The freaky little yellow thing that may have saved my sanity.

Rather than buying everything new, our home is filled with baby gear that is either on loan or was handed down to us (the swing, bouncy seat, play mat, etc.). I love this approach because it saves a whole lot of money, people are often excited to share, and it keeps one more hunk of baby plastic out of the landfills.

Some of the loans I sucked up my pride and solicited, some were offered and taken with gratitude, and others I took because I didn't know how to tell someone I didn't want them. This was one of the latter. My cousin gave it to me, telling me that someone else gave it to her, and she never used it. I've almost given it to Goodwill on many occasions because we have a Pack 'N Play and a crib, so why on God's green earth would I need one more place for Baby to sleep?  (It's approved for nighttime sleep unlike, say, a bouncy seat or swing.) But, alas, it folds up nicely, so I stuck it in the closet and kept it.

And then I saw a blog post about essential baby gear and this weird, yellow little contraption was on the list. REALLY? I couldn't imagine anything more non-essential. My curiosity was piqued, though, so I read the Amazon reviews. People were swearing by this thing--"My baby finally slept through the night!!"

A couple of nights ago, I was desperate. Klara was sleeping for shorter and shorter stretches at night (one hour, Baby Girl?) and staying up for hours at a time, and tired doesn't even begin to describe how I was feeling. The first night we used it, she slept a five hour stretch. The next night? The same thing. We're on to something.

(In case you're concerned, I do usually swaddle my baby

 in her swaddling blanket, but I forgot after her diaper 

change this morning, so I just tossed it on her legs. Fret not.)

I'm leery of gimmicky sleep solutions because I want her to sleep in her crib at some point soon, but it means we're getting a five hour stretch of sleep at night, and that's the most important thing right now. Once she has experienced this night and day rhythm for a bit, I'll probably move her to her crib some nights so we don't become dependent on it, but, right now, it's precious manna from heaven. Who knew?

By the way, if you live in the Bay Area, are pregnant (who's not??), and want this freaky little contraption when we're finished with it, it's all yours.