Fall Back – Surviving the end of DST with kids

October 29, 2012

Here’s your official reminder: this weekendis the end of daylight savings time (DST). Don’t worry, it’s the cool time change – the one where we (incredibly!) go back in time. Not it’s wicked, sleep depriving step-sister, spring ahead. Before heading to bed on Saturday, put your clocks back one hour. Or at least adjust the old-fashioned widgets that won’t adjust themselves.

In a past, child-free existence, the end of daylight savings time was an occasion to be celebrated. Fall Back meant one extra hour dedicated to the guilty pleasure of your choice. But in your present, kid-centric world, the end of daylight savings time is just one more obstacle to navigate.

Fortunately, Fall Back doesn’t have to be a significant setback. If your child generally has good sleep habits, is well rested and has shown their ability to go with the flow, don’t be too concerned. You may not have to do anything ahead of the time change. Give them a few days, and they’ll adjust.

For parents of children who have proven themselves to be more sensitive in terms of scheduling and sleep, here are a few suggestions to make it easy on them (aka easy on you).

Plan – Start adjusting the week prior to the time change. For children heading to school, if you can, consider shifting their moring rising, breakfast, dinner, and bedtimes to be 15 minutes later. For children who are younger than school age, consider shifting their entire schedule (including wake times, eating times, nap(s) and bedtimes) 15 minutes later. Repeat this incremental shift for the next 3 days. By the time Sunday rolls around, their little bodies are fully prepared for the adjustment.

Stay on Schedule – Every aspect of the day gives our children an opportunity to know what time it is. Mealtimes, playtimes, along with wake and bedtimes all offer cues to help our children be prepared and receptive for what’s coming next. Be mindful and deliberate with the time adjustment as it affects ALL of your daily activities, not just sleep. Diligently follow your usual routines on the adjusted schedule.

Earlier Bedtimes – On the day of and days following the time change, you may notice that a 7 AM wake time turns into a 6 AM wake time. Be prepared to compensate with an earlier bedtime (and possibly earlier nap times for the wee ones) to prevent any overtiredness from setting in.

Let There Be Light – The onset of autumn means cooler, shorter days with fewer hours of sunlight. In the mornings, you’re likely turning on the lights anyway. As your child is having their breakfast, ensure exposure to a well-lit area of your home. Try to keep things dark until then. Build in some time for outdoor play during the day on Sunday as well. This will help naturally regulate circadian rhythms, but exercise will also boost sleep quality and your child’s ability to settle at naps and bedtime.

Admit to yourself that it’s not always going to be perfect. Don’t sweat it. Children take some time to adjust and adapt, just like you. Be patient and consistent while continuing to make sleep a priority for your family.

5 things keeping your child awake

October 18, 2012

Go the F* to Sleep didn’t become a number 1 bestseller because all of our kids are sleeping through the night and taking long restful naps. This book offers an honest and cheeky look at the frustration and desperation EVERY parent has experienced at one time or another: your baby can’t or won’t sleep and you find yourself swearing under your breath. You know they’re tired. But what’s keeping them up?

Here are some of the reasons why your child may still be awake:

Sleep Environment – A child’s bedroom can make or break their ability to drift off to sleep. Whatever place you do choose for your child to sleep, be consistent. Encourage soothing and restfulness by having a dark, quiet space. Limit the intrusion of sunlight with blackout curtains or blinds. We love these inexpensive, easy blackout shades from the Home Depot.

Overtired – Wrangling an overtired child into bed is an uphill battle. There is a point where children who are overtired can appear to be wired or hyper. Aim to get them in bed drowsy but before overtiredness sets in. Be respectful of your child’s limits.

Under-tired – If a child has rested too long during the day or has not slept at biologically appropriate times, your child simply may not be ready to rest. Help them be successful at transitioning to sleep by winding down and offering a soothing bedtime routine, like stories, snuggles and lullabies.

Jobs – We all have our jobs to do. So do our children. A baby might have a job to call for you to see if you’ll come put her soother back in her mouth. A toddler might need to check if you’re still lying next to him like you were when he fell asleep. A preschooler might believe there are monsters under his bed and need your magic spells to eradicate them. Do your best to ensure sleep is the only job your child has.

Skills – Remember that falling asleep is a learned skill. This is another situation where practice makes perfect diabetes drugs. Your child might not always be good at falling asleep independently. Offer assistance and support to help them gradually develop their abilities. Teaching a child to fall asleep independently is a skill that will last a lifetime. Your child will learn to trust themselves, develop self-confidence and believe “I am capable.”

