Before actually having kids, I was the type of person that said we will not co-sleep. I will sleep train my baby so I can sleep through the night and I had this idea that the baby would be sleeping in their own room after the first few months. Fast forward to actually having a baby, and all of those things were tossed out the window.
Our little guy had digestion issues when he was born. He would fall asleep after being nursed and then 30 minutes later would wake up screaming. We tried everything including changing my diet. When we tried to do the “cry-it-out” method, little guy would cry so hard he would puke all over himself. One person said, “Wipe it off and put him back in bed. It’s the only way he will learn.” That didn’t sit well with me. Thankfully, our pediatrician said, “If something doesn’t feel right, you are the mom. You know best.” This is not a debate about if you should use cry it out or not. Again, at the end of the day, each baby is different and each parent knows what is best for their child and what works for one kid may not work for another.
Take all these things into account and like most parents, we were at the end of our sleep-deprived selves. We did what most parents that wants sleep do, we let our baby sleep in our bed. Baby slept better and mommy and daddy slept better. But as little guy got bigger, his kicks to the side during the middle of the night hurt more and we decided it was time to switch over to his big boy bed. We did all the things suggested by other parents—we made it “his” space with fun sheets and his “friends,” aka stuffed animals.
Little guy would start out in his bed, sleep for a couple of hours and then would be upset and come into our room. I tried sleeping next to him on the floor to see what was waking him up. He moves around quite a bit and would hit the wall and then wake up. He would then crawl on the floor and lay next to me. I gave up because I was pregnant, needed sleep and didn’t think we were accomplishing anything by both of us being on the floor.
Enter Dockatot! Now, I was skeptical about Dockatot when I first heard about it. But that is because I am skeptical about anything that everyone gets fanatical about including Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Halo Top Ice Cream. I like to experience things myself and form my own opinion. I saw Dockatot in action when I was visiting my sister and saw how it helped my nephew sleep. After that trip, I decided to try it out.
Olympian Michael Phelps and Actress Mollie Sims using Dockatot (photos courtesy Dockatot’s Instagram)
We put the Dockatot Grand in our bed to start out. It was amazing. No one got kicked in the face or the back. After about two days, we moved it to little guy’s bed. He slept through the entire night! He slept through the night before in our bed, but never in his own bed. This pregnant mom was thankful and so was daddy. The best part is that he now calls his Dockatot, his “cozy spot,” and he wants to make sure all of his “friends” are tucked in too. Every once in a while, he will wake up in the middle of the night, but it is for things that wake most toddlers, scary dreams, needing to go to the bathroom etc. And there are still nights where we let him sleep in our bed and have a “sleepover party.”
WIN a Dockatot and $2K in baby gear! ENTER HERE
With baby sister on the way, we already made sure to get her a Dockatot. The only hard decision will be which of the cute covers to get!
We received a Dockatot, but all of our thoughts and opinions are our own. We use affiliate links, thank you for supporting Family Entourage. We are not sleep experts, nor do we claim to be!
