Want to know which apps are most convenient for tracking and recording baby sleep?
Or looking for a white noise app that actually sounds like a white noise machine?
Then you definitely don’t want to skip this article and miss out on the information you are looking for.
What is sleep training?
Shortly speaking, sleep training is the process of teaching babies healthy sleep habits according to their current age, which they will be able to use for the rest of their life.
Just as the babies are being taught how to walk, use a spoon, talk, and follow basic hygiene rules, sometimes we also have to help them learn how to sleep healthily.
Healthy sleep habits are often not natural for infants and toddlers. So, in a way, if your baby can’t sleep, that’s your fault.
What’s the right age for sleep training?
Nine months is considered a perfect age for parents, as kids start to understand daily routines and they don’t need to eat at night.
Therefore, parents can have a peaceful night’s sleep.
However, your baby’s age does matter, as it determines which sleep training method you choose.
It is not recommended to use any formal methods of sleep training until the baby is four months old. Then babies can stay longer between feedings and their circadian rhythm begins to develop.
Most four-month-old babies are biologically able to survive the night without feedings. This in no way means that you shouldn’t react and feed or diaper change them if other methods of calming them don’t work.
Each baby is an individual; therefore, it is recommended to consult a doctor and get medical information before withholding the baby’s nighttime feeding.
More things to take into consideration
Stick to a regular schedule
Before starting to inure babies to fall asleep on their own, make sure that you stick to a regular schedule, meaning you put them to bed at an established time every night.
Creating a baby’s routine by putting the child every day to bed at around 7-8 p.m., help to create a safe space for the baby’s development: you form a healthy relationship with sleep in your baby.
You should make sure the baby stays awake for the appropriate amount of time before going to bed and set a soothing and consistent bedtime routine, such as feeding, bathing, or massage, followed by pajamas and bedtime stories or songs.
Ideally, you are recommended to do feedings at the beginning of the routine so that the baby does not associate nutrition with falling asleep.
Activity advice
You are to make sure that your child is prepared for bed. With that being said, fill the baby’s daytime awake periods with enough activity and stimulation. Babies should not just sit in their baby chairs, it can be one of the causes of sleep disorders.
What is the best sleep training for babies?
Once you understand that you are ready to help your baby fall asleep on its own, here are some common methods that may help.
The Ferber method
There are many options for the method of checking and comforting, but the general principles are the same: you want to continue checking your child at set intervals, but never feed or lull, as this would mean that the baby does not fall asleep on their own.
After completing your routine before going to bed, put the baby in the crib, leave the room and wait for a certain time. Then come in and say some sweet words or hug and cuddle them.
This method suits babies from seven months and older, as young children need parental presence so that they know that they haven’t been abandoned.
Cry it out
The idea of this method is the following: you suppress the baby’s crying without reacting to it. You do the baby’s daily routine before going to bed, put them to bed awake, say good night and leave. This is by far the most controversial method of sleep training.
Parents often hesitate to follow this path, worrying about how much they will have to cry. Although it can be difficult at first, parents are typically found to be surprised at how fast it works.
Bedtime-routine fading
This method advises you to continue using whatever method you use to help your baby fall asleep, like lulling or breastfeeding. The catch is: you reduce the amount of time you spend doing it until you don’t have to do it at all.
This is an excellent method of minimizing crying, but, unfortunately, many parents find it difficult to withstand it.
However, if you are really ready to stick to the plan and help your baby to sleep without your help, it’s worth trying.
What is a baby sleep app?
If you have a newborn baby, a night of uninterrupted sleep is probably what you really lack right now. Of course, everyone dreams of a sound sleeper baby.
Nap time and, on the whole, baby’s sleep time and the only times when parents can rest.
Luckily, there are developers who have created some pretty useful apps to help your baby sleep better.
White noise, massages, and even the sounds of nature can help you with that.
Now you don’t have to buy a new car with white noise or stand by the crib for hours singing different baby songs. Thanks to baby apps, you can download loads of useful materials to your smartphone or tablet.
For obvious reasons, such apps can’t guarantee you a full eight-hour-long sleep, but they can help you to make the baby’s bedtime a little less stressful.
What is the best baby schedule app?
Suffering from sleep deprivation, how should you remember the last time you fed your child, how long they slept, or even when and for what they were vaccinated? The good news is, you don’t have to!
There are organizational apps that allow you to track baby’s milestones, feedings, changing diapers, naps, and much more!
What is the best app for monitoring sleep?
Listed below are some of the best baby tracker apps.
Baby Shusher
The Baby Shusher app is available for both Android and iPhone users.
The app does not only create the rhythmic noise your newborn needs to relax, but also comes with a timer function and an audio equalizer. Meaning, when your baby gets louder, the same thing happens with the shushing sounds.
The catch is, you have to pay $4.99.
Baby Monitor 3G
This app literally turns your smartphone into a full-fledged baby monitor!
With the 3G baby monitor, you can turn the included device into a video camera and control your baby’s sleep.
It helps you and your baby connect while being in separate rooms: you can watch and listen to your child from another device.
This thing allows you to talk to your child, meaning you can calm the baby down with your voice, even if you are not in the room.
The 3G monitor has a so-called night mode, it includes vibration: if your baby is crying, your phone will vibrate, helping you to hear the baby is crying and waking you up, even if you are sleeping.
This baby tracker app suits for both Android and Apple devices, $3.99.
Sleep Genius Baby
Sleep Genius Baby offers music, which is scientifically proven to help your baby sleep. This is not an ordinary list of lullabies! It has been clinically tested in hospital settings and has an impressive set of characteristics.
It can be considered one of the best baby tracking apps: it comes with continuous playback capability and has separate bedtime and nap time settings.
Available for Apple, $1.99.
Is baby sleep app free?
Of course, there are many free baby sleep apps.
LactMed
There is nothing special about this app, it is very simple. This can be considered a good thing: you can easily figure out how it works.
What exactly makes LactMed so good? It contains an index of almost all medications known to a human being, as well as information about exactly how each medication affects your breast milk.
Of course, this absolutely does not replace the care of a healthcare provider, but it is a great additional tool for nursing mothers.
Suits both Android and Apple users.
White Noise HD
White Noise HD is a white noise app, which sounds exactly like a white noise machine. It has three sound modes: soothing sounds, blocking out the sound, and another for regular use.
If you change a mode, it slowly transitions, so it won’t wake up the baby. Apple users only.
Concluding
Of course, it isn’t easy to immediately find the perfect app for your baby, especially if you are a novice parent.
Do not despair if something doesn’t work out for you: try several apps, one of the mentioned above will most certainly appeal to you!