Newborn sleep involves more decisions than most first-time parents expect. Is the baby too warm? Is the swaddle secure? What should the baby wear underneath it? Is the sound machine too loud?
When you’re both exhausted, the last thing you want to do is research baby products at 2:00 a.m. Here are four newborn sleep essentials worth having ready.
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1. Pick a Swaddle—and Learn How to Use It
A nurse may make swaddling with a traditional blanket look easy. It probably won’t feel that way when you try it yourself at home and the baby’s arms escape within two minutes.
Velcro swaddles remove much of the guesswork. They create a consistent, snug fit without requiring you to master an elaborate wrapping technique in the middle of the night.
Practical Pick: SwaddleMe
SwaddleMe swaddles work particularly well during the earliest newborn stage. They run somewhat smaller, which can help create a snug fit while the baby is still tiny.
They’re simple to use: place the baby inside, fold over the wings and secure the Velcro. The multipack also gives you backups for spit-up, diaper leaks and laundry.
Shop the SwaddleMe Original Swaddle
Upgrade Pick: The Ollie
If you want a swaddle that can adapt as the baby grows, the Ollie is the upgrade pick.
Its adjustable closures make it easier to create a secure fit without purchasing several different sizes. The stretchy, moisture-wicking fabric feels lightweight and breathable, while the open-bottom design gives you access to the diaper without completely removing the swaddle.
2. Stock Up on Two-Way-Zip Pajamas
A two-way zipper lets you open the baby’s pajamas from the bottom during a diaper change, so the baby’s upper body can stay covered instead of being completely undressed in the middle of the night.
Attached fold-over hand cuffs are another feature worth looking for. Newborn fingernails can be surprisingly sharp, and the covers help prevent babies from scratching their faces. Because they’re built into the pajamas, you also don’t have to keep track of separate mittens that constantly fall off.
Pajamas are one of those newborn sleep essentials that are easy to overlook until you’re handling a middle-of-the-night diaper change. What the baby wears underneath the swaddle will depend on the temperature of the room, but soft, breathable pajamas with a two-way zipper and fold-over cuffs are a practical place to start.
Splurge Pick: Little Sleepies Zippies
Little Sleepies Zippies are incredibly soft and stretchy. They have a double zipper, fold-over mittens and convertible foot cuffs.
They’re more expensive than traditional baby pajamas, but their stretch allows babies to wear them for a surprisingly long time. The convertible feet also let you switch between footed and footless pajamas as needed.
Value Pick: Carter’s PurelySoft Pajamas
Carter’s PurelySoft pajamas provide a similar soft, stretchy feel at a lower price. Many styles include two-way zippers and convertible feet, making them a practical option to stock up on for everyday wear.
Shop Carter’s PurelySoft Pajamas
3. Set Up a Sound Machine Before the Baby Arrives
A sound machine is one of the newborn sleep essentials worth setting up before the baby arrives. It creates consistent background noise and helps mask household sounds—particularly useful in an apartment, with an older child or whenever you don’t want every creaky floorboard waking the baby.
Don’t wait until bedtime with a crying newborn to download the app, connect the Wi-Fi and choose a sound. Set up the machine before the baby arrives so either parent can turn it on quickly.
Connected-Nursery Pick: Nanit Sound + Light
With the Nanit Sound + Light Machine, you can control the sound and volume through the Nanit app, so you don’t have to walk into the nursery to make adjustments.
It also has a customizable night-light and lets you save preferred sound and light settings. This makes it particularly convenient if you already use other Nanit products in the nursery.
Although Nanit displays the room’s temperature and humidity, we found its temperature reading wasn’t always accurate enough to rely on. A separate room sensor provided a more dependable reading of the actual nursery conditions.
Shop the Nanit Sound + Light Machine
Long-Term Pick: Hatch Baby
Hatch Baby is a strong alternative if you want a sound machine that will remain useful beyond the newborn stage.
It combines white and pink noise, a customizable night-light, app-controlled routines, stories and time-to-rise cues that can become useful as the baby grows into a toddler.
Hatch Baby also includes three months of premium baby-sleep support. The premium content requires a subscription after the trial, but the basic lights, sounds and bedtime cues remain available without one.
Unlike Nanit, Hatch Baby does not monitor the nursery’s temperature or humidity, so pairing it with a standalone room sensor makes sense.
Shop the Hatch Baby Sound Machine
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends placing infant sound machines as far from the baby as practical and using the lowest effective volume. Read the AAP sound-machine guidance
4. Add a Standalone Room Thermometer
New parents spend a surprising amount of time worrying about whether the baby is too warm or cold.
A home’s main thermostat doesn’t always reflect the actual temperature in the nursery. Even if your baby monitor displays a temperature reading, it may not accurately reflect the conditions elsewhere in the room. This can be particularly noticeable in apartments or older homes where individual rooms heat and cool differently.
Our Pick: Govee Bluetooth Thermometer Hygrometer
The Govee Bluetooth Thermometer Hygrometer gives you a separate reading instead of forcing you to guess.
Place one of the small sensors near the baby’s sleep space—but safely out of reach—and connect it to the Govee app. From your phone, you can check both the temperature and humidity without opening the nursery door.
The Govee doesn’t control the room temperature. It gives you information so you can adjust the thermostat, air conditioning or baby’s clothing appropriately.
Shop the Govee Bluetooth Thermometer Hygrometer
A Quick Safe-Sleep Reminder
The right newborn sleep essentials won’t guarantee longer stretches of sleep, but they can make bedtime and overnight wake-ups easier to manage.
Babies should always be placed on their backs on a firm, flat sleep surface with no loose blankets, pillows or toys. Stop swaddling as soon as the baby begins showing signs of trying to roll, and watch for signs that the baby may be too warm, including sweating, flushed skin or a hot chest. Read the AAP safe-sleep guidance
What Comes After the Swaddle?
Eventually, every newborn outgrows the swaddle—and then an entirely new round of questions begins.
Come back for our next guide on recognizing when it’s time to transition out of the swaddle and deciding what your baby should wear next.
