If Sleep Is Important to You, Check Out a Sleep Consultant's Baby Registry

When both of my daughters were newborns, I really liked that their bassinets could be attached to my bed, but could also function as stand-alone bassinets. There are many options that fit this bill, and I like this one because it’s big.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that babies sleep in the same room as their parents for at least the first six months. While there are valid reasons for moving your baby into their nursery sooner, I find that many of the families I work with aren’t ready before then. Many babies grow out of the smaller size bassinets before they’re six months old, so bassinet size is something to consider in order to prevent a situation where you’re forced to move them into their own room before you’re ready.

The downside of this type of bassinet is there’s no rocking function, but for me, being able to pick up my babies without having to get out of bed felt more important.

Pro tips for using bedside bassinets:

• Make sure the adjustable height range works for your bed.
• It’s common to attach the bassinet to the birthing parent’s side of the bed, but that can make it physically challenging to get in and out of bed while you’re recovering from childbirth. During this period, consider attaching it to the opposite side of the bed, or setting it up as a standalone bassinet.

Eventually, baby will graduate from a bassinet to a crib—you likely aren’t thinking about this now, but if your baby turns into a toddler who learns to climb out of their crib (like my oldest did), future you will be so glad to have registered for a high-backed crib like this one, where one side is taller than the others. 

If you find yourself with a climber who isn’t quite ready for the responsibility of a big kid bed, you can turn this kind of crib around so that the high side is away from the wall. If they try to climb the higher side,  it’s more difficult for them to swing their leg over the side and escape. It’s an odd look, but the extra months you may get in the crib are worth it!

Postpartum is messy, babies are messy and changing sheets overnight is the worst. To make it easier when (not if) a middle-of-the-night mess happens to you, layer your bed and the crib with multiple sets of mattress protectors and sheets (think: layering mattress protector, sheet, mattress protector, sheet, etc. like a cake). When you’re half asleep and covered in a mess, you’ll thank me when all you have to do is remove the first protector-and-sheet layer.

My pick for crib sheets is purely aesthetic. I absolutely love the color and design choices, and I have a soft spot for muslin.

The womb is a loud place, so newborn babies aren’t accustomed to quiet! White noise machines provide womb-like sound to help babies fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. My order history tells me I’ve ordered seven of these sound machines—I’m that loyal to this product. I have one in every bedroom in my house, it’s my go-to baby gift and I’ve recommended it to countless families over the years.

Full disclosure: this is a travel-sized sound machine. You’d have a hard time convincing me to have a full-sized one at this point, even if it were identical in every way, because it’s very convenient for travel. I’ve even used it in the stroller for walks. And even if I forgot the charger while packing or left it wherever we were traveling to, it uses a basic micro-USB cable, so I’d easily be able to replace it.

It’s USB chargeable and its battery life has gotten my family through entire camping trips. And as someone who can be a little sensitive to sound quality, the sound is very easy on the ears. Also, it’s powerful and loud, especially for how compact it is. For the safety of your baby’s ears, consider downloading a noise level meter app and make sure that the volume where your baby sleeps doesn’t exceed 50dB (this one can go from zero to 85 dB, and the side buttons make it easy to adjust the volume).

I love this monitor. It’s WiFi-enabled and has a parent unit, which means I can use my phone to peek into the nursery whether I’m home or away, but I’m not limited to it. This is a great feature for caregivers, too, as they don’t have to download an app to use the monitor.

But my favorite aspect is something I didn’t even know to look for: the parent unit filters out ambient noise. Only ever hearing the sounds my baby makes (and not the white noise) means I can turn the volume all the way up overnight without diminishing the quality of my own sleep.

P.S. It may surprise you that, as a NICU mom, I’m not recommending a smart monitor. After months of my daughter being hooked up to monitors and regularly setting off alarms, her medical team discouraged me from going in this direction, telling me that in their experience, these kinds of monitors run the risk of producing more anxiety rather than reducing it.

Babies sleep best in complete darkness and have no need for light while they’re sleeping. However, you may need some light for diaper changes and overnight feeds. These dimmable salt lamps offer a soft, warm glow that gives you just enough light to tend to your baby without waking baby up (or waking you up too much).

A yoga ball was key in helping my oldest fall asleep. Babies often need movement to help them fall asleep, and for some babies, especially newborns, rocking in a chair isn’t enough. A yoga ball is an inexpensive tool that’s nice to have around from day one as another option for naptime rocking. Any yoga ball will work, but I like this one because it has a base.

To protect your sleep, especially in the early days, minimizing the time you’re out of bed for middle-of-the-night feedings is important. If you’ll be bottle feeding overnight, an extra small refrigerator right next to your bed for overnight bottles can make a big difference. Added bonus: most can be powered by your vehicle’s 12V outlet, so you can even use it to keep breast milk, formula or your favorite beverages cold on the road!

You might have a bottle warmer in your kitchen, but I recommend keeping one on your nightstand, too. Again, if you’ll be bottle feeding overnight, having everything you need right next to you will help protect some of your sleep. These days, if I can get away without doing a diaper change at an overnight feeding, I often don’t have to get out of bed at all.

