Bringing Up Baby

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A bonus episode for you today for a couple really quick, but really important things.

First - We’re 1 Year Old!! Happy 1st Birthday to the Bringing Up Baby podcast. We officially launched our first episode on February 13th last year and while I had no idea what I was really getting into but we’re still here and still going strong with many amazing episodes still to come.

Throughout this past year, Bringing Up Baby has been providing you with evidence-based information to help you learn more about your baby, gain more confidence in your parenting, and get as much sleep as you can through it all. 

But we can’t stop there. There’s something missing.

Community.

We need to go out and find those people that are going to help us navigate this parenting journey. We’ve always heard that it takes a village to raise a child - but they aren’t just going to show up at your door unannounced. 

But where is one to start? Well, here’s one place:

Introducing the Bringing Up Baby COMMUNITY - an extremely valuable membership group to take this all to the next level. 

This is where SUPPORT gets a front seat. This is where you’ll find your people. 

By joining this exclusive membership group, you’ll have access to:

• A virtual community within our membership portal and private Facebook group.
• Weekly, LIVE, virtual education sessions with Q&A
• We’ll even do some Q&A’s off the topics discussed in this podcast as new episodes drop - so you can get even more specifics on a particular topic
• A growing resource page with educational and how-to videos, recordings of live sessions and helpful PDFs like my New Baby Sleep Guide! Yes, it’s yours for Free when you join our membership :) 

Now, we are doing things a little differently than you might expect to kick-start this new program… so, let me explain… 

We’re doing a bit of a “soft launch” that’s going to run from March 1st to June 30th of this year. We won’t be totally shutting down for the summer months, but there will be more of an OFFICIAL launch come September 2022. But get this - you can join as early as TODAY because we’re allowing for EARLY ACCESS!! This is going to allow you to jump in right away, access our Facebook group and preliminary resources and you’ll also be able to help inform what topics we dive into! That’s right - you have an opportunity to help to inform the content of our membership so we can tailor it exactly to your needs. 

This introductory offer won’t last forever! So head on over to www.birthbabysleep.ca and follow the links to our community membership 

I’m so pumped! This is going to be such a great way to keep the conversations going and to really get a sense of what community is when you’re a young, growing family.

See you there!

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Whether you consider yourself an organized person or not, this episode is going to help you bring more order to the chaos; more calm to the storm; and this feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day, knowing that you were productive & present.

Today we’re talking with Brianne MacKenzie - She’s a teacher, a mom of 4 and a BOSS when it comes to getting shit done. She’s the GetShitDone Mom and she’s going to share some of her top tips for managing our nagging to-do lists especially when we have little ones in-tow.

So, if you’re ready to learn some really amazing and practical ways to not feel so overwhelmed with all there is to do… Listen up! Let’s get into it.

Brianne's top tips for getting shit done and staying organized:
1. Narrow your focus to your TOP 3 PRIORITIES
2. Implement SYSTEMS AND ROUTINES based on the season of life you're in
3. Incorporate MOVEMENT into your day to create energy

Guest: Brianne MacKenzie

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• Get Shit Done Checklist HERE

Host: Ashley Cooley
Birth, Baby and Sleep Specialist

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Welcome back to the Bringing Up Baby podcast. We’ve got another episode for you today focusing on Your Postpartum Self. Because once again, if we want to really show our little ones how to be, it’s to always remember to look after ourselves and show them what it means to actually do that! 

We have to be at or near the top of the list but as new parents or parents of young ones, I know that you know that we often forget about this. We have to put our own mask on first, before we can even begin to help, connect or grow with another person. 

So for today’s show, I’m going to share a conversation I had with Amy MacAulay. Amy is the owner of Embrace Doula Services in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And she and her team are actually among a myriad of Postpartum Doulas in our communities and they are truly an invaluable resource. 

