Rest Grow Thrive - Pediatric Sleep Consulting

Do you have a toddler gearing up for transitioning out of their crib? Check out this article for tips with this big transition that I was featured in on New Modern Mom!

How to Transition From a Crib to a Toddler Bed According to a Pediatric Sleep Consultant It can feel overwhelming to transition your toddler out of the crib and into a toddler bed, so we've compiled tips from a Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant to make it easy.

Every. Time.
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My littles are notorious for chugging their water at bedtime right in front of me and then saying ‘oops, my water is empty!’
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Tell me the funniest way your child has stalled at bedtime! 😆

🌟Nap transitions🌟 ⠀
How do you know when to drop a nap?
Here are the common ages that we see nap transitions take place:
You’ll notice there is a range here - This is because *Every child is different.* Some drop naps early and some hang onto them longer!
😴4-3 naps: 4-6 mo (as it can take closer to 6 months for some babies to lengthen their naps, it can be totally normal to hold onto 4 naps for longer)⠀
😴3-2 naps: 6-9 months (most commonly, we see this transition around 8 months)⠀
😴2-1 nap: 15-18 months (there are outliers on both ends of this spectrum, but this is the average - and holding on to 2 naps until closer to this age can be VERY helpful to avoid a cycle of overtiredness)⠀
😴1-0 nap: 3-5 years (Yes, some 5-year olds still benefit from napping!)⠀
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Other signs you are nearing a nap transition:⠀
😴Consistently taking a long time to fall asleep for naps ⠀
😴Suddenly taking short naps when your little one previously took long naps⠀
😴Consistently playing through a nap⠀
😴Sleeping well at one nap but not the other(s)⠀
😴Taking a long time to fall asleep at bedtime⠀
😴Otherwise unexplained night wakings⠀
😴Otherwise unexplained early risings (before 6 a.m.)⠀
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We want to see one or more of these signs at least a few times a week for a couple weeks at a time before assuming it’s time to drop a nap.

There are also a few times that we may see a child resist a nap before they are ready to drop a nap completely. This typically occurs around 12 months and 2/2.5 years. Developmentally, there is a lot going on at these times (walking/speaking) and it’s normal to see that affect sleep.
*Don’t assume nap transition automatically when this happens*
Keep offering the nap time, it almost always comes back. ⠀
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If you are in the midst of a nap transition, remember: Your child is losing out on an entire sleep period! An early bedtime is your best friend as you move through the transition.
If you found this helpful, LIKE & SAVE this post for future reference, SHARE it with other parents, and FOLLOW along here for more sleep tips.

‼️Offering our children a sleep-inducing environment is a big piece of the healthy sleep puzzle. ⁠⁠
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For the first few weeks of a baby’s life, we often see them able to sleep just about anywhere. But as they grow and develop, they become more stimulated by their environment. Enter a great sleep space. You can help your child’s sleep by offering sleep in a space that encourages rest. ⁠⁠
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1. Dark - Darkness helps our bodies produce melatonin, the hormone that regulates our timing of sleep. It also keeps our babies from being able to see everything their brains get stimulated by. Even light creeping in around a shade can stimulate a sensitive sleeper, so we want to make the bedroom as cave-like as possible. ⁠⁠
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If you've decided to darken your child's room and are waiting blackout shades, you can tape tin foil or heavy duty garbage babes up to the windows in the meantime. It may not be the prettiest 🥴 but it works so well! ⁠⁠
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2. Cool - A comfortably cool room helps our body get ready for slumber, as our body temperature naturally drops when going to sleep. The ideal temp is btwn. 68-72 degrees F. ⁠⁠
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3. Quiet/White Noise - I always encourage families to use white noise. It can help to block out any outside noises that can disturb your child's sleep. A couple extra tips for using white noise: We want it to be continuous & we don't want it to be too loud. Many baby sound machines can get too loud. Keep the sound machine at least 6 feet away from your child's head and keep the volume under 50 decibels (about the sound of a shower running). ⁠⁠
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4. Of course we want to keep our children as safe as we possibly can. For babies, this means remembering the ABC's of safe sleep. ⁠⁠
A - Alone - Baby should be alone in their own sleep space without blankets, pillows, or stuffed animals. ⁠⁠
B - Back - Always place your baby on their back for all sleep periods.⁠⁠
C - Crib - Use a crib or bassinet that meets current safety standards. Use a firm mattress with a tight-fitting crib sheet. ⁠⁠
➡️If you are choosing to bed-share, be informed on the risks and the ways to make bed-sharing as safe as possible!

