Sanity Saving item #1 – Sleepyhead Deluxe

I’m Becca and I have a confession.

I’m *whispers* a massive shopaholic (much to the annoyance of Mr B)!

However in my defence, since we became parents, even Mr B and his credit card have warmed up to my shopaholic ways as he has been unable to deny that some of my “random”, “what the hell is that”, “massive waste of money” purchases have proven to be items worth their weight in gold. Let’s call them our “Sanity Saving items”!

And ladies and gentlemen, today I would like to introduce you to our first Sanity Saving item……

The Sleepyhead!

I discovered this item whilst pregnant and browsing one of my favourite parenting sites – Wauwaa (check it out, it’s fab!). However, I didn’t actually buy it until later when sleep deprived desperation at 3am led us to be willing to give anything a try!

Now the thing that nobody had warned us about is that LOTS of newborn babies will not sleep if they are not being held. It’s understandable really when you think about the fact that they have been snuggled up cramped and cozy in the womb. Why would they then be happy to sleep in a big open space?! It must be pretty scary after all. Some babies (including Baby B) also have a very strong startle reflex so wake themselves up frequently too if given the space to “startle”.

After a week of taking it in turns to sleep whilst the other one held a sleeping Baby B, we decided enough was enough and found a solution in the form of the Sanity Saving Sleepyhead!

The Sleepyhead is a portable complete baby bed for 0-8 months, made from breathable materials which creates a snug sleeping environment for little ones. The filling material feels very similar to a foam pillow and is reassuringly anti-dust mite, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial (great for Baby B who suffers from eczema!). The cover is made from 100% cotton and is machine washable, including the all-round bumper. The mattress has a waterproof, machine washable cover and a wadding pad that can be removed for easy hand-washing.

The Sleepyhead fit nicely within our Chicco Next2Me co sleeping crib (another great item!) and Baby B is currently napping in it as I type this lying on my double bed next to her!

As well as being used as a baby bed, the sleepyhead was also great for tummy time in the early days as Baby B could lie over the side. This was fab as Baby B hated tummy time until we tried this.

One of the great things about the Sleepyhead is the fact that you can pick it up and take it with you when you visit friends and family. This was invaluable when we were nap training as it meant Baby B could still have her naps in her familiar bed when we were not at home. We also packed it in our suitcase and took it on holiday with us!

The only downside to the Sleepyhead is the cost. At £99 for the Sleepyhead and 1 cover, plus £39 for spare covers – cheap it ain’t! Especially when it is essentially a glorified pillow (in fact – I think that may have been what Mr B said dismissively when he saw it for the first time! He was soon eating his words tho!). However, from the moment we started using it when she was 2 weeks old, Baby B would sleep very happily in it (albeit with frequent nursing wake ups!) and still daytime naps in it at 8 months old (she is an average sized baby on 50th centile and is almost growing out of it). Therefore for us it was worth every penny (especially as we got it 50% off from wauwaa!) and we wont hesitate to buy another for a second baby! In fact, we have already bought the larger size Sleepyhead Grand (8-36 months) to help Baby B transition to her cot from her Chicco Next2Me crib:

They do sell second hand on eBay but given that it is the surface your baby will sleep on, I would be concerned about using the same one for more than one baby as I don’t see how the guidance for baby mattresses (I.e. new one for each baby) would not apply?

All in all – this item Saved our Sanity because it enabled us to get some sleep and for us it was therefore a top buy!

So there you have it – my Sleepyhead review! Hope this helps someone and please do let me know if you have any questions on the Sleepyhead!  

Note – I purchased this item myself and these are my honest unbiased views! This post is in no way endorsed by Sleepyhead or Wauwaa x