I’ve been a mom for a whole whopping 12 weeks, so I am obviously not a pro, however, I’ve had a lot of questions about what my favorite baby products are so far. So, I’m breaking it down into a couple of different groups, but here are my favorite baby essentials for sleeping. There are MANY different products and techniques out there, this is just what has worked for us.

1. Footie Pajamas with a Zipper – After trying out all sorts of clothing options, we think the footie pajamas with a zipper are the easiest to get in and out of. Snaps seem to be much more common than zippers, but at 3am I found myself cursing the snaps because I never lined them up right and it took way too long! Maybe we were just sleep deprived but a zipper is pretty hard to mess up!

2. Phillips Avent Soothie - I know there are different beliefs on using the pacifier but when we were in the hospital we were told that as long as our little one was latching fine, she could take a pacifier. So we have been using these since day one. We’ve never had an issue with Paige latching and she also takes a bottle easily so it hasn’t been an issue for us. This is the brand that our hospital recommended. We really only use them to put her to sleep, she doesn’t just chew on it all day long.

3. White Noise Machine – We live by white noise in this house. It is probably our number one tool for getting Paige to sleep! It calms her down and keeps her sleeping for longer periods of time. This particular clock has nature sounds on it and also doubles as a iPhone/iPod dock. I also like it because it is small and sits nicely on a little side table we have next to the rocker. I also have a white noise app for my iPhone – White Noise App – for when we are on the go. There is a free version you can also try – White Noise Lite App.

4. Fisher Price Rock n Play Sleeper – I can’t recommend this sleeper enough! Paige LOVES it and everyone else that I know that has used one has absolutely loved it. Paige sleeps in it exclusively right now. It is nice and cozy and it rocks which is SO helpful when the baby just needs a little bit of movement to fall asleep or to get them back to sleep. If Paige starts to rustle a bit, her movement makes the crib rock and so she has often rocked herself back to sleep if she wakes up mid-nap. It also folds up so that it is easy to transport if necessary. Please register for one of these if you are pregnant!!

5. Soft Blanket with Clips – I actually found this same blanket at TJ Maxx for about 1/3 of the price that it is sold at Bed Bath and Beyond (just fyi!). I love this blanket because you can use the two way clips to secure the blanket down. We actually use it to line the Rock n Play Sleeper so that it is a bit cozier. Using the clips we secure each corner down so that there are no worries about the blanket getting in the baby’s face.

I also found these baby sleep guides on the website, Toublesome Tots,  helpful, particularly this article which includes a sleeping chart that spells out what your baby’s sleeps patterns should generally look like.

This is just what has worked for us! Hope this is helpful for all you mamas-to-be!