Hi there, I'm Jordy!  

Most of you reading his post will know my face from the various stories and reels I post on the Sleepytot instagram but I realise not many of you will know who I am, my story or how I came to fit in here at Sleepytot New Zealand. 
So here it is!

Who am I?

I am (almost) 28 years old and I have a husband and a two and a half ish year old daughter, Harriet, who I love more than anything in the whole world - as is the story for all of us Mums (and Dads) when it comes to our babies.

Obviously being a first time mum in this digital age there was advice and articles and all the things you should/shouldn't do at the tips of your fingers; I felt swamped trying to work out what advice to listen to and what to ignore - especially when it came to figuring out what I could apply to our situation. 

Harriet was never a great sleeper in the beginning, but there were a few things that I had held onto when it came to bedtime and those were:

• A Solid Bedtime Routine
• White noise
• A Swaddle

Now to figure out what is best for my baby while trying to sift through the nonsense. 

The Bedtime Routine...

The bedtime routine changed so much for us over the first 13 weeks that it was hard to keep up sometimes. 
I had read somewhere that afternoon sun is good for babies and their overnight sleep. What do you mean afternoon sun is good for my baby that was born smack in the middleof Winter?
But we bundled ourselves up and off we went for a walk around the park at 4pm every day. 
At this point bedtime was 6PM.
After our walk it was home, dinner feed, bath, another feed and bed.

But these walks were often the time she would take a little nana nap and me (trying to get the white nosie association with sleep) played white noise from my phone everytime she would sleep or nap, no matter where we were (might have overdone it). But it meant that I couldn't use my phone at all.

Enter Sleepytot New Zealand

Sick and tired of playing white noise from my phone, not being able to listen to my own music on our walks was making it feel like a chore - not to mention what it was going to do to my spotify wrapped!
One google search later and I came across The Sleepytot Portable White Noise Machine.

That was me sorted for white noise (or any other noise) for every nap, no matter where I was, be it the car, the mall, on a walk or just on the couch, I didnt have to give up my phone, and two years and many trips later it is still going strong. 

The Swaddle...

When I tell you I tried everything to keep this wriggler in a swaddle...
Love to dream, her arms would wake her up - which meant I was awake.
Baby Wrap, she would get loose overnight and wiggle out and wake up - which meant I was awake.
You see a pattern forming?
Until I was at the baby expo with my Mum and we came across The Miracle Blanket, which me and my family all lovingly refer to as "The Baby Straight Jacket". Four flaps and a little pouch at the bottom for their feet. Lay them in the middle of the blaket between the flaps, feet in the pocket, one flap goes over their left arm and under their back, second flap goes over their right arm and under thier back, third flap wraps over their front and the last lonngggggg flap wraps them all the way around keeping them nice and snug! I loved this swaddle so much and I recommend it to everyone who has a baby that wriggles because it doesnt unravel because of the length of the last flap, breast feeding was so much easier not having to worry about flailing arms, and it helped with the moro reflex. I bought two and I was set until she started rolling. 

Check out this video on how to put the baby in it - you can literally do it in the dark (speaking from experience)

And it seems that as soon as I want a photo of Harriet wrapped up in her baby straight jacket they all seem to have disappeared!

Now... Don't even get me started on the Sleepytot Comforter! That may have to be a blog post for another time.

It wasn't just the products though, and my husband will tell you, since then there have been  a lot of products bought from Sleepytot - but once I started shopping here I realised I was getting so much more than just the item I was purchasing.
It was the community, Fiona, Georgia and Jane. Every time Harriet and I came in we were greeted with a warm smile and they were never short of recommendations from personal experience. Georgia and I became close friends and ended up being my favourite part of visiting Sleepytot; like I'm off to visit my friend at work and oh while I'm here I'll get x. y & Z. Before abandonning us for the UK Georgia and Samuel used to take Harriet on little dates around the city; something which Fiona and Samuel have continued.

 

Fiona recommended the Lulla Doll for when we moved Harriet into her own room and we have recently upgraded to the new Lulla Fluffy Bunny and Harriet wants to take it everywhere she goes.

Looking Back Now...

I can see that what I really needed in those early days wasn’t more advice, it was reassurance. Reassurance that I was doing my best, that every baby is different, and that it’s okay to lean on products and people that genuinely make life easier.

I was incredibly lucky to have a strong support network around me. My husband, my parents and sister, and my antenatal group were all people I could turn to at anytime of the day to share advice, compare notes, vent, laugh, and sometimes just hear “yep, that sounds normal.” Having people in my corner who were either going through the same stage or had been there before made those overwhelming moments feel far more manageable.

Sleepytot became part of that wider support system not just because of the products (though they truly were game changers for us), but because of the community, the shared experiences, and the feeling that I wasn’t navigating motherhood alone. From white noise that saved my sanity on afternoon walks, to swaddles that actually stayed on, to comforters that are now part of our family, these little things added up to something much bigger.

Now, two and a half years in, bedtime looks very different to those newborn days, but the foundations we built still matter. Routine, comfort, and creating a calm, familiar sleep environment to grow alongside Harriet.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that motherhood doesn’t come with a one size fits all manual. But finding what works for your baby, and surrounding yourself with the right support, whether that’s family, friends, or a community that truly gets it can make all the difference. 

For me personally, Sleepytot has been right there every step of the way, and now getting to be a part of Sleepytot NZ means we are here every step of the way for you and your family too.