Pairing Children in Bedrooms
Many of us have more children than bedrooms, meaning someone (or two) is bunking up. Parents often find themselves trying to decide which children to pair together, with the obvious pairing being 2 boys / 2 girls or twins. However, what if the children of the same sex are several years a part and therefore on different napping / nighttime schedules? Generally speaking, our first choice is to give the infant their own room. Baby is learning how to fall to sleep on his own and in the beginning, that may involve some help from mom (or dad) in the form of pacifying. Ideally, we don’t want to risk waking up other children during this brief period. Furthermore, the other children may be on more similar nap schedules, leading to less interruption during the day for baby’s naps. However, if baby having his own room is not an option, you will need to determine which of [...]
Sick Babies and Schedules
There’s nothing more heartbreaking for a parent than to watch their little one in any type of discomfort. As parents, we want to nurture, protect, and heal our babies – especially when they are sick. And this flu season seems to have hit especially hard! If you have been sticking to a consistent sleep schedule with your child, which experts share is the best thing you can do for a baby or toddler, you might be wondering how rigidly you have to stick to the schedule when your little one is under the weather. First, take a look at where you and your child are in the sleep training process. For example, if your child wakes with a fever in the middle of night 1, we encourage you to take care of your child and try again when baby is feeling 100%. If baby has been on a consistent sleep schedule for some time, attend [...]
Dealing with Early Morning Wake Times
Early morning waking is a common occurrence for children, from newborns to toddlers. While many sleep trained babies are able to put themselves back to sleep, some, for varying reasons, are not. Next thing you know, your child has been up for hours even before “waketime” officially begins, and your schedule is thrown off. The hours between 4 am and 6 am can often be a challenging time for children to find a deep sleep and the reason for this is the timing of the brain’s melatonin secretion. Melatonin, the hormone responsible for making us feel sleepy, peaks between the hours of 2:00 am and 4:00 am. After 4:00 am, there appears to be a precipitous drop in melatonin secretion. Less melatonin means the body has a harder time staying asleep. However, while this drop in melatonin makes it harder for some children to stay asleep, it doesn’t mean that these children are incapable of [...]
Personalities and Sleep Training
Just as no two people are the same, no two babies are the same – even when they come from the same family. This is an important, and often challenging, concept for parents’ with young children to understand, especially when it comes to sleep training (or sleeping learning). However, once parents understand and embrace each child’s uniqueness, the sleep learning process can be much more successful. Parents can use the knowledge that a baby’s personality will impact the sleep training process to their advantage. To start, a child’s personality will play large part in the ease and speed with which the sleep training process will go. An easy going baby will take well to any type of method and either regular or inconsistent implementation by the parent(s). On the same token, a stronger willed child will thrive on a consistent schedule with very little “cheating”, including in terms of helping the child fall to sleep. While [...]
