Dream A Little Dream Baby

How to help your under tired baby….

If you think your baby might be under tired, this could impact their naps.

A few things to help would be:

🌟 Get outside for some natural day light and fresh air- this can be a short 15-30 minutes walk, a trip to the park or even a play/ walk around the garden.

🌟 Stimulating them with some playtime- this can be anything from tummy time, sensory play, messy play or a group.

🌟 Have a look at their awake times, you might want to adjust them by an extra 15 minutes or so.

Are you struggling to get your little ones tired signs just right for their naps??

Some babies only show one or two early signs of getting tired before they become quickly overtired, while others can cope with more time before becoming over tired and some babies show no signs at all!

Often I find families struggle to know when the right time to put their baby down is, so here are 3 different signs to look out for and when the best one might be to put your baby down. As putting them down too early or late can lead to a difficult and stressful nap time.

3 different types are

⭐️ Getting tired- these are the signs where you should start winding down/ calm time to get them ready for their nap, these can be things like- glazed expression, losing interest in you and turning away.

⭐️ Nap time, these are the signs you would ideally like get your little one down to sleep in their sleep space before it’s too late and they become over tired, these can be things like- waving arms and legs, eye rubbing, yawning and fussing.

⭐️ Overtired- this is where nap time might take longer and become a little bit stressful, ideally we want to miss these if we can, these can be things like, crying, arching their backs, pushing you away, not wanting to be held or cuddled.

If you are struggling to find your babies tired signs drop me a DM and I will try and help!

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Nap time anxiety is something I often see.

You might have a baby who fights their sleep and it is particauly hard to get them down, or they do not nap well in the pram or the car and they stay awake the whole time you are out and about, this can lead to making you anxious and stressed about naps- and your baby will pick up on these feelings.

Some might get nap time anxiety once they have worked on naps and their little one is sleeping better than they ever have, they have turned a massive corner but anxiety might appear because they start worrying that the smallest change might make their little ones sleep go backwards.

I want to reassure parents that it is okay, everything will be okay, one failed nap, short nap or even an extra long nap will not be the end of your baby’s sleep, I can promise you that.

Routines should allow for flexibility and having an off day is something I actually encourage.

Do you struggle with nap time anxiety?

What’s your biggest napping fear?

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If contact naps are so wrong why do they feel so right? Because they ARE! Contact napping is normal

Contact and physical touch is natural, soothing, comforting and normal.

Of course sometimes you;

🔸Have chores to do
🔸Feel touched out
🔸Want some flexibly

All of theses are absolutely valid but some things to remember are contact;

🧡Releases oxytocin for you BOTH
🧡Builds attachment
🧡Helps baby feel safe as you are their safe space and often they sleep longer

I don’t want any parent to feel contact naps are in anyway a bad habit because they are not!
If contact naps are working for you and your little one, enjoy them.

If you really need your hands free and you can’t settle your baby any other way a tip would be to put them in a sling or carrier.

If contact naps are not longer working for you and you want some help and support to move away from contact napping comment below 👇 or DM me

Todays message is a simple one, if in doubt, trust your gut 💛

Im all about support, education, empowering and listening but for once I’m going to TELL you something…… If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t, mothers instinct is generally spot on!

So if you are advised or asked to do something that doesn’t feel comfortable then trust your gut and do what’s best for you and your baby.

Let’s not always assume that when your baby becomes fussy they are tired or hungry, it simply might just be that they need a change up in what they are currently doing, they might have had enough of the activity and start to become bored.

Im sure you know only too well how to your entertain your baby, but if your little one is fussier earlier than you expect them to be then don’t think they need to go straight to bed for a nap or to be fed, now of course sometimes it IS tiredness or hunger… but not always so why not try to change things up first by;

🌟Moving rooms

🌟Go outside to get some fresh air and natural daylight, just in the garden or at the front door is fine.

🌟Offer new toys or stimulating activities .

Lets stop assuming every fussy moment is because they are tired or hungry

🤷🏽‍♀️Have you found changing up the environment has helped your fussy baby? If so comment below

🙋🏽‍♀️Follow for weekly sleepy hints and tips.

Just when you think you have them down for the night they wake again 😵‍💫
This is known as a false start!

A false start refers to a baby who’s waking soon after they have fallen asleep, they fall asleep easily but then wake up soon after. This could be one wake after about an hour of them falling to sleep or multiple wakes.

Some babies will settle back to sleep easily with a bit of support while others will be wide awake and you can’t get them back off.

Im often being asked WHY and honestly there are lots of possibilities and they are a little tough to de-code, sometimes these can also have no cause and they can just be random but some of the possibilities can include things like, chaotic day, connection, discomfort, development surge, challenges with transitions or even bedtime being too early or late.

Is your little one waking soon after falling asleep?

Do you need some help?

