Adults and Sleep

I know I talk about infants and kids sleep here a lot. And yes, it’s super important that your child get the rest they need. But what about you? I am just as guilty of not getting the rest I need as any other parent! I stay up late doing work, researching, snacking, working out, watching shows (where my Game of Thrones fans at?!) and spending time with my husband. It’s a badge of honor we wear as parents. Stay up late for some desperately needed adult and alone time.

What can we do? Do we give up that coveted downtime? Do we let our homes fall to pieces? No. But I ask myself each night to go to bed 15 mins earlier than I did the night before. Sometimes, I have a week long streak of abiding by that rule. And I feel great. More rested and somehow more efficient. So I try to keep that in mind on the nights I think “no, I can’t give up even 15 minutes”. Try it. See how you feel after a week of just going to bed 15 mins earlier than you did the night before.

Here is a link to an awesome article highlighting the issue in adult sleep! I think you’ll find yourself doing what I did as I read, “Yep. Yep. That’s me”. 

Wake up, America: You're fooling yourself about sleep, study says

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/health/sleep-myths-facts-study/index.html

The Sensory Seeking kiddo and Sleep

The Sensory Seeking kiddo and Sleep

Testing out the Huggaroo Pouch twin sized (used on a full size crib, for now) 

My son is very much a sensory seeking child. He needs a ton of input all day long and as we discovered when he was 2.5, it helped so much at bedtime. Our bedtime routine may seem a bit ridiculous to some but my #spd (sensory processing disorder) parents know how beneficial it is to get them an end of day boost of input! 

We do a magnesium lotion on the bottoms of his feet. Joint compressions. Deep pressure hugs. Roll him like a burrito in a blanket for 10-30 seconds. Books about bedtime. And try to tightly snuggle him in bed. He has his water bottle (that green Nalgene!) and he falls asleep well. 

At some point in the night, something will trip his sensory wires and wake him. Most times, he can soothe himself and grab a drink from his water bottle and settle. But if he’s had a rough day, too much input, too little input, or the bedtime routine is rushed, he can’t settle. He can’t settle because he can’t regulate his need for input when he’s half awake. So we go in, give a few deep pressure hugs and help him regulate. If there are increased wakings repeatedly, I look for the sensory sleep intruder. Blue light? Tags on blankets? Sheets askewed? Comfort toy missing? Every sensory child is different so as an #spd parent, you learn what to look for. 

With my son, it was always the blanket is off or not tightly bundling him. He responds so positively to that deep pressure. He has so many sensory toys thanks to his aunt and mother’s research. So, he is now getting great daytime and play input. But nighttime, we needed more input than the bedtime routine offered. Weighted blankets didn’t help, he would get so hot and sweat himself awake! 

Enter Dr.Mom in research mode. He couldn’t sleep in a sensory body sock because that wasn’t safe. BUT I found a company that uses the same sensory body sock material to make a sensory bed pouch! Not too many reviews on Amazon, but they were all glowing. Most ppl on the web had great things to say about the company, Huggaroo.  So we spent the $39.99 and primed it! 

It’s night one. I will say he saw it and IMMEDIATELY jumped into bed. Was asleep about 15 mins after lights out. Takes him about 30 mins most nights as he is seeking, seeking, seeking input. Give me a week. I’ll update. But I have a good feeling. 

Any sensory parents or special needs parents out there need a hand getting their kids the sleep they need? Come talk to me! I will find a way to improve your sleep and your child’s sleep. 

https://www.eatsleepdream.love/sleep-coaching-packages/

Reading at Bedtime

Reading at Bedtime 

Every parent knows that you should read to your kids as much as you can, that point gets driven home to us by pediatricians, teachers, researchers , and everybody else who cares offer opinion! 

And I’m in total agreement.  Reading to your child is critical for their learning, critical thinking, and comprehension. But did you know, it could also be a non verbal cue to begin relaxing the body and brain? 

There are lots of nonverbal cues we can give our children to let them know that it’s time to start getting ready for bed. A warm bath, massage with lotion, warm pajamas, and the “piece de resistance”, a bedtime story. Or five. Implementing a bedtime routine is critical to teaching children how to slow the body and brain down and sleep. So we can add as many or as few steps to this nonverbal cue that it is time to go to bed.

Books are a step that I don’t mind at all. In fact reading to my children at night while they are snuggled in my arms, is one of my favorite things to do. And you can read any sort of books before bed to your child, but if anyone knows me, they know I love a theme!  

While we have books that we keep on a seasonal rotation (holiday ones, weather related ones, etc) There are a few that don’t really leave the rotation. These are the Good Night Books by Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper. I don’t receive any sort of payment for promoting them I just love their books because there is a good notebook for any child and any area of interest they have! They even have Good Night books for states and cities!

Check out their website, www.goodnightbooks.com 

You will find that they are super sturdy board books and at a reasonable price of about $10 each.  They last forever and are a wonderful addition to our bedtime routine. 

We have read Good Night New Orleans  to our son since he was six months old. He knows all about the city that his mother and father fell in love with on their baby moon when they were pregnant with him. And we can’t wait to take him there to see all of the things we’ve been reading about for years. 

If you need help implementing reading into your bedtime routine, shoot me an email! We can have a quick chat, talk about your child’s interests and make a few suggestions!

The Nalgene Grip-N-Gulp

I know this seems a little bit weird to be reviewing a toddler water bottle. But I know there have to be parents out there that have had the same issues that I have had, with their toddler. And bedtime. And needing something to drink at bedtime or during the night.

My son drinks more water than even my weight lifting, bodybuilding brother-in-law  (shout out to uncle peter!) And he carries around a gallon of water with him at all times! If he’s not drinking water he’s drinking whole milk. He’s always drinking something! At six months of age, he gave up the pacifier but instead was very attached to his bottle of milk and needed to be sleeping with it. It didn’t matter what I did, if he woke up and found that bottle not there, he would wake up and be inconsolable. As he got older we moved away from bottles entirely. …to sippy cups. SO MANY SIPPY CUPS.

I discovered, unfortunately,  that every brand I tried would leak in his bed at night and he would wake up soaked. At some point during his night, he would wake up crying and I would go into the room to find that his entire bed and body were soaking wet and the sippy cup was completely empty. Every brand I tried somehow leaked, opened up completely, or just had a bad seal.

My mother-in-law who is a West Point grad, brought the kids a whole bunch of swag from the college a few months ago. Included in that swag, was a toddler sized Nalgene gulp-n-grip water bottle.

Guys. This thing doesn’t leak. It doesn’t seep out of the spout. In order for your toddler to get the liquid inside, they have to actively be trying to drink it and pull on the spout. So each night, my son takes this tiny little sports bottle to bed with him. I put about 3 ounces of water in it (holds 12oz). He cradles it like a little baby and drifts off to dreamland. If I hear him shuffling sometimes at night, I see him taking a quick swig and then back to sleep he goes!

As a parent, I understand that there are some battles that are worth fighting and there are some that aren’t. For me, making him sleep without this little water bottle is kind of silly. It’s 3 ounces of water. If it makes him happy, great.  I just needed to find something that would make ME happy and not leak and cause more laundry!

$10 on amazon. Can’t go wrong.

If you need any help with your particular bedtime battles, whether it’s with your toddler or your infant, Check out my offerings and let’s get you guys sleeping!

https://www.eatsleepdream.love/sleep/

“On your mark, get ready to race! 1.2.3, Let’s Blaze” No? Just me that knows ALL THE WORDS TO KIDS SHOWS NOW?!