Sleepy Qs-Answers to your child sleep questions

Listen in today as we interview Kim West about how she became The Sleep Lady, her years of experience and expertise that led her to develop the most comprehensive and successful sleep consultant training program around the world.  Hear all about the beginning of the field of sleep coaching, her own struggles with being judged as a parent, her thoughts on the vast amounts of information that parents have to wade through these days and so much more!  You won't want to miss this episode!

Security objects are a great way to help your child transition from being held by a caregiver and then being transferred into a sleeping space.  Learn all about what security objects are, how to introduce them and when you might need to say good-bye to certain security objects.  

Sleep can be an extra big challenge for a child who doesn't feel well.  In today's episode, we explore the medical issues that can make sleep and changing sleep behavior particularly difficult for children and parents.  We will also discuss how to handle your child's sleep when they have previously been sleeping well but then become ill.  

Parents often get super excited about setting up the baby’s nursery.  Picking out colors and themes and furniture.  This is definitely the fun part!  Check out today’s episode of the Sleepy Qs podcast to learn all the ins and outs of setting up your baby’s sleep space for safety, to help with promoting positive sleep associations and creating a comfortable sleep environment.

While intermittent reinforcement may not be a concept that you are familiar with, it is the heart of why many children wake up throughout the night.  Early parenting, in the newborn months, is all about survival.  When you move past those early months and that survival mode, that is when changing your child's sleep behavior requires consistency.  Listen in to learn one of the primary causes for your child's night wakings and what it takes to improve your circumstances.

Those newborn months of sleepless nights can be hard!  Right from the beginning, parents are getting so much information about what to do and what not to do with their newborn's sleep.  Much of that information often feels very contradictory and confusing.  This can feel very overwhelming for new parents.  There is much about newborn sleep that is very arbitrary and erratic.  This is because their brains aren't developed to a place where sleep is able to take on any established patterns.  This will come!  We promise.  Listen in for how to survive those first few months with your newborn and some tips to make things a bit easier.  

Short naps can be frustrating for everyone!  Children wake from short naps still tired and often struggle to make it to the next nap or bedtime without being cranky and irritable and parents needs those breaks during the day to recharge and actually try to accomplish things!  Learn all about why children take short naps and how to improve them!

Newborns are born with an intense need for feeding.  It is often shocking how much babies need to eat in the first few months.  As they grow and develop, their need for feeding at night decreases.  It is often hard to figure out how to know when to stop feeding your baby in the middle of the night and how to go about dropping those feedings.  Check out today's Sleepy Qs episode to learn all about how to drop night feedings.

All sleep regressions can be challenging but the 9 month sleep regression can feel particularly difficult and frustrating if your baby has previously be sleeping well and now seems significantly more distressed when you leave the room.  This episode will talk you through the things that cause the 9 month sleep regression and how to manage the challenges that can come up during this time so that your child can go back to being a great sleeper!

Routines prior to naps and bedtimes are a great way for children to make the transition from playing to sleeping.  These routines help to cue your child's brain that sleep is going to be coming.  Learn all about how to create routines that your lead to better sleep for your child.  Consistent routines can be done by anyone who is in charge of putting your child to sleep and are transportable to any location where your child might be sleeping!