Tag Archives: lack of sleep

How to Avoid Summer Sleep Trouble

November 16, 2015 Janelle Leave a comment

Summer used to be my favourite time of year. Late nights, barbecues with friends, lazy mornings. Since becoming a mother, my ideal summer has changed somewhat. Now I have the challenge of a child struggling with sleep. Here are my best 3 tips to help you survive the summer months and promote the best opportunity for sleep for your entire family.

Sleeping in the summer months can be tricky for everyone.

1. Darkness

Our bodies need darkness to produce melatonin. Melatonin is what makes us sleepy. During the summer months, it can still be light outside making it more difficult for your child to fall asleep. Try your best to use thick, block-out or blackout curtains in your child’s bedroom. This is also really important in the morning when the level of melatonin in our bodies is at it’s lowest. The smallest amount of sunlight can wake your child ready to start the day!

2. Temperature

If our bodies are too hot, we find it difficult to sleep. If your child has been running around, offer a lukewarm bath or shower to help drop their body temperature a little. Provide quiet, calm activities before bed.

If you live in a hot house like me, dress your little one in very light layers when they first go to bed. Later in the evening, you may want to add another layer over the top, because as the temperature drops in the early hours, you do not want your child to wake feeling cold. It can be really tricky getting the right balance so sometimes it is a bit of trial and error. For safe wrapping, visit here.

3. Avoid Over-Scheduling

This is a busy time for many families. With so many social events filling up our diaries, it can be hard to say ‘no’. I say everything needs to be in balance. If your child has had a late night or a day of missed naps, then the next day, try to stay closer to home and offer the best opportunity to catch up on lost sleep.

Our children’s bodies do need a certain amount of sleep each day. If that is reduced, then they carry a “sleep debt”. If that sleep debt if not addressed quickly, it will impact on your child’s sleep permanently. A child not sleeping is one tired and cranky household!!

The overall message here is be consistent with bedtime as much as possible. If there has been any missed sleep, make sure your child has a chance to catch up. Make sure your child’s environment is perfect to promote the best quality sleep possible.

Book in a time to chat with me here.

Sleep well!

Janelle Jeffery Child Sleep Consultant for Sleepytime — Janelle Jeffery
Child Sleep Consultant for Sleepytime

Baby Sleep, Child Behaviour, Child Sleep, Sleep Training Methods

When will my baby sleep through the night?

July 17, 2015 Janelle 2 Comments

How many times have you been asked, “So, is he sleeping through the night yet?” It seems that sleeping through the night is some kind of measure of success as a mother. If your baby isn’t sleeping through then what are YOU doing wrong? Cue all feelings of guilt and failure now…

What does sleeping through really mean?

Everyone seems to have his or her own interpretation of what sleeping through the night means. Some people say it’s 5 straight hours, others say 12hours. I believe, once a baby enters the cot at night, say around 7-8pm, and self-settles through the night (not needing help from mum or dad to fall back to sleep) and wakes any time after 6-7am, is sleeping through the night. As adults, we will wake up through the night from time to time when we are in the light phase of sleep. Babies need to wake too; it’s just that they are a little noisier about it. If your baby has managed to fall back to sleep independently then they are sleeping through!

So, what about feeding through the night? Babies need to be fed through the night. Some babies will drop the night feed as early as 3months old and some babies will still require a feed at 8months old. If your baby is waking through the night for one to two feeds but he can fall back to sleep all on his own after the feed AND he can settle himself other times during the night, then I believe he is sleeping through.

When should my baby be sleeping through?

All babies are different. As said earlier, some babies will drop all night feeds as early as 3months old and can resettle themselves without the help of mum or dad and will sleep 12hours straight. This is not the norm. Lots of babies (if everything goes to plan) will start sleeping through and not needing a feed at about 6months old. Some babies will take a little longer.

If your baby is waking frequently during night needing to be fed back to sleep, rocked, cuddled, bounced etc then maybe it is time to seek help. Good quality sleep is vital for healthy development. Asking for help isn’t a sign of failure as a parent.

Every baby is different and sometimes all you need is a little guidance and support from someone in the know. Book here to have a chat together. During this time we can discuss the needs of your child, the support I offer and how you can achieve sleep success in a caring and loving way! Sleep well!

Janelle Jeffery Child Sleep Consultant for Sleepytime Child Educator and Behaviour Specialist. — Janelle Jeffery
Child Sleep Consultant for Sleepytime.

Baby Sleep, Child Sleep, Sleep Training Methods, Toddler Sleep

Do you want nap time success?

March 9, 2015 Janelle Leave a comment

Almost all parents at some stage of their child’s life find naptime difficult. Some naptime issues include:

Your child needs your help to nap;
Your child finds it difficult to fall asleep at all; or
Your child only catnaps.