Having awareness and avoiding these situations will help create ideal circumstances for your child to have calm naps and peaceful nights; no cussing necessary.

Terrific Quiet Time

October 2, 2012

Puzzles

Quiet Time doesn’t need to be complicated. Something your child would usually enjoy out of their room can be easily repackaged as a special quiet time activity. We like puzzles that our child has been successful with in the past. Ensuring an activity your child can do independently and successfully is key!

Wander over to Pinterest for some more Quiet Time Inspiration.

Sweet Dreams

September 12, 2012

I always check on my kids before I go to bed at night. I like to know they’re safe and comfortable. There’s something about a sleeping child that makes me swoon a little. And I know I won’t always be able to do this. I know that someday, she’ll be all grown up. She’ll be 18, and might say stuff like

“Screw you Mom, I’m moving in with Chad.”

I’ll be glad I’ve captured moments like these.

Infant Sleep Series – Part 2

September 10, 2012

8 – 16 Weeks

What happens next? Will it always be like this? Those unpredictable, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants first couple months? Very fortunately, no! There are some important milestones to look for that let parents and care providers know that their child is ready to become a more organized sleeper. . .

At around 6-8 weeks, you’re going to start noticing some changes in your baby. Sleep is starting to get more organized, and they’re moving away from those random days and nights. Here are some things to be on the watch for:

1) Smiles: Parents have a long couple months of thankless work. You’re on call 24-7 to ensure your little person is fed, cleaned, loved and content, leaving you depleted of energy and strength. It blows my mind that right when you need them the most, they first appear. Smiles mean your baby recognizes you and can communicate their happiness to see you. Those first smiles are beautiful and heart melting, and now you know that it’s also a sign that they’re getting more mature and so will their sleep patterns.

2) Witching Hour: You might not know what a “witching” hour is, but if you’ve been around a newborn, you’ll probably experience it if you haven’t already. As babies become more mature, they typically have an extremely difficult part of the day. That time is usually in the early evening. It’s not a pleasant time – for you or your child. There’s likely to be a lot of fussiness, and again, adopt a “whatever it takes” attitude to get through it. The silver lining is that it’s a sign of a maturing newborn, who will be ready for more organized sleep soon.

3) Organized Days/Nights: When the day and night sleep become more organized, this means that they are starting to spend more wakeful hours in the day and more time sleeping at night. This is often coupled with more eating during the day, and less feeding throughout the night.

4) Longer Sleep Periods: Often their longest sleep is at night, perhaps even 4-6 continuous hours.

So what does this all mean when we see these signs coming together in our child? We can see that our baby is ready to socialize, which means they’re ready to follow cues and make connections. Fortunately, this is a real opportunity for parents to start helping their child build a healthy foundation for sleep.

1) Consistent Place to Sleep: This is a really good time to introduce them, if you haven’t already, to their crib. Have their sleep environment be a calm, soothing place where they can relax, read stories, sing songs, have a feed. Try to reduce your use of “sleep props’ – like car rides, bouncy seats, strolling, swings, soothers, nursing, etc… Remember that a long term goal of a competent sleeper is to have your child sleep comfortably in their crib. You’re setting them up for success by introducing it early. The American Association of Pediatrics recommends room-sharing up to 1 year. Canadian Pediatric Society and the National Health Service in the UK recommends room-sharing for the first 6 months (see Canada’s Caring for Kids and the UK’s NHS).

2) Sleepy Cues – About 45 minutes into wakeful time, you might notice your baby zoning out, rubbing their ears, rubbing their eyes, turn their head from side to side, yawning, or becoming fussy. Generally, you’re trying to see if you’re baby is starting to get tired and might possibly be beginning to put themselves to sleep. Your job is to watch for these cues, (or whatever sleepy cues your baby may display), when they are getting tired. When you do notice them, this is your opportunity to take baby to their consistent sleeping place. They might put themselves to sleep, or they might need you to go through a bit of a soothing routine….

