Sleepy Possums

Parents of catnapping babies listen up! 👂

Yes Feed/Play/Sleep may work in the newborn days but as your baby grows so too does their awake window, this means if you’re using feed/play/sleep they may be taking a feed and then going 2 hours before their nap!

Many parents fear feeding close to sleep times incase it causes a feed to sleep association. Here’s the thing though if your baby is catnapping or your struggling to settle your baby at sleep times then feed/play/sleep might not be working for you!

✅ Try feed/play/feed/sleep or feed/play/top up feed/sleep!

This helps ensure that your baby is nice and full before their long nap!

✅ If you’re concerned about feeding to sleep then simply offer the feed then change your little one’s nappy, pop them into their sleeping bag or swaddle and have a nice calm cuddle.

😴🥱Want to know more about catnapping or holistic baby sleep? Hit follow for more x

Jade-Sarah
Infant & Child Sleep Consultant

Remember when you’re working on sleep to celebrate the small wins!!! 👏👏👏

It’s soooo important to do this on your sleep journey as it takes a lot of little wins before you get to the big WIN!

What’s a win you’re celebrating at the moment? Share with us in comments 💜

Are night time worries keeping your little one awake at night? Swipe across for some proven strategies to help your child feel calm and confident at bedtime x

Is your baby beyond the newborn months and you’re finding that you’re still rocking, bouncing and feeding to sleep. If you love it and it’s working great 👍

If you’re done with it and it’s no longer serving you or sustainable then I want you to know that you can gently wean yourself off and teach your baby to settle independently!

Here are some nice gentle steps to help you wean your little one off! 💕

Dummies/Pacifiers can be super confusing for some! I often hear parents say things like “I don’t want my baby to use a dummy because I don’t want them to be reliant on it”….

Here’s the thing…. In those newborn days you really need all the tools in your tool box and there’s really nothing wrong with using a dummy as long as it’s not in lieu of feeding as feeding is priority!

In those early days you might just use it to help your baby calm and get drowsy. Or if your baby has reflux or colic it might be a complete game changer for soothing.

From 4 months old your baby begins to develop an attachment to their dummy and this can become problematic for some babies (but not all). Some babies might start waking every 2 hours for it to be replaced 😵‍💫 In these cases I usually suggest ditching the dummy and teaching baby to self-settle.

From 7 months old those parents that would like to keep the dummy can start teaching find and replace but most babies won’t truely manage to do this themselves until around 9/10 months of age.

From 8/9 months your baby has probably developed a strong attachment to the dummy and while you can still remove it, it can be best to teach find and replace as they are so close to being able to manage the dummy on their own.

If you’ve persisted through and kept the dummy then from around 3 years old you will aim to remove it by using some positive reinforcement like the dummy fairy leaving a gift or leaving it for Santa. Your little one needs to understand what you’re asking them to do, you might do some role playing in the lead up and give them lots of notice so they can feel excited and know what’s around the corner for them.

If you’re struggling then we need to chat! Dm me “SLEEP” to book in your FREE obligation free chat with us xx

Are you going through a period of separation anxiety?

These tips might help you through it 😴

Need support with your little ones sleep? DM me “FREE chat” to book your free consultation with me xx

Say it with me…

YOU 👏 DO 👏 NOT 👏 NEED 👏 TO 👏 FEEL 👏 BAD 👏 For wanting to change your current sleep situation or for wanting your baby to sleep better!!!!

You need to know this, you need to know that no one is judging you if you want to stop co-sleeping, or rocking/feeding to sleep or holding for naps or wanting routine instead of go with the flow or just wanting your baby to have the skills to sleep better!

My biggest thing as parents when it comes to sleep is that we do what we do until it’s no longer sustainable and it’s affecting our sleep and our child’s sleep, then we need to reassess and reach out for support.

When we change your babies sleep habits we take a gentle, parent lead, personalised approach. We will never use CIO, and we will always aim to have those big transitions for your baby feel smoother. We’re holistic so we know that your baby is otherwise happy it’s just the settling that they maybe a little grumpy about in the beginning but, rest assured that they will come to love sleep and their new sleep situation 💜

You should never let guilt or fear stop you from making those changes that will be life changing to your current situation! 🙏

If you need support around sleep, dm me “FREE CONSULTATION” and let’s book you in for your first guilt free step to better sleep 😴🥰

Here’s how you can use a bridging nap to encourage your 4 month + year old onto a structured nap routine!

By the time most parents reach the 4 month mark they’re starting to look for some more structure to their day and their babies nap times. Before 4 months of age you can use awake windows, feeds, sunlight and wind down routines to start establishing a routine. From 4 months old you can gently start encouraging your baby to move to a more timed nap routine.

So what’s is a bridging nap?

👉 A bridging nap is a short 10-15 minute assisted nap that is placed between 2 awake windows to encourage your little one to make it to their next nap window. We often use them when working on nap consolidation or if a babies nap falls short and they’re going to struggle to make it to their next nap time.

💡Did you know that babies have a naturally developing sleep rhythm with biological nap windows when your baby feels naturally sleepy. These fall between 9-10am & 12-2pm. We use this natural rhythm
to help our little ones settle easier and sleep longer. Think of it like a sleep train that you don’t want to miss.

Bridging naps are helpful & age appropriate between 4-6 months of age.

