Sleep Challenge Accepted

Babies, am I right?

The first question people ask when you have a new baby is how are they sleeping, and the second is how are you sleeping? I swear even the strangers at Target are concerned about how many zzzzz’s the Gubler family has been catching since The Bremlin has arrived. And rightfully so. As my 12 yr old would say, “Sleep is liiiiiife.”

 

 

Mr. Brem has been sleeping through the night for about a month (I know, he is literally perfect) so when JOHNSON’S® reached out about trying their 7-day Tonight We Sleep Challenge I was a little hesitant because, how can you improve on perfection?! So before I committed to trying it, I downloaded the new BEDTIME® Baby Sleep app and took the sleep analysis. Guess what? The boy wonder did not get a perfect 100/100 sleepscore like I thought he would, he got 69/100. After I demanded a recount (and retook the test) I could see that he in fact wasn’t the problem, I was. Challenge accepted.

JOHNSON’S® has a clinically proven 3-Step Bedtime Routine  that helps babies fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Once you download the app (you can find it here!) you’ll take a sleep analysis and it gives you a sleepscore so you know where the weak link is. The categories that Brem scored the lowest in were Falling Asleep and Sleep Routine. I am a self-professed co-sleeper. I love how easy it is to nurse him at night and I love the snuggles. The problem (at least the problem with my other 2 kiddos) is that eventually you have to get them out of your bed…which actually hasn’t happened before the age of 5. My track record is dismal. It’s like I know I’m creating a monster but he is just so squishy I can’t help it!! 

I’m weak.

We needed to work on getting him to fall asleep on his own, and I needed to work on letting that happen.
Getting into a bedtime routine is something that I always mean to do but have never known where to start. Routines are hard for me. But I’m actively working on this massive weakness, so this challenge was an awesome kick in the pants. The JOHNSON’S® 3-Step Bedtime Routine consists of 3 elements.

1. Warm Bath
2. Gentle Massage
3. Quiet Time

Little Bremlin loves a bath, and we’ve already discussed my obsession with JOHNSON’S® BEDTIME® products. It is my FAVORITE baby smell in all the land. And if you’re wondering, yes, Court has finally gotten onboard.

We start the routine at about 8:30 p.m., that way the girls can come in and say goodnight before they go to bed.

 

I put a squeeze of JOHNSON’S® BEDTIME® baby bubble bath (for bubbles!) and a squeeze of JOHNSON’S® BEDTIME® baby bath (for skin softening!) in the tub and let the bubbles go to town before I put the baby in.  With this type of tub, you always have a stream of water running, so there are always new bubbles popping up.

 

Those forehead wrinkles are my kryptonite.

After a little soak time, it’s on to step 2, a gentle massage with JOHNSON’S® BEDTIME® baby lotion.  It’s so funny because Brem is still just 3 months old so he has those massively rigid joints. You know, where it takes your full body strength to stretch out their arms to put their shirt on? After following the bedtime routine, it’s like he knows it’s coming and relaxes just a little sooner each day. Such a little sweetie!

Quiet Time is my favorite out of the 3-Step Bedtime Routine because I have this warm snuggly baby that smells like heaven and is just so happy!! I know that this is supposed to be the time that calms the baby down but it has helped me so much too. I’m usually a work-until-the-wee-hours-and-crash-mid-email type of sleeper, but having a few minutes to unwind and purposefully be calm has been wonderful.

 

 

During this time I’ll feed the boy and then swaddle him (I’ve found he sleeps way longer stretches when he’s a burrito baby) and let him just hang out.

JOHNSON’S® BEDTIME® Baby Sleep App has a whole playlist of lullabies that you’ll recognize (Shenandoah!) and one that you won’t, but trust me when I say it will quickly become a favorite. It’s called Tonight We Sleep TM and was developed by a team of scientists that studied sleep patterns and what sounds makes a little one nod off. It of course has beautiful music, but it also has some crowd favorites mixed into the background like a heartbeat, TV/radio static, an air conditioner, the ocean, forest animals, and my husband’s personal favorite…a fan. Before I heard it I was suuuuuper skeptical, how can all of those sounds + music + humming be relaxing?! But it totally is!

In the week (actually 9 days) that we’ve been rocking this new routine I wouldn’t say that I’ve seen a drastic change in Brem’s sleeping (about 10 hours a night with a sleepy feeding mixed in about hour 8) because honestly it doesn’t get much better than that. But I’ve seen a significant shift in the way that I feel at bedtime, and that he’s been falling asleep on his own without being nursed to sleep.
From one momma to another, if you’ve got a little nugget in your life, download the app and buy some JOHNSON’S® BEDTIME® products on your next Target run and give it a try! Because honestly it’s worth the effort.

I’m so happy that I partnered with them to try the Tonight We Sleep™ Challenge because its made my life just a little bit easier. And for a new mom that can make all the difference in the world!