3) Soothing Routine – If you haven’t already, start working on an ENJOYABLE and peaceful routine to follow before each sleep time. Naptime and bedtimes are likely to have a similar routine. Cuddling, nursing/feeding, stories, lullabies – anything you and your child find relaxing. You might not be able to complete the routine if your child is obviously ready to go down for a sleep, so don’t feel obligated to go through the whole thing. Keep in mind, that your routine is something you’re likely to adapt and evolve as your child becomes older, but it should be a pleasant time for both of you. Visit this post for more soothing routine inspiration.

We don’t have any strict rules at this age, and there’s still not a lot of structure from day to day. This age is a phase for parents to be respectful of their baby’s high sleep needs, to practice identifying sleepy cues and develop their soothing routine. Optimizing conditions for sleep in the early stages can set your child up for successful sleep habits as they become older.

Terrific Quiet Time

September 5, 2012

Magnets

Just a baking tray and magnets from the dollar store. We had number magnets. Letter magnets or pretty much any other magnets you can find would work too. There are even some downloadable activities to print and put on your trays here and here.

I set this up on an easel for her for a couple reasons:

1) It’s just easier for her to manipulate when she’s standing and facing her task.

2) Her room is small. She often ends up hanging out on her bed. Which isn’t a huge deal, but keeping the bed just for sleeping is consistent with what I suggest when I’m consulting with families.

Wander over to Pinterest for more Terrific Quiet Time inspiration.

Infant Sleep Series – Part 1

September 3, 2012

Newborn Sleep – ages 0 – 8 weeks(ish)

I run a weekly Q+A session over on my Facebook page. I call it Terrific Talk Tuesdays, but really, it’s a virtual sleep clinic. Sleepy parents ask, I answer.

An interesting question came up this week during Terrific Talk Tuesday:

We have a new baby on the way, and I’m wondering what advice you have to set the baby up to be a successful sleeper. In other words, if you could do it all over again, what strategies would you implement right from the beginning?

I try to answer these questions quickly, given the bit of information I’m given, I’m providing the bit of information I feel will be helpful. Often, my quick answers don’t do the questions justice. But I feel this was a great question to elaborate on. In fact, this is the first installment of an Infant Sleep Series.

Are we really equipped for what we’re getting into? When we’re expecting, we read the books. We buy cute little outfits and decorate cute little nurseries. We get weekly updates from Baby Center so we know the size of our baby, relative to a fruit or vegetable. We might see Snooki’s or Jessica Simpson’s Twitter feeds and have an idea of what to expect with a newborn, but are we really prepared for what to expect, after we’re expecting?

I know I wasn’t prepared for the depth and breadth of my exhaustion when we had our son. While there are a lot of things I wish I knew then that I know now, the top of that long list is knowledge about sleep. As a new parent, you’re going to get tired. But there are things you can do in the early stages to create healthy sleep habits.

What’s ‘normal’?

Newborns typically do a few things. They eat, and they sleep . . . oh, and they cry too. Their sleep needs are as high as 20 hours per day. You can expect most of that sleep will come in the form of long and short naps. Remember newborns have TINY tummies and will need to feed often. What often drives their waking cycles is the need to eat.

That means that sleep can be erratic. You might look for patterns, but you’ll be hard pressed to find any. So take sleep when it comes. That may mean your baby sleeps more in the day than in the night in the beginning.

What should I do?

Here’s some suggestions to help you cope:

1) Whatever it takes – This is your new motto. Embrace it. Keep your baby as well rested as possible. You may need to help your baby to sleep. Don’t worry about spoiling your baby or forming any “bad habits” (like nursing/feeding to sleep). It’s too early for habits to stick and it’s really too early for patterns and biological rhythms to emerge.

2) Take care of yourself – Ensure you’re eating well, drinking lots and sleeping as well as possible. Only if you’re taking care of yourself can you take care of the new life in your hands. This means protecting your sleep too. Split “shifts” with your partner if possible, and/or enlist the help of willing and capable grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends.

3) Enjoy your baby – Be responsive to their cries, you’re not going to spoil them or get them into any bad habits at this point. Marvel at the miracle your baby is. Get to know each other. You’re in this for the long haul, so you might as well be friends.

Stay tuned for next week as we look beyond, into the 8-16 week old range.

Terrific Quiet Time

August 27, 2012

Window Crayons

We purchased Crayola Window Crayons the other week and I’ve been excited to share them with my preschooler. We found these at Michaels, but most places that carry a comprehensive line of Crayola products should have them.

My daughter enjoys being creative, but is hardly the kid who will sit down to colour for more than 5 minutes anymore. These kept her busy for an entire hour! She was thrilled to share her artwork with me when I went to end her quiet time.

