Sleep regressions, What are they?

Sleep regressions. I see questions about them all the time. 
What are they?
A sleep regression is usually when there is a developmental milestone.
When do they happen?
The 4 month sleep regression can be a big one. It happens first and can come in hard. The brain changes and sleep is becoming a learned skill. 7 months can be Crawling, 11-13 months can be walking. Those are big ones. 2 years old is increased awareness and co-ordination frustration.
How long do they last?
They can last a few days, a couple weeks or up to 8 weeks if you get one regression on top of another.
What do you do?
Offer more support when your baby is having a developmentally related sleep regression. The brain is trying to process new information, muscles may be being used in new and taxing ways and it’s very exciting for the baby who wakes between sleep cycles and wants to practice the developing skill. Practice the emerging skill during the day and offer more support at night. More holding, pick ups and attention. The sooner the skill gets mastered, the sooner the sleep can come back.
I will be available for full consultation after January 4th. I’m still available for quick free initial evaluations and to book consultations and to answer questions. I love calls like that. www.GetQuietNights.com

I made the cut! I'm in the Top Sleep Consultants in the US.

Tuck (www.tuck.com) recently published a list of the top sleep consultants in the United States and told me made the cut! They looked at certifications held, overall customer sentiment and more.  At first when I ready their email, I thought another company wanted to sell me SEO services. (I get that a lot but don’t need it.) But I checked them out and I love all the free info they have on their site. It’s a great resource.
Here is the list of Top Sleep Consultants in the US. You can find me in the Arizona group. https://www.tuck.com/sleep-consultants/
So what makes me extra special?  I work with parents of alert kids. Children who are curious, observant, know what they want and hold out until they get it.  Some of these kids are spirited and challenging to parent while others are quiet and happy but so intense.  I teach the parents how to apply their parenting style to best help these alert children learn sleep skills in gentle, responsive and hands on ways.  Cry it out is never a sleep coaching method for children like this.  It can actually cause an anxiety disorder.  I help the parents read the behavioral cues and best meet the sleep needs to help the child adapt to learning situations to develope healthy sleep skills.
Thanks for noticing me Tuck!
 
Tracy Spackman- Certified Gentle Sleep Coach
www.GetQuietNights.com
 

Nominate a Sleep Deprived Crazy Momma of Arizona 2017


1. Click the above link to Nominate a Sleep Deprived Crazy Momma of Arizona who is sleep deprived but can’t afford to get personalize help. Tell us a little about what is going on to make her so sleep deprived (must be baby related). And tell me why she is a great mom! I don’t need to hear about her financial details but keep in mind that this is for a mom in need. Post your nomination in the comments.
2.The nominated mom should be a member of my local sleep group https://www.facebook.com/groups/Sleepdeprivedcrazymommasofphoenix/ so please join the group.

3. I will be counting likes for each nomination. Feel free to comment on the nomination with your support. Likes and Comments will help sway the decision to pick the winner.
4. Please include a cute photo of the sleep challenged baby that you don’t mind being used for future posts and tips on my sites. All photos will be saved and some will be used for tips and blog posts.
5. The winner will receive the premium package sleep consultation that was donated by a local mom.
Includes: Sleep history to fill out, videos to watch, an hour phone consultation, up to 6 follow up calls and 2 weeks of unlimited texting for quick questions. https://getquietnights.com/schedule-a-consultation/
6. The nominator of the winner will get a free pass to a future sleep class. No expiry date.
7. I plan to choose the winner by Thanksgiving so we can get her sleeping by Christmas.
Update: THE WINNER IS… Brittany Marie With 48 likes/loves and lots of comments of support! Brittany Marie wins a premium Consultation. It was so close that I would also like to offer Michelle Letterly a basic Consultation and Maranda Shaw gets a mini consultation to help support her. I hope all these amazing Mommas can get sleep by Christmas. Thanks for all your support. Karen Hazelton Gable was the nominator of the winner so she wins a free pass to the next sleep class if she needs it. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Will extra attention when my baby is teething, set us back?

I often get asked about how to help soothe the baby during times of teething or illness.  It’s important to note that the world is full of various levels of stimulus and a baby’s ability to cope and regulate depends on their level of maturity and readiness to self-soothe.  This ability is “compromised” in times of added stress from sickness, teething or developmental milestones.  Extra assistance calming the baby is needed to help regulate their feelings of wellbeing. As babies grow, they will get better managing every-changing levels of stress.  The more you help then when they are young, the more likely they will get to more independent levels sooner.

