Sleep Training a Baby, Is It Magic?
Sleep training is one of my least favorite things to do as a parent. I understand the importance of teaching your baby how to sleep, but like most parents the crying can be unbearable. With C2 (now almost three year old), I swaddled him until he was 7 months old. Being first time parents, we did not really sleep train our son until he was a nearly a year old. I thought the “Cry It Out” method seemed mean, more because I could not handle the crying. It broke my heart.
My husband graciously allowed me to take the lead on sleep training because I was the one reading all the books and spending more time with our son at night. To be fair, my husband thought we should of sleep trained our son much sooner, but I was not ready. However, finally at 12 months I was ready and we went to the “Cry It Out” or “Ferberizing“. We all needed sleep desperately. Yes, I do know there are several types of sleep training methods and I tried them.
With my daughter Ace who is nearly 5 months old, we began sleep training her around 4 months old. The circumstances were different and yes, as the experts say, every child is different. Plus as parents for the second time, we were more comfortable sleep training her earlier. My daughter is a much bigger baby than my son and much longer; she no longer fits in the Halo Swaddle Sleeper. Moreover, at nap time she lasted 20-30 minutes and at night she was getting up every hour or hour and half and not because she was hungry or wet, she just wanted to sleep being held. We would lay her in her crib and she would scream like a banshee; pick her up and she fall back asleep immediately.
Of course, I kicked into research mode. Since all Ace has known is swaddling, I was concerned about how she would sleep being unswaddled. Everything I had read to this point, says don’t sleep train a baby until they are sleeping unswaddled. Great! But, then I came across a review from several mothers on Babycenter.com talking about the Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit.
According to their website, The Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit is an innovative baby sleepwear product that helps transition babies from the swaddle by providing them with a cozy and secures feeling, and muffling their reflexive startles to aid in their sleep.
I was skeptical at first, but it is Magic. My baby does look like the marshmallow man, but hey, she sleeps well and is not swaddled. From the first night we used it, she has consistently slept 5-6 hours without waking in the crib (I’m not saying that the suit is the key to getting her to sleep through the night, but in addition to sleep training it has helped). Like many of the online pictures you’ll see in reviews of other infants with this item, once she’s in it she just relaxes and goes limp, and falls asleep with limbs sprawled and a half smile on her face.
Incidentally, Ace runs on the hot side, so we do not put her in a full footie-style pj’s underneath, just an onesie and socks. On colder nights, I use a long-sleeve onesie and socks.
Here is how the Merline’s Magic Sleepsuit works.
You can purchase the Magic Sleepsuit on Amazon for $39.95 plus taxes and shipping, unless you are an Amazon Prime member or on their website. For those parents that are thinking about transitions from swaddle to no swaddle or from a rock and sleep to the crib, this might be the route for you. The price might seem steep, but from the first time she wore it, she began to taking longer naps and sleeping significantly through the night.
From the Merlin Magic Sleepsuit website, here are their FAQ’s.
