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What is the Hatch Night Light?
There are multiple versions of the Hatch Light. Today I am focusing on the Hatch Light Rest + version.
Like all Hatch Lights, there are tons of helpful features. The main one that matters in setting up a schedule with your child is the ability to change the settings from your phone. This version comes with an app that allows you to operate it from multiple phones. My husband and I are both able to work together in managing the settings.
You can set consistent routines, as well as adjust the routines on a need basis.
The Hatch Rest + comes with 11 soothing sounds, 10 preset colors as well and a rainbow wheel for infinite color selection.
You can program sleep routines as well as time-to-rise routines.
The app I mentioned before is free to use, all you will need is a Wi-Fi connection.
The Hatch Light itself is a minimalist cylinder measuring about 4 x 4 x 6.5 inches and weighs just under a pound.
Let’s dive into how to use the Hatch Night Light to create routines in your home!
What are Your Goals or the Purpose of the Hatch Light?
As you now know the Hatch has many useful and helpful features. The question is how do you intend to use the Hatch and for what purpose?
For us, the main goal was to regulate our morning wake-up time. We had bedtime down pretty well. Our little toddler, while still in the crib, would wake up at varying times. One day it would be 7 am and the next would be 8:15 am.
We wanted to see if it would be possible to help them get a bit more regulated before our second baby was born.
We started this introduction while still in the crib, which I highly recommend. Introducing the Hatch Light while they are in the crib gives you more control over the situation.
4 Benefits of Introducing the Hatch Night Light While Still in the Baby Crib
You may already have your child in a toddler bed. You may be using the light to teach them to stay in their bed through the night. This is ok, but we started in the crib, so that is my personal experience.
Everyone is going to be starting with a unique situation.
Determine what your goals or purpose is with the Hatch Light.
Do not overcomplicate and make 5 goals. That is too much to learn!
Focus on one main thing, especially in the beginning.
What the Hatch Light is Not
The Hatch Light is like a baby alarm clock. They can’t tell time, so we help them with colors and sounds.
I would not recommend using the Hatch Light for negative purposes such as time outs during the day.
If you are using the Hatch Light for nighttime I would keep a positive association with the light. It is not a time-out tool in our home.
The Hatch Light is not a new version of cry-it-out. We will get more into the strategy of using the light soon. But I want to make it clear we do not use the light as an excuse to let our baby cry.
The goal is not to make your baby hate or despise the light. The light should not equal crying and loneliness. They should not be miserable waiting for the color change.
If I open my eyes during the night and see that it is 4 am I just go back to sleep. That is loosely the idea we went for. It was to encourage our little one to try to relax and go back to bed if it was not time to get up.
Now of course every child is different!
Some babies or toddlers wake up and decide to babble, stretch, eat their feet, and hang out in general. Others wake up screaming to be attended to immediately.
How to Initially Introduce the Hatch Light
In my opinion, you need a visual baby monitor in the beginning phases. This way you can see what your little one is doing and if they are awake. Our baby monitor of choice is the Vava. We have loved it now for about 4 years.
For a full review of our Vava Baby Monitor check out The Vava Baby Monitor Review! Why We Still Like It Two Years Later!
This introduction of the Hatch Light is slow and gentle. It helps during the process to be able to peak in and see how your child is responding.
Baby or Young Toddler in Crib
Let’s first talk about introducing the Hatch Light to a baby in a crib.
If your baby is pretty little you don’t need to explain it to them. You and your husband go over your goals and what you want to do.
Think about what your goal settings for the Hatch Light would be. We wanted to get to 8 pm bedtime and wake up at 7:45 am.
We already had the bedtime part down really well, so our primary focus was the morning routine.
Our settings were only focused on bedtime and morning. At 8 pm the light turns red and the white noise starts playing. At 7:45 am the light turns green and the white noise stops playing.
Red signifies sleep and green signifies waking up in the morning.
Initially, with your baby, you will not follow the schedule you desire. This is just your end goal to work towards.
Let’s just focus on the steps in the morning.
If they wake up crying, you manually (on your phone) turn the light green and then go in to get them right after. Do not make them cry! You go in!
If your baby wakes up, calmly hanging out, you decide when you are ready to go in. You could get them after 30 seconds or 5 minutes. Before entering, turn the light green.
During this initial phase, the goal is for them to learn that when the light turns green mom or dad come in to get me.
Green means wake up!
Ok, now we are going to do this for quite a while. I would say a month or so.
Ideally, your baby is starting to learn not to cry when it is red. They are not learning this in a negative way. Rather they have started to notice that when it is green you seem to come in. Therefore, there is no reason to cry when it is red.
They will instead just wait for it to turn green.
Over time you can slowly move this towards your ideal time.
Let’s take my 7:45 am example.