There are many more nap problems that I haven’t included here but these are definitely the most common. If you are experiencing difficult naps, here are my tips for better nap time success:

1. Sleeping independently

This is a big one. What I find is if you are helping your child to fall asleep (rocking, patting, feeding, dummy, bouncing etc) to sleep, often these sleep associations have an expiry date of usefulness. With a newborn the rules are different. Feeding to sleep was fine, but eventually that will stop working for you, so you move on to say, rocking to sleep. Now your child is too heavy so you change to patting. Suddenly you realise that your ‘bag of tricks’ is empty and your child still isn’t sleeping on their own. Now it is time to place your child into the cot completely awake without your help so they can begin to establish their own tools to fall asleep. Easier said than done right? If you need some help, contact me here.

2. Provide a ‘sleepy’ environment

Again, newborns can usually sleep anywhere. Once your baby passes this newborn phase, it is important that the majority of the time they are sleeping where it is dark and fairly quiet. If you have a noisy house during they day, white noise can help. Try to make the room as dark as you can. Why? Darkness helps the body to produce melatonin that makes us sleepy. The temperature of the room needs to be on the cooler side (not cold). If you cannot change the temperature, dress your child in lightweight clothing. If your child is too hot, it is harder to sleep.

3. Send the message it is “sleepytime”

Most parents have the bedtime routine down pat, but forget to send the same message at nap time. Your child needs the cue that it is “sleepytime”. It may seem obvious to us the cot is there, so it must be “sleepytime”, BUT babies need time to unwind and understand what is happening at that moment.

Here is an example of a nap routine:

Go into the bedroom
Change nappy
Sit and read a quick story
Kisses and cuddles
Say “it’s sleepytime”
Into the cot awake

4. Allow time to resettle

Some children’s cries will go from nothing to hysterical in less than a minute. When your child wakes up after the first sleep cycle (30-45mins), he will cry out and you will run in immediately. This is part of being a responsive parent right? Yes totally but the problem with rescuing your child so quickly is that they are still tired and not finished napping. This is the reason they are so upset. Your child really wants to sleep more but they are not sure how too. If your child isn’t falling asleep independently at the beginning of the nap, then clocking on to the next sleep cycle without your help is difficult. Don’t be afraid to wait a little to allow them the chance to fall back to sleep. Always listen to the cries and if there are breaks, then just wait a little. If you are needed, try for 10-20mins to extend the nap by offering some gentle touch. This won’t be easy at first, but the more you do it, the better the chance you will be successful.

Combating naptime struggles are often frustrating and exhausting for not only you, but also for your child. Naps do take a lot of time to perfect, and just when you think you have it all sorted, it is time for your baby to drop a nap. If you wonder if your child is ready to drop a nap, download the “Sleepytime Guide to Mastering Nap Transitions” here.

Sleep well,

Baby Sleep, Child Sleep, Parenting, Toddler Sleep

Is your child a fussy eater?

January 5, 2015 Janelle Leave a comment

It can be exhausting when your child refuses to eat.

This week the hot topic of conversation with my friends and clients has been regarding eating (or lack of) amongst our children. There is always great concern about trying to encourage our children to eat more. I work with parents to help their children learn to love sleep, but time and time again I am seeing a link between fussy eaters and poor sleepers.

Two common causes of children not wanting to eat are; too much milk and lack of sleep.

MILK

Milk is a great food source so I am not here to persuade you to stop giving it to your children, but what I want to highlight is how it can impact on lack of appetite.

Imagine you had two large milkshakes a day. How much solid food would you be able to consume during the day after that? My guess is not much. If your child is drinking copious bottles of milk during the day and night, then chances are they are not that interested in much else. Milk is drunk quickly and easily and it makes you feel full for a long time.

With the many families I have worked with, once we reduce or even eliminate the milk during the night, we observed an almost instant increase in appetite during the day. This all depend on the age of the child of course.

Breast-milk or infant formula should be the main source or nutrition for the first 9months of age. After this time, your child should be eating “three meals a day and the frequency of milk feeds is beginning to decline,” Mererilinga (2011). By 12months of age, many babies substitute breast-milk or infant formula with cow’s milk. Regardless of which form or milk your child is offered, by this time solid food becomes more important.

It is important to note that drinking lots of cow’s milk is not necessarily a good thing. “In fact, milk makes it harder for the body to absorb iron and can contribute to iron-deficiency anaemia”. Kid’s Health.

So how much is enough? Well, it is all about balance. It is recommended that toddlers aged between 2-3 years have 1.5 serves of dairy a day. It should come from a variety of food sources, not just milk. Raising Children Network.

If your child is having multiple milk feeds or bottles during the night past 8 months of age, chances are they are not only full during the day, but they are not getting enough sleep.

