Baby Sleep Secrets in Narraweena | Consultation agency

Baby Sleep Secrets

Locality: Narraweena

Phone: +61 406 380 096

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25.01.2022 Attachment refers to an enduring emotional bond characterised by the tendency to seek and maintain close proximity to a specific figure, particularly when under stress. Effects from developing a secure or insecure attachment over the first 2 years of life, have life long implications spanning across many physical and mental health outcomes. Its hard to not think that by encouraging the development of self soothing we may be damaging our little ones secure attachment but w...hen we consider the elements of sensitivity that support secure attachment we can see that its all about balance. Yes we should be responsive to our child but not to the detriment of them learning a new skill. If we carried our children around constantly they would never learn to walk, and sleep is a life skill that they need to learn independently with our support. Like learning to walk they will make mistakes and become frustrated but this is not damaging in any way. Source: leading attachment researcher, Mary Ainsworth

25.01.2022 While the association between sleep loss and anxiety isnt exactly groundbreaking (we know, for instance, that people with insomnia have double the risk of deve...loping an anxiety disorder), the new study led by Eti Ben-Simon, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley establishes how this correlational relationship functions in the brain. In their study, researchers had healthy subjects spend two nights in their sleep lab: the first, intentionally sleep deprived, and the following, restful. In the morning, researchers showed the subjects distressing video clips to evoke an emotional reaction, and then took fMRI scans of their brains. On the morning after disturbed sleep, subjects brains showed significantly more activity in emotion-generating areas of the brain, like the amygdala and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, both of which process negative emotions like fear, and both of which are highly active in people with anxiety disorders. Researchers found that subjects experienced 30 percent higher anxiety on the day following poor sleep than on the day following restful sleep, with half of those subjects reaching levels which met the threshold for a clinical anxiety disorder.

24.01.2022 While the association between sleep loss and anxiety isn’t exactly groundbreaking (we know, for instance, that people with insomnia have double the risk of deve...loping an anxiety disorder), the new study led by Eti Ben-Simon, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley establishes how this correlational relationship functions in the brain. In their study, researchers had healthy subjects spend two nights in their sleep lab: the first, intentionally sleep deprived, and the following, restful. In the morning, researchers showed the subjects distressing video clips to evoke an emotional reaction, and then took fMRI scans of their brains. On the morning after disturbed sleep, subjects’ brains showed significantly more activity in emotion-generating areas of the brain, like the amygdala and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, both of which process negative emotions like fear, and both of which are highly active in people with anxiety disorders. Researchers found that subjects experienced 30 percent higher anxiety on the day following poor sleep than on the day following restful sleep, with half of those subjects reaching levels which met the threshold for a clinical anxiety disorder.

23.01.2022 Believe it or not, this is the best I can do

22.01.2022 Melatonin is a hormone produced in the brain that regulates sleep and wakefulness. Although supplementing your childs melatonin levels may (or may not) have a drowsy effect, the truth is there hasnt been any long term studies that indicate it is safe to do so, or that it doesnt have any long term effects on hormone imbalances and it is certainly not FDA approved. We can boost our childrens serotonin levels by getting them out in the sunshine where their body will absorb it naturally, the hormone is then later converted into melatonin when they are placed in a dark room inducing sleep the way nature intended. X #babysleepsecrets

20.01.2022 "The problem with stay-at-home mothers is how we measure them."

20.01.2022 The cliché is true: It does get easier.

20.01.2022 The remarkable bond between the mother and her baby. #MothersDay

19.01.2022 These articles about attachment theory are so important for all parents with infants. A baby without a secure attachment will usually be difficult to settle and remain asleep because ultimately they don't feel safe. Of course I felt the guilt rush over me when I was reading this and realised that maybe my second born wasn't as securely attached as my first born! Why was I cursed with only one pair of hands!

19.01.2022 Excited to launch our Nurture Connection Program Today at Bump Health and Fitness! Combining Massage and sleep inducing techniques to support bonding and secure attachment

18.01.2022 Why does advise around infant sleep differ so vastly? My obsession with baby sleep began when, of course my newborn was not sleeping for the life of me! Being a research kind of girl I bought and read every book I could get my hands on! From Ferber to Sears to Weissbluth as well as many a night trawling through google as my beautiful boy tried to convince me it was play time! Its no wonder that parents are confused because I was left feeling bombarded with information that co...mpletely contradicted each other, but somehow all had "scientific research" that backed them up! The pressure you feel as a new mum trying to navigate your way through the "best" way to settle your bub is like nothing I have ever experienced. Don't worry, its only your child's entire emotional and psychological future you are responsible for, when you make a decision at 2am, on 3 hours of broken sleep! In my experience, the truth is that parents who are expecting a "one size fits all" strategy to be effective will, more often than not, be disappointed, and this is not only because no two babies or parents are the same, but also because they may not whole heartedly believe in the advice given, and this almost always ends with elevated stress levels for the entire family and not to mention, unsuccessful results! If your heart is not on board with the latest settling technique that you have come across, it is not likely to be successful because your baby will pick up on your anxiety and uncertainty and will push back harder because you are their security blanket, and if you are concerned, then they are concerned. You are also less likely to remain consistent, which is THE most important factor of any lasting change. Yes, I believe that knowledge is power and the more research you do, the more likely you are to find a theory that jumps out at you, and you feel good about it, and thats usually the best technique for your baby. Ultimately, a personalised sleep strategy is what your baby deserves, because every baby is different and often all we need is a bit of wisdom from an outside perspective to give us the confidence that our decisions are forming healthy sleep patterns. Its time to dig deep and figure out what you feel strongly about and where you have some flexibility and once you are clear, get in touch and I can support you with those goals. Together we are strong x

