Ever Wonder?

Have you ever wondered about those times in your baby's/child's life where it seems that everything you have worked to achieve backfires? You know, you've been diligent about naps, scheduled meals, etc. and your sweet baby seems to have lost his mind? The whining, crying, fussing, tantrums seem to come from nowhere. But guess what? It seems that it's totally normal and actually a sign that your child is developing. Those little neurons are firing away and making new connections daily, but every few weeks in your young child's life means a great big leap in development. I stumbled upon a book called The Wonder Weeks by Hettie Vanderijt and Frans Plooij and it is amazing! It outlines the "leaps" your baby makes at predictable times in his life and helps explain those crazy fussy periods. Seriously, it totally makes sense and makes those hard days a little easier to understand. It also shows you what your child will be able to accomplish after the leap is over. Very cool. You can check out the website here www.thewonderweeks.com.

Come on folks...

Ask me some questions! Let me test my credibility...

The Sandman is not a playmate!

I just talked to my friend, K and she was telling me how her three year old son wakes up in the night to go potty and then wants to listen to books on tape. At three in the morning. She told me that (of course) she says no...most of the time...and tells him that instead he can look through books in his bed. At three in the morning. Really? That boy has got her number! I got to thinking about a few other friends I have who have shared similar stories. One friend of mine plays with her daughter for an hour at a time in the middle of the night and another gets up and watches TV with her child. If your sweet baby thinks he can get away with it, he will try it. I promise. So remember this complicated little tip...nighttime is for sleeping. Enforce it. If you are consistent, results will follow!

Zonked?

I once read that if your child routinely falls asleep in the car he is not getting the sleep he needs. I think that this is such an important sign of overtiredness and is a great clue as to whether your child is getting enough sleep. If your child often falls asleep while running errands around town, think about his sleep habits and ask yourself if you are allowing adequate time for sleep in his own bed. If your child is generally happy and alert in the car, it's probably safe to assume that he is well rested. Just a little food for thought...

I'm no expert, but...

I have this strange interest in figuring out how, why, and when kids need to sleep. It started when my son was born and I was in a new city with a new baby living in my brother's house. I had nothing to do and nobody really to talk to. So...I turned my focus on to my baby. I read anything and everything I could get my hands on about babies and sleep until I had my boy sleeping soundly through the night by the time he was seven weeks old. Since whatever I was doing was working, I kept reading, and learning, and kept up with a schedule, and my sweet, happy, well-rested baby turned into a sweet, happy, well-rested toddler. Then it was time for baby number two. L was born and again was sleeping 7-8 hour stretches by eight weeks. She slept 7-7 for the first time when she was 11 weeks old and has never looked back. I, by no means claim to be any kind of expert and I certainly don't want to make any promises that my advice will work for everyone (or even anyone!), but I love sleep questions and I love trying to figure it all out. So, if you have a question about your baby and sleep...ask away!