You can achieve them with;

💜 A cuddle
💜 A walk in the pram or carrier
💜 A drive in the car

You can use them if your little one wakes up early and doesn’t resettle after a feed to help your little one make it to their morning nap instead of offering an earlier long nap which will continue to encourage those early wake ups! (More on this soon).

Save & share this post if you’ve found it helpful x

Here’s our guide to age appropriate night feeding!

I hear parents say so often that they thought or were told that 4 night feeds at 6 months was normal or still having a night feed at 2 was normal.

Guess what! It’s not, you don’t have to suffer through for months/ years feeding through the night if you have a healthy and thriving little one. In fact you’re more likely distrupting their sleep and impacting their nutrition and feeds during the day.

So, here is our guide for healthy and thriving babies/toddlers when it comes to realistic expectations and night feeds.

Now of corse, when it comes to dropping night feeds you’re not going to cut them out cold turkey. You’re going to gently and gradually reduce some of those night calories and gently and gradually push them back into their day. It would be unfair to move a child having 2 night feeds drastically down to none or a child having 1 drastically down to none. I find a slow and gentle approach much better.

If you’re struggling with sleep! Reach out! Dm me to book your free sleep chat xx

Hi there! I’m so happy that you’ve found us! 💜

I’m Jade-Sarah, Holistic Infant & Child Sleep Consultant & founder of Sleepy Possums.

Well you probably already know that my passion is SLEEP & I froth the science behind sleep! I absolutely love helping parents & children get the sleep they need as I’ve been in your shoes before, I know how exhausting it is when you’re sleep deprived and trying to function everyday, I know how stressful it can be when your little one isn’t sleeping well & I love being able to help parents without compromising their parenting values and not having to give into the pressures of CIO.

Okay no more sleep talk! Here’s something you may not know about me;

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 I’m a Mama to 2 sons, my oldest is currently 6 & my youngest is 4. I love being a boy Mum, it’s busy and hectic and I love it!

🍫 Self confessed choc-a-holic! Throw in some trashy tv like desperate housewives & it’s my ultimate night in!

☕️ Coffee in the morning, herbal tea in the evening! I’m an absolute grump without my caffeine in the morning. Come 10am caffeine free I feel like my forehead is sliding into my eye balls.

🥩 I’ve completely changed my life since I went through a long period of having low iron and barely functioning. It’s still a battle but working with a naturopath has healed me and really opened my eyes. I now invest in my health daily, live low tox & organic as best as I can and listen to my body.

😅 I looove my Mama friends! Being a Mum most of my energy is spent being a Mum or being a sleep consultant. 2 things I absolutely love! So if I’m going to hang out with people they need to feel my vibe and light me up and I want to light them up too. If we’re not vibing and it’s not an easy friendship or it feels draining, I’ve learnt to just move on.

🥰 My man is the love of my life and my bestie! He’s super chill. We’ve been together for 9 years! Not married and not fussed about it.

🎂 Eeek! I’m turning 40 next year!!!! I don’t know wether to embrace it or worry about it 😂

🌞If I could pick up & live anywhere I just need to be where it’s sunny!!! QLD, Darwin anywhere warm!

Now you know more about me! Tell me 3-5 things about you 👇

What you need to know about our 12-18 month routine;

⭐️ The morning nap is shortening until it’s completely gone between 15-18 months old.

⭐️ Your little one’s lunch nap will sit approx 3 hours after the end of their morning nap!

⭐️ Bedtime is approx 4/4.5 hours after the end of their lunch nap.

⭐️ Once your little one has given up their morning nap you can bring their lunch nap forward to 12pm while they adjust then gently stretch it back out to 12:30pm.

If you want more info when it comes to sleep schedules including meal times, feed times, awake windows and sleep needs comment 🤗 and I will send you a link to our routine guide!

Jade-Sarah x
Infant & child sleep consultant

Struggling with bedtime? When it comes to your older toddler or child is could be lack of bedtime routine or lack of consistency at bedtime.

Toddlers love to push the boundaries especially at bedtime!

Here’s are my tips to a smoother bedtime;

⭐️ Have a consistent bedtime

⭐️ Have a calm and consistent bedtime routine, this might look like bath, into pj’s, milk/snack, brush teeth, books, lullaby and a calm cuddle, into bed/cot.

⭐️ Make some routine cards, pictures of your child doing each part of their routine and stick them on their wall. This helps them feel empowered and allows them to take ownership. If you would like the link to my free routine cards comment “🌙”

⭐️ Start a sticker chart when it’s filled they get to do something special like a trip to the park or out for ice cream or an Instant sticker reward after completing each activity.

⭐️ Get all of the on-going requests for water and one more cuddle done. Ask your toddler before Mummy goes would you like a drink of water? Would you like one more cuddle before Mummy goes?

⭐️ Be kind and consistent! If you keep going back in for one more sip of water, you’re becoming the problem. Make some call out cards, your toddler gets 2-3 at bedtime. They can only call out 2-3 times, once their cards run out there’s no more calling out.

⭐️ Make sure your toddler has had the opportunity to get outside in the arvo and burn off some energy, allowing them to play after dinner can help too.

Having a consistent bedtime routine can be such a game changer especially if it’s done right!!

If you need support around your little ones sleep dm me!

If you would like the link to my free routine cards comment 🌙 and I will send you the link!

Jade-Sarah x
Infant & child sleep consultant