Car naps…sometimes they are necessary and other times you panic because you know that it’s going to ruin sleep for the rest of the day.
Are you in a love-hate relationship with car naps too?
Let’s get car naps working for you.
Here are some guidelines that will help you navigate car naps and naps-on-the-go in general:
30 minute naps? 45 minute naps?
Also lovingly referred to as CRAP naps.
They can run your life or ruin your days so we want to understand them and know how to handle them.
The reality is that they happen and if your child is under 5 months they are expected.
Developmentally your baby won’t start to lengthen naps on their own until around 5 months. This, however, doesn’t mean newborns can’t lengthen naps just that we might need to assist them to do a longer nap.
Because short naps in the first 4 months are so common, we can often just add a fourth nap to make up for the short sleep. I don’t put too much pressure on short naps at this age but there are things we can do to naturally lengthen naps and the tips below will help!
Date night, girl’s night, and time to yourself are ESSENTIAL in ensuring that you are not getting burnt out and really filling your own cup….so that you can better give to others.
Let’s be honest we all need a break and time to re-connect with ourselves, friends, or our partners.
So how do we ensure that our babies sleep well so we can go out after bedtime and enjoy a night out, a date night, or even just some alone time?
Here are 3 steps that you want to have in place when planning a night out….
It’s understandable to wonder whether your baby is ready to drop a feed, or if they are waking up hungry and worry about whether to drop feeds at night altogether.
Having worked with hundreds of families, I can tell you that feeding is the most common worry among tired parents.
Caloric intake varies and as your baby gets older they can handle longer periods of time between feeds.
Newborns often need multiple feeds overnight.
So, how can we as parents have peace of mind and how do we actually do this?!
Sleep can be disrupted by so many factors. It’s not constant. You will always run into something that will mess with sleep…like SUMMER!
If however, you are prepared, you know what to do and your baby is rested and has some great skills, nothing can ruin sleep for you. NADA.
But Summer is known to come with some bedtime struggles and early mornings.
Let’s chat about how we can prepare to ensure great sleep this summer!
Here are my top 5 tips:
f you have a toddler or preschooler that is struggling with bedtime, waking up early and refuses to stay in their bed…keep reading because introducing a toddler alarm clock can be a game-changer for even the most stubborn child.
A toddler clock is a great visual tool to help set boundaries and manage sleep expectations. It’s a clear way to show our little ones when it’s time to stay in bed and when it’s okay to get up and start the day. With this age group, we want to provide consistent boundaries so they learn to trust them and not test them (testing boundaries is a normal part of toddlerhood and is a way for them feel secure).
Giving the toddler clock that responsibility will not only help create buy-in but encourage ownership.
So the burning questions….
When do I introduce a sleep trainer clock?
Studies suggest that slow, soothing music can lower your heart rate and relax the body for sleep. It can also reduce anxiety and for babies a less anxious parent is the key to falling asleep.
Music has been used for inducing sleep for decades and it’s a great tool for creating some great healthy sleep habits.
So should you use it with your baby?
Should your baby sleep with music on?
GET YOUR FREE SLEEP SCHEDULES NOW!
https://www.lilbabysleep.ca/freeschedules
Does it help your baby sleep longer?
Here are the three answers to those questions:
1. So should you use it with your baby? YES! Music is great for brain development, and when it comes to sleep it’s great for calming and cueing sleep. It can be a GREAT part of your bedtime routine.
2. Should your baby sleep with music on? NO.
As much as I love music as part of your baby’s bedtime routine and wind down, I don’t recommend that it be on during sleep time. The reason is, that while it’s relaxing, it’s still stimulating your brain and has notes that are not static (like white noise) so any change in pitch can wake baby up and if it’s not a consistent tone (which most music isn’t), then it will actually disturb sleep and wake baby up fully between sleep cycles.
So no, turn it off before putting your baby down and switch to white noise (that should be on all night long).
3. Does it help your baby sleep longer? While music or even you singing to your baby is great for calming, relaxing, and preparing for sleep, It won’t help your baby sleep longer. It will, however, get you and your little one relaxed enough to help you fall asleep. Having music on all night can, in fact, can have the opposite effect. So stick to white noise for sleep, give their little brains one less thing to focus on, and provide consistent noise that won’t disturb sleep.
Music has such a great effect on the brain and mood. During awake time, I absolutely encourage it. Hey and while you’re at it do a little dancing along with it! That will help get out some energy and exercise is also great for sleep! WIN-WIN!
Stay rested my friends,
Lily xx
If you want to learn about how to get your little one sleeping better, reach out anytime and let’s chat
The struggle is real. You start potty training and your toddler right out REFUSES to sit.
