleeps like a baby doesn’t have a baby.
Reality Changing Observations:
1. What is your favorite method for getting a newborn to sleep?
2. How much would you pay to get more than a few hours of sleep with a newborn?
3. What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve done because of newborn sleep deprivation?
