Natural Sleep Aid For Babies

Back when our firstborn, Joshua, was about six months old and had trouble getting to sleep without one of us holding him, we resorted to the universal remedy of strapping him into his car seat and going for a long drive.

When a friend described facing this same challenge with her newborn a few months back and setting off on bumpy dirt roads in rural Texas to help her baby sleep, I sent her a neat little tool called the Munchkin Lulla-Vibe Vibrating Mattress Pad, something that I had stumbled across while researching natural tools to help babies get to sleep.

Here's what my friend had to say after her and her husband put the Lulla-Vibe pad to work:

I wanted to let you know that the Lulla-vibe is awesome! Here are the features:

• You have to hold the button down for a few seconds before it will turn on. I thought it was faulty, but Jack pointed this out to me. Perfect so it doesn't accidentally turn off and on when moving around at night.

• It shuts off after 30 minutes, so it doesn't go on all night and drain the batteries if you forget to turn it off. This is good because I have already gone through the batteries it came with, but I wish it was a tad longer than 30 minutes. Even though it drains the batteries, the first time it goes off I guess he isn't in a deep enough sleep - he starts to stir and cry so I usually need to do it twice.

• There are two settings, high and low. I use the high when he sleeps in his crib for naps (I was actually surprised at how well you can feel the vibration through the mattress), and low when he sleeps in his bassinet or with me in bed (I can just leave it on the surface of what he is laying on a little ways from him and he can feel it).

I always rock him to sleep before bed at night, but once I lay him down he realizes I am not holding him and wakes up. Every. Single. Time. But now I can turn on the Lulla-vibe before I lay him down, or right after and he sleeps! (HE SLEEPS!!!) When he wakes up during the night spontaneously crying, I usually have to rock him for a good 10-20 minutes before he will fall back asleep but now I check to see if he needs to be changed and turn the Lulla-vibe back on and he goes right back to sleep! I love this and can't believe I had not heard about it before. I find no complaints with it, other than wishing it stayed on just a tad longer - I would definitely recommend this! Thank you so much for sending it to me, it has been AMAZING for Justin's (and my) sleep. :)

If you know any parents of little ones who might make use of the Lulla-Vibe pad, you can direct them to the following description page at Amazon:

Munchkin Lulla-Vibe Vibrating Mattress Pad

Here are some photos and additional details from Amazon.com:

No more sleepless nights with Munchkin's award-winning Lulla-Vibe vibrating mattress pad. Pad easily slips under crib mattress and creates gentle, soothing vibrations with the push of a button. A 30 minute timer shuts off gradually so baby is not startled. A three second delay start in the power button helps prevent unintentional activation. Simply press and hold down the power button for three seconds to activate. Press once more to change the speed. It is 100% battery operated so there are no cords or charging stations near your little one. Includes 4 AA batteries.

• Vibrations help baby to fall asleep - perfect for bedtime, naptime, or to calm a fussy baby

• Power button only turns on when held for 3 seconds to prevent unintentional activation

• Two vibration speeds and a gradual shut off helps baby stay asleep

• Two vibration speeds let Mom customize for baby

• Soft neoprene cover is durable and easy to clean

• Item Weight: 1 pound

• Product Dimensions: 3 x 10 x 11.5 inches

• Origin: Made in USA

• Batteries: 4 AA batteries required (included)

• Material Type: BPA Free