If you have ever had a baby, you know how frustrating it is when they go from the “sleep anywhere any time no matter what” newborn phase to the “blackout blinds no movement no anything” picky sleeper phase. Par.entrepreneur Andrea Verity knows that transition all too well but she was smart enough to do something about it. She developed the Downtime Sleepy Hat when her son made that unwelcome transition.

The hat is made of soft & luxurious organic cotton and looks like a normal hat - until you flip down the flap over baby’s eyes. As you can see in the picture at right, the hat becomes an effective visual stimulation & light blocker once flipped down and is also outwardly expressive. As in, it tells those little ladies who insist on touching your kid that it’s not an appropriate time. In addition to the company’s great low impact policies and the downright brilliant idea, I love the safety aspect of the Downtime Sleepy Hat - unlike masks made for older folks it has no strings or other hazards that could be dangerous to baby.

Here’s to all of us getting some sleep!

Win a Downtime Sleep Hat of your choice! (The contest is only available to readers in Canada & the US - sorry!) To enter, email theopinionatedparent@gmail.com by midnight MST on 12/11/07 with DOWNTIME in the subject line and tell us one of the four things that the company does to reduce their impact on the environment. (See: Our Story) Please include your full name and mailing address with your entry. Congratulations Megan!