Sleepy Qs-Answers to your child sleep questions

Welcome  to season 3 of the Sleepy Qs podcast!  Many parents have been there.  You are either enjoying your evening time after your child has gone to bed in their crib or it is the middle of the night and you are sleeping when suddenly you hear the dreaded THUMP.  Your child is now out of their crib.  GASP!  Maybe this was a thud followed by crying or maybe your child skillfully catapulted themselves out like an Olympic gymnast and came sauntering out of their room with a big satisfied smile on their face.  However it happens, this newfound freedom has the potential to wreck havoc to everyone's sleep.  In today's episode, you will learn tips and tricks to help you keep your child in their crib a bit longer so that when you are eventually moving them into a bed, they are at a developmental stage when they are ready for this move.  

Getting rid of the pacifier can feel daunting to many parents.  In todays episode, we talk through how to get rid of the pacifier for both babies and toddlers.  Learn when is a good time to make this change for children of different ages and how to implement a plan for saying bye bye to your child's pacifier for toddlers.

In those first 2 years, our babies will go through many sleep regressions. This can be startling because our baby can be sleeping beautifully and all of a sudden hit a regression.  Now suddenly sleep takes a turn for the worse. One common regression is at the 12-month mark. In today’s podcast you'll learn what a sleep regression is and signs to look out for to know your child is going through one. Learn what causes this 12-month sleep regression and how to handle it to ensure your child’s sleep doesn’t fall apart.

Dream feeds are a great way to be able to maintain feeding overnight for your little one but to also remove the association between feeding and sleeping.  In today's episode, Linda explains what a dream feed truly is.  She goes over several different scenarios in which dream feeds can happen and how they can help you meet your goals of both helping your child sleep better as well as maintaining some feeding overnight.  

This episode was a special request by one of our listeners! She asked us to talk about swaddles and sleep sacks. In this episode we talk about the benefits and differences between swaddles and sleep sacks. You'll learn the important things you need to look out for when choosing one for your baby, the different kinds and brands out there, and which to use when. You won't want to miss this episode!

One of the most common challenges that many of the toddler families that Linda and Jessica work with involve the intersection of sleep and potty training.  Today episode is going to be SO helpful for any parent who is struggling with these sorts of difficulties.  We had the good fortune to interview Alexis Granelli who is not only a fellow Gentle Sleep Coach, but also trained with Kim West as a Gentle Potty Coach.  She is also a Positive Discipline Parent Educator.  Alexis shares so many pearls of wisdom about potty training both as it relates to your child's readiness and how to handle those tricky potty requests at night.  You can find out more about Alexis at www.dolcedreamers.com and can follow her on Instagram at @dolcedreamers.

You made have heard of these elusive awake windows while trying to understand when it is time for your child to sleep.  This is an amount of time that your child can be awake before becoming overtired.  In this episode, learn what an awake window is and how it is determined as well as when they start to stretch and also when to not pay as much attention to them.  Also, check out this article for a chart that lists awake windows for children at different ages.  

Are you ready to start sleep training? Are you so tired that you want to start tonight but don't know where to begin? Before you start, you will want to listen to this podcast! In today's episode we walk you through how to create your sleep training plan that will guide you through your process and then what that first night will look like.

Behavior modification devices can be a great tool to help parents who are struggling with their child waking too early in the morning or just to overall create structure about when it is time to go to sleep and when it is time to wake up.  When children don't know how to tell time, these concepts can be difficult to understand, which is why these devices can be very helpful.  Listen in to today's episode to learn about the purpose of these devices and hear our review about some of the ones that are available and, of course, which are our favorites.  We talk about the Mella Ready to Rise, the Okay to Wake, the Good Nite Lite, the Hatch and also how to use a smart light bulb for the same purpose.  

The actual process of sleep training or sleep coaching is all about helping your child fall asleep independently and back to sleep independently.  When your child is learning these skills, it is essential to have a way of responding consistently to him or her so that your child is learning, through your behavior, what to expect at both bedtime and for any night wakings.  All sleep training is essentially behavior modification.  Contrary to the many books and blog articles out in the world all about sleep training, there are really just a few ways to actually do this.  Today's podcast will talk you through what this looks like, in actuality.