18.01.2022 Does your baby sleep through the night for Grandma but not for you? This issue is so common and I hear the question time and again so I wanted to touch on why your little one might sleep or nap better when you are not there. The first reason could be that they just feel so much more confident and comfortable when you are around. We as adults, will show the exact same behaviour with our own parents or people close to us. We are much more likely to be expressive and open with c...ertain people and the same goes for our little ones! It could be purely that you are so loved by them and they trust you to be themselves and so will fully express how they feel about a certain situation, such as you leaving them in their cot to go and enjoy a glass of wine! How dare you! The second reason could be that they get something from you that no one else can provide. This might not even be something physical like a cuddle or a feed its just that you are one big security blanket for them and your connection is truely remarkable and irreplaceable. It is deeply ingrained in them to seek you out at every opportunity and if you are not there they will know that and may not bother with the alternative! Either way, the only factor that you can control here is your response to the wake ups. Try to ensure you are consistent with every wake up because they will certainly remember that one time that you strapped them in the car in the middle of the night and went for an adventure and anything less will be a disappointment and cause tears of frustration. As frustrating as it might be that they sleep better when you are not around, we should actually focus on the other pieces of the puzzle that might be contributing to sleep disturbance in general. Hope you have found this helpful! x

17.01.2022 Something to keep in mind as the silly season approaches! All they need is you x #babysleepsecrets

16.01.2022 Tuesday morning giggle!

13.01.2022 Myth bust Monday "Teething always seems to interfere with my best efforts at sleep training" True: Teething is a horrible time when our usually happy baby becomes sensitive and clingy and her beautiful cheeks become red and dry. So heart breaking to see them uncomfortable isn't it? Yes this is not an ideal time to start implementing any sleep changes but one factor that works to our advantage is that blood pressure is actually lowered when your bub lies down, which results ...in reduced pain. We can also be sure that children are less likely to be bothered by teething, at night, if they have already established some healthy sleep patterns. Most babies do not cut their first tooth until close to 7 months so this gives us a window to begin to start to encourage some self soothing. You could begin by placing your little one in their cot when they are only 80% asleep instead of 100% and then pat/shush off to sleep, or settle in your own way, whilst in the cot. Over the following weeks slowly reduce assistance until you are placing them in the cot when they are 20-30% asleep which is ideal (after 4 months). Tired and drowsy but not asleep. Even if you did this once per day your bub would benefit from the practice time and be less likely to need further sleep training in the future. Try to avoid becoming stuck in doing what has always worked without reducing the assistance gradually, unless you are happy to assist to sleep, in that way, for the longer term. Yes your little one may need lots of extra cuddles during the night, at this trying time, but any more than 2/3 times per night is not only difficult for us as parents but more importantly, will start to impact the quality of sleep that they need to grow and develop at an optimum level. See more

11.01.2022 "So often, children are punished for being human. They are not allowed to have grumpy moods, bad days, disrespectful tones, or bad attitudes. Yet, we adults have them all the time. None of us are perfect. We must stop holding our children to a higher standard of perfection than we can attain ourselves."

11.01.2022 Looking forward to meeting everyone on Saturday

07.01.2022 Early riser series- Tip number 3 on how to combat the early riser in your home: 3. Do sleep clocks really work? When your bub reaches the 19/20-month-old mark sleep clocks can be a super useful tool in your early riser tool belt and the reason for this is that children of this age just have no concept of what time it is, and this provides a clear visual of what is expected of them. At this age toddlers are usually able to comprehend simple instructions such as remain in bed ...when the star is blue and get out of bed when the yellow sun has come up. The biggest mistake that parents make when utilising this tool is to expect it to start working without putting any boundaries in place. Without consistency and positive reinforcement, it is just an expensive alarm clock! If your child is currently waking at 5am for the day, it may be too much to expect them to stay in bed until 7am to begin with, and because it is so important that they continue to have a positive connotation with the clock, I would suggest setting it for 5:30am to begin with. This way they are more likely to be successful on the first morning and therefore want to continue to receive the praise or reward and repeat the process the next morning. You can then slowly move the time back by 15 minutes every week until you are at your preferred wake up time around 6:30/7am. If your toddler is in a bed and gets out before the alarm, your first question (when they are in your face!) should be has your sun come up? draw their attention back to the clock and when they start asking for Weet-Bix, cuddles or water, your answer should always be, when the sun comes up. Try to avoid any further communication because if they are getting anything from you, that is a good enough reason to keep doing it and try again tomorrow. Silently walk them back to bed as many times as necessary but remember the moment you give in and get them up or let them crawl in to bed with you, is the same moment that the clock becomes redundant! They will certainly not take it seriously if you dont! If your bub is still in a cot and they cry out, simply go in and draw their attention to the clock and explain its still sleepy time until the sun comes up and begin the settling technique of your choice. Obviously turn off the actual alarm sound and turn the brightness down to the lowest setting to avoid disturbing them should a miracle happen, and they are actually still asleep at wake-up time! Last tip, avoid switching the child lock on in front of your toddler as they will just learn how to turn it off and then the sun will be up before you know it and then it becomes difficult to remain in control. Let me know if you would like to receive a free copy of my star chart which goes hand in hand with the sleep clock. Good Luck! :)

