The Sweet Slumber Coach

⏰ Daylight savings time!! ⏰

Initially we will be in a bit of sleep debt as we lose an hour of sleep so we can expect there to be some challenges as our little ones adjust to their new sleep-wake cycle.

As those summer nights get longer and lighter, you may have to dim the lights a little earlier or darken the room to help your little one transition to sleep for their usual bedtime. This is because light in particular has a big influence on our circadian rhythms (when we feel tired and when we feel alert) and can cause a delayed onset of sleep.

If you have a little person who likes to wake at 5:30am, this change will give you an hour sleep in in the coming days 🙈

If you find that after the clocks are adjusted and your little one starts waking early again and you aren’t wanting that to continue, feel free to DM!

I’m going with option 2! Wake Miss Z at 7am on the Sunday. I can expect it will be harder for her to fall asleep at her “usual” nap times at 9:30am & 1pm (which really will be 8:30am & 12pm) but I’ll be consistent in how she goes to sleep and as she adjusts, the time it takes her to fall asleep will get quicker! Which option will you do?

If you notice these red flags with your little one, it is recommended that you see a GP or Paediactrician to discuss these symptoms as they can sometimes be an indicator that something else is going on for your little one which can be impacting their sleep. If you are working with a consultant, it is important that they ask questions around this to ascertain whether there are any red flags and for them to be medically cleared before you begin working on your little one’s sleep.

Have you noticed any of these red flags for your little one when they sleep?

💫✨ FATHER’S DAY GIVEAWAY ✨💫

What better gift than the gift of sleep!!

We celebrate those Dads who are near or far, who are with us or no longer with us. This day has a different meaning for each person and so we are sending love to you whatever your situation, especially if today is a particularly hard day 🤍

Although we should make the effort to celebrate one another each and every day (and not just on a day where socks and cards are overpriced), we want to recognise and thank the present Dads, Step Dads, Foster and Adoptive Dads and the people in our lives that fill the role of a Dad. We thank you for going above and beyond, we see you, and your effort and love does not go unnoticed!

What you need to do to win the Sweet Slumber Support Package!
1. Follow on Instagram
2. Like this post
3. Tag a friend (unlimited entries)
4. Share this post for an extra entry!

What's included?
• Individualised & detailed sleep assessment & plan
• 60 minute phone consult
• 2 week daily check ins & log support (excluding
Sunday's)
• 2 x 15 minute phone calls to be used within the two
weeks
• Summary email & additional resources
Winner drawn next Sunday 11th of September 2022. T's & C's apply.
Winner will be announced on this post and via DM. This is not endorsed or affiliated with Instagram. Baby/child must be between 3 months - 5 years. Support to commence within two weeks of winning this giveaway.

Get tagging 👇🏽👇🏽

How to support your little one’s sleep on holidays 👇🏽

▫️We can’t control how long our baby sleeps so we want to lower our expectations!
▫️We also want to try to remain calm. If your baby who once knew how to self-settle is no longer doing that, that is okay and perfectly normal! Our babies are in a new environment, in a different bed and sleep space, some may be in different time zones and so their body clock is out of whack and they may need that extra comfort and cuddles.
▫️What you CAN do is pick a settling method and stay consistent. Once you know that all their needs have been met, i.e. they are not hungry or needing a nappy change; the room is an okay temperature; they have the appropriate layers on for the climate; and, they have the sleep associations that they usually have to fall asleep, then you can use the chosen settling method to help them settle. Once you are back at home and they are comfortable in their space, you can gradually peel back that support if that is your goal.

You can also:

▪️Bring your child’s sleep associations so that there is some consistency and familiarity for them, such as a comforter (after 7 months of age), sleeping bag, dummy, sound machine or black out curtains (black garbage bags and some sticky tape work a charm!) etc.
▪️Try to stick to a similar routine that you had at home
▪️If over 5/6months, trying to get one long nap in a day at home (shorter “cat naps” before this age is developmentally normal for babies)
▪️If you aren’t able to be at home, try timing naps with car travel or longer walks in the pram/carrier
▪️Don’t underestimate the power of an early bedtime!
▪️Finally, and one more time, lower those expectations. It might not be perfect but let’s focus on what we can control 🫶🏽

If you’ve braved a holiday with your little one, please share your experiences below (good or bad) 🙈

When things aren't going as planned or expected we can get so caught up on what we feel is going wrong or things outside of our control, when really we should be looking at what we can do and what is in our control!

