Sleep Guilt

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a parent who's raised a child and not had any anxiety around their baby's sleep "issues."  One of the best pieces of advice I've ever received is this: "Don't ever read books about your baby's sleep.  It'll just make you feel guilty about your child's sleep situation."

But let's face it.  Even if your child is the perfect sleep angel, most parents freak out if something changes (or persists, for that matter). And they reach out, often unnecessarily, for advice.

From about week 3 to week 6, I was freaking out and constantly reading books, internet forums, articles, etc to figure out why my baby won't sleep during the day (sounds ridiculous now, that I was even worried about that!).  I tried all sorts of things, and to be honest, none of them worked.  What worked was AJ matured and figured things out a little better.  I matured and figured him out a little bit better.  And I let go of expectations.  He slept 5 hour stretches for about 2 weeks, then regressed back into waking every 2-3 hours.  Then, sort of magically, around week 9, he started sleeping 7 hour stretches at a time.  It was A-MAZING.  We went the last 9 weeks like this, sleeping 7 hour stretches at a time.  Life felt normal again.  I had enough sleep to function during the day, no problem.  

And now, he's knee deep in his predicted 4 month sleep regression, which, from what I hear, is a very LONG regression.  He's waking often at 4 AM now. WIDE awake.  Playing with his feet and chewing on things awake.  Sigh.  For about a week now, I kept asking myself what I'm doing wrong - what I'm doing differently.  I'm not sure why it's so hard for me to digest that it's NOT ME doing something differently.  This is normal!!!  But it sure doesn't make life easy.  Sure, I remember getting up every 1-2 hours at the beginning, but boy my body's gotten so used to the 7 hour stretches...

So I'm breaking my rule today and giving you guys something to read up on.  Yes, it's about infant sleep.  No, it's not intended to make you feel guilty.  It's a good reminder that most sleep issues, no matter how "wrong" it feels, is probably normal.  It's those darn expectations again. But let's face it, sometimes, accepting life is what parenting is about.  

http://www.praeclaruspress.com/WhitePapers/praeclarus_press_normal_infant_sleep.pdf

Happy reading.  Time to go refill my coffee.

Is it REALLY detrimental though?

Since about 2 months old, AJ's been super interested in standing.  Silly boy will cry and cry and cry and have all the adults in the house scrambling to figure out what's wrong with him. Hungry? Sleepy? 

Nope. He just wants to stand. And as soon as you put him in a standing position, he's all giggles and smiles.  Silly child.

He's about 19 lbs now.  Yeah.  Heavy.  And lifting him/holding him so much has started giving me a persistent shoulder ache.  Not to mention tendinitis wherever there are tendons.  A co-worker suggested I look into getting a jumperoo of some sort.  Her son started using one at 4 months.  They're entertaining (for both kiddo and mom) and they're safe to use.

We have an Exersaucer that's a hand me down, so I put him in that thing today.  He did have a lot of fun, but I was left with questioning whether or not it was safe for him.  Even at the lowest setting, I saw a lot of tip toeing, and leaning over on one side.  To me, these are clear signs that he's not ready for a saucer quite yet (at least for not more than like a couple minutes at a time).  Supposedly a jumperoo though gives you more room though - I believe your knees can flex, and you can end up in more of a squatting position...which I suppose is better right?

So I did the no-no.  Googled it.  Came up with ALL SORTS OF ANSWERS.  The unified answer from the physical therapy community is that its absolutely detrimental to put kids in saucers/jumpers before they can walk - and may delay walking by up to 6 weeks!  They recommended if absolutely necessary, leave your kid in one no more than 20 minutes a day.

Well, gee.  I was only hoping to use it maybe 5-10 minutes a day, mostly to make my son laugh.  Is it REALLY that detrimental? Sometimes I feel like there's such a big deal made about things that we forget the most basic rule in life - everything in moderation!!!!  If I was using a jumper as a babysitter, yeah I'd have to admit, I'm probably being a little negligent.  But this really is like the TV thing all over again.  Will 5 minutes of it a day really destroy my kid? I doubt it, especially in light of the fact that many of us parents were exposed to these things as a kid. Guess what?  WE'RE STILL ALIVE AND WELL, thank you very much.