In this show, Amy’s going to share how to really prepare for what’s to come after baby arrives and where you may need some extra help. We get into when the right time is for visitors vs. helpers, and what specific tasks are actually helpful for others to do for you because trust us, the helpers really want to help! 

→ How to handle unsolicited or unhelpful suggestions from loved ones:

• Communication (Who & How)
• Create boundaries
• Leave out reading material (Loving Care books)
• Blame your doula/prenatal educator/consultant

Birth Baby Sleep: website... facebook... instagram

Embrace Doula website: https://www.embracedoula.ca 

Instagram and Facebook: @embrace_doula

Nova Scotia Doula’s Association: https://www.novascotiadoulas.org 

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I have a bit of a theme going on this month and it’s all about taking care of your Postpartum Self.

And for today’s episode, we’re diving deep into your postpartum hormones so you can understand more about what’s to be expected in relation to shifts in your mood or when it might be time to reach out for help.

To help us break it all down, I sat down with Dr. Ashley Margeson - co-owner and Naturopathic Doctor at Cornerstone Naturopathic in Tantallon and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Dr. Ashley talks about all the postpartum hormonal shifts or “blips” as she calls them, that happen right up until 18 months after delivery.

If this is the first time you’re hearing of her, I hope you immediately (well, immediately after listening here ;) go follow her podcast - The Superwoman Code. 

But first, trust me when I say, there is a lot to take away from this episode!
Hope you can take a listen, and maybe some notes ;)

Ashley Cooley, MAHP
Birth, Baby and Sleep Specialist
www.birthbabysleep.ca
Instagram @birth_baby_sleep
Facebook @birth_baby_sleep

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Swaddling infants has been happening for centuries but there has been a growing controversy about its safety.

It’s not that it’s illegal or that it’s one of those things that’s NOT recommended, but it does pose some risks. And we are going to talk about those risks but more importantly, how to MINIMIZE risk - because the last thing anyone needs is to feel guilty for doing something that might be extremely helpful for their baby and how they choose to parent. 

I am going to tell you what the research tells us - what the evidence is when it comes to swaddling and what you should keep in mind should you choose to swaddle. The rest is up to you and I hope this conversation helps! 

What is swaddling?
As mentioned, swaddling has been a long-standing, traditional practice of wrapping a baby up gently in a light blanket. Seems simple enough, but swaddling doesn’t come without its challenges.

How does it work to calm babies and what is the best way to swaddle?
So swaddling really is a tried and true way of calming babies because it helps re-create that womb-like situation which has shown to be very comforting for them. 

And Yes, swaddling is safe when implemented correctly. While swaddling for short periods is generally fine (meaning baby isn’t kept in a swaddle all day long), you might want to consider a swaddling sleep sack - which is basically a pre-wrapped blanket that might have velcros or something that keeps it together. This can actually really help if you find your baby loves a swaddle but breaks free from it easily. 

But regardless if you’re using a blanket to branded swaddle, definitely be sure to at least keep it loose around their hips. Swaddling too tightly here and when legs can barely move can actually lead to developmental dysplasia of the hip.  

The other big risk associated with swaddling infants is overheating, which increases the risk of SIDS. 

All of these recommendations come from the most up-to-date research, with which Health Canada obviously supports. They actually even add that you’ll also might want to consider having their hands free or at least near their face so they can show you hunger cues. 

When should you stop swaddling?

Around 3 months of age or when baby starts rolling, whichever comes first. 

How do you transition them out of a swaddle?

1. One arm out at a time. 
2. Both arms out but wrapped with the swaddle with a bit of “gentle pressure” around the abdomen.
3. Use what’s called a “transitional swaddle” of which there are several that are almost part swaddle, part not. For example, the Zipadee Zip which kind of makes your baby look like a starfish and the Merlin Magic Sleep Suit which actually has a bit of weight to it but can help baby manage that “startle reflex” when being placed on their back.
4. Cold turkey. Switch to a sleep sack/bag or maybe add a layer under their sleeper and call it a night!

