When I brought my daughter home from the hospital, I was determined to do things differently this time. This baby was not going to be held 24/7. She was going to learn to soothe herself when upset. Baby #2 was going to sleep through the night well before 9 months. And she was definitely going to learn to fall asleep (and stay asleep) in her crib, rather than in my arms.

Maybe you have two children, and are thinking, ‘HaHaHa.‘ But before you chide me for my obviously well-intended but misguided idealizations, let me defend myself. It’s going pretty well (it helps that my daughter is the most laid-back, easy-going baby God ever created). But maybe some of it – just a teensy bit – is due to some things I’ve learned. One thing in particular has helped with all of these goals: I swaddled her.

And when I say swaddle, I don’t just mean I wrap her in a blanket. I mean she is practically in a straight jacket.

It started when my friend sent me a blanket as a baby gift that was twice the size of normal receiving blankets, with this little tag of swaddling instructions and the phrase, ‘Swaddled babies sleep better.’ Always one to ask the question, ‘Who said it and why should I believe them?‘ I looked it up. Turns out, it was the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In May 2005, they again published research indicating that babies who are wrapped sleep more efficiently; that is, they wake up less often (unless there is noise). And then there was that phrase about how swaddling helps excessive crying. That was good enough for me to try it.

On her second night of going to bed drowsy but awake (let’s not talk about the first night), I bundled her awkwardly, stuck a pacifier in her mouth and voila! It worked. She was out cold in 15 minutes. She’s three months old now and she still can’t resist the ‘burrito’. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, I rewrap her, find the pacifier, and we’re good until 5:00 am.

Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to do when she’s old enough to turn over?

Baby sleeping bags have been popular in Europe for many years. It’s only recently they have started to catch on here too and once you try them, you’ll wonder why we went so long without them.

Baby sleeping bags, or sleep sacks, if you are not familiar with them, are like a wearable blanket that baby’s arms and head stick out of, and baby is zippered in snug, safe and sound.

They regulate a baby’s body temperature better than blankets, they can’t be kicked off, and best of all, babies can’t wiggle their faces underneath them and get trapped, or worse.

Grobag is a European import. They come in chic euro designs, three different thicknesses for different seasons, and three different sizes – Small (0-6 months) Medium (6-18 months) and Large (18 months-3 years). Grobags are expensive, running around $50 a bag, but they are excellent quality, and the bigger sizes are good value when you consider your baby will be able to use it for a year or longer. My son wore a Medium size for over a year, and it still looks as good as new after all that washing and wearing. A bonus is that every Grobag comes with a free nursery thermometer.

Lullabag is a US company, making sweet pastel sleeping bags for boys and girls, decorated with sleeping animals, and for my money, the most stylish sleeping bags around. Their bags fasten with an ingenious double-way zipper which is very useful for accessing diapers in the middle of the night, without totally undressing the baby.

Kiddopotamus & Co Beddiebye fleece sleeping bags have a fantastic feature which is that they zip around the outside of the bag, instead of up the front, so you can put a sleeping baby in one without waking them up. Trust me – you’ll appreciate that! They make two sizes to fit babies up to six months.

Halo Sleepsacks come in lots of cute patterns, and either summer-weight cotton or winter-weight fleece. The newborn size has removable swaddle “wings” that make the best, snuggest, swaddle you’ll find for a wiggly newborn.

Baby blankets are a thing of the past. Your newborn is going to wake you up a lot but with a sleeping bag, waking you up because she’s tangled up in her blankets or kicked her blankets off, shouldn’t happen.

Sleeping bags – an essential for every baby registry!

Recently, my cousin and his wife had their first child. They spoke of how overwhelming it was to shop in the baby aisle of the local discount store or baby shop while preparing for the baby’s arrival. There were so many choices! How would they know what really worked and what wasn’t worth the financial expenditure?

After 14 years and 5 children, I’ve made my own list of baby products I couldn’t or wouldn’t want to live without. Read on for the list and the explanations!

• A baby sling. Not only are these great for quieting a fussy baby, but they really are great for freeing up your hands to do other things (like cleaning up after your toddler) while being close to your baby.
• A baby swaddler. Isn’t it impressive how those hospital nurses can swaddle babies perfectly using those hospital receiving blankets? I have yet to master that skill, so I cheated. A baby swaddler achieves the same results, but with a lot less effort and takes a lot less time. I’d suggest buying several so you can wash one while you are using the other one.
• A baby blanket bag. These can’t be kicked off or cover baby’s face either. It’s a safe way to make sure your baby is warm.
• Sheet savers. I personally hate stripping crib sheets which is why I love this product. Sheet savers go over top the crib sheet and tie onto the crib rails. Instead of having to change sheets, you can change the sheet saver when baby spits up.
• A boppy pillow. This product has so many, many uses and is well worth the purchase price. It’s wonderful to use during nursing to help position baby. In addition, it’s great to use when baby is learning to sit or during play time.

What products could you not live without while raising your babies?