It can be controversial to use a crib soother because both “On Becoming Babywise” and “The Secrets of a Baby Whisperer” (books we love!) consider them to be sleep props – props meaning that using them makes your baby dependent on them to sleep and therefore you wouldn’t want to become dependent on them.  We totally disagree!

Here’s why…your baby will be sleeping in his crib 99% of the time, so he’s already using his crib as a sleep prop! So, why not make it as comfortable and peaceful an atmosphere as possible?  Plus, we found that soothers are completely portable anyway, so if you’re traveling with your baby, you can easily pack and attach a soother to the playpen you’re using for him to sleep in. Soothers no doubt helps babies to fall asleep.  And it is a must-use tool when applying our 15-Minute Rule.

Set it to the option where the sounds, action, and music will gradually shut off after about twenty minutes.  And attach it to the short side of the crib so that your baby can look at it by turning his head to the side.  He’ll look at it so much that he’s likely to develop a flat head on that side!  So move it to the other short side once a week and his head will either round back out or you’ll avoid a flat head altogether.

After about two months you’ll want to mix it up by buying and adding another soother to the other side of the crib that projects cute scenes on the ceiling in addition to the music and movement.  There are plenty of soothers out there to choose from – but be sure to pick one with moving parts in a scene and that has the option to gradually turn itself off after 15-20 minutes.

Here are 7 great crib soothers that we love:

#1  Fisher-Price Perfectly Pink Dreamland Soother (with a projector – but extremely expensive!)

#2  Baby Einstein Sea Dreams Soother (without a projector)

#3 Fisher-Price Rainforest Peek-A-Boo Waterfall Soother (without a projector)

#4 Fisher-Price Calming Seas Soother (with a projector)

#5 Fisher-Price Shooting Stars Glow Soother (without a projector)

#6 Fisher-Price Woodland Friends Twinkling Lights Crib Rail Soother (without a projector, but doubles as a crib rail cover!)

#7 Fisher-Price Smart Connect Multicolor Projection Mobile (with projector and doubles as a mobile!)

Related Posts: Soother/Sound Machine Pairs, Sound Machines, Crib Essentials, Self-Soothe & Self-Play