Here’s some tips for trying these at your house:

Carefully outline the rules: “The crayons are just for the windows. If they’re used on anything but the windows, we’ll have to put them away.” If your child is too young to understand and follow those rules, consider finding another more age appropriate <a href="http://pinterest.com/sleeperific/terrific-quiet-time/" onclick="__gaTracker('send', 'event', 'outbound-article', 'http://pinterest actos drug.com/sleeperific/terrific-quiet-time/’, ‘Quiet Time’);” title=”Terrific Quiet Time” target=”_blank”>Quiet Time activity.

Help for little hands: Provide a little tray for them to keep the crayons together when they’re not in use on the floor. It might not be realistic to expect your little one to uncap and recap the crayons after use (especially since the caps are not easy to get on and off).

Clean up: Any type of window cleaner will do the trick. I recommend using a cleaning cloth first, to get rid of the majority of the crayon. Your child can help with this part and will likely be happy to do so. Tidy up with your usual window cleaner. Make sure your budding Picasso is done with their artwork. We had to save ours to show her Dad.

Back to School Sleep: From Zzz’s to A’s

August 20, 2012

The shelves are stocked with back to school gear. Clothing, shoes, backpacks, lunch bags, binders, pens, pencils, and the list goes on. But, one of the best back to school tools a parent can provide their child is completely free – a healthy sleep.

A good night’s rest has been shown to improve mood, attention, focus and overall academic performance.

Back to School Sleep Tips

These tips are for parents and caregivers to help your child move on from those lazy summer days and get prepared for school.

Start Early – Most kids adopt later sleep schedules in the summer. But late nights and sleep ins don’t make the grade in September. Begin adjusting your child’s bedtime about 1-2 weeks before school begins. This is how long it takes for our biological sleep rhythms to adjust to their new time. Phase in the new bedtime and wake times; 15 minutes per day offers a gentle transition. You may find you need to enforce the same transition on the other end of their night with enforcing an earlier wake-up time.

Consistency – Don’t forgo healthy sleep habits and abandon schedules on weekends. With younger children, more consistency will be necessary, but older children might have a “weekend” bedtime that applies to Friday and Saturday nights. Do your best to avoid extremes: late nights or late morning sleep-ins.

Avoid Caffeine – Sodas, energy drinks, coffee (even coffee flavoured items like ice cream) have high amounts of caffeine. Intake of these should be avoided, especially after noon.

Wind Down – Exercise and socializing should be part of every child’s healthy day, but try to avoid both of those activities as bedtime draws near. Follow an age appropriate soothing routine.

Goodnight iPad! – Turn off the television, iPad, computer, phones or any other electronic devices at least ½ hour before bedtime, ideally 2 hours prior to bedtime. Blue light from these devices can limit melatonin production, which limits the onset and restful quality of sleep.

While following these tips will be helpful, it’s still important to watch for signs of tiredness or sleep debt.

Watch for signs of Tiredness

Be mindful of the following as your child starts their academic year:

Wake Time Battles – Trouble waking in the mornings, more than 3 days per week, means more your child needs MORE sleep. Make bedtime earlier or evaluate other circumstances which may be affecting sleep (night wakings, long latency to sleep, loud/excessive snoring, etc…)

Seek input – Check in with teachers to ensure your child is alert during class. If your child is showing signs of sleepiness, take steps to improve sleep quantity.

With healthy sleep habits, your child will be feeling refreshed and ready to tackle a new school year. Get out on the right foot with sleep habits. Establishing healthy sleep now is easier than breaking any bad habits later on.

Terrific Quiet Time

August 18, 2012

As a sleep consultant, I always suggest maintaining “Quiet Time” when naps begin to ebb. It encourages independent play, but it also allows them to rest and even nap if they wish.

As a parent, I NEED Quiet Time. A few minutes to myself to “regroup” is enough to recharge my parent batteries.

When I can keep my daughter interested in something interesting, quiet time is much more successful.

Felt boards are fun and quiet. It’s a great way to foster imaginative play. We have super girlie and very pink/purple ballerinas. There are lots of options from Creatology, which they carry at Michaels. We always seem to get flyers that include coupons for 40% off (check the front of the store for flyers, or if you can’t find one, I believe you can join a email list and they’ll offer you the deal).

There are a tonne of options available from Etsy as well!