Summary of how to best minimize any risk associated with swaddling:

• Swaddle securely to minimize risk of unwrapping
• Not too tightly around the hips, legs still able to move freely
• Avoid overheating
• Always place babies on their back to sleep
• And discontinue swaddling when infants show signs of rolling over or by about 3 months of age, whichever comes first.

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It’s almost a right of passage… At some point (or at many points), babies will wake up earlier than most of us would like.

But wanting your baby to “sleep in” is not at all selfish. Well, maybe it is a little bit, but you’re allowed to want and need good sleep too! Because you do!

Keeping in mind that each baby has their own thing going on and waking up really early isn’t really that uncommon or unrealistic. But, if there is anything you can do to help improve or lengthen their sleep and you want to explore those options, that’s what we’re here to talk about today ;) 

Now, as always, I need to say that this conversation does not apply to newborns or infants under 4 months of age (adjusted if they were born before their due date). These babies can wake up any time they want and it’s all normal. They probably need to be fed, so just keep on trucking and later morning wake-ups will be coming soon!

Why you want them to wake at a more reasonable hour:

And by the way, when I say “reasonable hour” I mean, let’s get them sleeping until AT LEAST 6am. A wake-up time between about 6-7:30am is generally what works and what most babies/families strive for. If not later, later is fine too. But this is what tends to fall more in line with their natural circadian rhythms and it’s pretty important to help them preserve it, and here’s why:

1. It helps ensure they’re getting enough sleep overnight.
2. It also helps with the QUALITY of their sleep.
3. It helps them with their naps during the day.
4. It helps the WHOLE FAMILY get some much needed rest. 

Why they are waking early and how to help change that:

-->They’re Overtired. Staying awake too late/long between naps and bedtime.
THE SOLUTION: Make sure your baby isn’t staying awake longer than what’s appropriate for them for their age and stage, including naps and bedtime. Making sure your baby isn’t too overtired can help them fall asleep easier, stay asleep longer for better quality sleep, and sleep in a bit later into the morning. 

-->On the other end of this, another reason why your baby could be waking up too early is because they’ve already gotten enough sleep! They’ve reached their quota of maximum amount of sleep that they need for the day and just can’t sleep any more.
THE SOLUTION to this problem could be either to start limiting their daytime sleep, possibly pushing their bedtime a bit later OR maybe shifting their entire schedule ahead.

-->Hormones. Our bodies actually produce hormones.. Hello cortisol! Yes, I’m talking about that stress hormone again but it isn’t all bad! It actually starts to accumulate in our bodies (and your baby’s too!) a few hours before we’re meant to wake up and this is actually why we wake up in the morning.
THE SOLUTION to this problem is to either alter their sleep schedule, for instance helping them to rearrange when/how long they’re sleeping, OR to implement sleep-training techniques to help them with getting back to sleep upon waking too early. 

Mental Health Minute

I’d like to take a minute to talk about your mental state when YOU don’t get enough sleep, because with less sleep makes it a lot tougher to be our best selves. We have a ways to go everybody and I want to help you through it. So all this to say, and trying to bring it back to this episode on babies who wake up really early.. Is that 

YOUR MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS.  YOUR SLEEP MATTERS TOO.

Halifax Perinatal Support Network Facebook Group - HERE
Birth Baby Sleep Education and Support Services - HERE

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If you have twins or multiples, you already know you are part of a special group. But this episode can really be for anyone with children because the group of ladies who joined me brought the Real. Talk. The stuff that I know many other moms and new parents have experienced or would be experiencing right now. 

• How they would describe their pregnancies with twins
• What it was like to spend time in the NICU after they were born, AND
• They walk us through some of the big CHALLENGES and JOYS of having twins.

So these three ladies I spoke with… are all friends of mine and they all happen to have twin boys!

