There are 3 main sleep problems you can encounter with your child: Nightmares, Night or Sleep Terrors and Sleep walking.

Nightmares occur in the later part of sleep an hour or two before your child wakes up.  Any child can have nightmares and if your child awakes from a nightmare, you can console her and she will respond to you.

Night terrors occur during deep sleep and your child is not aware of his surrounding and will not respond to you.  When this happens do not try and wake your child, but instead just ride it out. They are not associated with a mental disorder and are harmless unless your child hurts himself while he is moving about.

Sleepwalking also occurs during deep sleep.  The difference here is that your child is not terrified and he can participate in complex movements like dressing him self.  These are also generally harmless unless your child interacts with something hazardous in his environment.  If he does this regularly, you can try scheduled awakenings to break the pattern.

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Show notes  http://beyondburnout.com/42

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As a mom it’s not easy to see your child grow from that baby at your breast to a maturing adult.  Not only are they so cute when they are little, they need you for everything.  

While it can be a relief to get to the point where your child is less dependent on you, it’s not always easy to watch them distance themselves from you.  You will always be mom, but your role in their lives adjusts over time.  

In this episode, I discuss 5 early signs that your child is on the road to independence and it’s time for you to adjust.

1. They start sharing more things with their friends than with you.

2. Not wanting a lot of parental endearment  

3. Wanting more alone time.  

4. Family time has to include a significant other

5.  They want you to solve their problems without your interference

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Show notes  http://beyondburnout.com/41

Want me to answer a question?  Call the show at 404-465-2399 or email me at [email protected]

Organic food can mean a number of things and it can feel confusing when trying to make the best decision for your family, when going through the grocery aisles! Let me share with you what Organic means, the different categories, and how it affects your food so you can make the best decision for you and your family. 

When it comes to food, Organic refers to a way of farming where produce is grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. With livestock, the animals producing meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones. Now I’m sure organic farmers have found ways to grow crops with some sort of natural pest control so they can mass produce.  But going these extra steps costs more money.  This is why organic goods are more expensive.

The following 4 categories, for organic labeling, have been established by the USDA. 

Organic disqualification also includes the use of Irradiation OR Genetically Modified Organisms.

In this episode I talk about the EWG’s list of Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 foods and how you can use these lists to decide what you want to buy organic.

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Show notes  http://beyondburnout.com/40

Want me to answer a question?  Call the show at 404-465-2399 or email me at [email protected]

Show BB038 Quick Guide

There is a natural emotional separation that you must have with your children that’s a part of normal healthy development.  We you send your children off to school and you go to work, it’s easy to feel as though you’re not participating enough in school activities or you’re missing out on key moments.  This feeling is worsened if you child tells you he or she wishes you didn’t have to work so you could be around more.

But the reality is, when you child is young and depending on their temperament, you can never give them enough time.  If they enjoy being around you, they will always want to be around you in a way that’s not realistic or practical.  I mentioned my son would opt to have us stitched together if he could.  That can’t and shouldn’t happen.

This degree of emotional dependence is more applicable to younger kids in elementary school.  Once they get to the tween and teens, they are happy to have you stay away.  So this is a struggle for moms with younger kids.  But know that the remedy is to give them your all when you’re with them and let go of the idea that you need to be doing more.  Because you’ll never reach the threshold of enough.  You can also see yourself as falling short.  

Having a career that you enjoy when your child goes off to college helps you when they leave the home.  You’ll miss them terribly, but being able to continue working and thriving in your job (if in fact you are thriving) helps offset the sense of loss you feel when your child or children leave your home.

Being a mom is tough.  But keep being mom. It’s your nature to love and nurture.  And that nurturing is what makes the world go around.  Everyone needs you. Sometimes all those needs can feel overwhelming.  But meeting those needs, plants the seeds for a lifetime of love and intimacy with your family.  

Think about that as you are honored on this Mother’s day.  Sunday we celebrate moms.  But you are so important that everyday is mother’s day.

So remember, when you feel worn down from all of your responsibilities, know that everything you do for your family has irreplaceable value.

