White Noise
White Noise Machine from Amazon
White noise will help to mask any noises that occur inside or outside your house while your little one is sleeping. Sudden noises can disturb a child who is in light sleep or who is just dropping off to sleep. This particular white noise machine can be set up with a timer or left on all night so that the sounds of your neighbours early in the morning don’t wake your child. It needs to be set to quite a loud setting to cover louder sounds. There is also a light, which is helpful during the night if you need to go into see your child, but I would not recommend leaving it on all night as it is a bit too bright for a night light.
Room Temperature
Dimplex Oil Free Baby Radiator from Amazon
Most bedrooms get a few degrees colder at night, and old houses can get even colder. If your baby gets cold at night, it can disturb their sleep. Instead of putting the central heating on all night, or for a boost in the night, a small oil free radiator will keep your baby’s bedroom temperature constant. The great thing about this particular radiator is that the surface doesn’t get scalding hot like most oil radiators. It is thermostatically controlled so that it will switch on when the room gets too cold and switch off again once it’s warmed up.
The ideal temperature for a baby’s bedroom is between 16 and 20 degrees. The true temperature of where your baby is sleeping may be slightly different to the reading on the thermostat if it is closer to the radiator than your baby, so be mindful of this when checking your baby’s room temperature.
Baby Monitors with Movement Sensors
Angelcare Movement Monitor with Sound from Amazon or Angelcare Movement Monitor with Video Amazon
Movement monitors are great to ensure your baby’s safety if they are sleeping and you’re not in the room, or if you’re in the same room but asleep. They work by registering your baby’s movements (including the tiny movements they make while breathing) and alarming if they don’t detect any movement for a set amount of time. The Angelcare monitors give a warning beep, which is usually to rouse a baby from a very deep sleep, when breathing can become very slow and light, before giving a full alarm if no movement is registered for a further shorter period of time. But remember to turn them off when you lift your baby from their mattress as it will alarm and scare the living daylights out of you occasionally.
I love the video monitor, as it is helpful to see if your baby is awake or asleep, or if they have got themselves into an awkward position, which is great when you’re sleep training.
I recommend this particular brand because I used it for my first baby in 2005, who had stopped breathing due to illness, and this kept her alive. I then bought an updated model in 2016 for my second as I love the security I felt having used it before. I did buy another brand but sent it back because I didn’t like it.