Cheeky Tinkers Maternity

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Cheeky Tinkers Maternity

Cheeky Tinkers Maternity offers support and guidance to parents who are seeking help with their little ones. We offer help in person, via phone, or email!

Cheeky tinkers maternity offers help and support to new parents, parents who are experiencing any early childcare issues or parents who simply need some guidance, a change of routine in order to get some rest! For parents who are experiencing feeding difficulties, sleep issues with their baby or would like some help with their new baby then there are a number of ways that cheeky tinkers can help.

With four unique packages to choose from you can gain support via phone, email, text or a home visit!

24/03/2025

☆ Illness and sleep ☆

We have had a rough few weeks of illness in our household! A vomiting bug, coughs, colds, chest infections, not to mention basketball related injuries...it has honestly felt never-ending 😖

We are just now coming out of the other side. Thankfully
My poor washing machine 🤣 I'm sick of the smell of vicks, I'm fed up with the sound of coughs and now finding this hugely triggering!

When you are used to having a decent amount of sleep, going back to what feels like "the newborn stage" can really hit you so hard & for those who also have other children, I feel your pain! Surviving on very little sleep whilst still having to function, do school runs, look after toddlers, baby's, etc. is bloody hard work!

So, let's talk. Sleep. Obviously, it was the least of our worries whilst dealing with the constant sickness and sleepless nights! My advice to you would be:

☆ Do not worry about routine, sleep, or otherwise. Do what you can to survive, get through the night 🌙 see this has a temporary blip.

☆If you can tag team with your partner or ask a close friend to help during those days or a family member even, sharing the load can really help.

☆If you are worried, call 111. They give will let you know if you need to go to A&E. Or if you feel something isn't right and your child doesn't seem to be getting any better, then go to the hospital! Trust your gut!

☆ Sleep or rest where you can! Convenient food on hand! You can't juggle everything. Let some of those mundane tasks wait

☆ Your baby's sleep can get back on track once they have recovered fully and you feel up to it. Remember, if your little one used to sleep well, just know you can get back to that again!

☆ You can reset and start a fresh once you are well and have caught up on some much needed sleep. However, that may look for you. If you have used sleep support before, then you can use it again when you and your child are ready.

☆ If you need help to start supporting your little one with sleep, get in touch!

18/02/2025

☆Awake Windows☆

Don't panic! So many parents can become too fixed on how long their baby has been awake, when to pop them down, what to do if they miss a window of opportunity, and baby then becomes overtired & impossible to settle.

First of all, stay calm...those awake windows are to guide you. From that moment when your baby wakes in the morning and before they are due their next snooze, this is known as an "Awake Window."
Its aim is to give you structured naptimes; it is a guide that helps you to learn when your baby's next nap is due.
The awake window guide (see my story) is handy to follow & helps you to avoid overtiredness and gives you confidence when predicting your baby's next sleep.

Sometimes, those naps don't go to plan. It's OK. Life happens, and siblings can also be a factor; so can school runs, appointments, baby classes... I could go on! Don't worry. Offer your baby extra support and reassurance, and you do what you can do to get your little one to sleep!
There will always be another snooze, so if you are trying to get your little one into a more structured sleep schedule, then simply try again at that next nap!
My key piece of advice I offer all parents:

TOMORROW IS A NEW DAY!

31/12/2024

Happy New Year to you all! 🎉🥳
My new years resolution is to be more proactive and more present here in 2025. Thanks to all who have stuck around! Sending you all lots of love and well wishes. If you are navigating your way through difficult times, I see you.
Go easy on yourself in 2025...
#2024

15/10/2024

🫧 Bathtime is a great time to spend one on one with your baby. It's a lovely part of their day, which can be such fun for you and your baby! 🛁 🫧

☆It is a lovely way to reconnect with your baby after a busy day at work, or maybe you have had a challenging and long day & need some downtime, creating a calm space for both of you to unwind....

☆Including bath time in your baby's bedtime routine is a great way to calm and relax your baby before sleep time approaches. You could even treat your baby to a lovely, relaxing massage before getting them into their pjs! Have some soothing music playing during bathtime or through the massage & if repeated each day, it is a great cue to get your baby to realise and learn that bedtime is approaching.

☆A similar sequence of events helps to create a predicatable and consistent routine in preparation for sleep, which helps your baby to feel more comfortable knowing what is coming next.

☆For those much smaller babies below 12 weeks of age, you can offer a small feed around 5 or 530pm to help keep them happy and to help your bathtime go much more smoothly as they won't be super hungry during or directly afterwards. 🍼

☆Having a series of events surrounding your bedtime is a great way to introduce structure to your babies routine. This also helps to keep your baby calm as they come to understand what this order of events means & therefore that transition from your arms to their bed becomes much less of a challenge!