This travel crib/playard is lightweight, comes in a bag with backpack straps and is easy to set up. It gets bonus points for having side zipper access (which can make helping your child fall asleep in an unfamiliar place easier) and for having no weight limit, since the mattress rests on the floor.

Babies sleep best in the dark, and most sleep better in their own sleeping space. But travel often means room sharing, as well as not being able to control the light (especially at nap time), which is where this product comes in handy. The Slumberpod is a portable blackout tent that fits over most travel cribs, playards and mini-cribs, and it’s my go-to solution for both room sharing and light control.

Pro tip: Consider assembling it on top of a bed if you’re in a small space, and then moving it to its intended location. Its footprint during assembly is much larger than once it’s assembled.

Wrap carriers in general have a bit of a learning curve and can feel intimidating, and depending on the size of your baby, you may not get too many months with one. But this soft, stretchy wrap is one I can’t imagine living without during the first few months. The fabric is so light and soft that I’d tie the wrap in the morning and wear it with my baby most of the day.

I definitely recommend also registering for a structured carrier, like the ones made by Ergobaby and Tula. They’re loaded with buckles and straps, so they’re not quite as comfortable as a wrap, but they’re easy to use and very convenient for the many moments when you’re out and about and you need your arms free. They also last into the toddler years.

I’ll also add that, while a high-quality structured carrier is worth every penny, if you can get your hands on a well-loved, second-hand one, jump on it. My most prized baby possession is probably my original Ergobaby that I received as a hand-me-down when my oldest was born.

When deciding on a stroller for my second child, at the top of my list was one with the option to attach a bassinet. Newborns don’t have the head and neck strength to safely sit in a standard stroller, which means your options during the early months are to use a stroller with a bassinet or car seat attachment. For me, there was just something dreamy about the bassinet option, and this stroller did not disappoint. It was a splurge, to be clear, but it’s not the priciest option out there, and I get no fewer than three compliments a day on it.

I love that it can function as a standard stroller, is compatible with a bassinet and can be made compatible with some car seats. I also love the color options—there are way more than the average stroller. And since it’s designed with portability in mind, it can be worn over the shoulder with the included strap. Despite its smaller size, it’s still pretty comfortable—I can just about guarantee that my daughter will fall asleep in it if we go for a walk.

Additionally, it’s a great travel stroller, and it folds up small enough to fit into the overhead bin of an airplane. This not only means you have a stroller to wheel around all the way to your gate, but also that you don’t run the risk of your beloved (and expensive!) stroller getting damaged en route to your destination.

A downside of this stroller is that its ability to take a bump of any kind is shockingly limited. There’s also no cup holder, but don’t panic, this universal cup holder works great.

Also, if you’re as in love with this stroller as I am and want to build your entire travel system around it like I did, the most affordable compatible car seat is the Maxi Cosi Mico Luxe (with the help of this adapter).

And when it comes to sleep safety, remember that if your baby falls asleep in their stroller, whether it’s in a bassinet or with the car seat attached, the safest thing to do is to take them out when you reach your destination.

In the early days with your baby, you can plan on spending a great deal of time experimenting to see what works best for your baby’s sleep. For this reason, I recommend having an arsenal of sleep sacks and swaddles—the highest priority of which would be Velcro swaddles like the Halo and SwaddleMe and an arms-up swaddle like the Love to Dream.

Before your baby shows any signs of rolling, swaddling them into a tight burrito shape is safe, comforting and can help them sleep better. The Halo and the SwaddleMe options offer the more traditional swaddle shape, with the Velcro making middle of the night diaper changes easier and faster. Some babies, like mine, prefer to sleep with their arms up by their ears (a discovery I made when she was in the NICU and not yet swaddle-able), which is why I also recommend having the Love to Dream on hand.

If you prefer a bundle to individual items, the Babylist Swaddle Box covers most of what you need for the early days of parenting your newborn and may be a good option.

You won’t know this until your baby is here, but if they turn out to be a little Houdini who busts out of velcro swaddles (like my oldest did), having a Miracle Blanket around might also be worthwhile.

My absolute favorite company for baby pajamas is Little Sleepies. The fabric is so soft and stretchy, and because they have fold-over feet, they fit for months and months. The designs are adorable, and for my NICU/preemie parents out there, they offer preemie and micro preemie sizes.

An all-around fantastic, practical and inclusive guide to feeding your baby. It’s at the top of my book list because, while it is not technically a baby sleep book, it gives a great deal of much-needed attention to the importance of parental sleep, and if breastfeeding, how to balance getting enough rest with making enough milk. I recommend this book for any baby registry, no matter how you plan to feed.

The best time to read a baby sleep book is when you already have a baby. Unfortunately, the hardest time to keep your eyes open long enough to actually read a book is, well, also when you have a baby. The Happy Sleeper makes the list for its approach to sleep and its non-judgemental tone, but also because it’s so easy and pleasant to read that you don’t have to be well-rested to read it. I particularly like the methods the author suggests for babies newborn to four months old and children two to six years old.

This is the book that got me hooked on baby sleep, and is one you can definitely read while in the throes of sleep deprivation. The author offers practical and flexible solutions, and keeps you laughing the entire time.