LACK OF SLEEP

A tired child will not want to eat. As adults, the more tired we are, the more we tend to eat. In my experience, I find the opposite happens for many children. If a child is tried, they do not want to sit there at the table and eat a full meal. It is too much like hard work.

If your child is tired, offering them an early dinner is far more beneficial than stretching them out to their usual set dinnertime. If you do try and delay dinner, chances are you will have a battle on your hands and your child will refuse to eat. Offer an occasional 4:30pm dinner to ensure they have enough energy to eat.

If your child is up multiple times during the night, and certainly if they are still taking milk during the night, I would bet that they are not interested in eating breakfast. You want your child to wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and HUNGRY!!

Case Study

Often too much milk and lack of sleep go hand in hand. Last year I worked with Amelia (15months) who was still taking up to 4 breast-feeds in the night. She never wanted breakfast and she was a picky eater throughout the day. Once we cut out the feeds in the night and she starting sleeping through, Amelia’s appetite increased ten fold. Her parents could not believe in just two nights how hungry Amelia was in the morning and she was eating a huge breakfast.

If your child is a fussy eater, monitor how much milk they are consuming in a 24hour period. Also monitor their sleeping patterns. Below is a guide to the average amount of sleep your child should be having each day.

Age	Hours of Sleep per 24hrs
Newborn – 3 months	16-18 hrs
3 months – 6 months	15-16 hrs
6 months – 12 months	14-15 hrs
12 months – 3 years	13-14 hrs
3 years – 5 years	11-13 hrs

Healthy eating and healthy sleeping are crucial to helping your child develop the best way they can. If you are concerned about your child’s food intake, consult a child nutritional professional or your doctor. If you are concerned about your child’s lack of sleep, visit here.

Janelle Jeffery

Child Behaviour, Child Sleep, Sleep Training Methods, Toddler Sleep

Does your child have ‘Jack-in-the-box’ syndrome?

October 1, 2013 Janelle Leave a comment

What did you say? I said ‘Jack-in-the-box syndrome! This is a child who just loves getting out of bed to see where you are and what you are up too- all hours of the night!!! You walk them back to their bed, and before you know it they are hot on your heels.

This can be frustrating and exhausting for parents who eventually ‘give in’ and let their child either sleep on the couch or hop into their bed, just so the family can get a little sleep. This problem is very common and it usually starts around 2-3 years of age. I speak with many families whereby the dad has been banished from the bed altogether. This sleeping arrangement is not sustainable, nor is it healthy for your relationship with your partner. Your bed is YOUR bed and that is the way it needs to be so you can all get a good night’s sleep.

So, what can you do to solve this problem?

Wait to Transition into a Bed

I would not transition a toddler into a ‘big bed’ until at least 2.5 years of age. The later, the better! Many parents transition their child far too early, trying to fix an existing bad sleep situation only to find it’s worse now they have the freedom to get out on their own.

Communication

Even if your child is not completely verbal, their understanding is amazing. During the day set the expectations for the night in simple ‘kid-friendly’ language. Tell them they will stay in bed the entire night until it’s morning time (at least 6am). I like using a visual timetable that outlines each step of the bedtime routine with the last picture showing them in their bed. Get creative! Bedtime is non-negotiable from here on in.

Rewards

Children are egocentric. If there is something in if for them, they will want to do it. Get a reward chart ready to go and make a big deal about it. Get a ‘treat bag’ and fill it with little surprises. These do not need to be expensive. Items such as books, hair clips, cars and play-dough work well. Each night they remain in their bed, they will earn a sticker on their chart as well as a treat from the bag. Work towards a surprise at the end, like an outing or a special toy.

Consistency

Children test boundaries. They need to know that the rules are the rules no matter what. Rules enable them feel safe and secure in their environment. Children will try and try again to work around the rules BUT really they want you to say ‘NO’. Once you ‘give in’ you will create a bigger problem. Children quickly learn that you mean what you say only some of the time. You need to be strong and firm and have routines in place. If you are consistent all of the time, then the transition will be a lot easier. Change is hard for everybody and it will be met with some protest from your child. Remember you are doing what is best for them AND for your entire family.

Fun

Make bedtime fun. You don’t want your little one dreading bedtime because it’s when they are banished to their room, alone, missing out on the fun elsewhere. Sing songs, read a book together, talk about the day. Purchase some special pyjamas and let them choose which ones to wear.

All children at some stage will want to get out of bed and hop into yours. Armed with this knowledge, the key to success is to be prepared for it. Each night needs to be predictable and you need to be consistent. I have provided some simple tips that can certainly improve the sleep situation overall. The good news is that it is achievable but toddlers/children can be tricky customers. If you find that it is all too difficult, remember I can help you to solve this once and for all with a tailored plan and support program. Contact me here for more information.

Sleep Well,

Janelle Jeffery

Help your child to love sleep