Ok, done with my rant.  Time to go find a Johnny Jumper for cheap on FB. 

Naptime

It's funny how naptime's evolved so much from day 1 of AJ's life to now.  Seems like it changes ALL THE TIME.

Here's naptime, from AJ's perspective:

Weeks 1-2:
Who: anyone can put me to sleep (naptime or bedtime)
How: pretty much any way you want.  I just sleep, I'm not picky.
When: all day long, I had no sense of time.
Where: anywhere, but mostly a rotation between my Pack and Play or someone's arms.

Weeks 3-5:
Who: anyone can put me to sleep still, I'd prefer it if you know what you're doing though
How: I need to be swaddled to be able to sleep. I always sleep in my Pack and Play at night.  For naptime, you're stuck with giving me a binky to calm me down, holding me in your arms and walking around, then swaddling me, then softly laying me down in my Pack and Play.
When: all day long, I still have no appreciable sense of time.
Where: Your arms > Moby wrap > Pack and Play

Weeks 6-10:
Who: anyone can put me to sleep still, I'd prefer either my mom or someone with strong arms, since I'm quickly gaining weight
How: I NEED to be double swaddled before I can sleep.  Rocking is also a must.  Don't forget the binky.  I will not nap without my binky.
When: about 6 times a day, anywhere from 1-2 hours at a time.  Often times, I'll wake up after the hour, and need to be transferred elsewhere.
Where: Your arms, with you sitting still > sleeping next to you on the couch, pulled out > carrier > Swing > Pack and Play > my own crib (naps only, I love my crib at night!) > carseat carrier > the ground with a blanket on it

Weeks 11-14:
Who: anyone can put me to sleep still, but I now have a strong preference for my mom.
How: I no longer need to be swaddled, as long as you hold me.  But it HAS to be dark.  No exceptions. Oh, and I need my binky or it'll be the end of the world.
When: about 5 times a day still, anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours at a time.  My AM nap is longest and the naps gets shorter as the day moves on, with my last nap around 8-10 PM.
Where: You guys had to take the bassinet part of the Pack and Play down since I hit the weight limit.  Too bad I hate the regular pack and play.  So you guys got rid of that too.  Back to the good old fashioned, arms!!!

Weeks 15-18:
Who: I have a strong preference for my ma-ma (grandma Lee) and gong gong (grandpa Wong) now.  Mom is fine too...but I don't need her to hold me all the time, I want her to put me down on the couch a lot
How: It HAS to be dark and I HAVE to have my binky.  Sometimes, you guys put a rag over my head to make it darker.  Oftentimes, you will need to put me into the beco to induce sleep.
When: about 4 times a day, 9-11 AM, 1-4 PM, 6-7 PM, and 9-10 PM...ish.
Where: your arms = couch = carrier > crib > swing > car seat carrier > the ground


We'll see how this goes soon!

Brahhhhs

Now that my boobs are a little bit less angry at breast feeding, I'm finally able to talk about bras without too much cringing.

I always knew there were nursing bras.  Just never knew there were so many options.  One thing is for sure though, nursing bras are not all made equal.  Here's my 2 cents, on the ones that I've already tried.

If you have the $$ to spend on nursing bras, I'd splurge and get some really good pieces.  If you're not sure if you want to make that plunge, ask yourself these questions:

1) how long are you planning to nurse? If you're planning to nurse for more than a month, I think the investment is worth it.  It make life that much easier to have a nursing bra that you can just click on and off to feed baby, versus dealing with hooking and unhooking your bras multiple times a day.  Plus, your boobs are probably also crazy-sized. I doubt that many of you want to spend money on "real" bras when they won't actually fit you anymore post-nursing,

2) if/when you return to work, are you planning to pump?  this will determine whether or not you'll want to purchase a pumping bra (a bra with holes specifically for pumping)

3) how important is comfort/ease vs. money? obviously, determines where and what brands you can consider.

