I don’t know about you, but the time from Halloween to Christmas seems to just fly by. I find myself thinking that I have plenty of time for DIY gifts and decor projects….only to blink and have December holidays upon us!
I wanted to make gifts for Harlow’s preschool teachers this year, but I knew that if I kept saying “Oh, I’ll do it when we are closer to Christmas break” would leave me running out to buy a gift card the last morning of school before break.
Can I get an amen?
So one chilly morning, Harlow and I got our crafting on and made these mugs for her teachers! We will be filling them with chocolates and gift cards and some artwork from Harlow as well! I’m seriously ecstatic about how they turned out!
CLICK TO SEE THE TUTORIAL OVER AT LAND OF NOD’S BLOG: HONEST TO NOD….
For fun, I’ve been sharing some of my “sleepy secrets” over on instagram — today is the second one that I’m sharing! This is nothing earth shattering by any means, but just wanted to share some of my favorite — or Jonesy’s favorite — sleepy dust things.
Today? I bring you the Ollie Swaddle! The Ollie Swaddle is the swaddle I reach for at naps — I need to buy another because I hate the days I’m washing it! It’s simple and quick to use, and easy to get a nice and tight swaddle wrap that Jones can’t break out of!
Immediately I was drawn to the bright blue and simple stripes pattern — but then I read the story of how the Ollie swaddle came to be, and I was even more impressed and intrigued. After trying this swaddle, I am hooked. Grab a tissue if you watch the video (you should), it might just be my hormones, but goodness, I cried.
My story begins when I fell in love with an infant named Oliver. He was handsome, and yet on the verge of being labeled “failure to thrive.” Other foster parents struggled with keeping Oliver because he was difficult, struggling to eat and sleep. But I was in love, and so I began my journey to help Oliver thrive.
My experience in infant mental health had acquainted me with the timeless technique of swaddling. However, to both my and Oliver’s distress, the swaddles available on the market didn’t seem to help. They either didn’t hold him correctly, were not strong enough to apply a comforting pressure, or they left his legs unwrapped. So my mission to help Oliver took a new turn as I searched for a swaddle which would meet all of Oliver’s needs.
The answer finally came when I created a new type of swaddle. One which would move with him through the night, keep a comforting pressure from his shoulders to his feet, and which would help keep him cool. When I started wrapping my little Ollie in the new swaddle, I began to see dramatic changes. He began to sleep through the night, eating and gaining weight. Most importantly, he began to catch up with developmental milestones which he had missed. Ollie began to thrive!
This change led to a happy ending for Ollie. In 2009 he was adopted by a loving family. Since then, I have been working with a great team to develop a quality swaddle which could be shared with families everywhere. This is the swaddle which I am happy to share with you today, The Ollie, named after my little love.
Today I am giving away 2 Ollie Swaddles! One swaddle will be awarded to a winner over here via the rafflecopter below — and one winner will be selected at random from the instagram giveaway! I’ll be posting it tomorrow, so be sure to keep checking over there!
You can also use the coupon code COCONUTOLLIE to receive 20% off your order until 11/30! You know I’ll be using that to order another!
Good luck! (And stay warm — it’s so cold here already! Ack!)
xo
Make sure the swaddle spent come undone and rocking the baby to sleep.
I have found that my kids don’t really need any secrets, they just need consistency!
I used to put about 6 pacifiers in the crib with my girl so that if she lost one, we would easily be able to find a replacement for her.
hahahaha this is cracking me up for some reason!!
The 5 s’s by Dr Harvey Karp were my absolute best secret with my daughter when she was a baby! Definitely planning on using it with my baby boy. And swaddle was a very important s for me.
No secrets, Just make sure to not change their schedules.
A good swaddle and white noise always seem to do the trick!
I Had an awful experience with my daughter because she was colicky and never napped. So hopefully next time (if there is one), I will be better at swaddling. Also, I’ve learned to keep trying and be consistent and persistent with new things.
Co sleeping is what worked best for us with baby number one! Baby number two will be here in about a month and I hope he will like to be swaddled unlike his older brother!!!
Swaddling and white noise!
I’m doing my best to learn all the sleepy secrets before my little comes in February! I’m sure I’ll be needing all the help I can get…but to help ME sleep, a fan is necessary!
I’m due in December with my first, so I appreciate reading all these sleepy secrets!
We just make sure our boy – 3 months – is super warm (but not hot), swaddled up, with a white noise machine AND a fan. We pretty much sound like we sleep in a wind tunnel, but it works!
Our baby sleeps best when swaddled! However I’m the worst at swaddling her tight, her dad usually does it when he is home. I’d love to try the Ollie swaddle as it seems easier to use than our receiving blankets we’ve been using!
Honestly? Our girl is such a schedule girl- even when she was teeny. I learned that if I stayed on the schedule she slept beautifully. Ps. I am in love with the story- it alone makes me want to go out and buy several. It’s beautiful.
My new baby doesn’t sleep well at all ! I need other people’s secrets lol .
It’s all about a schedule for me. It can be so hard to keep everything on track sometimes but it is definitely worth it!
Hold him until he’s just about to pass out… Then let him work it out if he’s crying.
The only thing that worked with my daughter when she was an infant (almost 3 years old now) was nursing her to sleep. I am expecting a little boy in January and could use some good sleep secrets like this ollie swaddle! :)
Dr. Karp’s the five S’s. The combo works every time! Now if they would just sleep through the night…
Swaddle. And milk! Belly full of milk!!!
Swaddling and a white noise machine both work great for our 3 week old. Would love to try the Ollie Swaddle!
We do attachment parenting so nursing down and co-sleeping are what have gotten us all a good night’s rest. I’ve previously never found a swaddle that works for us to give comfort during naps though so this would be fantastic for the new addition arriving in December!
Putting down drowsy, not asleep
I’m a huge fan of the swaddling, but hate unswaddling at night for diaper changes. I love that the Ollie makes this easier! Would LOVE to try one!