happilyeversleep

Introducing baby Alec 💙

29 • 8 • 22

We are all doing really well and slowly adjusting as a family of 4 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦

At this point in time I am unsure when I will be taking on clients again ❤️

How many naps is your little one taking? 👶🏼

Are you struggling with false starts at bedtime? Are you putting your baby to bed, but they are awake 30-45 minutes later? 😴

✨ Overtired – Increased cortisol levels which subsequently releases adrenaline. Adrenaline triggers the fight or flight response and makes it hard to not only fall asleep, but also stay asleep.
➡️ Over 4 months of age if your little one is waking before 10pm, majority of the time it is due to being overtired.

✨Under tired- On the flip side, your baby may not be tired enough. Your little one may be tired enough to fall asleep but not enough to stay asleep. Overtired or under tired, have a little look at your wake windows, they may need adjusting.

✨ Unable to link cycles- From 30-40 minutes your little one is starting to come out of a heavy sleep and around 45-50 minutes babies transition to a new sleep cycle. If your little one is not falling asleep independently but rather while feeding or being rocked, if this is not present at the end of their cycle, they will not be able to transition into a new sleep cycle.

✨ Baby under 2-3 months old? Up until 3 months old, some babies just need a bedtime a little later. To help with false starts, allow a small nap in the early evening and aim for a bedtime between 8-10pm. Around 3-4 months of age I recommend identifying a bedtime between 6-8pm.

✨ Start of day- If you are aiming for a 7-8pm bedtime and your day started after 8am, your baby may not be ready for night sleep. Most little ones need daytime to last about 12 hours (including naps).

✨ Habitual - Are you feeding your baby at this wake up even though they were only fed 45 minutes to 1 hour ago? A negative sleep association may be causing this wake.

BABY NUMBER 2 🤰👶👩‍🍼

As of Wednesday August 17th I will not be accepting any new clients as I will be eagerly preparing for the arrival of Baby Cao #2.

I want to take this moment to thank everyone for the ongoing support and opportunity to all my amazing clients ❤️

I'm not overly sure how much time I am going to be taking off from Happily Ever Sleep but I will be back in the next few months ✨

Knowing me I wont be able to help myself or i'm in complete denial as to how busy I'll be with two under 2 years 🙊

Cant wait to share the exciting news with you all!

This is the table I refer to when working out the recommended daily intake for formula fed babies 👶🏼

The amount should be divided by the number of feeds your little one is having per 24 hours.

It is important to remember, the amount your baby drinks depends on how big your baby is but also their unique metabolic rate. Either side of this table is normal. ✨

Lastly, did you know a formula tin specifies larger volumes than what is actually needed? Marketing strategy of course.
Waste more ➡️ Buy more 👎🙌🏻

Besides a nice sleep association, did you know a bath actually drop's your baby's internal temperature thus creating an optimal condition for settling and falling asleep easier?

To help settle your little one to sleep, begin to include a bath in your night-time wind-down routine 🛁 ✨

Did you know a 'colicky baby' isn't a term used primarily just for a baby with reflux? 😱

Colic babies can be described as babies who cry a lot or fail to settle for a lengthy period.
Colic is defined as the rule of 3's. To be diagnosed with 'colic', your baby has to cry for 3 hours or more a day, 3 or more days a week and for 3 or more consecutive weeks.

Experts don't know exactly what causes colic but most 'colicky' babies have no obvious physical or medical cause. At times when no other cause can be found, colic is generally the diagnosis.

The fussing generally occurs in the late afternoon and evening and is most common in babies up until 12 weeks of age.

It is important to visit your GP or MCH to rule out other possible causes but did you know majority of babies are just extremely over-tired and over-stimulated.

