Today we speak to Katy Huyerman from @Slumbertots on Instagram, to speak about all her top tips and also your questions on all things sleep. Katy is a certified baby and child sleep consultant.
For more info, visit her insta - https://www.instagram.com/slumbertots/
And her website - https://www.slumbertots.com/
Eve: Today we are talking to Katy from Slumber Tots from Instagram who is a certified baby and child sleep consultant. As well as sharing her top tips today she will be answering your questions we asked over on our Instagram last week.
Katy: I run Slumber Tots and I work with children from newborn up to 5 years old and help families to get more sleep. I am also a mum of two, Kian is 7 and Lily is 5 and I became a sleep consultant following my struggles with sleep deprivation when Kian was a baby.
Eve: So, you mentioned you’re a sleep consultant, how do become one and the journey of it? (0:55)
Katy: For a lot of people, it begins with their own sleep struggles and this was definitely the case for me. When Kian was born, he was quite a disturbed sleeper and things didn’t improve when he got older. I found myself not being the mum I wanted to be due to sleep deprivation, so I was exhausted all the time and I didn’t really know where to start and what to do to improve things. My sister recommended a sleep consultant and so we contacted her and after 3 nights Kian slept the night through for the first time in 8 months. That taught me that sleep isn’t something we should endure just because we are parents. So, because it was so life changing for us in 2016, I decided to train as a consultant myself. Since then, I have worked with nearly 500 families.
Eve: That’s amazing, what were you doing before you were a sleep consultant (2:25)
Katy: I was a bank manager and then I was a civil servant so I worked in central government.
Eve: Oh, wow so it was quite a big career change for you then! How common are sleep problems and what are the main causes of babies or toddlers not sleeping? (2:35)
Katy: The main reasons for babies and toddlers not sleeping are usually down to a handful of reasons, which are the structure to their daytime. You need to get the balance of a daytime sleep and also awake time. The right sleep environment and also how they are falling asleep, which can be one of the tricker elements to change. Babies sleep cycles are only around 45 minutes and when they come to the end of this sleep cycle they will wake up. If they used something external to get them to sleep such as rocking, feeding or a dummy, and it’s not there when they come to the end of that cycle, they will struggle to get to sleep and this is when they cry. Some babies may be able to sleep through several sleep cycles or some may wake up after everyone, it varies baby to baby.
Eve: What would you say your top 3 tips are for an easy night’s sleep? (04:15)
Katy: One of the simplest things you can do is using light and dark to your advantage, so going outside during the day in natural light is good for adults and babies, this can help to regulate your circadian rhythm. This will help you sleep better at night. Equally, with darkness, this helps to build melatonin at bedtime. This is a sleepy hormone. So, if you take your baby into a dim light room this can help them get ready for sleep. Also introducing a nice wind down routine whether that’s for naps or bedtime which can help your baby know what’s coming next. The same steps in the same order every day can help.
Eve: I guess this varies on age from newborn to toddler? (05:50)
Katy: As babies and children get older, newborns can manage 45 minutes to an hour awake. Then toddlers can manager 5-6 hours if they are still having a nap.
Eve: That’s some really great top tips thank you. We asked our audience some questions, so I will read these out now. Our first one is – when do you cut out white noise, I’ve got a 19-month-old and we have it on naps and night time. (6:30)
Katy: White noise can be really useful for newborns. It’s the noise of a static on the radio and background noise. It mimics the sound of the womb. The key thing if you are using it is to use it for the duration of the nap or at night, so it is consistent part of the sleep environment. It can be a good time to cut it out when your toddler stops napping as at night there is less noise, and you wouldn’t need it as much. It is a case of gradually turning it down every few days so they get less used to it
Eve: Our next question is how you manage two kids sleeping in the same bedroom. She has a newborn and a 3-year-old. (08:00)
Katy: If you can have both children sleeping well before they move into the same room this can help so they don’t disturb each other. If you have a newborn I would try to keep them in your room, it is quite common that they will need a feed overnight. The recommendation is to keep a newborn in your room until they are 6 months old.
Eve: Our next question is how do you get a baby to settle in their cot and not on you? (08:48)
Katy: Having a nice dark room for your baby for naptime and bedtime, putting them down when it is the right time, having a nice wind down routine to queue sleep. Having a sleep sac can also help. Practicing it and putting the baby down into the cot will let them know what will happen next.
Eve: The next question is my 15-month-old is transitioning to 1 nap and is really struggling and is overtired (10:25)
Katy: This is common with nap transitions and it will take 4-6 weeks to fully adjust to 1 nap. I would recommend moving bedtime a bit earlier so you avoid baby coming overtired and this can help in the short term. You could also try take them out in the car or the buggy for a quick 20-30-minute nap to take the edge off to keep them going through to naptime.
Eve: The next question is my daughter is 26 months old and stopped sleeping through the night, although she has slept for 12 hours plus since she was 7 weeks old. I am now 36 weeks pregnant, will this stop or will it get worse. (11:57)
Katy: Often sleep disturbances can be caused from sleep development. Around this age It can be linked to language development. If you can stay consistent with what you were doing before it should calm down in a week or two. I would try not to try anything new. You might also need to try increase wake time or cap their nap. When siblings come along it can be up and down but if its developmental it should calm down.
Eve: Do you find that when doing sleep consultancy, many kids have disrupted sleep when siblings come along? (13:30)
Katy: It can be the case as its dealing with change so it’s something different. There can be disturbances with naptime and bedtime. The baby crying can also affect the baby’s sleep.
Eve: The final scenario we have is he keeps waking at 5:30am with no need of food. What are your tips? (14:20)
Katy: There can be a few factors with early wakeups, with spring summer now, I would try make the room completely dark, so they don’t respond to light. I would also look at where the bedtime is, maybe moving it a bit earlier as early wakeups can be due to overtiredness. It can be a bit of trial and error.
Eve: Thank you so much for answering all of those questions. I think that will be really useful to people listening. What is your main mantra you live your life by and why? (16:30)
Katy: From my work I’ve learnt not to compare myself other people and other parents. Its really a work in progress but hard when you’re especially a new parent and you compare yourselves.