Sleep Well Sleepy Blog

One of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to getting babies to sleep through the night is the old “cereal in the bottle” routine.  Or dinner (solid food) as the first step of the bedtime routine.   It’s been used by parents for generations, and I can understand why it’s so popular. As adults, we know that sleeping on an empty stomach is challenging, to say the least. ...

I’m sure you can guess what my answer is to this question, since I am, after all, a pediatric sleep consultant. I tend to put a high priority on sleep and am, in my humble opinion, justifiably passionate about its benefits for babies.But is my passion for sleep clouding my view on this matter, or is there evidence to support my position? Oh, I am SO glad you asked. Now don’t g ...

When you first got pregnant, how long did it take before you started visualizing what your baby’s nursery was going to look like? Go ahead.  I won’t  judge, because for me, it was about an hour and a half. At first, I was thinking zoo animals.  But then, I thought about how much I used to love Dr. Seuss, and how cute would a Dr. Seuss nursery be?  Later on, I changed my mind ...

Most of us consider snoring just a normal part of life. Maybe we have a partner who snores, or a Grandpa who falls asleep in his easy chair and snores so loud it’s hard on carry on a conversation in the room. We think of it as a common condition, and while it might be irritating trying to sleep beside a snorer, it usually isn’t anything to worry about. But is snoring normal fo ...

When I talk with clients about the importance of getting their child the rest he needs, one thing we always discuss is their child’s sleep window, the natural time that the body wants to sleep.   Its during this time that the body produces the sleep hormone, melatonin, to prepare the body for sleep.  So if we can lay their child down during his sleep window, it will be easier f ...

First of all, I like to refer to this as teaching healthy sleep habits or making healthy sleep changes because I think when some parents hear the words sleep training they get all kinds of preconceived notions in their head about what that looks like.  I work with tired parents all the time.  As a matter of fact, that is all I see….tired, and often completely and utterly exhaus ...

This is a question I often asked my first child when she was an infant.  I asked it in a sweet voice, I asked it in a pleading voice, I asked it in an angry voice, but no matter how many times I asked, she never gave me the answer. I can remember the night— and some of you will know exactly what I’m talking about— when I felt like I could not take it anymore.  My daughter just ...

I have had the pleasure of attending the Associated Professional Sleep Societies SLEEP meeting where new guidelines for recommended sleep duration were released. Developed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, a very intensive study was conducted by 13 of the top leading professionals in the field and based upon their findings, here are the new sleep guidelines for infant ...

If your child will be attending childcare or is in childcare currently or even has grandparents caring for them, there are some things to consider, especially if your child is under the age of three years old.  I talk to many parents with babies and toddlers who are experiencing sleep issues and the main issue is the child’s daytime sleep.   Daytime sleep for babies and young c ...

Let’s talk about separation anxiety!  I get emails from people saying that they’re not sure if it’s the right time to make changes to their child’s sleep because their child is going through separation anxiety.  That is a very common part of childhood development that most children go through at one point in their lives.   Some experience it a little more often and more severel ...