Happy mother’s day to you today and everyday.

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Show notes  http://beyondburnout.com/38

Want me to answer a question?  Call the show at 404-465-2399 or email me at [email protected]

Being gluten free is trendy now and it’s easier than ever to find items that are gluten free.  Not everyone needs to be gluten free.  However, there is a clinical entity called non-celiac gluten sensitivity.  If you have this, you don’t have the classic Celiac disease, but may have other problems caused by your sensitivity to gluten.  

If you have headaches, joint pains, digestive problems, excessive fatigue or other physical problems that your doctors can’t seem to get a handle on, you may want to get tested for gluten sensitivity.  If you are gluten sensitive, you can then make an educated decision as to whether or not you want to eliminate gluten from your diet to minimize any damage it is causing you.  

But here’s the catch – to get the maximum benefit, you need to eliminate all sources of gluten and not rely on substituting with gluten-free products. In other words, it doesn’t help to dabble with gluten reduction, you need to be all in. 

For everyone else who is not gluten sensitive, reducing your gluten by eating less grains may make you feel better and lose weight, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s because you are on a gluten free diet.  Chances are unless you are super-vigilant about checking all sources of gluten, your health benefit from reducing breads probably has nothing to do with gluten.

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Show notes  http://beyondburnout.com/36

Want me to answer a question?  Call the show at 404-465-2399 or email me at [email protected]

Show BB036 Quick Guide

You don’t have to have a diagnosis of ADD to get distracted and have trouble staying on task.

This episode is a response to a listener question about how to manage her ADD without medication.

There are many people who have a limited attention span but they get by. But with increasing age, not getting enough sleep or simply having too many things to do, you can lose your ability to compensate have trouble staying focused.  

Here are my 5 tips on how to be more efficient and focused.

Video games may be more helpful than you think.  You do need to set limits on how much time your child spends, have a budget and parental controls.  All good things need moderation.

In this podcast I talk about the benefits of gaming such as: 

As a working mom, you may want to join your child in the games if you don’t already for you own benefits of improving your dexterity so you can chop veggies better, sublimate your anger or frustrations of life and spend some more time with your child doing what she does.  You can do this without feeling like you’re being a bad mom or you condoning something that is bad for your child because it really does have some benefits.

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Show notes  http://beyondburnout.com/35

What in the world are superfoods?  These foods are called superfoods because you get a lot of bang for your buck.  They are low in calories, but are packed with nutrients.  This would be in contrast to foods with empty calories.  I’m sure you’ve heard that term before.  This would be food like potato chips or even sodas.  These food items are high in calories but low in nutrients.

Here is my list of top 10 superfoods

There are also some superfoods that are less common.  These would be great to add to your diet.

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Show notes  http://beyondburnout.com/32

Want me to answer a question?  Call the show at 404-465-2399 or email me at [email protected]

Show BB027 Quick Guide

There is absolutely nothing that compares to the loss of sleep that comes from having children.  But even after your babies are sleeping through the night, it is still easy to let bad habits or being busy keep you from sleeping well.  

This podcast is about self-inflicted poor sleep because of bad habits.  What you do to promote good sleep is called sleep hygeine.  Just like you need good oral hygeine, you need good sleep hygeine.

I believe the preparation for bedtime starts early in the day.  I’m sure you have heard may tips on what you should do and not do before bedtime.  If give you tips for how you should prepare for bed organized by time of day.

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Show notes  http://beyondburnout.com/31

Want me to answer a question?  Call the show at 404-465-2399 or email me at [email protected]

Show BB029 Quick Guide

In this episode I talk about the telltale signs that you’re in a toxic relationship and what to do about it.  This is not just your relationship with your spouse, but applied to anyone who takes up emotional space in your life.  This could be a girlfriend, sister or your mother.  

Having close, intimate relationships is complicated. And our early relationships with our caregivers often shape who we are attracted to and what type of person we find comfortable to be around. If you don’t get it right, you can end up in relationships that drain the life out of you.  

In this episode I give you 11 red flags to look for to identify those toxic signs in the other person.  I also give you four steps to detox the relationship.