Get in touch to see what 1:1 support I offer.

Have you ever wondered when you need to increase your baby’s wake time?

One of the most important things to remember is that sleep pressure plays a very important part in your baby’s sleep, you want to make sure your baby is sufficiently tried for them to sleep and sleep well!

So what are my top signs it’s time to make a shift?

🌟Naps are being refused or shorter

🌟25+ minutes to fall asleep

🌟False starts

🌟Early rising

🌟Night wakes

🌟Not seeing sleepy cues

If you are experiencing any of these then a starting point would be to look at their wake times, don’t be afraid to make some tweaks to find your baby’s sweet spot again.

Early rising

What is early rising I hear you ask, well I’m going to define that for you, unfortunately this does mean a bit of a reality check here for many but its refers to any infants that wake before 6am, anything after this time is not classed as early rising I’m afraid to say, so if you have a 6am start its fair.

Some parents have little ones who are wanting to start the day as early as 4.30am, yes you heard me 4.30am 😱

So what causes early rising, it’s sometimes related to nap or bed timings, but it can also be caused by many others factors which can be hunger, genetic factors, discomfort and many more. You should also think about environment disturbances here, this means are they waking hot or cold, or because of light or noise, theses are massive triggers.

Here are a few things you could consider:

💫Bedtime is the best place to start, work out how much sleep your little one is getting over night and how much they realistically need. Most little ones under 2 years old only need 10-11 hours per night, so if you put them to bed at 6/7pm you can guess what happens, obliviously there are some babies who sleep longer but on average 10-11 hours is enough.

💫Try to keep it dark, if your child rises early, keep it dark and quiet for as long as possible and as close to 6am as you can then make sure you put lights on and tell them its now morning.

💫Check their day naps, make sure your little one is getting their age appropriate naps. A nap to early consolidates the early wake and a nap too close too bedtime will push that back and the pattern continues.

💫Daylight exposer, make sure your little one is getting as much daylight during daylight hours, when the evenings are darker try to make sure you put on a light to keep it nice and bright.

These are just a few tips to try! 🙌

If you are struggling and would like to work 1:1 with me drop me a DM or contact me through my website, link in bio!!

Don’t forget to tag anyone who you might think will find this helpful 🫶🏽

Do you have an earlier riser? What time do they get up and what have you tried? Comment below 👇

Supporting my 4 month old

Following from my previous post i wanted to talk about supporting your baby if they are in this transition.

You baby’s sleep cycle matures & overall sleep decreases and let’s think of all the new skills they are learning too, it is common to experience some difficulties during this time and some of the experience’s you might come across are;

💤Frequent night wakes.
💤Startling awake soon after falling asleep.
💤Difficulty with naps either being shorter or missed all together.
💤Harder to settle at bedtime.
💤All of this can lead to fussier and unhappier babies.

So lets talk about how we can support these things, the best way to support a new skill is practice, try and give your baby as much free play as possible, remember tummy time is an amazing activity to do with your baby (I will repost my tummy time post next), make sure you encourage your baby to be comfortable on their tummy with lots of bum pats and back rubs, if they roll over but are not able to roll back gently get them a small helping hand to roll back onto their tummy.

Think about your baby sleep and feeding environment- your little one might start to become easily distracted so trying to optimise feeding and sleeping is key here, you might need to darken the room and put on some white noise for a more relaxed and calm environment.

Pre-bedtime routines can really help your baby to feel safe and secure so if you haven’t already introduced one now is a great time too (I will repost my bedtime routine post next)

Remember all about sleep pressure, if you find your baby is cat napping, consider if you need a little more awake time between naps, if your baby has been on the same wake time for about 3-4 weeks its worth thinking about adding in an extra 15 minutes.

Most importantly don’t forget about YOU, it really is exhausting when you’re right in the middle of it so ask for support, try to get to bed a tad earlier, try and get out for some fresh air everyday, if you can’t nap at least sit down and rest with a cuppa.

Mumma you’ve got this and remember I PROMISE it will pass 🤍

💐 Mothers day giveaway 💐

Are you or do you know a mum who is struggling with their little ones sleep, well if so this post is for you!!
This mothers day I am giving away a free sleep package, the package up for grabs is “The Dream call package”.

You’ve got to be in it to win it!!

How to enter:
❤️ Follow
❤️ Like this post
❤️ Tag 2 friends
❤️ Bonus entries for any shares too.

🤞Good luck, closes Saturday 18th march at 6.30pm and the winner will be announced on my story on Mothers day.

Have a read all about my and what I do.

