Sleep

How To Night Wean Your Toddler in 3 Easy Steps

By / Family, Sleep & Settling
night weaning

I think Jay Gordon’s  advice about night weaning is a great place to start.  I referred to it often when night weaning my son, however his weaning plan didn’t exactly suit our situation, so I adapted it to suit us better.

Keeping in mind my little boy was 3 and a normal night for him was being fed to sleep around 7pm in his own bed, then waking around midnight and coming into our bed to feed for the remainder of the night. Some nights he would feed continuously from midnight until 6am. When he started the day – it was very much like a “dummy” for him. He also had a single bed, so I was able to fit into his bed and sleep with him.

The main motivation for me weaning him and hopefully getting him to sleep through the night without me was I was pregnant with our second baby at the time. I really wanted him well on his way to be weaned night and day, and sleeping through the night, BEFORE the new baby arrived.

Bedtime For Older Kids

By / Family, Children Articles, Teen Articles
sleep for older children

Bedtimes can be a real battleground between parents and their teens. Study, sleep and socialising all seem to compete with one another.

I asked my Facebook community what their thoughts were on bedtimes for teenagers. The discussion covered what time parents send their kids to bed on school nights, weekends and holidays. Interested to hear what the outcome was?

Well, the first thing I learned is that every family is different.

The Upside Of Having A Bad Sleeper

By / Family, Sleep & Settling

“What?!” I hear you gasp, at the very thought of there being an “UP” side of having a bad sleeper. Well, yeah, there are some. At least for my little boy.

Elliot is now coming up to four years old, and up until a couple of months ago, we had next to no routine. No matter how hard we tried to get this little guy to go to bed, and stay asleep, it was just not happening.

What Not to Say To A Sleep Deprived Mum

By / Sleep & Settling, Family, Baby Articles
sleep deprived mum

The twins have me on my toes again. Just when I thought we were past the worst of the night-waking in our house, here I am, back in the land of sleep-deprivation. Make that accumulated sleep-deprivation. Because a one-off night of waking up to children can be recovered from with an extra coffee the next day and an early night. But when it’s multiple nights of interrupted sleep, it starts to affect everything.

Becoming Mummy

By / Newborn Articles, Baby Articles

Two months ago, I welcomed into my life my beautiful baby boy Elliot. He is my everything and it feels like he’s been with us for so much longer than just eight weeks. And while yes, he has, my pregnancy was a fairly full on thirty eight and a bit weeks, now it’s really real. I’m not just pregnant, I’m Mummy.

Living With Sleep Deprivation

By / Sleep & Settling, Parenting Articles

Undoubtedly sleep deprivation is one of the more difficult aspects of parenthood – particularly early parenthood. Sleep deprivation can cause a range of problems for parents, including poor concentration, clumsiness, forgetfulness, irritably, anxiety and depression. If you feel like you aren’t coping speak to your doctor or children’s health nurse.

“It’s a Pet!…..It’s a Pillow Pet!”

By / Children Articles

When I first saw these advertised, and on shelves, I wasn’t that keen on them, I thought they looked weird, but I can see the appeal, they look pretty comfortable for little people to snuggle up to, just that it wasn’t something we would buy. When the dream light ones were advertised on television ………….

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