That should help you figure some things out.  Here's my reviews on the ones I've tried.

General tips:

• Sizes generally come in S-M-L-XL etc to be "flexible" with your growing boobs - they can be HUGE when engorged, thus the extra room needed
• skip the wired bras.  Sure they may hold your boobies up better, but they also dig into your boobs which probably already hurt anyway, and can caused plugged ducts
• Some type of padding is probably good - your nips stay pretty erect while you're feeding
• If given a choice between A Pea In the Pod vs. Motherhood, I'd definitely go for the high end brand (APITP) if cost isn't a major concern.  With my experience anyway, the quality really does show when you spend the extra $$.  Plus, these are items you're wearing daily. I find it fairly easy to justify the cost - you're saving lots of money by breastfeeding vs. formula feeding anyway.  Shouldn't you be investing that money saved into keeping your boobs comfy and healthy?

Everyday use

A pea in the pod - seamless clip down nursing bra *****

Hands down my favorite nursing bra.  It's soft and very stretch but still provides pretty damn good support.  Plus, it has pads so no embarrassing nipping.  It's VERY easy to use and low maintenance for cleaning.  Plus, its SOFT.  And flattering also. It's pretty good at hiding back fat, if you're into that kind of thing. At 45 bucks a pop, it's expensive and will have you tempted to buy the lower-end version at Motherhood, but I promise, the quality is worth it (I don't think the Motherhood version provides as good of support).  I have 4 of these bad boys. 

A Pea in the Pod - racerback nursing bra ***

It's very comfortable to wear and is very stretchy to allow for all of your engorgement needs.  They don't come with pads, which can be uhhh sometimes embarrassing. And at 45 dollars a pop, I don't think that's reasonable. 

A pea in the pod - full coverage memory foam nursing bra **

I get the idea of this bra.  It wants to help your boobs stay in shape.  To be fair, it's a REALLY well constructed bra, with some of the best straps I've ever seen on a bra (memory foam, seriously genius). Problem is, it's not a wire-free bra.  So it HURTS.  When?  All the time, really, but it hurts the most when you're nursing because the wire prevents you from being able to pin it down without unclipping BOTH cups. That said, it served its purpose for me when I was pregnant.  

Boob maternity fast food bra ***

Not a horrible bra, just not worth 49 dollars.  It's has those little holes for your nipples and it has some lace on the sides. Some may give this bra credit for making you feel sexy or whatever.  Uhhh yeah, lace makes me ITCH like a bitch, not sexy.  Or maybe its not good quality lace, I dunno.  either way, it doesn't work.  Plus, it's too low cut so on your engorged days, you make boob muffin tops with this bra. Ick. I also don't like those "hole" for nipple type of bras...they make things ITCH.  Also, just anything that can potentially get in the way of a very sore nip...bad idea, IMO.  Lots of people rave about this bra, but I just don't see it. Sorry, not a fan.

Motherhood maternity - Sport clip down nursing bra **

This shouldn't be allowed to be called a "sports" bra.  Overall, just a poorly constructed bra.  Yes, it's got the clippy things, it gets the job done, but other than that, it kind of sucks.  It's got a horribly thick seam right down the middle of the cup (ummm, nips? hello?).  It's built in a way where you have to unclip both sides to effectively feed your baby.  The sizing is off compared to their other bras (too small, but perhaps this is because it's intended for "sports"), and all over, the material just feels cheap.  I want to scratch my shoulders all day because the straps are inexplicably itchy.  The only real "good" thing about this bra is that it's thickly padded, so no embarassing nipping, why I bothered giving it 2 stars. It's also only 20 bucks though, so you get what you pay for. 