Veronique Trottier is mom to 8 year olds Cade and Didier 

Alana Woods is mom to 4 year olds Rory and Ewan as well as big sister Cecilia

And Amy Lowry is mom to 5-week old boys Declan and Hunter as well as big sister Maera

Each family has their own unique set of circumstances but they also experienced a lot of similarities. They’ve certainly shared some personal and heart-felt stories that anyone having babies would appreciate, but especially those with multiples.

Here is my conversation with Vero, Alana and Amy about their sweet little boys and their experiences as moms of twins...

Follow Ashley on Facebook and Instagram @birth_baby_sleep

For more information about the podcast and all of Birth Baby Sleep's offerings, head to www.birthbabysleep.ca. 

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When babies are first born, they need time to adjust.

While your baby was in the womb, you were feeding them constantly, they were sleeping when they needed/wanted to, and they were physically attached to you. 

So, think of this time right after they’re born and for the next few months as them getting used to not needing you every single second of the every day… but as someone helping to keep them fed and rested, you’ll have to see yourself as having to almost constantly continue to meet your baby’s needs in the beginning. 

For today’s episode, we’re going to dissect some of my best tips to help you through the newborn phase, especially when it comes to helping your little one get their best sleep!

The National Sleep Foundation states that on average, newborns need about 14-17hrs of sleep in a 24hr period but by no means is this sleep organized in any sort of way.  What is driving their sleep-wake cycles isn’t their circadian rhythm, but rather their growth/hunger/feeding needs are in the driver’s seat at this point in time. 

When talking about your average, “healthy” newborn, they’ll often go home from the hospital slightly under their birth weight and this is completely normal.. But they are expected to get back up to their birth weight by 2-weeks of age, then they need to double it by 4-6 months and triple it by a year! This is the fastest growing time in their extra-uterine lives - even faster then when they’ll go through puberty! 

So, babies need to be fed frequently to meet their growth demands and this undoubtedly impact YOUR sleep needs, which can be really tough. When you’re only getting a couple of 1-2 or maybe a 3hr stretch of sleep all night long, it can make those days feel a lot longer and tougher than we’d all like them to be.

Your newborn’s sleep may seem a bit erratic and often unpredictable, but this is normal in those first few months as they adjust and work on gaining that weight they need. 

Luckily, there are still some things you can do to help your newborn get their best sleep possible and even help them to regulate it a bit more efficiently… so, let’s get into those, shall we?! 

1. Help them fall asleep. Because baby sleep is relatively disorganized, you have to help them work it out! Feeding, holding, bouncing, swaying, rocking or walking with them are all common, proven, and natural ways to help babies fall asleep.
2. Encourage regular napping.  Newborns under about 6 weeks of age usually need to sleep every 45 minutes to an hour. For babies over 6 weeks of age you might aim for closer to 1-1.5hrs of awake time between naps during the day. If you find this to be a struggle, listen this next tip:
3. Wear your baby. Use a carrier, wrap or sling to wear your baby if you can
4. Sleep on-demand. Let them sleep when they want, however long they want
5. Sleep when they sleep (at least once a day)

Even if you’re already thinking you might like your little one to be more of an independent sleeper later on when they’re capable of learning that skill, wearing/holding them and helping them sleep now WILL NOT ruin this dream of yours. You all just need some sleep right now, there’s a time and a place for practicing and working on those skills later on if need be. Dr.

Links:
- Harvey Karp is a pediatrician and writer of The Happiest Baby on the Block
- Follow Ashley on Instagram and Facebook @birth_baby_sleep
- Birth Baby Sleep Education and Support Services:

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When transitioning through naps can be a problem:

• Dropped too soon - thinking because they’re supposed to be sleeping a certain amount, because you heard that from someone, somewhere or because of circumstances like going to daycare.
• A nap is skipped once or twice, or perhaps you see your baby struggling through a nap, not napping as well or as long as they maybe used to, that kind of thing. While these can be reasons or a sign that your baby is ready to drop a nap, that doesn’t mean they are ready to fully commit. 