Introducing Dream A Little Dream Baby - Sleep Advisor - METROLAND Hello, my name is Tianni, I’m the founder of Dream A Little Dream Baby. I am a gentle sleep advisor for infants 0-18 months old as well as a maternity practitioner for newborns+. I have been working in the childcare profession for the last 18 years, I worked in a private nursery for 6 years…

Just a little reminder for any parents who might need to hear this today 💛

Tag a parent who might need to hear this below ⬇️

💛 Testimonial Tuesday 💛

As a first time parent it can be daunting to know what to do for the best and as a gentle sleep advisor it’s not all just about sleep, it’s also about informing, empowering, guiding, supporting and building confidence for parents. We work together as a team at your own individual pace to achieve your personal goals.

Working alongside this first time mummy to help her understand all about her daughters overall sleep, sleepy cues and talk through wake windows was a pleasure, the results speak for themselves and it always puts a smilie on my face knowing that I have helped families achieve their goals- it’s the reason a LOVE what I do- happy baby, happy mummy 🥰

If you need any help with any sleep struggles please do not hesitate to get in touch.

There are two critically important hormones for your baby that need to be understood when it comes to attachment, brain development and parental and carer response.

Oxytocin
One of the most crucial hormone for babies development is Oxytocin. Oxytocin is amazing, I talk to a lot of people about this hormone and talk about how to tap into oxytocin for better parenting, feeding and sleep. Oxytocin is the love hormone, when babies experience love its helps with attachment, calming, connection and closseness- which babies can’t get too much of!
It is also very important for labour and breastfeeding, and is released by both males and females.
Oxytocin is released at the end of the synapse and helps synapse formation, It provides the right chemical environment for optimal brain growth.
With your baby ways to help with oxytocin is touch, massage, hugs, snuggles and kisses- give it a go.

Cortisol
Cortisol is released when humans are stressed, and it is very difficult for anyone to think normally, and calm down when their brain is flooded with cortisol. It also inhibits synaptic connections. This is particularly important when we think about the carer response, because leaving babies crying, causes cortisol levels to rise, which is not good for the developing brain.

Pumping

A mother can being expressing when ever she wishes to, if she wishes too- there are lots of different reasons why a mother might need or want to pump and this all comes down to your individual breast feeding journey.

Something you might want to be mindful of is that in the first few weeks the body is working out how much is needed, so expressing more than baby needs may create an oversupply – which is as tricky to manage as undersupply.

If you wish to express then you can start with hand expression or pump expression, pumping should not be initiated until after day three except under medical supervision.

Options for timing are:
1. To express a little after a number of feeds during the day rather at one sitting.
2. To express first thing in the morning when baby is sleeping or has already fed, effectively adding in an extra feed each day.
3. Expressing when a feed is being given by bottle.

Some other useful tips while pumping are-

🥰 If you are with your baby look at your baby, smell your baby as this will really help get the oxytocin flowing.

🥰 If you are not with your baby you can smell your baby’s blankets, comforters or look at photos of videos instead.

🥰 You can use heat as this helps to get the milk flowing.

🥰 You can also try hands on pumping its like doing hand compressions while pumping

🥰 Make sure your flanges are the right size as if they are incorrect it will effect your output, this one is really important!

When did you start pumping and do you have any other top tips that. Might help another mother out? Comment below 👇

Physical Touch
Has anyone told you that you shouldn’t hold, cuddle, snuggle or respond to your baby as much as you do and you should try to do it less? 🤯

🚨 FACT ALERT- You cannot spoil your baby with responsiveness…… you can not hold, cuddle, snuggle, respond, touch or love your baby too much, it’s impossible!

In fact science has shown that responsiveness and physical touch/contact with your baby has effect on;

💛 Their physical growth.
💛 Their brain development.
💛 Parent mental health.
💛 Hormones- lowers cortisol (stress hormone) and increases oxytocin (love hormone) in parents as well as your baby.

So give your baby as many snuggles as you want 🥰 day or night!

Follow for more baby tips and sleep tips

Skin to skin contact is great for both mother and baby- but this includes partners too, skin to skin with either parent is so beneficial!

It has so many benefits, not only straight after birth but also in the following days, weeks and months!

Babies are stressed at birth, they are leaving the familiar environment of their mother’s womb and entering a bright, noisy and cold world- to them, placing them back with their mother will reduce their stress levels and elicit strong instinctive reflexes and behaviours which are designed to lead to breastfeeding.

Here are some reasons why skin to skin is beneficial;

❤️ Regulates baby’s temperature – and the mother’s chest is the warmest part of her body.
❤️ Promotes bonding and attachment.
❤️ Stabilises baby’s heart rate.
❤️ Causes a release of oxytocin for everyone, Mother, father and baby.
❤️ lowers the stress hormone for baby.
❤️ Promotes milk supply.
❤️ Builds confidence for parents.
❤️ Baby will expect to be held and comforted almost continuously in between feeds, and this is a good thing – spending this in skin to skin can be very reassuring to mum and baby.

Follow for more baby tips!

❤️ ❤️