Sleep bras (very light coverage)

A pea in the pod - unlined nursing sleep bra *****

Stupid amazing bra. I have 3 of these that I rotate through.  They are made of very very soft cotton, so very breathable.  They feel like wearing just a tank top.  I love them and have nothing bad to say about them, except maybe the cost. 34.50 a piece.  That's a lot for a sleep bra.  But so worth it, if you wanna sleep and not feel like you're wearing a bra.

Medela - sleep bra ****

A pretty decent product for the price ($20).  It's a heck of a lot cheaper than the APITP sleep bra.  But the construction is obviously not as good.  It takes a little more effort to whip the boobs out in this thing.  Plus, the elastic is a little bit tighter, which may or may not bug you when you sleep.  Overall, an excellent product.  

Pumping

Simple Wishes - Hands Free Pumping Bra *****

Awesome product for the price (35ish dollars).  I bring this to work with me every day to pump.  I usually just unclip both of the cups of my nursing bra and throw this on and then pump away.  It's VERY easy to use and it's got a HUGE "universal" size range (which allows for engorgement!).  I wear a XS-M which fits anywhere from completely flat chested all the way up to 40 DD (for example).   The holes where the flanges go are very well designed so that it really doesn't get in the way of the pumping.  Every working mom should get one of these, me thinks. Plus, it's easy to wash.  I just throw it in the laundry with everything else.

Dairy fairy Arden bra****

Overall, this is a really cool idea.  It's a all-in-one pumping and nursing bra.  You can nurse baby while wearing it (unclipping the cups like all other nursing bras), but you can also swing the cups outwards (think like how a wrap top works) to reveal a pumping bra underlayer.  This bra is the coolest for someone who simultaneously pumps and nurses.  I don't do that, but I do appreciate that I can wear this to work and pump without having to pump on an extra bustier when i want to pump. I'd say it's not quite as effective as the Simple Wishes bustier for pumping though (related to how tight the suction can get, because of the material having more "give" than the Simple Wishes bustier. Another major complaint is cost.  At 68 dollars a piece, this is definitely a "luxury" item.  That said, this a beautifully designed bra (has "fake" lace made of cotton(?) sewn on the top of the bra which makes it pretty without the usual itchiness complaints), and I can understand the price tag.

Maybe I'll post another review soon of the nursing camis I've tried :)

Five Things We're NOT Doing

This is my skeleton in the closet post.  Sometimes I feel pretty bad about not doing these things...but I think that's only because everyone else I know IS doing it.  Doesn't necessarily mean that it's wrong right?

So, here it is. We are:


1. NOT skipping the TV
We watch a lot of TV.  No, I know what the experts say. Even a little bit of TV is detrimental for language and social development. I just don't believe that's necessarily true for all babies.  It's not like we're using it as a babysitter either.  When we watch, we watch together and I'm talking to my son.  Plus, both M and I grew up with the TV on at home.  I don't think we've developed into anti-social adults incapable of language.


2. NOT going to sleep at 7
1. Neither M nor I were ever 7 PM sleepers either as babies
2. I go to work before baby wakes up and get home at 5. I refuse to be a 2 hour parent.  PS my baby IS getting enough sleep by the way, he sleeps from 11 PM to 9 AM and takes 4 other naps during the day.
3. Purely selfish reasons: he sleeps the longest stretch (reliably 6-7 hours at a time) after we first put him to bed.  That 6-7 hrs of uninterrupted sleep is all I need to function for the next 18 hours.  I NEED that sleep.  Happy mama = happy baby.

3. NOT making a baby book
Are you kidding?  I barely have enough time to have bowel movements let alone take real photos of this little guy that aren't camera phone pix.  So unless the grandparents wanna make one, I'm not gonna. Neither M nor I had one either (seeing a common theme here), so we're pretty sure it's not gonna make or break him.  Plus, I'm 200% sure that we're not going to have time to make one for #2, so this is just fair.

