I remember taking my very first baby how-to class while I was pregnant.
It was a nursing class at the local hospital, but during the Q&A session at the end, my parental peers spent less time talking about nursing and more time asking about their number one concern: how to get the baby to sleep at night. I noticed that this was a priority especially for the fathers. (Maybe the preggo moms were already used to giving up their precious sleep time?)
There are a number of books out there that supply helpful tips for getting your little one to sleep, but when you’re running on empty, who has time to sit down and read 300 pages? Enter 4moms Goodnight Sleep Trainer, the handheld get-your-baby-to-sleep device that’s bailing out sleepless parents throughout the country.
To be honest, I was a little hesitant to try out a new electronic device—I’m not the most tech-minded mom, and I wondered if it would complicate rather than simplify bedtime. However, after playing with the GST for only a minute, I saw how incredibly easy and useful it would be for a new mom. First of all, it has very few buttons, so it’s not intimidating to get started. Second, the directions are simple and straightforward:
1. Push “Down to Sleep” at bed or nap time.
2. Push “Up to Play” when sleep time is over.
3. Push “Crying” if baby wakes up in between the two.
The GST takes the grueling guesswork out of bedtime, which is much appreciated, particularly at 2 a.m. The program sets an alarm to help you know how long to let your baby cry before going in and checking on him. Any new mom knows that 20 seconds of baby cries can feel like an hour, so it’s very useful to have a gadget actually keeping track. Over the training period of 10 days, the timer increases so that you’re waiting longer before checking on your baby each day. This way, he gradually learns to soothe himself and eventually sleeps through the night.
The GST can also connect to a free web site where you can track baby’s sleep patterns, pick up helpful tips, and answer the question, “Is this really normal, or is it just me?” For the less web-savvy, this is totally optional—the GST functions well on its own, giving mom and pop the confidence and no-brainer know-how to get junior through the night.
Price: $30
To buy: babiesrus.com
