How To Help Your Baby Sleep Better With Little Ones

This post is sponsored by Little Ones and we received product in exchange for this honest review.

Our fifth baby will be celebrating his first birthday in just a few short months, and he still isn’t sleeping well! Needless to say, this mom of five is exhausted. I knew something needed to change - SOON - and I had to find a sleep method that would help Coen sleep better!

After having four other children you would think I would have figured this sleep thing out by now. Coen, however, is our first fussy baby, so this is new territory. I have a few theories about why he isn’t sleeping well: 1) I walked so much during my pregnancy that he got used to the constant rocking motion, and needs it to fall asleep. 2) He’s our fifth and final baby, and is very spoiled by his siblings and the rest of our family. Everybody wants to hold him all the time! No matter the cause, I’m tired, he’s tired, and we need to get some sleep!

That’s exactly why I turned to Little Ones for help! Little Ones is an online sleep program that gives you detailed sleep and feeding schedules based on your baby’s age, along with lots of information on sleeping, nutrition, self-settling methods, and much more. We’ve been using it for a few weeks, and we’re starting to see some progress! Here’s why you should consider Little Ones to help your baby (and you) sleep better...

WHAT IS LITTLE ONES?

Little Ones offers online Sleep Programs that help families sleep better! This is not a cry-it-out method. Instead, it’s a gentle approach to easily achieve improved sleep through simple methods. While developing the Sleep Programs, experts from around the world were consulted to create ideal Sleep Programs. Little Ones offer schedules that are easy to follow and also allows you to choose which method works best for your family. Through the program, you will also receive support from sleep consultants through the “support village” which is offered in the app. 

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

Little Ones offers much more than just their detailed schedules. There is SO much helpful information to read through, as well as helpful links throughout the program (like a link to their white noise playlist on Spotify). The programs available for purchase include detailed sleep programs, nutrition programs, and more!

Here are a few things you will learn with these sleep programs to help your baby sleep better:

• How to set up the ideal sleeping environment, whether it be in a nursery or in your bedroom.
• The importance of a bedtime routine, along with a condensed version before naptime.
• How to put your baby to sleep awake, and teach your baby self-settling methods.
• How to establish - and maintain - a long lunchtime sleep.
• How to follow a detailed sleeping and feeding schedule, and how to adjust it based on your needs/preferences.
• Tips to get rid of the swaddle/pacifier.
• What causes sleep regressions and how to deal with them.
• How to adjust the feeding/sleeping schedule when your baby is sick.
• How to have sleep flexibility while you’re out and about.
• How to get back on track after a vacation.
• How to deal with DST.
• Troubleshoot problems when it isn’t working.
• Later, how to transition from a crib to a bed, how to deal with toilet training and sleep, and how to deal with night waking, going to bed struggles, and early wake ups. 

Additional features:

• PDF downloads
• Access to the “Little Ones Village” in the app for additional chat support
• The ability to star favorite topics for easy reference at a later date
• FAQ’s
• Nutrition Info
• One on one support
• Regular emails full of information

OUR EXPERIENCE

When I first downloaded the program from Little Ones, I was a bit overwhelmed. There were so many topics to cover! I started at the very beginning, then read through the rest of the topics quickly, starring important topics along the way. Once I skimmed over all the topics, I was excited to begin!

I went over the detailed 8-10 month feeding and sleeping schedule, then adjusted it a bit based on our schedule. 5-6 AM is a bit too early for us, so I followed the same schedule, but pushed back the times by an hour. Coen was in the midst of an 8-10 month sleep regression, so I touched on that topic for tips, then gave it a shot!

The first step was making sure Coen had an ideal sleeping environment. We already had blackout curtains, but we also removed the nightlight (the room should be completely dark) and the crib mobile (a distraction). I ordered a white noise machine, which should be louder than Coen’s cries, and put him in a sleep sack every time I put him down to sleep. 

Coen’s biggest struggle is self-settling before bedtime and naptime, and self-settling in the middle of the night. The baby needs to be put to bed awake, but Coen still prefers parent soothing methods. That’s a work in progress for us!

We created a simple bedtime routine, and we follow the condensed version before each nap. We followed the sleeping and feeding schedule (with modified times), and started working on teaching Coen how to self-settle. It isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight, but I’m pleased that we are making progress!

One of our biggest issues with following the schedule is the fact that we are very busy with our four older kids, so we spend a lot of time in the car, at activities, and running errands. Coen is currently working on maintaining the schedule while we’re on the go. I was so excited when he took his long, two hour lunchtime nap while we were grocery shopping and driving around today. It was a full two hours, and it was uninterrupted! 

We are making progress right now, but I anticipate it’s going to be a few more weeks before he’s completely in sync with the schedule. And soon, he’ll be moving on to the next stage, and we’ll be visiting older baby topics! I love the fact that there are FAQ’s and a troubleshooting guide that I can access when problems occur, and the fact that there’s chat support available 24 hours a day in the “village!” 

Coen has officially been on the schedule for three weeks now. We had to get back on schedule after the holidays, but I’m already noticing a difference in his sleep habits. I’m looking forward to seeing the progress he makes with the Little Ones Sleep Program!

To find the right Sleep Program for you and your baby, VISIT HERE! Use the code STEFANIE to save 15% on any sleep program!

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