Blackout blinds - 2nd time mums help!

[broodylicious]

Hello all. I am 32+4 with dc2 and we are trying to get things in order around the house so we are prepared for the new arrival. Our dd (now three) was an appalling napper from about three or four months and so was overtired for months, which obviously resulted in a very miserable, worn out mummy. I definitely want to avoid this if possible this time!!

I saw a video online the other day about babies reaching four months and starting to be very much aware of light and what is around them and it's a very common time for them to start buggering about when they should be napping. The baby expert suggested black out blinds as a way that would stop this. Does anyone agree with this and would you get the blinds immediately? What else? If anything?

We got them for DS when the evenings got light as he just wouldn't go to bed for his nighttime sleep. He's not bothered for day time naps though, it just seems to be night time that he needs the trigger.
We didn't need them initially as he'd sleep anywhere during the newborn phase, so you could hold off and see what kind of sleeper you get, good luck!

We decided against roller blinds as we felt the risk of strangulation was too high.

We got some curatin and bought black out backings that just hook onto the tape of the curtain and you put them up as normal.

We then just added strips of velcro to the wall on edge to make sure light didn't come through

We were told not to use them during the day, but that they are great for when it is lighter in the evenings or in the summer when it gets light around 4.30 am :) Got a Roman one from Dunelm Mill, reasonable price and the window is no where near her crib

We've used the gro-blackout blinds. Great and really work.

I bought some last night ahead of dc2. I'm due july so plenty of light evenings ahead and if they're anhthing like dd they'll refuse sleep at any sign of light!

I would recommend the gro blinds too. You can get a tighter fit to the window. Roller blackout blinds still let light in around the edges ime. I use one for both DC on the lighter evenings. I don't use them for naps though, would worry about confusing their body clock.

We have blackout blinds in all bedrooms - ours included! I also used them for daytime naps as I can't see how anyone can be expected to go to sleep in a bright room. modern blinds have safety release things on the pull cord so there's no risk of strangulation (though they do often come apart when you pull them a bit too enthusiastically to open them, which is very annoying! )

Another vote for the Gro blinds - just £20 on Amazon and they work wonders.

Oh yeah, I'd not thought about those gro-blinds, good thinking. They would be perfect as we are currently half way through decorating the house so this could be a brilliant solution. Thanks everyone!

Hi mish, I remember you from our AN thread a while back. Hope all is going well?

Yes! I got fed up with sticking the GroBlind up every night, so I got roller blinds fitted to my dc's windows. The pull cords have a safety clasps that come undone under any tension. They also hook up high and my dc's windows are very high.

It really depends on a baby. My DS1 did not nap for more than 20min on his own between 4 and 11 months despite blackout blinds and anything else. But it works for some babies. I SOOOO hope DS2 will be a better sleeper, but to increase chances, we again have blackout blinds, I even got a Sleepyhead pillow. However, nothing can guarantee they will sleep - some babies find transitioning between deep and shallow sleep, or between sleep cycles difficult, and just need to grow out of it. Hope we both get better sleepers this time round!

can I respond even if I'm not a 2nd time mum? We have had black out curtains in DD's room from the outset, in fact we have them in our room too, don't understand why anyone wouldn't! I can't bear waking up at the crack of dawn because the room is so light (in-laws and mother, I'm looking at you with your non-blackout cream curtains).

The gro-blind is great for travelling. If you have curtains already you can buy blackout lining from John Lewis which you just add to the curtain hooks.