Sleep. What is sleep when you are a parent of little people? I know SO MANY parents but mamas especially can relate to that. #teamnosleep.

Sleep regression, illness, teething, leaping, generally growing, time changes, separation anxiety, the moon- I mean, is there anything that does not affect their sleep?!

There are so many things trying to make life miserable with no sleep, and there are not many things you can do to counteract it. I know there are some natural-ish remedies that can help and even medications but I think most parents do not want to use interventions like that. Especially because there is not always a lot of studies on long term side effects.

That is why I chose to try to set a solid bedtime routine. Of course, things are fluid and sometimes change but mainly they stay the same. We do a bath, relax and read, sing songs and rock and go to sleep.

There are three staples in their rooms that help me facilitate the best sleep environment that I find can make a ton of difference. Let’s look at those!

A Great Sound Machine

This sound machine by Hatch is the best. It has multiple sound options, multiple night light colors and intensities, you can set programs for it to come on at certain times, you can use it as an ok to wake light and it has an app you can control from your phone. Which is so nice if you are in another room and it is too loud or bright. And honestly the company is great to work with. I have two of them and one only works as a nightlight. The sound had started to go out shortly after I had it. Because they are online Hatch can monitor the devices and they noticed there was something wrong with the one I purchased. They reached out to me by email and let me know they were sending a new one and I could still keep the old one. It was wonderful! I now use the nightlight in my older kids room, as that, and an ok to wake light because they no longer need the sound. The new one they sent me is still going strong 4 years later!

Blackout Shades

Now for a room to be conducive to sleep it needs to be dark. I have cycled through so many different curtains and these are the first kind I have actually really liked. The hold their shape and really block out the light. I still haven’t figured out how to block light at the top of curtains aside from throwing a blanket up there. But that works for us right now. I buy them oversized for the window and it definitely helps on the sides. I am impressed with how dark they keep the room even in direct sunlight. Of course that is the hardest to deal with though and I still can’t make it nighttime dark in the middle of the day with direct light. It is still much better than any other curtains I have had though.

Humidifiers

A humidifier can make so much difference in the comfort of a room when sleeping. I have multiple kinds and sizes. I have one we bring with to hotels even. The one above is in my own bedroom. The only complaint I have with any humidifier is the light when you turn it on. I always have to cover them with something because like we said the room needs to be dark. That annoying LED light is not helping. I like this one because it holds a gallon of water (distilled please!) so I only need to fill it every couple nights. I can definitely tell the difference with it on. Humidifiers can help keep your mucous membranes in your nose and throat moist -along with drinking enough water- keeping you healthier. When you are dry it can lead to cracks and allow viruses an easy path in. I definitely feel like my kids stay healthier because I run a humidifier.

Although we can’t stop all the other things from affecting our kids’ sleep, we can do our best to keep the environment conducive to sleep. Along with a routine we can try to make it as simple as possible to get great rest.

I am always on the look out for tips and tricks for great sleep. Is there anything that you always do for sleep?