Where once they seemed excited, they are now running from that potty like their life depends on it!
Maybe you are months in and they’re still refusing to sit (common btw).
Unless you do it right the first time, the truth is…Potty training CAN drag on for months!
The first step of successful toilet training is:
Sometimes we all need a good RESET.
You know when your computer is overloaded, too many tabs open and the fan goes on like it’s overheating…ya parenting can get like that sometimes.
When things are feeling out of control a reset can help you re-calibrate.
Note I didn’t say re-start.
A re-start is throwing your hands up in the air and having to do everything over again.
A RESET is moving away from the situation and temporarily changing focus, direction and stepping back. So you can see it more clearly.
Children need resets too. Sometimes when they are fussy, overstimulated and upset. It’s important to recognize when a reset is in order, so we can help our children calm and re-direct their focus.
2 Signs a RESET is needed:….
You made it to the top of the mountain 🙌🏻 Potty Trained.
Finally ditched those diapers and survived the toilet training process….or so you think.
Your little one once self-initiating and diaper-less, but all of a sudden starts to have accidents.
More accidents than you would like.
No need to panic. We need to understand that even after successful learning there WILL be accidents.
We still expect accidents.
Accidents can happen for a number of reasons;
What’s worse than an overtired toddler? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Are you struggling to get your toddler to sleep? Are bedtimes long drawn out battles that usually end with you falling asleep in a bed two sizes too small and missing out on your entire evening plans?
If your toddler is not sleeping well, then it’s likely that the entire family is not sleeping well either.
Lack of sleep can lead to constant meltdowns, hyperactivity and power struggles, especially at bedtime. With little sleep, no one functions well and it can turn your household into a war zone.
So how do we help our toddlers wind down, cooperate, fall asleep on their own and stay asleep?
These 5 hacks will help set the stage for better sleep 🙌🏻 ahhh…sound dreamy??
Keep reading.
Potty Training during the day and Potty Training at night are two completely separate processes. As such we need to fully understand that they will not likely happen at the same time.
Daytime potty training is actively teaching your child the skill of going to the bathroom in a specific place (the potty/toilet). The learning process is essential as they have been in diapers all of their life and until now have not had to connect the urge to go with an actual behaviour and place. We need to show them where to go.
Nighttime potty training is similar however, it’s more reliant on their bodies physical capabilities: the size of their bladder to hold for long periods of time. Physically most children under three do not have a large enough bladder to hold for long periods of time and although having the skill to feel the urge and go at a certain time is essential, developmentally they need to be ready.
Looking forward to spring?!?
You survived the time change but want to encourage better sleep leading into the spring and summer?
More daylight light, fresh air and enjoying more outdoor freedom is merely a few months away (yessssssss).
Here are 3 things that you should start getting in place right now.
LIGHT - Recognize that along with spring comes more sunlight. More sunlight is good! However, light has a HUGE impact on sleep.
So much so, that even the light of a full moon can impact sleep “We know that light, whether artificial or natural — from the moon, or the setting sun — can have a suppressant effect on melatonin”
Light dictates sleep and so dimming lights before sleep and creating blackout conditions during sleep can help produce melatonin (the sleep hormone). It’s also important to keep the room as dark as possible throughout the ENTIRE duration of sleep and especially in the early morning hours.
Any light entering the room in the early hours can trigger the brain to wake up, as light is also a cue that signals our body to wake up in the morning.
So make sure your child gets lots of sunlight during wake full hours and five minutes before a nap and one hour before bedtime dim the lights to help them naturally produce the melatonin they need to fall asleep and stay asleep.
During sleep time, use black-out blinds to ensure there is no light coming in that can disturb sleep.
Here are some great black-out solutions.
ROUTINES- Routines give infants a sense of security and stability. They also help prepare them for sleep.
Maintaining routines even when evenings get busier, whether you are out and about, travelling, and through any change is VERY important. This is one thing that can always stay consistent.
Winding down and preparing for sleep should be the most relaxing part of your day. I get that with babies and toddlers that might not always be the case but if we structure it right and get our little one involved, set boundaries, and stay consistent, it CAN be relaxing! I promise.
As spring approaches, we all get busier and spend more time out of our house routines start to become inconsistent. It’s important that these stay consistent for better sleep and easier bedtimes. Even when not at home you can have a shortened bedtime/nap routine and wind down.
We cannot be expected to go from awake to asleep in one go without winding down. That is impossible and an unrealistic expectation for our little ones.
Naps on the go- Leading into the spring practicing sleeping in a different environment will be KEY!
“When you sleep in unfamiliar surroundings, only half your brain is getting a good night's rest”.
