Here’s hoping your little ones were as sleepy after the big Thanksgiving turkey dinner as I was! And in the event that a good night’s rest isn’t on the menu, here are my top product picks for putting your little ones on the road to dream land.

#1 – The MVP: The Technique (The Happiest Baby on the Block)
One of my cousins recommended this book after having her little girl and my grandmother bought me a copy while I was pregnant. It’s an interesting read and, whether or not you subscribe to the author’s idea of the “missing fourth trimester,” the techniques are solid. This book gave me the inspiration, skill and confidence I needed to find that magic combination of stimuli that would consistently calm my daughter down so I could get her to sleep (which happened to be absurdly loud “shushing” sometimes with additional accompaniment from the bathroom exhaust fan or blow-dryer, vigorous jiggling and a good, tight swaddle). Even though I’m certain my baby was especially calm by comparison, I would swear by these techniques and the reassurance they provided.

#2 – Swaddlers
I received some super cute, gauzy organic cotton swaddling blankets as a baby shower gift. But even with a diagram provided in the book above, it just wouldn’t work. I could not fold the blasted things so that my little one would stay a nice, neat, tightly wrapped baby burrito. Each time I would try, my daughter would wriggle out in mere minutes. Maybe I should have spent more time in grade school folding paper airplanes and fortune tellers. But I didn’t so now I’m a nerd who can’t fold a swaddling blanket. That’s where Velcro comes in. These little swaddlers provide a nice, tight, secure swaddle without all the fuss. I’m not sure I could have survived without them!

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