06/08/2022

☆ Newborn Settling ☆

When you are in your Fourth trimester, it is such a whirlwind of emotions & the lack of sleep can make you question yourself & leave you feeling completely frazzled. I'm just throwing some potential reasons your baby may wake soon after going down for a sleep 😴

♡ Wind & tummy related.
♡ Comfort & reassurance
♡ Sleep Environment
♡ Startle Reflex
♡ Hunger

To name a few. And how do you address these? Check out some helpful tips:

♡ LOTS of winding. You are not done with one burp, babies can experience wind later and during sleep! Don't just spend a few minutes burping, at least 15 minutes is better!
♡ Tummy problems? Reflux. Keeping baby upright after feeds, paced feeding, small amounts can also help with these issues but this will depend on the severity of your baby's symptoms...
♡ Your baby has been snug and warm and safe inside your tummy for a long period, so life on the outside world Is completely different, noisy, colder & overwhelming for your little one. They will wake for comfort & in those early months this is so common.
♡ Your baby's sleep environment can help mirror life in the womb. Swaddles can mimic that snug and safe feeling. Room temperature, ensuring your baby is dressed appropriately for their room temp. Pink noise can help to soothe your baby by also mimicking the sounds heard from inside during the third trimester & this is also useful in blocking out those external noises too....
♡ The startle reflex is when your baby startles themselves by jolting, waking themselves up with their hands and arms movements. The swaddle will help with this. Wrapping your baby can really limit that startle reflex & help to encourage longer periods of sleep 😴
♡ Ensuring your baby has a sufficient number of feeds, bottle or breastfed! Making sure your baby is full & comfortable is key for a more restful sleep!
♡ If your little one is super sleepy at the breast, you can gently wake them with a nappy change to ensure they are topped up!

Hope this helps!
Check out my winding reel for tips on those helpful burping positions!

24/06/2022

☆ Stuck in the Early Waking Cycle ☆

A surprisingly common problem and one that I have been asked for help with by a few parents this year. Another mummy who is now stuck in this cycle with her 10 month old, and is also transitioning onto 2 naps.
Her little one is obviously stuck in this now overtired cycle & also does not fall asleep independently. So here's my advice: In order of what I would tackle first.

1. Introduce a new sleep association, try and firstly get your little one down into bed without needing you to fall asleep, work on that before worrying about the other stuff.

2. Get your baby's timings right. Manage those awake periods, start a schedule that works with those windows & structures your baby's nap better. (DM me for a schedule)

3. With step one and two in place and do stick with the new sleep method and routine, be consistent, see improvements and once these are fully established, you may begin to already see improvements. 👀

4. The same sequence of events at bedtime will help to prepare baby for sleep. A sleepy phase that you repeat before bedtime each night, potentially some white noise, black out blinds to help keep the room dark.

5. If you have to resettle, it's OK to offer comfort. Do this in his room, maybe pat on the back, hand on chest, bottom pat for e.g. and perhaps a small comforter that smells of you.

Happy Sleeping!

24/02/2022

☆Stepping Away from☆

If you are looking to step away from feeding to sleep, rocking to sleep or holding to sleep, along with other sleep associations your baby may need in order to get to sleep, then check out some handy tips on how to do that below:

♡ Introduce a new form of comfort. A small comforter can become your baby's new sleep association. Sleep with it and make it smell like you. Offer it for all sleeps and tired times consistently.

♡ Slowly reduce the feed amount/time (if breastfeeding) introduce the comforter when feeding to sleep & slowly phase those feeds down and replace them with being held & use the new comforter.

♡ Replace one sleep association with another. Instead of rocking, try a rock and a pat on your baby's back or nappy. Use alongside the rock for a week, offer your comforter, and then in time, phase out the rocking and use the pat only.

♡ When your baby becomes familiar with a new sleep association, you can then place your little bundle down to bed with their comforter and with a pat on the nappy or back as this form of comfort can be transferred to their own sleep space.

Happy Sleeping!

31/12/2021

Happy New Year to you all.
Thank you for all of your continued support to those that have stuck by me throughout this year.....
Having experienced our 2 losses during this pandemic, one big beautiful blessing to come out of this year was this georgous girl. Our first daughter.
She has lit up our world & completed our crazy family 👪 ❤

I am so grateful and blessed and ready for next year. Bring on 2022.
I hope it brings you all much happiness..

I am looking forward to helping many more families too. So if you are going to be welcoming a new addition to your family this year & would like some guidance through your Fourth trimester, then do check out my website (link in bio) for more info.
If you are experiencing sleep problems with your baby and are looking to improve those setbacks then you can either book a one to one Consultation Package which gives you direct guidance from me, or you can purchase a Mini Sleep pack in my shop which will give you all the sleep info you need which you can work through at your own pace!

Plus I have free info on my insta page, in my stories & on my blog which is also on my website too....

Happy New Year people.
Cheers to you all 🥂

14/09/2021

☆ IS SHE GOOD? ☆

This is the one question that I have been asked alot since having Zyra. This week alone I believe I have been asked at least 10 times already. Now, I know it comes from a good place, but it got me thinking, what exactly is it that determines if a newborn is GOOD?
I mean your baby has so many needs during those first few months & beyond even. So what makes your baby a GOOD baby?

Your baby is not naughty if they:

● Wake multiple times in the night 🌙
● Cry
● Only sleep on you
● Need movement to sleep 💤
● Are fed to sleep 💤
● Are irritable & restless
● Won't go down to sleep in their crib
● Won't take a bottle

I could go on and on. But all of the above does not mean that your baby is not good. When your baby enters this big wide world, its the polar opposite of what they were used to when safe & snug inside of your tummy...
Crying is your baby way of communicating, feeding offer comfort, sleeping on you offers your baby that security & warmth they are used to and feeding to sleep is totally normal...
It will take time for your baby to adjust to this noisy, cold and unknown world & so they need all of these things to help them feel safe in this new place.

So when someone asks if your baby is good, just remember all of these things are normal Newborn behaviours & rest assured, your baby is doing EXACTLY what they need to be doing, so yes they are good, in fact they are great thank you!

Address

161 Old Road West
Gravesend
DA110LT

Telephone

07545495828

Website

http://www.cheekysleepers.com/

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