I have four children and am obsessed with sleep (nobody is shocked I became a baby sleep consultant), so trust me when I say I totally understand the stress leading up to traveling with babies! As a new mom, so many questions would circle through my head and I know I’m not alone in this. What if they skip a nap? Will they sleep in a new location? What if we’re going to a new time zone? Will they ever adjust?
Read MoreAs a baby sleep consultant, I’m often asked “how can I get my baby to sleep better!?”. And while I have a ton of resources to help with this question, I know that when you’re exhausted, you simply want a short, to-the-point answer. So, that’s exactly what I’m going to give you!
Ready?
Use a sleep trigger. Seriously, it’s that simple.
Read MoreI’m sure you’ve heard the term “safe sleep” before, but what does that even mean? According to the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), safe sleep means that you put your baby to sleep in a way that helps protect them from danger.
As a new mom, I was always worried about whether or not I was doing things right. My goal has always been to provide a safe, loving and healthy environment for my kids, and I want that for you, too! Lucky for us, there has been a ton of research done that helps us know will help keep our babies safe.
Read MoreThere’s nothing quite like getting your baby out of bed, only to find out they are soaking wet and peed through their diaper, jammies, AND sleep sack😅.
If you’re finding your baby is waking up wet, here are a few things you can try:
Read MoreFirst, let’s talk about what a “power nap” is and why it’s important! The power nap is the last nap of the day leading up to bedtime, and should last no longer than 30 minutes. The entire purpose of this short nap is to give your baby just enough sleep to help your baby make it to bedtime without getting overtired, but not too much sleep that it makes it difficult for your baby to fall asleep and stay asleep at bedtime.
Read MoreMy entire life growing up, I shared a room with my sister and my brothers shared a room as well. Room-sharing is all I ever knew! I truly never thought anything of it. However, when we had our 3rd baby and were in a 3 bedroom house, I started to panic knowing that two of my kids would have to share a room and what that might do to their sleep.
Read MoreWill your baby only sleep if he/she is in your bed with you? This one’s for you😘
If you co-sleep and want to keep it that way, go for it. Remember, you’re the boss! I’m not here to tell you what to do:)
However, if you are co-sleeping but you’re ready to move your baby to his/her own bed, here’s how:
Read MoreRecently, I had more meltdowns than I’d like to admit. It felt like everyday I was waking up anxious, and ending the day feeling totally defeated.
My kids were constantly fighting, I was trying to get some work done while being yelled at by toddlers (anyone else?!🤪), my house was a mess, I had sick kids who weren’t sleeping, and I was overall a hot mess, to say the least.
Read MoreFirst, it’s important to understand why bedtime is such a power struggle for toddlers. In case you hadn’t noticed, toddlers love to feel a sense of being in control. This means they’ll likely start saying things like “no”, or “do it myself!” frequently. This is a very normal and very healthy part of their development! This is the age they start to develop autonomy, which will serve them well as they continue to become more and more independent. Unfortunately, this part of development does not serve you well when it’s time for bed😂.
Read More“My newborn baby sleeps all day and is awake all night! It’s like her days and nights are switched. HELP!”
Let me start by saying this is completely normal. They simply haven’t developed the internal clock yet that we have.
Our brains know that light = awake and dark = sleep. Their little brains don’t understand that...yet.
Read MoreCluster feeding is when your baby eats lots of little meals close together. For example, your baby eats at 7pm but is hungry again at 7:45, 9:00 and 9:30, then eats on more time before bed at 10:00. This usually happens at night when your baby is gearing up for bedtime, but it can also happen throughout the day.
Read MoreHave you ever tried to nap in a car or on an airplane? Do you wake up feeling totally rested or kinda blah?
For me, I always feel kinda blah. I mean, sure, I fell asleep. But my body was in motion so it couldn’t get into a real, deep sleep.
Babies are the same way! It’s pretty hard for their body to get good, restorative sleep if they are on the move every time they go to sleep.
Read MoreLet me know if this sounds familiar:
“I nurse my baby to sleep for bedtime and she keeps waking up couple hours in the night. Why?!”
When we transition from one sleep cycle to the next, we want everything to be the exact same as it was when we fell asleep the first time.
Read MoreMamas. PLEASE hear me out: sleep deprivation is not motherhood! Nor does it have to be a part of your motherhood. YOU get to decide!
Read MoreOne of the most frustrating things is knowing your baby can sleep great, but they keep waking up because their binky keeps falling out. In these moments, it’s easy to think “Maybe I should just get rid of it!”. Please hear me out when I say: I promise it’s worth it to push through!
Here’s why:
Read MoreLet’s talk about when to put your baby down “drowsy but awake”. It’s a term we hear often, and it simply means you rock your baby until they are drowsy, then gently set them in bed and allow them to doze off into a deep sleep on their own. But when do I recommend doing this?
My answer is simple: During the first 12 weeks:)
Read MoreOne of my biggest concerns as a new mom was, “is my baby getting enough ounces in a day? How many is she supposed to have each day? What if she drinks 2oz less than the recommended amount, then what!?”
These concerns kept me up at night pretty often, until my pediatrician told me something that calmed my nerves and changed my perspective.
Read MoreFor the first few months of your baby’s life, they will likely eat every 3 hours and take a nap every 1-1.5 hours, which is known as the “3 hour schedule”. However, as your baby gets older, they will start to stay awake longer between naps, as well as go longer between feedings - about 4 hours. At this point, your baby will move to what is called a “4 hour schedule”.
Read MoreFirst, let me explain what a dream feed actually is. A dream feed is when you give your baby a full feeding while they are still asleep. So your baby is not waking up at all, they aren’t crying or acting hungry, you simply stick a bottle in their mouth or latch them onto you and give them a feed before you go to bed or in the middle of the night.
Read MoreIf I answered all of the questions on here, it would be a novel, so I’m going to do a podcast episode about (stay tuned for that!), but one response kept popping up that I wanted to address: I want to sleep train but I’m too tired to be consistent".
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, with my method, sleep training typically looks like one week of consistency for a lifetime of sleep.
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