How do you know who to ask for help?

Do you get advice from everyone?  A common question is, “How is your baby sleeping?” but that is the WRONG question.  The right question is, “How are YOU sleeping?”
Babies don’t have to sleep well to be healthy and normal.  But a mom who isn’t sleeping enough isn’t healthy or feels normal.
Many mom’s can cope just fine with a baby who wakes to feed frequently throughout the night and recognizes that it’s temporary and normal.  If you don’t have a problem with how often your baby is waking, than it is NOT a problem.  Don’t compare your baby to other babies.  The range of normal for babies under 6 months old is so broad that there is no normal.
If you are not coping well with a baby who wakes frequently, then maybe there is something you can do about it.  Maybe changing your expectations is all you can do temporarily or maybe there are some coping strategies you can incorporate.  The baby brain is quickly developing and under 4 months is not the time to sleep train.  But finding better ways to read their body language may help.  Or changing your room environment may help.  Or trying for more naps more frequently during the day may help.  Or feeding your baby more frequently during the day may help.  Or trying motion sleep, or co-sleeping. All great coping strategies.
There are many books to help with sleep.  There are many sleep trainers and sleep coaches to help with sleep including me.  There are many Facebook groups to help with sleep including my own Sleep Sisters Get Quiet Nights.  If working with a sleep trainer or sleep coach, ask about their method.  If they won’t tell you, don’t hire them.  The general idea of the methods they use shouldn’t be a secret. You don’t want to get stuck with a cry it out or a modified cry it out if you wanted a gentle method.  Gentle methods are responsive and feel good and safe when you get all the details.  A sleep plan should also cover your daytime needs so you have a calm (not overtired) baby at bedtime.
I feel sad when a mom comes to me after having a bad experience with another sleep trainer.  The method should feel good with your parental intuition.  You have that intuition for a reason.  Please follow it.
Let me know if you need my help.
Tracy Spackman  Gentle Sleep Coach  GetQuietNights.com

Shannon Scoggin feeling thankful.-10 month son in Phoenix, Arizona -August 2016

As I watch Kyler sleep on the monitor I reflect on what we have gone through. A year ago we decided we needed help with Kyler and his sleep. Sleep deprivation is SO a real thing! Kyler was almost 10 months old and not once in those 10 months was I able to get more then 3hrs of sleep at a time. And for that matter neither had he. My husband would try to let me sleep, but you nursing moms know, missing a regular nursing session was a difficult thing to manage lol!
I was a mess, there are things I don’t even recall during that time of my life We were on a habit of nursing back to sleep, holding to sleep anything we could do to get him to sleep, we did… We are so thankful for Tracy Spackman and her sleep training guidelines. I cried the day I met her in the middle of a Babies R Us event, I was so overwhelmed with the idea that something might help us…
It was work! It was hard work! But it paid off, and was worth every penny! He was sleeping through the night with in 4 weeks and we now have a happy little boy who goes to sleep on his own, sleeps for 11-12hrs through the night and a 2-3 hour nap during the day.
Naps didn’t come as easy as sleeping through the night. We struggled some there, but eventually got him through it.
There were times we wanted to give up and I didn’t feel like I had anymore “comfort shushes” in me. But we stuck it out and are beyond thrilled.
If you are struggling with a youngster not sleeping give her a call. You are not alone, there can be light at the end of the tunnel. Not all babies are “good” at sleeping, some need to be taught how to put themselves to sleep, and the sooner you start the easier it is! (After 4 months old)
Thank you Tracy for your help!

5 Things That Keep Babies from Sleeping Article

I was googling myself today in an “incognito” browser so I could see where I was ranking IMG_0768for the common keep words.  I used “Sleep Coach Mesa” (since that’s what my current sleepless family used) to see where I ranked and what they saw.  I was happy to see I was in the top TWO spots and then near the bottlom of that first page was a post from North Phoenix Family Magazine titled Five Things Keeping Babies from Sleeping which made me stop since that is the title of the talk I give to mom’s groups at hospitals and community events.  So I clicked on it and sure enough, it WAS me.  It was an article I had written for them a long time ago.  Usually I can spend 60-90 minutes on this topic and I remember that I was given a word limit so this is breif and to the point.  Check it out Here. http://northphoenixfamily.com/five-things-keeping-babies-from-sleeping/