#MamaNeedsSleep Contest & Additional Sleep Tips from Dr. Harvey Karp

Following up to Sleep Awareness Week last week, we are launching the second part of our #MamaNeedsSleep campaign! As new parents you probably are not getting enough sleep. The average parent gets 6 hours of sleep, and that is just not enough. Little Lotus has partnered with Dr. Harvey Karp, baby sleep guru and author of the best-selling book, The Happiest Baby on The Block, for a contest to help parents get some much needed rest. Because #MamaNeedsSleep. See below for more details on the contest. 

Also, we have some coveted tips from Dr. Harvey Karp to help your baby sleep better:

• White noise is helpful to get your baby to sleep. While Karp recommends "shushing" as part of his "5 S's" method to get the baby's attention and help sooth crying, white noise is better for sleep. However, there are different types of white noise. For sleep, it is better to use a lower pitched rumbling white noise. 
• The ideal room temperature is around 70 degrees. There are simple ways to check babies temperature cues, such as feel the ears to make sure they don’t feel cold, or if the back of the neck is warm and sweaty - that’s a sign baby is too warm. 
• There are a lot of swaddle options out there that some have additional benefits, such as Little Lotus which helps regulate the baby’s temperature. If a baby is too hot or too cold when they are sleeping it can disrupt their sleep. Overly hot or cold can even be dangerous.
• “Never wake a sleeping baby” is not true, says Karp. If baby falls asleep in your arms or while nursing it is a good idea to wake them a bit when you lay them down to sleep. If you transition baby directly from your arms to sleeping in a crib, when baby wakes they will be disoriented and it can be upsetting. However, if you transition them into the crib and then wake them a bit so they are alert for a few seconds before they fall back to sleep, then when baby wakes in the middle of the night they are more likely to be able to soothe themselves back to sleep. 
• It's ok to let the baby fall asleep while nursing or in your arms. Parents are often told "don’t let baby fall asleep while nursing or in your arms." However Karp says, these are precious moments and experiences that baby will grown out of before you know it, so it’s okay to enjoy these moments. When you lay baby down, just wake them a bit again, so they learn to self sooth and fall back to sleep.

#MamaNeedsSleep Contest

We want to see your adorable baby pictures, sleeping or otherwise, with your best/funniest/worst sleep experience captions. The Grand Prize Winner will win a personal sleep consultation with Dr. Harvey Karp (priceless!) as well as a suite of Little Lotus products to help baby sleep better. Additional runner-up prizes include Dr. Harvey Karp’s Soothing White Noise Sleep Sounds and Little Lotus products…all great things to help your baby sleep better, and that means more sleep for Mama.

Please see entry details here.

There are many ways to earn entries:

• General entries: can be earned from March 17-21st. One randomly selected winner will be announced on the 22nd and will receive the Dr. Harvey Karp Sleep Sounds, a Little Lotus Swaddle and $100 Amazon Gift card.
• Voting: we will select ten of the pictures and captions and post them for the public to vote on from March 22nd (noon PST) through March 24th. The picture with the most votes will be announced on the 25th and awarded the full suite of Little Lotus products ($465 value) and coveted Dr. Harvey Karp sleep consultation.
• Four runner-ups will also receive the Dr. Harvey Karp Sleep Sounds and Little Lotus Sleeping Bag.

So share your stories, share with your friends and follow Little Lotus, because every #MamaNeedsSleep. Good luck!

- The Little Lotus Team