SLEEP REGRESSIONS, almost everyone will deal with them as a parent. I am a sleep consultant and even I had to deal with them too. They are part of normal development. However most new parents never heard this term until their baby who was once sleeping through the night is now waking up every two hours or more at night. If you’re a sleep-deprived parent scratching your head about why in the world your baby is suddenly reverting back to newborn-like sleep patterns, chances

Vacations are a time for rest, relaxation, and time well spent with family, but traveling can be far from relaxing if you are stressed out about how your baby will sleep during your time away. So, if you’re worried that trying to balance nighttime sleep routines, and naps will get in the way of you enjoying your vacation, read on. I am breaking down how you CAN enjoy your vacation, relax even just a little bit and still have a well-rested baby to enjoy the trip with you. 7 Ti

Out of all of the nap transitions, the 2 -1 seems to be the hardest for most parents. Learn how to transition your child smoothly.

The only thing that is constant is change, this applies to sleep too. Your little one's sleep is constantly changing and will continue to do so dramatically for the first 18 - 24 months of his life. As a sleep coach, I am often asked how much sleep a baby really need per night, and how many naps a baby should be taking each day. The truth is that baby sleep needs vary based on age, and change fairly often. However, you may be surprised to learn that the total number of hours

Did you know parents lose over 44 days of sleep during the first year of a baby’s life? That is equal to 1,056 hours. And this is just for ONE baby, not for parents that have twins, triplets or more! If you are reading this blog post you were ‘most likely’ blessed with multiples and are desperately looking for tips to get your little one’s sleeping better. I remember the days when I would spend time Googling, “How to get my twins on a nap schedule,” or “How to get my twins

It’s that time of the year again when flowers are blooming, the sun is shining bright, local farmer’s markets are popping up and your little one’s schedule needs to be adjusted. Wait – what? Did you say another adjustment? Yes, this is true for many of us who live in areas of the country that practice Daylight savings. Clocks officially spring forward on Sunday, March 10. And although I love having more hours of sunshine and the warm weather ahead, I dislike any disruption

Every day I come across post after post on parenting boards discussing how they need more sleep and they don't know how to get their little one to sleep better. Simulataneously, I see various advertisements on social media outlets promoting the items below: Merlin Sleep Suit Weighted sleep sack Dock a tot Fisher Price Rock n' Play Sleepers The Snoo Swings Yoga balls (to bounce on) What do all of these items have in common? You guessed it, they are all sleep props and "tempor

Besides the endless diaper changes, sore nipples and all of the other wonderful things we acquire with motherhood, the one thing that is probably the hardest to get used to is less sleep and early mornings. Not the best quality image, but hey this was in 2008 before we used our cell phones to take images. Here I am, 4 days prior to delivering boy/girl twins. After I had the twins, I recall wishing I would have spent more time sleeping in every morning when I was pregnant and

When I had my youngest child, Charlie, in May 2017 my parents came to visit me in August. By then I had already started my sleep consultant certification and I knew a lot more about pediatric sleep. One thing I learned is that sometimes you need to wake a baby to protect night sleep and build enough sleep pressure for naps/nights. My mother looked at me like I was crazy when I would wake Charlie up from his 3rd nap of the day. She just didn’t understand why I would wake a s

PLEASE NOTE: This blog post was written by a guest blogger, Heidi Hayes who is the Executive Vice President of California Cryobank's Donor Egg Bank Becoming a mom is life-changing in so many wonderful ways, but it isn’t without its challenges. From pregnancy to nurturing a newborn, sleep deprivation, anxiety, and fluctuating hormones can have a detrimental impact on your well-being. Add the emotional rollercoaster of IVF treatment into the mix and it’s clear there’s a lot for

Getting your baby to sleep through the night is a goal all of us new parents have; especially when you are still feeding your baby once or even twice a night, and just can’t imagine sleeping through the night ever again. There is a light at the end of the tunnel – trust me as a mom of three and a sleep consultant. It may not come as quickly as you like BUT if you set your child up for success many babies sleep through the night by 6 months of age. If your little one is ove

Healthy sleep habits are important for your baby’s physical and emotional well-being. An important part of establishing good sleeping habits is the sleep environment where your child sleeps. It is also important to create a safe sleep environment to help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Creating the ideal sleep environment for your baby will help promote restorative quality sleep for your little one. Here are my best tips for creating an environment t

I am a sleep consultant, and I still have to overcome hurdles. I don't want you to think my "sleep" life is perfect, and I never hit "bumps in the road" because guess what -- I do! In fact, just last night my 9 month old woke up at 9pm screaming...I immediately looked at the video monitor. He was safe, so I let him fuss a little since his screaming went to a dull fuss. After 15 minutes of him crying, I just couldn't take it any longer....so I went upstairs, did a quick ch

Let me start by saying that traveling is not easy when you are alone, and when you have three kids it just complicates EVERYTHING. Especially if you have a child younger than 3 years old, which I do, and just cannot reason or communicate with you. Back in the day I traveled a ton with the twins, and I feel that once they hit 3 it was a lot of work to travel; however it got a lot easier because they could help and communicate with you. I wanted to share my recent experience

Did you know that food plays a role in sleep? Yes, this is true. I am not just talking eliminating caffeine and sugars before bedtime for your little one either. Although it would be wise to avoid these items if you think this could be causing some of their poor sleep habits. Believe it or not there are sleep inducing foods and foods to avoid. Sleep inducing foods are high in tryptophan. Tryptophan has a calming effect on the brain making it easier to fall asleep and st

For those of you that do not know, although I live in the Seattle area, I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In just a few short weeks we are headed east to visit my family and this will be the first time that I have had to deal with naps and times zones in a LONG TIME. My twins are now 10, so I haven't had to adjust or worry about how they will sleep. The older your child gets, the easier it is to adjust. Partially because they understand we are going from on