Thursday, July 26, 2012

Sweet Dreams

Every parent agrees, there is nothing more rewarding than a quiet house when your children are peacefully sleeping. Without a doubt, building a foundation for healthy sleep habits in your household will bring harmony and well-being to all family members. Alas, why does sleep allude so many of us?…I hope to offer 3 guest blogs to offer a glimpse into the most common issues that may cause sleep disruptions in your household & some fast, easy practical suggestions on how to overcome the sleep pitfalls.  

 Did you know…..

1. A bedtime that is too late can keep your child awake at night
·         Did you know that children need on average 10-11 hours of sleep at night for the first 9 years of their lives! Children need the right quality and quantity of sleep and the right timing of sleep.
·         To help achieve the right quantity of sleep, start to keep a sleep log to track daytime and nighttime sleep cycles. You will notice patterns emerging and can make adjustments to improve the schedule.
·         To help enhance the quality of sleep, install room darkening shades and keep the room at 72 degrees
2.  Insufficient daytime sleep and nap deprivation will cause night-wakings.
·         Believe it or not, but skipped or short naps & too long of an interval between afternoon nap and bed-time will create more night wakings and poor quality sleep--not to mention an overtired and often cranky child!
·         Don’t forget…daytime sleep is just as important as nighttime sleep.
·         Babies up the age of 9-10 months may still need up to 3 naps a day and 3 plus hours of daytime sleep.
·         Always allow for quiet time in a dimly lit room before nap and night-time.
I will be posting more sleep facts and tips in the future. I always recommend, before you make any bold changes in addressing your sleep concerns, that it is incredibly important to educate yourself and choose a methodology and philosophy where you and your partner can be in agreement and remain consistent over a period of 2-3 weeks.  Patience and consistency are key elements in supporting your child when he/she is learning the all important life skill of sleep! May you enjoy a quiet house!

If you are tired and want to make a change and if you want an alternative to the “cry it out” methods, than there is hope and help available. I adhere to a Gentle Sleep Coaching philosophy. I am a tenured, trained and certified infant and child Gentle Sleep Coach working with children 6 months to 5 years. I also offer Sleep Shaping for babies 0-4 months. I offer comprehensive sleep consultations, conducted in-person or over the phone, which are designed to give personalized guidance and support in developing a gentle sleep program so your child will learn sleep independence, thus ultimately restoring harmony to your family life.
~ Joanna
Joanna Clark
http://www.blissfulbabysleepcoaching.com
858-224-3637
www://facebook/blissfulbabysleep

Friday, July 6, 2012

The BiB Family is Growing

After 6 months of trying to conceive baby #2, my husband received orders to deploy on rather short notice. We decided to put our family plans on the back burner until he returned home. Well, we were over the moon with excitement to find out the following week that I was already pregnant! Yep, that's right. We are adding another baby to the BiB family in January 2013!


 
While this is a very exciting and joyful time for me, it's also a very nauseous time. I had some morning sickness with my first, but nothing like this! I've been nauseous 24/7 for weeks now. I don't even remember what not being nauseous feels like. Very few things sound appetizing enough to eat, and even those things can turn on me in an instant. I keep the little I do eat down...most days. The mint flavored Preggie Pops do help a lot when a smell hits me wrong or something, but it's not realistic to have a Preggie Pop in my mouth 24/7. After a recon Facebook post on our BiB page, I have decided to take some suggestions and go pick up some sea sick wrist bands. I'll keep you posted on how they help! Any other tips? And did you moms with more than one LO find yourself more queasy with subsequent pregnancies?
 
- Alicia