Tis’ the season of family gatherings, parties, fun traditions, and more. It really is my favorite time of year. For some parents, it’s an extremely stressful time especially if you’re balancing all of the holiday fun while running on empty. Let’s talk about the holidays and your child’s sleep. If your kiddo is not a great sleeper, I can help. If you’ve got the sleep thing down, I’ll share tips on keeping it intact while during this season of joy.
Taking the time to create a bedtime routine can feel monotonous or like a chore for some parents. A bedtime routine is something both children and adults benefit from when considering the best way to get a healthy night of sleep. Do bedtime routines matter? Is it worth the effort and time to implement?
The point of sleep training is to teach your baby or child to fall asleep independently at bedtime and for naps. The goal is that they are not relying on anything external (babies 4 months and older) like a pacifier, bouncing, rocking, or a feed to get them to sleep. In short, no, you cannot sleep train and bed share.
When I became a mother 10 years ago, my world was rocked. I undoubtedly experienced the most intense and instantaneous kind of love, but I also slowly became filled with self-doubt and insecurity. There were so many decisions to be made: would I nurse or bottle feed or both? Did my baby nap on me or in a bassinet? When should I start going to play groups? Did I use the wrong kind of laundry detergent? Was I being irresponsible if I ditched the cloth diapers I’d had my heart set on using?
Here is a situation that most parents call relate to - your little one (especially a toddler) is full of energy and even entertaining the room with their charm. You are enjoying the spectacle and thinking that he is clearly not tired, even though it’s 8 pm. So you let him stay up a little longer.
That’s when the trouble begins and bedtime becomes a battle. The meltdowns start and getting him to sleep is a hot mess. Your baby is now overtired.
If you’re a parent, you’ve most likely struggled with multiple night wakings at some point. That ultimately leads to parents googling how to find a “fix” and help their baby sleep longer stretches at night. One popular “solution” is the dream feed. I’m not a fan. Let me explain more about it and why.
How to weed out the good advice from the bad can feel near impossible when you become a new mom? New parents are bombarded with old wives' tales and the heavy suggestions that are loaded with judgment. Try rice cereal in the bottle, it will make him sleep longer. Or, waking 5 times in the night is normal, and not sleeping for 2 years is part of being a mom. Both are 100% untrue and the latter really gets me riled up.
