Sleep Props
Sleep props are the reason why my job even exists!! That being said, some sleep props are absolutely necessary for a time, and then they become a nuisance later on down the road.
In the most simple form, a sleep prop is an external method that your child is using to fall asleep. Some common examples of sleep props can include (but are not limited to):
Rocking to sleep
Feeding to sleep (nursing or bottle)
Pacifier
Requiring motion to fall asleep (stroller, car seat, carrier, etc.)
Co-Sleeping
Patting to sleep
Swaddling past 12 weeks
Mom or dad laying with the child until they fall asleep
With this list in mind, I want to let you know that if you ARE doing one (or more) of these things to help your child fall asleep and it’s working for you, KEEP DOING IT. If you are an avid co-sleeper, I am not here to change your mind. I am simply here to provide some information.
One of the things that can be confusing about sleep props, is that we actually want to use sleep props to help newborns sleep. Newborn babies don’t have self-soothing capabilities, so we can’t just put them in their bassinet and expect them to sleep on their own. This is why swaddling, using a pacifier, rocking, and even feeding to sleep are such common tactics to get babies to sleep.
Once a child reaches the 10-12 week mark, their self-soothing mechanisms have started budding, and you can start the process of removing some sleep props to start getting a more consolidated sleep regime from them.
3 ‘sleep props’ that never make my “bad” list are these:
Dark room
Noise Machine
Fan or Humidifier
The reason these 3 things aren’t considered sleep props, are because they help sleep happen without needing continual intervention. A dark room promotes the production of melatonin, while the noise machine acts as a sound barrier to prevent external environmental noises from waking your child up from sleep. A fan or a humidifier can replace a sound machine if those are preferred. I always have a humidifier in my kid’s rooms because of some breathing difficulties.
While some can argue that having a dark room and a sound machine is enabling sleep props, I don’t agree. You can mimic a blacked out environment even while travelling (hello SlumberPod - discount code: midnightmama).
The reason we want to get rid of sleep props as a whole, is because we all have natural wakes in our sleep cycles. These wakes are very very normal, and they are a result of shifting from 1 sleep cycle to the next. The problem is that if your child relies heavily on a sleep prop to fall asleep, then they are going to need their sleep prop to fall back to sleep when they wake throughout the night; causing a lot of exhaustion for you.
For some sleep props I recommend getting rid of them cold turkey, but others require more of a transition. The swaddle generally requires a small transition to get out of, but the pacifier can be taken away fully and the baby will adjust.
I’m sure you’re thinking now about what your child’s sleep props might be… and let me tell you - it is never too late to adjust your sleep regime and get rid of sleep props.
If you need some guided support while doing so, I would love to help you through the process.
Bailey