Now let’s say the baby is getting to the point of understanding that green means wake up and they just chill when it is red.
| Baby Wakes Up | Green Light, Parent Comes In |
| 7:00 | 7:05 |
| 7:15 | 7:22 |
| 7:05 | 7:15 |
| 7:20 | 7:28 |
| 7:25 | 7:40 |
| 7:20 | 7:30 |
Depending on how your baby is responding and how you feel the process is going you can decide when to make it the goal time, ex 7:45 am.
Morning forward from there you stick with that time pretty consistently.
Toddler in Big Bed
I first want to say if possible I would introduce the Hatch Light while still in the crib.
The reason is that you have more control.
Your child gets a good understanding before having the freedom of a toddler bed.
The transition to the toddler bed can be difficult. Some kids get up many times throughout the night.
If your toddler has made the move already and you are trying to use the Hatch as a helpful tool this is what I would do. (I did not take this route so not an expert)
I would first discuss the plan privately with my husband, again what are the goals? Is the nighttime, middle of the night, or morning the problem area?
I would probably take the same general approach meaning at 8 pm the light turns red, and the white noise starts playing.
I would explain to my toddler that in the morning when it turns green, they can wake up.
Throughout the night if they got up, I would just walk them back to their room. I would do this over and over if necessary. The first 2 nights are critical in establishing a routine.
I would make a point to adjust the morning wake-up time in the beginning. Your goal may be the 7:45 am green light, but if they did good at making it through the night and wake up at 7:30 I am going to turn it green at 7:35.
First off, I want to reward how well they did. But also, I don’t want to challenge them or push them too far. I want the lights to matter and mean something.
If your toddler wakes up at 7:30 and you make them wait until 7:45 they may get antsy and come out at 7:42. Now the light is losing its authority because they already disregarded the directions.
Help your child succeed by not challenging them too much in the beginning.
Baby steps.
How to Continually Use the Hatch Light
Once you have made it through the initial introduction the goal is to be on a consistent schedule. The Hatch Light is your baby alarm clock.
It will help your family get on a schedule.
Modifications can be made if needed,
There can be off nights with teething or sickness. You could simply shut off the light for the night or adjust it to a different color like white or blue.
My reason for saying this is I don’t think it is wise to make the light green at 1 am if your baby is sick. Green means wake up so this can be confusing.
It also isn’t wise to go in when it is red. Red is supposed to mean sleep.
If I could choose though I would go in when red, rather than changing it to green.
For example, if they just needed a rock, I would go in with it red. Remind them it is nighttime. Rock them and then put them back down.
Another reason to modify would be an early appointment. You may make the light turn green 10 or 15 minutes earlier to make it to an appointment on time.
What if it is Green but they are Still Sleeping?
If your child is in a big bed and it turns green, but they are still asleep it will be just fine. They will eventually wake up, see that it is green, and walk out. This is the ideal day. They are not waiting for the light to turn.
If they are in a crib ideally you can keep your baby monitor nearby. Say 7:45 rolls around. The light turns green. Maybe you automatically go into their bedroom at this time. I typically give the monitor a quick glance to confirm that they are awake.
If they are asleep, I will not go in. We are lucky enough to have chill mornings in our home. I am not rushing out the door, so we do not need to be up and moving at 7:45.
However, it is important to keep checking the monitor.
You don’t want to get busy and not realize they are awake.
If they wake up, the light is green, and they are silently waiting on you, and you aren’t coming that isn’t fair.
You aren’t holding up your part of the bargain.
The deal is the light turns green, you get to wake up.
Keep their trust.
Benefits
The Hatch Light can be a great resource for your family. It can bring consistency and routine to various parts of your day.
This tool is designed for establishing a relationship and schedule. It is not a method of cry-it-out.
If anything, it is an option for establishing trust, especially in a crib baby. They are reliant on you to wake them up for the day.
We found the Hatch Light to be particularly helpful in bringing more structure to our home before the addition of another child.
The Hatch Light has given me the ability to work on this blog in the mornings. I consistently know when my children will wake up, aside from nights of sickness of course. It helps bring routine to my day and allows me to pour a bit into myself first before starting the day.
Conclusion
I provided an example of 8 pm bedtime and 7:45 wake-up time. These are of course only examples, you can make the schedule your own!!!
You could do 7 am wake-ups during the week and 7:20 am on the weekends.
You could program a nap or quiet time in the middle of the day. You could do a 30-minute reading time for older children.
The Hatch Light has so many possibilities.
I have provided somewhat strict schedules in trying to make my explanations concise, but you can be quite flexible with the Hatch Light. It does not have to be a rigid home. The ability to change the setting via your phone makes anything possible.
I strongly recommend the Hatch Light as a worthwhile parenting tool.
I have 5 large baby items that I strongly recommend to new parents and the Hatch Light makes the list. Check out this article, 5 Large Ticket Baby Items I Would Recommend to New Moms, to find out the other 4.
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