4. NOT wearing cloth diapers
Good idea (aha, this one my mom actually DID do with me!), just no time or willpower to do it.  I'm just too tired to even think about the idea of the cloth diapers - there's enough crap to wash (haha, pun intended) at the end of the day after I come home from work.  Plus, I don't think I could successfully convince my dad to cloth diaper him during the day.  I know, the Portlandia Gods are probably sentencing me to hell right now for this.  Guess what? yup, that's right, I'm too tired to care what the Portlandians think about how I raise my child.

5. NOT putting him on a schedule
Just don't see the need.  He seems to have a pretty good handle for what he needs.  We either arrive places early or late, preferably early.  Trust me, he gets angry when we try to "schedule" stuff, and that my friends, is good for no one.

So that's the things we're NOT doing with him.  Every kiddo is different.  I've always been a big believer of doing what works for our family and then when it doesn't work, to try something new.  So who knows, maybe soon, I'll take back these 5 things and swear by them.

Now, obligatory cute baby picture.

AJ is Four Months!

AJ, you're four months today!

Physical: I think you're 18 lbs and maybe 27 inches?  Not sure, we'll find out at your 4 month appt next week! You've got a head full of "real" hair but still some little wisps of long hairs from your days in my belly. You're eating sometimes more than I can make for you, and we've broken into our freezer supply of milk!  I'm guessing you'll be ready for solids sooner than we think.

Personality:  You're such an easy going baby, you'll hang out with everyone and you're very generous with your smiles.  You still have a shy smile, but sometimes if we're lucky, that morphs into a full belly laugh.  You adore your grandparents, all of them.  You love playtime, especially outside with ma ma and gong gong, who babysit you when I'm gone at work.

Milestones: You've learned how to roll from belly to back and you're actively working on rolling back to belly.  You're developed an iron grip with your fists and you've learned to pull my hair!  You also learned hammer time (exactly what it sounds like) with your right arm.  You've also learned to sleep without being swaddled, which is AWESOME.  :) You're still drooling lots, and any day now I'm expecting to see some of those little teeth sprout out.

You're growing up so fast that I'm not sure if I can still call you a baby.  You're always trying different things now, and always wanting to do things you're not ready to do.  The other day, you stood (with your daddy's assistance) for almost an hour while we watched TV.  You're needing us less and less now. You still love cuddling with me, but only when you're really tired and ready to sleep.  I know that soon, you're not gonna wanna be seen cuddling with your mama, and I'm going to miss this so much.

Happy Four Months, Austin Jonah.

Love,
Mommy.

Pumping: my work routine

It's been a whole month since I've returned to work.  Took a bit of trial and error when it came to establishing my pumping routine.  Here's what I do now.

• I pump twice a day at approximately 10 AM and 2 PM.  I tried pumping 3 times a day but found that if I pumped the 2nd time at lunch, I really had very little, if nothing to produce.  Not worth the hassle, so I decided to skip it altogether.
• I put a post-it note on the doorknob so that people can't walk in on me (a lot of our doors don't have locks)
• It's still a challenge finding the space to pump, since we still don't have our "promised" office yet.  Oh well, that's life. 
• Using the expression bustier is awesome.  I no longer know how to double-pump without it!
• I usually hook up all the equipment first, then plug the flanges into the bustier (minimizes time I'm stuck in discomfort)
• The actual pumping itself takes only about 6-7 minutes now before the milk really dwindles.  I do a few compressions to get the extra out, then call it good
• When I'm ready to be done, I usually unhook the tubes from the flanges first, then coil 'em up while keeping them hooked up to the pump and store them right in the pump compartment of the Medela bag (for easy assembly next time) 
• I try very carefully to zig zag the a/c adapter cord (they're known to fray easily if you wrap them around the adapter)
• I no longer wash my supplies between pumps. I actually started this at day 1 after consulting my mommy friend.  I just wipe my parts down with a clean cloth (I have a clean one in my bag every day) and throw all the parts in a freezer bag and back into my bag.  The theory here is that BM has antimicrobial properties and we know that it's good at room temps for 6 hours (I never go more than 6 hours between pumps anyway)
• At the end of the day when I go home, I fish out the ziploc back and throw all the parts into the sink and the washcloth into the laundry (new cloth every day)
• I will then wash all the parts (and the bottles, nipples, etc from the day) in hot soapy water
• I still use a microwave sterilizer with every wash (I know, people make fun of me for being old fashioned), but my rationale is that the work environment in which I pump (a medical clinic) means that my parts are probably exposed to more pathogens than most others.  Now, BM has antimicrobial properties, but that's no longer valid after 6 hours right?  Better safe than sorry.  Plus, it's only an extra 1.5 minutes out of my day :)
• Our BM gets put in the fridge and therefore is good up to 8 days (I assign a beyond use date no more than 6 days from pumping).  Doesn't make sense to freeze it if you can eat it fresh and keep the supply up right?  Plus, fresh milk is better (from an immune health standpoint) than freezer milk. Our freezer supply really is an emergency supply.