Just don’t ever lose it !!! 🤣

Swipe ➡️ to see my thoughts & recommendations on comfort items, or in our family, the lovey!

Does your toddler have a lovey? If they are attached to one, do you have extras? Let me know in the comments!

Today’s blog post hits close to home, since we welcomed our 3rd baby only five months ago!
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Bringing a new baby home to older siblings can come with it’s own new adjustment period. On the blog today, I covered how we prepared our ‘big’ girls for their baby brother, things you can do to help your older children adjust, and how to handle sleep disruptions due to this monumental change for your family.
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https://www.restgrowthrive.com/blog/helping-siblings-adapt-when-adding-a-new-baby

⭐️Did you recently welcome a new baby into your family? Are you expecting and preparing your older toddler or big kids for a new sibling? Let me know in the comments!

Also, don’t forget to:
➡️Follow for infant, toddler, and preschooler sleep information!
➡️Book an introductory call if you are interested in 1:1 sleep support as you make changes to improve your child’s sleep!
➡️Check out my website (www.restgrowthrive.com) and scroll through my blog posts & free guides!

New on the blog!
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I’m giving a run-down of the different approaches to work on independent sleep with your little one. From infants up to preschoolers, I outline the different methods to work on teaching your child to fall asleep and return to sleep on their own throughout the night.
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Check it out using the link in my bio or the link below!

http://www.restgrowthrive.com/blog/sleep-training-methods-infants-and-young-children

Is your baby, toddler, or preschooler waking up before 6:00 a.m. for the day? Yikes!!
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We just experienced a week with some of these due to my 4-month old mastering rolling, happy to be on the other side of that now!
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I just released my new, free troubleshooting guide for Early Morning Wakeups; use the link below to get it!
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What time does your little one wake up in the morning? Let me know in the comments!

https://marvelous-inventor-739.ck.page/53a826e15d

If you have any big trips coming up yet this summer, this one's for you!

Or if you are an expat family like myself, this one is definitely for you!

Navigating sleep and BIG time changes can be tough, but I got you covered on the blog today.

Use the link in my bio to read all about how to manage sleep while traveling multiple time zones!

www.restgrowthrive.com/blog/travel-time-zones-with-kids

One month ago, Harry Alexander completed our family.⠀
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We’ve been focusing on adjusting to life as a family of five & soaking in the newborn snuggles. And, I’ve joined so many of you back in the trenches of newborn sleep. ⠀
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So, what have we been experiencing the last month?⠀
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🤍 Sporadic sleep - It’s normal for newborns to sleep in random bursts. Sometimes only 20 minutes, sometimes a few hours. It doesn’t mean you did anything wrong if baby wakes after 15 minutes!! When Harry wakes after a short nap, I spend 5-20 minutes, trying to get him back to sleep. If it doesn’t happen, we stop trying and move on with the day!⠀
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🤍 Short Wake Windows - Newborns are only able to stay awake for 45-60 minutes before needing to sleep again. It’s great if you can start looking for your baby’s tired signs and getting to know them already (➡️). With 2 other kids at home that make it hard to always be paying attention to Harry’s signs, he spends a lot of time in the baby carrier for naps and gets lulled to sleep before he gets overstimulated/overtired. ⠀
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🤍 Day/Night Confusion - This is normal to see and usually works itself out by 6/8 weeks. To help, we’ve been doing most naps in the living room, where it is bright and noisier. Nights we keep dark and boring, with less engagement/stimulation. I also encourage families to wake baby to feed if they are asleep during the day and it has been 3 hours since their last feeding.⠀
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🤍 Full Feedings: We want to encourage that most of baby’s calories are being taken in during the day, to eventually see longer stretches of sleep overnight. It’s helpful to encourage full feedings if you are breastfeeding, by tickling baby’s feet/back, etc. to ensure they stay awake while nursing to feed well.⠀
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(Continued in comments…)

The holidays are full of fun and excitement, but can also wind up full of sleep disruptions!

Use the link below to read about these common disruptions over the holidays and how to be prepared for them to maintain sleep even in this busy time!

https://www.restgrowthrive.com/blog/holidays-and-sleep

What’s your preferred way to address the holidays and sleep in your family? Drop the emoji from below that represents you in the comments!

🎄- keep the schedule & routine intact, holidays or not

🎁 say yes to all the holiday events, even if that means sacrificing sleep

❄️trying to strike the balance between doing some of the holiday events without throwing sleep routines off TOO much!