Here's what you should do (and not do!) to help support your baby during a nap transition:
Keep as many naps, as long as you can. What I mean here is that even though there may have been a time or two when your baby skipped a nap or didn’t nap as well as you’re used to, jumping right to dropping a nap is unlikely to be the answer. So, what can you do instead? Provide an opportunity for that nap to happen when circumstances allow, like for instance on the weekends at home if a nap is dropped while at daycare, or on days when naps somehow weren’t as long as usual, so getting that 3rd nap in will be key to helping baby get to bedtime, for example. 

Speaking of, when it comes to dropping that last nap of the day, it’s good to have a cut-off time for when daytime sleep should end and time to switch to bedtime mode. 

This time frame is usually around 5:30pm for babies under 6 months, or 5pm for those over 6 months. So, you’ll be deciding on whether or not you’ll be aiming to put your baby down for another nap or bedtime, based on how long they typically stay awake for at that time and when they woke from their last nap - can you conceivably help your baby to fall asleep and know they’ll wake up again (from at least a 20-30 minute cat nap) by 5pm? Then go for the nap. If the answer is No, then opt instead for an early bedtime!

And this definitely needs to happen when naps are being dropped. This is the 2nd thing you should do to help support your baby through a nap transition is to bring bedtime forward by at least an hour on days when that last nap is missed. This is essential to ensuring your baby doesn’t get too overtired which can lead to tougher bedtimes, more frequent overnight wake-ups or an earlier than desired morning wake-up call!

The thing with the 2 to 1 nap transition is it’s not the last nap of the day that’s actually being dropped, it’s the first. But while many babies will wake early enough that waiting until midday to get some shut-eye again is just too long of a stretch, so they end up with a later morning nap which creeps too late into the morning, pushing that afternoon nap back to start too late in the afternoon, making it so baby ends up skipping this afternoon nap. And then they're loosing their minds by late afternoon and bedtime either also goes to shit or they do pass out pretty well but then they’re up all night or waking super early again, continuing with the cycle of crap naps!

So, what should you do? Cap that morning nap. This is one of the only times I would say to cap a nap to ensure that afternoon nap is had. It’s that afternoon nap that needs to stick around and it’s that afternoon nap that will keep them from losing their shit!

While the timing of this can look different for different babies, but depending on the situation I’ll generally advise to cut off the morning nap by 10:30p-10:45am to ensure a 1:30-2pm start to the 2nd nap. Usually this is about as late as you can go (just to START the 2nd nap) without it messing with bedtime and most babies will still be able to get to sleep by then. 

IF THIS MEANS YOU HAVE TO WAKE THEM UP BY A CERTAIN TIME IN THE MORNING, THEN DO IT. 

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Breastfeeding may be a natural way to feed a baby, but that doesn't mean it always comes easy. In fact, the more you're in the know about breastmilk, how your body responds to baby and just really how beneficial it is, the better prepared you'll be and the more likely you can achieve your breastfeeding goals.

When I asked the @birth_baby_sleep followers on Instagram and Facebook what stressors they've encountered on their breastfeeding journey, a large majority of them were based on breastmilk supply and baby's latch on the breast.

I might know a thing or two about breastfeeding - I do teach a class on it and I breastfed all of my three children for a combined 4 years of my life. But, who better to engage in conversation about this with then a Certified Lactation Consultant?

Kylie Field, IBCLC of The Nurturing Touch has been an amazing resources for those in the Halifax area for many years. She and I met very early on in my career as a birth, baby and sleep specialist and I've heard nothing but positive things from those who've sought out her services. 

If you are someone who is breastfeeding, or hope or plan to breastfeed, this episode is a must-listen. 

Here are the links to the website mentioned and info on menstruation and breastfeeding:

https://breastfeeding.support/

https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/natural-treatments/

http://www.nancymohrbacher.com/articles/2020/5/25/milk-production-and-menses-whats-the-connection

For more information about Ashley and all that Birth Baby Sleep has to offer, head to www.birthbabysleep.ca