In my experience, I've also noticed that without the letdown there's very little milk I can collect.  This usually isn't a problem during a normal pumping session (I let down very reliably) but is sometimes a problem if I have excess I want to pump out from one boob after AJ's eaten from the other.  In this case, I almost always get one or less ounce.  My solution?  Pump it later when I can reliably get the let down.

That's all for now.  More learnings later.

It Takes A Village

One of the mommies that I usually sit next to in mom's group graduated today.  It's tradition for the graduating mommies to make a graduation speech, with any advice they'd offer new moms. 

The one thing that she said that really resonated is the notion that it takes a village.

Duh.

It takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to raise a mom.

I cannot agree with her more.  Over the past 16 weeks, I've grown so much as a mom.  But it's not all my doing, and not even all of AJ's doing.  It's everyone.  I can't count how many times my husband encouraged me to keep going, despite wanting to give up all the time.  All the times that I called my mom late at night and my dad when my mom's at work.  All the times I counted on my mother in law to make my son laugh when I'm away at work.  The countless time my friends -  men and women alike offered their open arms to both AJ and I.  The many many many times my moms' groups buddies came to the rescue with new ideas and kind words.  It really does take a village.

So if I haven't thanked you guys recently, THANK YOU!  Thank you for the support, time, food, hugs, advice, tissues, hand-me-downs, naps, date nights, presents, memories, and of course, LOVE.

Passport checklist

We went to the city hall today to get AJ's passport.  It was quicker than I thought once we got all the stuff, but man, to GET all the stuff, we had to make 2 extra trips.  There's more than you think needed for the forms, so here's some tips.

Documents you'll need

• Baby's birth certificate
• No brainer, duh!
• FYI if it's the first time you're applying, they need to take the original to be sent in with the application, they will return it (or so they say) but it will take a few weeks to process it
• Baby's passport photos
• Not every place will take passport photos for babies (they squirm a lot so it's difficult to get a photo that will pass the standards)  Fred Meyers on Canyon Rd by HWY 217 does.  And the gentleman did a really good job!
• You AND your spouse's government issued ID

Other stuff you'll need

• 2 checks
• one for the cost of the city hall processing your application
• one that goes along with the application to the federal department making the book 
• the federal govt definitely will NOT take cash or credit/debit.  The one that goes to your local city hall I guess depends on your local city hall.
• Your baby's daddy/mommy
• As of recently, federal law now mandates that when you apply for a passport, BOTH parents of the child must be present at the time of application (yup, makes things real convenient)
• I suppose this would stop crazy people from escaping out of the country
• Baby's social security card
• This technically isn't needed, it's just that you need to fill that out on the form, and most people don't know their baby's SSN by heart already (that's why we had to head home to get it)

Stuff to be aware of:

• Check hours of your passport office - not all of them operate 5 days a week 8-5.  Don't want to show up when it's closed!
• Only use black ink - if it's written in blue or any other color, they will not take it
• Read each question carefully, in order to stay PC, some of the questions now cause a lot of confusion.  There's a section that asks about the applicant's parent's names - this is particularly confusing for moms.  They used to ask for the mother's maiden name.  Now for PC-ness, it says "name at parent's birth."  Well, first, who's name?  The parent or the child? Why don't they care what my current name is?  Doesn't matter,  Either way, read the questions.
• DO NOT SIGN anything until they tell you to.  Signing before swearing in front of the notary person invalidates the application.

