Tag: frequent waking

Early Rising – Please Help my 10 month old

Early Rising Question:
Our biggest issue is the early rising. He’s up at 4:30am no matter what we do. We’ve tried putting him to bed earlier/later done dream feeds, cry it out.. He’s just an insanely early riser. He’s 10.5 months and usually naps 2 times, the first one can range from and hour to 2 hours and the second is usually about an hour.. I can never get him to take a third.. He’s a little monkey!!
Answer:
It’s not the 3rd nap you need. It’s a longer 2nd nap. Most babies over nine months have dropped the third nap and can go four hours from the end of the p.m. nap to bed time. Try limiting your morning up to one hour, so yes, wake him up. Then try to extend the afternoon nap to an hour and a half or longer. That way you can try to get that four hour or less wakeful window at the end of the day. That will probably fix your problem if you were consistent about how you respond to the early rising.
Post a quick question https://www.facebook.com/QuietNights or call me for a free 15 call 602-524-7610. Maybe a consult is what you need. https://getquietnights.com/schedule-a-consultation/

How much sleep does my baby need?

Tracy talk to Merci Gilbert groupI speak to the Breast Feeding support groups at Mercy Gilbert Hospital and Chandler Regional Hospital every couple of months. I love talking to these mom’s and dispelling the myths about sleep coaching and nursing.  A common question I get asked is how much sleep should my baby get?  Well it varies by age and from Child to Child.  I put together a fridge magnet to share to give them a starting guideline but it’s more about watching for sleep cues, getting enough sleep cycles in a day for your baby’s age and needs.  It’s probably more than you think.  A typical 6 month old can have 3 naps a day and then sleep 12 hours at night. That would be very healthy and normal.  By 9 months the 3rd nap gets dropped and the baby can go a longer wakeful window at the end of the day. (But not likely longer than 4 hours.) Around 18 months, your baby will be ready to transition to 1 nap.  The afternoon nap is typically the one that stays and the 4 hour window at the end of the day stays.  It’s the wakeful time before that gets longer.  Nap transitions don’t usually happen quickly.  That last nap can stick around until age 3-5. Every baby is different.  I hope this helps.  Call me if you want personal assistance or you would like me to come speak to your group or do a workshop. www.GetQuietNights.com  Find me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/QuietNights

Nap Transitions

Questions Asked:
My daughter Ayven is 17 months and has been a great sleeper thanks to you! We are now transitioning to 1 nap – any tips on the best way to do this and is there a best time for that once a day nap? Rises at 6:30 bed at 7pm used to nap 9-945 (we’d wake her) and then in the afternoon going down between 1:30 and 3 depending on our plans for the day and would usually nap 1.5-2 hours. Any tips would be appreciated!
My Answer:
The afternoon nap may lengthen. One way to transition is to drop the am nap and switch it to a cat nap (20-30 min). 1 pm may be a good time for your afternoon nap. The transition period can be long and there are a few ways to do it but this is my favorite one to try first.
If you need sleep help, I do personal consultations.
Tracy Spackman 602-524-7610
Tracy@GetQuietNights.com
www.GetQuietNights.com

"My 2 year old was a great sleeper and now for the past 2 weeks has been having sleep issues. Why?"

Great Question from my Mom’s club talk:
“My 2 year old was a great sleeper and now for the past 2 weeks has been having sleep issues. Why?”
This is a common question. Sometimes, you just get a string of bad luck when you have even just 2 nights in a row of disrupted sleep, from maybe a cold or thunderstorms or summer guests and your response of bringing to bed with your of staying with them while they fall asleep is enough to create a new “conditioned response”. If toddlers, or older children have 2 or more disrupted nights in a row, they may start getting anxious about sleep. After 2 weeks has gone by, you may have forgotten the cause of the sleep stress. A manners chart to help focus on good sleep habits may help a lot. If you need sleep help, call me, Text me.
Tracy Spackman 602-524-7610
Tracy@GetQuietNights.com
www.GetQuietNights.com

Back to School Bedtimes

Have your kids gone back to school? Planning to go soon? Take a good look at their bedtime. Do you know if your child is a 10, 11 or 12 hour sleeper for optimum benefit? If your child has a meltdown about having to write a few sentences about their summer for homework, chances are they are not getting enough sleep. Thinking of ideas to write about when writing is still a challenge for kindergarten-3rd grade kids, getting enough sleep can make all the difference. 11 hours is a common amount of sleep to need for young school aged kids. Teens typically need 9 hours. If you need sleep help, check out my website.
www.GetQuietNights.com

Not ready to commit to a plan or a sleep package?

Get a group together and we can do a group workshop. Minimum 5 people/couples. This would be different than the free talk I give to Mom’s groups. We will talk specifics and methods that you can implement immediately. If you have 5 or more people, the host gets to come free. $50 per family. Runs about 2 hours. Follow up support is available a la crate.
Workshop fee will be deducted from full package price if you choose to get a personal consultation afterwards.
A good sleep makes a world of difference.
Tracy Spackman
www.GetQuietNights.com
 

Reaction of a 5 Year Old

A 5 year old’s morning response to sleep coaching day 6 after lots of resisting last night, “That was the best sleep I’ve had in weeks!” Mom said, “That was the best sleep you have had in your life!”
I know it’s only going to get better for them.  This family has had trouble with sleep for a long time and needed to lay with their child to help her fall asleep and she repeatedly came to their bed in the middle of the night.  Sound familiar?
For sleep help, call me 602-524-7610, email me Tracy@GetQuietNights.com  www.GetQuietNights.com

Radio Guest on Baby & Toddler Instructions Show with Blythe Lipman

Today I made my first radio appearance. I was a little nervous but once I start talking about sleep I just get on a roll.  You can hear the podcast here http://bit.ly/13aaPza .
I was a guest on Blythe Lipman’s show Baby & Toddler Instructions which broadcasts on www.Togenet.com on Wednesdays at 11am EST.  Or 8am Arizona time.  We talked about the common things that keep babies from sleeping, what I do, how I do it.  Who needs me and who doesn’t and funny stories about sleep coaching.  I’m a gentle sleep consultant which means I don’t use Cry It Out.
You can find me at www.GetQuietNights.com
Tracy Spackman

Daylight Savings and Sleep Shifting

Daylight savings changes are around the corner for many families and I’ve been helping families prepare for this change. Your 6:30 wake up is about to become a 5:30 wake up. Yikes!   Or maybe you have a 5:30 wake up and a 5:30-6pm bedtime and want to shift everything forward.  Totally Understandable!
The easiest way to handle the shift is to add a late afternoon nap that is a full sleep cycle that would push the bedtime later and then follow up the next day by pushing the naps and meals the same amount of time later. You may be able to jump a whole hour or you may be doing 15-30 min “baby” steps.

If you can’t get a late afternoon nap, start in the morning by pushing light exposure, breakfast and the first nap of the day 15-30 minutes later. Use a lot of distraction. It’s better to have an overtired morning nap that can get caught up over the day than an overtired bedtime that sabotages the whole night. Then keep that shifted schedule all day.
If your baby has good sleep habits and skills, then you may be able to just jump cold turkey to the new time and they will surprise you by adjusting faster than you do.
If this is not your only issue and you need sleep help, give me a call
-Tracy Spackman 602-524-7610 www.GetQuietNights.com
Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/QuietNights  to post questions and see how other families are doing with their sleep coaching.