We can provide our bub with some structure and routine in their day as we know, babies thrive off consistency and knowing what is going to happen next. What is familiar helps to calm the chaos of the unknown. We can provide our bub the opportunity to sleep in an environment conducive to sleep. We can support and validate those big feelings that erupt for our little ones when we apply kind but firm boundaries around things like bedtime. We can also focus on our reactions and our own triggers around sleep time.

Looking at what we can control may help us when we are feeling overwhelmed. Easier said than done right!? Did you know in my other role as Family Therapist, I work with lots of parents to help them explore healthy ways to express emotions and self regulate so that in turn they can help their little ones to calm?

Have you spent hours trying to assist bub to sleep? Maybe you've tried everything Dr Google has suggested but you're still battling for hours, trying to convince bub it's sleep time?

Much like we can't control how we feel in these desperate times, how our babies feel and whether they sleep is out of our hands. Those big feelings and them fighting sleep might make us feel helpless in the moment but I look at it as a reminder to focus on what is actually in our control.

This is something I emphasise with every family I am lucky enough to work with. So what can we control? We'll explore that in my next post ❤

Ladies and Gents, the moment I'm sure you've all been waiting for... The Sweet Slumber Coach's website is officially live!!!! The link is in my bio!

Swipe left to see the face behind the website. There is not a lot this guy can't do! He takes his role as a Husband, Dad, website creator and social media manager very seriously, despite the lack of pay. So this doubles as a thank you post. Thank you for saying yes to my crazy ideas, like starting our own business with a 10 week old, thank you for building this website and thank you for always reviewing my socials posts to make them more "digestible for the audience" lol 🙃

For the next month there will be a 15% discount
when purchasing any of my services as part of my website launch. Discount code is SSLAUNCH15. If you were ever thinking about making changes to your little ones sleep and wanting that extra support, now is the time to do it 🎉🤍

✨ Website coming VERY soon! ✨

Message if you'd like to know more about a package or if you have any questions about which one might suit your goals best! Or head over to my Instagram if you'd like to know more about these packages, there will be more information saved in a highlight reel 🫶

We are all out here doing our best and our best looks different each day! We need to be kinder to ourselves 🤍

What do you not love about being a parent? 🙈

Resonate with anything on the last slide and feeling exhausted? You do not have to do this alone!

No matter your current situation, if you have any questions about how a sleep coach may be able to help you or want to chat through what you're experiencing, drop a comment or send me a DM 🫶

Have you ever wondered why sometimes you can sneeze in the living room and somehow your baby has heard this tiny sneeze and woken, when other times you can have the music blaring whilst you’re vacuuming and they remain fast asleep? It doesn’t make sense to us until we understand the pattern of sleep babies go through during their naps.

Check out the diagram 👆 if you are needing to transfer your baby or put away clothes in their room whilst they sleep, try and time it for when they are in that deep sleep, 20-40 minutes after they go down!

Studied with the and learnt this gem!

Like, follow and share for more content like this 🫶

Romance after a child? If by romance you mean not being interrupted by a hungry, tired or bored baby, probably not. If you mean trying to fit in naps while being out so you can speak with your husband about the amount of washing that needs to be done when you get home and what school you should send your daughter to even though she’s only 6 months old, this is definitely a possibility.

These are 5 things I try to remember while out with my bubba:
1. Be realistic, your baby’s nap probably won’t go to plan or be as long as usual
2. Create an environment conducive for sleep- as you can see for my Bub who is highly distractible and only likes sleeping in the carrier, we have a breathable cloth covering her head until she’s asleep because any kind of light seems to keep her up!
3. Look out for tired signs around their usual awake windows and if there are any obvious cues, support them to transition to sleep
4. Bring anything familiar that usually helps them to sleep e.g. their dummy, comforter and/or white noise
5. Final reminder to again, be realistic! Any sleep is a win and helpful in avoiding an overtired baby. Even if things don’t go according to plan, like you can’t fix sleep in a single day, you won’t ruin your progress after one day either! Make those memories ❤️

Watch this reel by thesweetslumbercoach on Instagram Betty Who • I Love You Always Forever