There you have it.  Passport instructions.  Go get it. 

My cheapo milk storage solution

They sell milk storage systems for your freezer.  Yup.  And they cost a lot.  Like 20 dollars for a cheapish tupperware thing.  And you want an organizer of some sort because, who has room to not organize this stuff?

So I made my own. With old shoe boxes.

The Lansinoh milk storage bags fit perfectly standing in one of those shoe bags.  I lay them flat on the tupperware (see the top of the pic) to freeze then move them over to the box the next day.  They're filed by oldest first so we can cycle through them appropriately.

The left shoebox shown has 20 bags of 4 ounces of milk.

Muahahhaa.  Cheap solutions for the win.

Afraid of the Light

Up until recently, AJ's never really paid much attention to the light (or the dark, for that matter).  Sure, he likes light (light bulbs, TV screens, anything that glows) and certainly knows the difference between night and day (sleeps MUCH better at night, stays awake longer with daylight).  But very recently, we started to notice that he now CAN'T fall asleep (especially at afternoon or later naps) unless darkness is involved.

Maybe it's not really darkness.  Maybe whatever brings about the darkness simply shields him away from distractions.

It's not that unreasonable, actually.  If you think about it, most of us adults also don't sleep or nap well when there's abundant light in our environment.  Our circadian rhythms wire our bodies that way for a reason - so that we rest in the dark of night to gain enough energy to hunt during the daylight.

Anyhow, we've come up with a number of creative ways to ensure a dark environment conducive of sleep for AJ.  Here's some darkness induction ideas for those who are in the same predicament.

1. Blackout panel curtains
Pretty effective I must say, especially in his room.  We have blackout panels in our living room too (coincidence) which work well for the heavy AM sunlight.  These tend to be expensive though, for the decent ones that are "true" blackout panels. I've been told that blackout panel fabric is pretty cheap at places like JoAnn's - so if you have decent sewing skills, or if you don't give a **** and just hang them like your house is condemned, then you can save a few bucks.

2. Blanket fort playpen system
I've posted on this in the past.  It's just that playpens are so "huge" compared to babies, I really imagine them feeling like they're sleeping in a vast dessert.  We cover up the playpen with a bunch of blankets from the top. Don't worry, there's mesh around the playpen so baby definitely can breathe.  The idea is akin to why dogs like to sleep in crates.

3. Hooter hider
I regularly use this to cover him up while he's sleeping in his car seat.  Often times, this is all it takes for him to decide to go to sleep.  But I've taken it one step further and tried keeping him sleeping under it even if I'm not feeding him.  Works awesomely, plus there's a nice hole to stare at him from (to see if he's asleep!)

4. Wide brim sun hat
I don't use this just for outside play.  When we're at home and he needs to take a nap (but can't cause it's too bright), I will stick him in the Beco carrier and then put his hat on.  Key thing is, it's gotta be wide enough to cover his eyes.  Once he has "nothing" to look at, he'll eventually go down for his nap.

5. Closets
I don't know about you, but none of the closets in our house have windows.  Naturally, they are the darkest corners of our house!  Score.  Our downstairs bathroom also doesn't have windows, but unless you have a real reliable way to secure your child's binky, I wouldn't suggest walking around in the dark in a bathroom...

Happy sleeping!

Daddy: sleep dammit, sleep!

AJ: daddy built me a blanket fort! I WIN :)