Sleep. It’s something we all do, need and probably want more of! It’s super important at any age, and it’s crucial for babies and their development. Around 20% of babies have sleep problems in their first year. And when we asked parents what their biggest parenting worry is, the top answer was baby’s sleep.
And it makes sense; everything is brand new for our beautiful babies, including sleep and the idea of day and night. After nine cozy months in the womb, transitioning to the outside world is probably a very strange experience for them. We kept all of this in mind when creating Bluebell and designing our Smart baby monitor. The better baby sleeps, the better you sleep! So our non-traditional baby monitor has some extra cool features to help babies move from womb-sleep to room-sleep!
Silence isn’t always the answer
As adults, dead silence is often the noise level of choice when it comes to sleep. But this isn’t always the case for babies, especially newborns. All they’ve ever known are the sounds inside the womb: mum’s heartbeat, blood flow and digestive system, and then the outside sounds of talking, music, traffic, etc. As they spend most of their time asleep in the womb, they get used to sleeping in a noisy environment.
The Bluebell Smart hub allows you to play lullabies and white noise to settle baby. A quiet yet consistent sound can help imitate what they heard in the womb. It’s been found to settle them to sleep pretty quickly!
This study found that 80% of babies fell asleep within five minutes using white noise (compared to only 25% without white noise). And this study, which looked at babies with colic, found that white noise worked better than rocking babies to sleep.
You can also lull them back to sleep with the lullabies, which have been found to regulate their emotions – they can reduce stress and soothe pain to make them feel calm. They can also be used as part of their bedtime routine as something familiar that lets them know it’s time to wind down.
Stay cool
Getting to sleep on a stuffy summer night can be difficult for anyone, but it’s also a matter of safety for our little ones. It’s super important that they don’t get too cold, but also that they don’t overheat as this can increase the risk of SIDS. Their room temperature should be at 16-20°C. This is the safest temperature for them, and Bluebell can monitor this! The Smart hub detects the temperature of the room, and if it gets too hot or too cold, it will immediately alert you on your Parent wristband and Mobile app. You’ll know whether you need to open or close a window, or switch on a fan without having to keep checking the temperature.
And it doesn’t end there – Bluebell monitors baby’s skin temperature too! It takes the ideal temperature for your baby (depending on their age) and alerts you if they get too warm or too cold. You don’t need to worry about keeping track of any of this as Bluebell does it for you!
Keep the lights down low
Do you ever get up in the night and stumble to the loo in the dark, afraid that turning on the light might steal some of your sleepiness? You’re not alone, and it does steal your sleepiness! Well, not literally, but it sends signals to the brain that it’s time to wake up. And light, especially white or blue light, can mess with baby’s sleep too.
Bluebell helps make night wakings a bit easier by using a dim night light that doesn’t contain any white or blue light. You can also use the Mobile app to decide how bright you want it, to disturb baby (and you) as little as possible. It’s perfect for night feeds and changes. No more stubbing your toe, fumbling for the light switch and waking baby up. Woohoo!
Do not disturb
As a new parent, you’ll probably want to sit by baby’s cot all night to make sure they’re sleeping soundly. But with Bluebell, you’ll be alerted whenever you’re needed so you can go get some much deserved sleep! You might also want to get up every few minutes to check on them, but this can be bad for both your sleep and theirs! So, when they’re down for a nap in the day, or when they’ve been moved into their own room (after around six months), you can use Bluebell to listen in to their room, and talk to them if they need a little bit of comforting.
You’re in control
Not only can you do all of these amazing, sleep promoting things with your baby monitor, you can also do them with complete ease. Everything you’ve just read about is controlled from your Bluebell Mobile app. Listen in and talk to them through it; play, stop and control the volume levels of the white noise and lullabies with a simple click; check and get alerts on both baby’s room and skin temperature right there on your screen; and control the night light with the swipe of a finger. And you don’t even have to get out of bed to do any of these – score!
Of course, Bluebell is predominantly a baby monitor. But we didn’t just want to make a baby monitor. Our aim is to help with different aspects of parenting, including the yours and your baby's sleep and wellbeing. Baby sleeping a bit better can be the trigger for a long line of positive things in your parenting journey. We hope it helps you to parent confidently!
Let us know if you have any questions about Bluebell. And we’d love to hear how it’s helped you with sleep!