Whether it be naps or night sleep, sleep that is not in a familiar surroundings will always be disturbed and you might not get deep sleep or naps may be short.
Knowing this, all we can do is practice at least one nap on the go. So your baby becomes familiar with sleeping in a different place other than his/her crib. We want them to see the stroller as a familiar surrounding so that they are not confused when you put them in there to nap and end up more distracted by this new place.
If you practice a nap in the stroller you can cover it up with a safe blackout cover and bring your white noise. This will help minimize distractions. Once your baby gets used to this as another place that is safe for sleep, they will have a better chance of achieving some good naps, even if they are not at home. This will help you tremendously in the spring and summer where you might want to get out of the house and not be stuck in nap jail.
The MOST important tip I can provide, however, is that even if you implement all of these three tips or any tips for that matter, if your baby is not rested, is not able to fall asleep independently (over 4 months), and is overtired, sleep-deprived and doesn’t have the sleep skills. Sleep will always be hard.
You want to make sure that your baby is sleeping well BEFORE things get busy, you want to be well-rested (yes you too!) so that you have the energy and mental capacity to ENJOY the spring and summer months.
This is entirely possible and the best time to get a plan together for making that happen. Along with support, I can guarantee you’ll be getting some great sleep and enjoy the new season SOO much more.
If the possibility of being rested feels exciting but you have no idea where to start, then that’s what I’m here for. Let’s have a conversation about what’s going on and see what the best next steps are for you and your family. It’s a free call and no obligation, at the very least you’ll gain clarity on what’s going on and how to take the steps to resolve it. For good.
Look forward to chatting!
Lil. xx
Could Spring really be just around the corner?
After a particularly brutal winter, locked inside for what seemed like years..which in reality has been a whole year…
The only prospect of Spring comes in the form of a baby schedule destroying bad joke? More light, less sleep?
For those mamas who just got your baby’s sleeping on a good schedule and are now scrambling to prevent the destruction of all that hard work, it’s going to be okay. I promise.
On Sunday March 14th at 2am the clocks spring forward an hour, so 6am will be the new 7am.
If you are wondering if it’s “TIME” to move your baby out, you are not alone.
Many parents just like you wonder if it’s too early, too late, or better now than later when it comes to providing baby with their own sleep environment.
Let’s sift through all of the information and recommendations to get you a CLEAR answer…
It can be scary but maybe you’re all not sleeping well in the same room or you want your baby to get used to sleeping without you in their own room.
Completely fair and understandable!
Have you decided to potty train? Loaded up on all the potty training equipment? Talked it up until you’re blue in the face?
You feel like you have an idea how you’re going to do it but not 100% confident about what to do and what to expect…
Here is the biggest truth about potty training…
What would you pay for a few more hours of sleep for your newborn?
The new SNOO smart sleeper is putting that to the test!
Exhausted new parents are flocking to this new robot like bassinet promising to give you more sleep by soothing your newborn when they wake. Dr. Harvey Karp says “More than anything else Snoo is a 24/7 helper. It's like your older sister moved in with you.”
But is it worth it?
As a Certified Paediatric Sleep Consultant, here is my honest opinion…
Once you decide it’s time to Potty Train (YAY!) there are decisions to be made. Very important seats need to be purchased.
The options are endless when trying to find the right Potty.
Do you go for the top of the line potty that sings while you flush or a kid-sized seat that goes on the full-sized toilet? Do you want the one with stairs leading to the porcelain throne or ditch the frills and go with convenience?
I’m going to clarify everything you need here. Finding the right Potty seat doesn’t have to be confusing or overwhelming.
The top 2 things we need to consider:
Potty Training a tired child is like teaching them to read in the middle of a windstorm.
It’s an up-hill battle my friend.
Lack of sleep is one the biggest offenders in hampering the potty training process.
And if sleep is not hard enough…Potty Training WILL likely affect sleep.
So my biggest piece of advice for parents thinking of Potty Training is…
“We will never be able to fully express our gratitude to Lily for giving us our quality of life back! We sleep now more than ever and most importantly our babies sleep 12 hour nights and nap 2 hours during the day.
Lily is the fairy godmother in our fairytale. I say fairytale, because we would never have imaged we would have such great little sleepers with having twins in the same room. But that was no problem for Lily: she knew exactly what to do! Lily’s support was invaluable in our journey to sleep.
Lily is compassionate, understanding, encouraging, knowledgable, friendly and extremely supportive! When she says she is a call away she really is - she was always right there with us whenever we needed her.
Lil Baby Sleep Consulting has been the best investment we have made in our babies and for the quality of life of our family.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Lily! We will be forever grateful to you!”
