Essential Baby Sleep Aids

Fri, Oct 22, 2010

My sister came to visit yesterday and she had brought with her ‘Euan Month by Month’ – several photos of my baby that she’d recently had printed to put in an album. In a lot of the earlier photos Euan was sleeping and I started thinking about the days when he was so small that he would simply fall asleep as soon as he was tired. He didn’t need any sleep aids, the comfort of his cot or the movement of his buggy, sling or car seat. He’d fall asleep:


On Daddy’s knee.


In Auntie’s arms.


Even while getting his nappy changed!


It didn’t matter where he was, if he was tired he’d head off to sleepy land.  Ah, those days are long gone now….


These days Euan can be known to fight sleep, especially if we’re out and about or have friends over. He just doesn’t want to miss anything!  I now use several sleep aids to signal to him that it’s time for a nap.  As soon as he shows signs of sleepiness (rubbing his eyes, yawning and most recently having a wee lie down mid crawl!) I take him to his bedroom, give him his dummy, blankie and sleep toy and we have a cuddle until he falls asleep. This  usually takes about ten minutes and it’s time that I enjoy and I’m happy to spend.


At night our bedtime routine is: reading a couple of stories, bath, 5 minutes of the baby TV programme  ’In the Night Garden’, feed, then bed.  This seems to work pretty well for us (touch wood!)


Next week we’re going away for a few nights to a self catering cottage and I got to thinking about sleep aids that I wouldn’t like to forget. Euan definitely goes to sleep more easily in the familiar environment of home so I don’t want to forget a few items which will hopefully help him to get to sleep fuss free!


  • 1. Sleeping Bag – I love these because they prevent Baby from kicking the blankets off and getting cold.
  • 2. Blankie – Euan likes to hold a soft cotton sheet while cuddling in at sleepy times.
  • 3. Subo – A zebra sleepy toy affectionately nicknamed after Susan Boyle because it plays the tune ‘Dreamed a Dream’. ;-)
  • 4. Dummies – I can’t deny it, Euan loves his for naps and bed times!
  • 5. Portable black out blind – great for creating instant darkness, especially if you don’t know what your accommodation will have in the way of curtains.
  • 6. Baby Monitor – Once Euan is tucked up in bed I like to be able to hear that he’s OK.
  • 7. Vests and pyjamas – of course! And spares too.

The place we are going this weekend is providing a cot, otherwise a comfortable travel cot would be obviously be an essential too!


By the way, if you are having trouble with your baby’s sleeping I highly recommend Elizabeth Pantley’s The No-Cry Sleep Solution and The No-Cry Nap Solution. Whilst they are not travel focused they are great books for parents who want to help their children to have better sleeping habits without letting them cry it out.


For more Photo Friday posts from travel loving bloggers check out Delicious Baby.

Also see my related Post: Packing List for Travelling with a Baby.


Do you have a tip for helping your child to sleep in an unfamiliar environment? Please share your thoughts below.

Small Print:  there are affiliate links in this post but only to products I use and love.

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