How To Get Your Baby to Sleep Like A Baby!

Sleep problems are probably encountered by all parents at some point during their child’s early years. Often the problem has been exacerbated by the things we as parents do, and in order to prevent storing up problems for the future these basic steps will ensure that your baby develops a good sleep routine which will develop their ability to settle themselves to sleep.

From early on try not to develop the habit of letting your baby fall asleep in your arms. This is a tough one for most parents as there is nothing more enjoyable than feeding your baby and watching them fall asleep in your arms. The problem arises when you try to put baby into their cot. If they have become conditioned to needing the smell and closeness of Mum/Dad to fall asleep, they will find it  very difficult to settle without you. If you are planning to return to work you need to get into the routine of placing baby in the cot before he falls asleep that way he learns to settle himself.

Don’t turn your baby into a motion addict by rocking them or pushing them in a stroller your baby will be unable to settle without motion and sooner of later you will have to break the habit.

Remember to make sure that your baby does not overheat, grow bags are a great alternative to blankets and as your baby gets older they have the added advantage of making it difficult to climb out of the cot!

Playing the same music at nap and bed times creates a sort of auto hypnosis effect which lets you baby know it’s wind down time- the great thing about this is that you will also start to associate the music to quiet time and it will help you take advantage of nap time by resting too! Have a routine around bedtime as routines are really important to young children as they create a sense of security.

There are different opinions on using soothers but personally I believe that babies need to suck and it helps them to self soothe. As they get older you can start to bring in an only at bed/nap time rule for using the soother that way you are giving your child every opportunity they have to develop their speech.

That's all for now folks, sweet dreams!

7 Tips for Getting Out In The Morning!

Welcome to Blog Number One!

I thought I’d dive right in with my first ever blog by looking at what must be one of the most stressful 30 minutes of a parent’s day.

We have all been there

We tumble out bed, stumble to the kitchen, and pour ourselves a cup of ambition but wait….(got carried away with Dolly there)FIRST! We have to “get them out!”

Here are some simple strategies for making sure your day starts right!

1.     Introduce the concept of cooperation to your children as early as possible!

Use examples during times of low stress, “We will get to the park early if we all cooperate by putting our dishes in the dish washer and getting our coats on.” Children thrive when given independence so build in opportunities in your daily routines to let them do stuff for themselves.

2.     This may sound obvious but setting out clothes for yourself and your little one the night before can really save time and reduce stress. Independence comes from making choices so let your child have a choice in almost everything they do. When it comes to clothes you could let them chose between 2 or 3 tops and bottoms each evening as part of their bedtime routine. If they insist on wearing blue with green-let it go!

3.     If you need to send a lunch with any of your children, get them involved from day one. If they make their own lunch or at least have input they are much more likely to eat it. Having a shelf in the fridge (a low one) which has lunch options on it will make it easier. (We will look more at healthy eating habits in future blogs.)

4.     Have your child tick his own check list each morning. For pre-reading age this can be a simple list with pictures of things to remind them what they have to do. As a weekend activity create a chart using pcitures from magazines or down loadables, for example a picture of a tooth brush, a hair brush, shoes or dishes in a dish washer.

5.     4. If you have a child who is reluctant to get dressed or otherwise cooperate, find a reward eg. 10 minutes of there favourite DVD once they have completed their self care tasks- be sure to warn them in advance when time is running out…….

6.     If your child is a sleepy head in the morning consider some happy back ground music whilst they wake up- this shouldn’t be too loud or frenetic otherwise it just adds to the chaos,  offering them a small drink of diluted fruit juice may give them the energy boost they need to get out of bed without being a grumpy head!

7.     Some things are non negotiable, the key is to find fun ways to get them done in a way which makes your child feel they have input- so if getting dressed is the hurdle you could make a game of “Let’s count to ten while we dress and see how quickly we can do it!”

You are the conductor and they will follow your lead, if you can stay calm and focused they will too!