07.01.2022 Early Risers! One of the most common issues I have parents contact me about is the wonderful early riser! We are usually in such a deep sleep at 5/6am that this is the time that we give in to whatever is easiest. So, I am going to provide 5 tips over the next few days, on combatting this challenge so that you can have a clear plan in your mind, even when you are half asleep :) we are amazing at that. 1. Decide on what is an acceptable morning time for you and stick to it! Th...is means that any wake ups before this time are always treated as a night time resettle with your chosen settling technique. The more you get your baby up for the day at an ungodly hour, the more deeply entrenched that wakeup time will become thanks to their developing circadian rhythm. Even if this means you have to sit in their room while they are wide awake, try to avoid getting them out of their cot until your chosen time (I would suggest 6:30/7am). Ensure the room is night time dark and warm because you have no chance of getting them back to sleep if those factors are in play. If you are in their room when your wakeup time comes around, simply leave the room and close the door for a couple of minutes and re-enter as morning time mummy! Smiles, chat, cuddles, open blinds, communicate its morning time. This is a really important step in the process because I feel if you stay next to them until morning time and then get them up, you are just communicating that if they fuss for long enough you will give in and get them up you may be teaching them to hold out and not go back to sleep. Look out for tip number 2 tomorrow - Where could over-tiredness be creeping in? X

06.01.2022 You can now book through the website for the next Nurture Connection Program starting 20th Feb :) (Discount for BUMP Members)

04.01.2022 Self-care is often a very unbeautiful thing. It is making a spreadsheet of your debt and enforcing a morning routine and cooking yourself healthy meals and no longer just running from your problems and calling the distraction a solution.

04.01.2022 The nature versus nurture debate gets a good run when applied to parenting little humans. Is it a childs inherent personality which informs their behaviour? Or is their response to the stressors of the world a result of their physical environment and parenting?

04.01.2022 Had a blast with this group today!Exploring ways to bond with our little ones through cue based massage and sleep inducing techniques. Bookings for the next Nurture Connection Program are now open! Starting 20th Feb at Bump Health and Fitness. Visit the website to register :) www.babysleepsecrets.com.au #babysleepsecrets #nurtureconnectioninspiresleep

03.01.2022 Early riser series- Tip number 2 on how to combat the early riser in your home: 2. Where could over-tiredness be creeping in? In order to assess if your early riser has been affected by over tiredness you really need to have an idea of not only the amount of sleep your little one needs per day, but also their awake window. This means that sometimes a strict routine isnt beneficial if they are awake for a longer period than they are capable of without becoming over tired. If... you miss the tired cues your baby's brain will begin to release the stress hormone cortisol to combat the tired feeling and they can appear to have a second wind. This can include becoming chattier or clenching their fists with jerky movements. Unfortunately, it is much harder to put your baby down for a nap in this state and they are also much more likely to wake up after one sleep cycle (45 mins) because they still have the cortisol in their little systems and it will drive the babys brain to an awake state once they come into a light sleep phase. This can also lead to long awake periods at night time which then only adds to the viscous over tired cycle! Over tiredness is in fact the number one cause of early rising in the first year of a childs life after which it becomes much more challenging to move their wake-up time. Feel free to message me if you would like to receive a free copy of the awake windows and the amount of sleep, I would recommend for each age group. See more

03.01.2022 Morning mediation with my loves! #babysleepsecrets

03.01.2022 I really needed this today after my trip to ALDI with my precious bundles!

02.01.2022 Day light savings! As nice as it was to have my kids still fast asleep at 7am this morning I knew I had to help their body clocks adjust to the time change for all our sakes! Remember the factors that contribute to their body clocks are light, food and social interaction. So open the blinds at 7am and expose them to some natural light which should wake them up without your assistance, have a morning chat and cuddles and try to get some food into them first thing. #babysleepsecrets

01.01.2022 Nurture connection, inspire sleep :) #babysleepsecrets