Got sleep on your mind?

Is it really so important for our little ones to get enough sleep and we at Brave Little Baby are sharing some tips on how to start getting it. You look at your watch and its 2AM, you've been up every two hours with your little one. Some-times he wants a feed, sometimes he just wants you to rock him back to sleep. Sound familiar?

Is this really a sustainable life? Babies NEED sleep, and LOTS of it! 75% of their growth hormones are secreted when they sleep. They function better emotionally, socially, eat better and learn better when they are rested. We as parents do all of this better including parenting when we’ve had a good nights rest! Not one, but many! Tiredness has been doing the rounds as a “badge of honour” you need to wear to be a good mom, but the good news is it’s not true! Sleep is VITAL to our and our babies well being. 

So it’s always important to remember that these are just to be used as a guideline. If you find that your child is not getting anywhere close to these numbers and they are cranky, fussy and for older kids emotionally not functioning well things need to change to help your child to function better. Our #1 tip would be to start implementing a Routine (We talk about a Flexible Routine).

If you know what your little ones awake window should be try and space out the naps evenly during the day so that your child is not overtired by bedtime. Also establish certain rhythms, like playing, eating, sleeping (and repeat) this gives them cues during the day to know what needs to happen next. They will be more acceptable towards things when they know what needs to come next. #2 would be to implement another kind of routine, but it will be a wind down routine. This needs to happen before every single nap they take. A set of steps you apply in the same rhythm every time before a nap. This once again gives them predictability and consistency during the day. #3 is the final key, and that would be to Listen, Wait and Respond. When you hear your little one waking early from a nap, or during the night and they are not full blown crying, just wait for a minute, listen to what is happening, or watch them over the monitor. If they seem to be fine, just wait until you need to calm your child. Sometimes they make a sound and for instance find their dummy and fall back asleep. Where if you would rush in, you would interrupt this natural process and break your child’s confidence that they could do this by themselves. We need to give our children the space and time and patience to learn these sleep skills if they are struggling. Some need more help than others and thats why we do what we do!

So if you need help, we have a free 15 min discovery call that you can book directly on our website! We need to believe in our kids and enable the with confidence that they can do this! They can stay in their bed and sleep in their room all night, or re-settle when they wake at night in their cot.