Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: My Toddler can't sleep without this!

Sleep. We all need it. Babies need even more of it. Sometimes, as those poor little guys are getting used to the outside world, they have trouble learning how to sleep. There are a variety of things out there to help. 

Enter the Fisher Price Soothe and Glow Giraffe. Cocoa Puff got this as a gift when he was a couple months old, and it's been with us every night since, except for a period of several months where I hadn't replaced the batteries. My fault, but he didn't seem to need it, so I put it off. Recently, he got croup and a nasty cold, and I changed the batteries so I could give it back to him. It's been helping. 

Poor sickie baby. He's been carrying his giraffe everywhere the last few days. 

We even used this giraffe back when he was this little. Hard to believe he was ever this little. 

We took it everywhere, even in the car. I'd put it on top of his carseat so he could hear it when it was nap time. 

This neat toy plays 8 different lullabyes over a period of 15 minutes. It starts with a super easy little squeeze and it glows. After 15 minutes, the light and music gently fade away. The music keeps playing for quite a while after the light fades out.

It's easy to activate with a hug or a squeeze. Cocoa Puff could activate it himself once he was about a year old and I let him have it in his crib.

If you want to turn it off early, then you press and hold the front for a few seconds and it fades away immediately. 

Keep in mind that the AAP recommends keeping all soft things out of the crib until baby is a year old. The thing I like about this giraffe is that the insert is a hunk of plastic. The external is still plush though. So, I'd keep it out of the crib. I used to put it right outside the crib so he could still see and hear it and once he was old enough, then I moved it into his crib. 

The batteries are easy to change. There's velcro at the bottom and the whole insert slips out. The batteries last a LONG time... ours lasted a year. 

Then the insert pops back in. The plush part can be washed separately, which is great. 

I love this thing. Back when I was still having sleep difficulties, I even found this giraffe comforting. It was almost a "trigger" to help lull me to sleep. The music is gentle and the light is just enough to check on your little one.

There's also a pink one. 

What stuffed animals do your kiddos have to have at night?