Is this your little one? If so, let’s chat to see if I can provide some help. Our son had colic though he was perfectly healthy! He would scream the house down EVERY SINGLE EVENING, makes me anxious thinking about it 😅

The Ferber Method also known as Controlled Crying, Spaced Soothing and Graduated Extinction is a settling approach that gives your baby space to figure things out a little more for themselves, but also has you checking in on them at set intervals to give you reassurance they are okay, and to give them reassurance that you are still there.
 
It is a suitable settling technique from 12 weeks of age in small increments, though I personally find it more suited for babies over 16 weeks of age 👶🏼❤️
 
✨Babies aged 3-4 months often require a shorter interval time to begin with and a more hands on approach during check ins.

✨A baby aged 7 months or older I often recommend starting at day 2 or 3.
 
The Ferber Method is a very effective settling technique as long as you remain consistent and your baby’s temperament is suited to it.

Needing a little more guidance?  Get in touch 📲

Every baby's emotional makeup is predetermined, at least in part, by their genes and brain chemistry.
Have you found yourself saying that your baby is ‘as mellow as I am’ or ‘as shy as his dad’? Clearly temperament is inborn, but there is more to the story.

Identical twins, who have exactly the same genes but rarely the same personalities by the time they reach adulthood, scientists conclude that environment is equally influential. So when it comes to sleep, yes, your little one is who they are but environment and how we support them is just as important ✨

What is your baby’s temperament? I think our little boy is textbook with a little bit of spirit in him (tantrums 😂🙈).

First of all, no, my son does not have a pink wall 😂🙊.

Second, the best age to move your toddler into a big bed is 3 years of age or if they are climbing out of the cot 🙈.
This is because up until 3 years of age your little one has a lack of impulse control. If in a big bed too soon, they often will get out of bed over and over again, turning it into a funny little game!

If you do move your little one earlier than 3 years of age, there can be a grace period of around 3 weeks until they realise, they can in fact get out of the big bed. If this happens, move back to the cot, and try again when they are closer to 3 years of age.

Your baby’s natural sleep cycle is approximately 45 minutes 🫣

Between 3-4 months their sleep cycles do change and become more adult like but those first few months, you may feel like you are resettling every 5 minutes 🙈

➡️ TIPS TO HELP:
✨ To settle your little one into their bassinet, you may need to rock/pat your baby for 20 minutes before putting them down, this is to ensure they do not startle awake on the transfer.

✨ Between 10-20 minutes, ask yourself,
are their eyes flickering? Are they smiling but appear asleep? Squirming in your arms? If so, keep holding, patting, or rocking. Don’t put them down just yet!

✨ Between 20-30 minutes, has their breathing become more regular? Eye’s no longer flickering? Little movement? Go ahead, pop your little one down, but feet first and continue some gentle touch.

✨ Between 45-50 minutes, it is normal to have to resettle your little one again.

• If your baby is waking after just 30 minutes, the most common cause is over-tiredness •

Moving your little one from bassinet to cot most the time is more stressful for us parents than your baby, crazy right?

This transition is often easily achieved as long as you replicate the sleep environment. To help even further, follow these 6 simple steps to move your baby bassinet to cot ⬇

✨ ROOM ACCLIMATISATION - Start to spend some non-sleep time in their room. We want your little one to understand that it is a welcoming, safe place to be.

✨ COT SHEETS ON BASSINET - For a few days prior, fold a cot sheet up and use it as their bassinet sheet. The aim is to transition the smell your little one is used too.

✨ NIGHT FIRST - Sleep pressure is at its highest and it will be dark, so they are unlikely to notice the difference as much.

✨ SHORT WAYS FIRST - Make your little one feel snug, sleep them short ways to begin with.

✨ REPLICATE THE ENVIRONMENT - Maintain the room temperature, darkness, white noise level that was present when they were in their bassinet in your room.

✨ INTRODUCE A COMFORTER - Start by sleeping with the item, even wear it in your clothes so it smells like you! Include in playtime. Once your little one is 7 months old it is then safe for your baby to sleep with as per Red Nose Guidelines.