40 Winks Sleep Consultant

24/10/2024

Oh the dreaded time change! But it doesn’t have to be!
On Sunday 27th October the clocks will go back an hour. This means when your child normally wakes up at 6.30am it’ll now be 5.30am. Their circadian rhythms will soon adjust and everything will go back to normal but for now you can do the following to help ease them into this:

⏰ From this evening adjust your child’s bedtime by 15 minutes later each night until their bedtime is finally one hour later on 27th October (not nice for parents with so much to do but it’ll start the process of adjusting their body clocks)

⏰ Make sure your night light clocks are adjusted. Especially if they wait for Mr Sun on the Gro-clock before they get up for the day.

⏰ Even though it’s darker in the evenings and the mornings, still keep those black out blinds up. It will help to keep the street lights/car lights out of view.

⏰ Besides changing their bedtime slightly, stick to routine! Don’t let them know that anything is changing and they’ll slip right into the time change.

⏰ If your child is happy to play or read a book in their bed or cot, get them to stay there and relax until their normal wake up time.

⏰ You may choose to do nothing and that is fine too! Your child’s rhythm will soon change and they will be into their routine.

I hope these tips are helpful. Drop a comment below if you have any other helpful hints ✔️

28/06/2023

Very excited to be about of the Baby Talk Guildford launch ✨

We are launching in Guildford this autumn. Come and join us for…

𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆
🗓️Tuesday 18 September, 10.30
Your ticket includes:
🥞Breakfast, unlimited Tea and Coffee
🎵 Entertainment by
📷Visit our ‘photobooth’
🛍️Goody bags
Plus more coming soon…

𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
🗓️Monday 9 October, 19.00
This three hour session, led by an experienced midwife, is for parents who have already had a baby, and will prepare you for life as a family of four or more. 

We will talk about:
❤️ Labour and birth, and how it might be different this time around
❤️ Postnatal recovery and family life (including introducing siblings)

𝗕𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸
ℝ𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜
🗓️Tuesday 10 October, 11.00
Returning to work can often be daunting. While many relish this return and welcome the variety it brings to family life, it can also feel overwhelming. 

is on hand to support you in that space where motherhood and careers intersect. We will be creating a safe space for you to talk about your experiences and your hopes and fears. 

𝔹𝕒𝕓𝕪 𝕊𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕡
🗓️Monday 30 October, 11.00
Kate from will be talking about:
💤 the foundations that promote healthy sleep.
💤 how to introduce a gentle routine.
💤 night wakings - what is normal.
 
𝔹𝕒𝕓𝕪 𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝔸𝕚𝕕
🗓️Tuesday 14 November, 11.00
will be talking about basic baby first aid covering:
🏥What to do in an emergency and when to get help
🏥 Baby CPR and recovery position
🏥Baby choking

To find out more and join us, follow the link in our bio.

21/03/2022

On Sunday 27th March 2022 the clocks in the UK will shift forward by one hour. This means that if your child normally wakes up at 7am it will now be 8am. And if bedtime is normally 7pm it will suddenly be 8pm on the clock on Sunday. So what can we do to help our little ones prepare for the time changes and alter their circadian rhythms?

☀️Firstly just to say - you can do nothing and go with the flow, and your baby will naturally make the change to his/her body clock.

But if you would like some help, here are some helpful tips:

☀️For the next few nights shift bedtime 15min earlier each night. So instead of 7pm bedtime will be 6.45pm, and then 6.30pm, and so on. Do the same with their naps so they still build up enough sleep pressure between naps and bedtime (ie keep to your usual wake windows) but shift the day as you go.

☀️Make sure to change your Gro Clocks or nursery clocks from Saturday morning so that if the time is 8am make it 9am so that the weekend falls in line with the time changes from Sunday.

☀️Stick to routine - this always helps children feel safe and there’ll then be no need for them to know any different.

☀️If your child battles to go to sleep while it is light outside, invest in some black out blinds for night time use (you can get these second hand for about £10).

Don’t get too worried about the change as children will always adjust and if you have any particular questions, please do let me know.

31/12/2021

New Year’s Eve can be a whole lot of fun, but with young babies/children, it’s easy to worry if they’ll sleep through all the noise.

Here are some top tips for getting through the night:

💥 Try to keep their routine as consistent as possible - if you’re going to friends, take a camp cot, their cot sheet they’ve been sleeping on that week (for the familiar smell) & their usual sound machine

💥 Stick to their normal bedtime in a quiet, dark and safe environment in the house (ask your friends before the time if this space is available, otherwise use the buggy & some white noise)

💥 If you’re staying home, stick to your normal routine, and use your sound machine as normal. You can add some additional noise - fan/humidifier in the passage for more noise coverage.

💥 Babies will stir through the night as they go through their 4 stage sleep cycle (4+ months) so if they wake - wait and watch, don’t rush in, they may just be getting comfortable rather than waking due to the fireworks.

💥 If your baby is in a good routine & is in their familiar environment, they’ll likely sleep through as normal.

Happy New Year to all my lovely followers 🤍

06/12/2021

Have you ever heard parents say, “my baby sleeps all day and parties all night”? This may be because their baby has day/night confusion, which is very common for babies who are 0-3 months old.

Sound familiar? The confusion is a very normal imbalance in your baby's very immature circadian rhythm, which basically means that their body clock hasn't set itself yet. This is why your baby may happily sleep for big stretches during the day then wake a lot more regularly at night and want feed every 1-2 hours.

This typically resolves around 8-11 weeks when a baby’s circadian rhythm is fully developed but there are things you can do to help switch your baby’s day and night, using environmental cues to minimize the effects of the confusion, until their body takes over.

🌿During the day expose your baby to natural light, go out for walks with the buggy/sling naps, and allow baby to sleep in the daylight

🌿During daytime feeds and nappy changes, engage with your baby and keep the room bright

🌿Do the opposite at night - keep the room dark and minimise interactions

🌿Wake your baby to feed if your baby has been napping for 3/more hours

What other things have you done to switch your baby’s day and night? 🙋🏼‍♀️

24/11/2021

Visit the website - link in bio. Check out the available packages and then drop me an email to book your 20% off Black Friday deal 💤🙌

08/11/2021

It’s so hard to know what our babies need every minute of the day but here are some tips that will hopefully help you along the way.

🌿Trust your gut - you will always know what’s best for your baby

🌿Follow wake windows and your baby’s sleep needs appropriate to your baby’s age (remember this is an average - and your baby may be less or more at each age group - see my previous posts) (please remember this is a guide and shouldn’t be something you feel you absolutely have to stick to, but it does help to distinguish sleep/hunger needs)

🌿Hunger cues - rooting near your chest, crying/moaning (& it’s not time for sleep), fist to mouth (some babies suck to soothe so may not always be hunger)

🌿Early tired cues - rubbing eyes, pulling ears, red brows/eyes, zones out, clingy (this is the time to try and get baby down for a nap)

🌿Late tired cues - rubbing eyes/nose, turning head, yawning (we are nearing over tiredness, try for that nap)

🌿Over tired cues - clenching fists, difficult to calm, arching back, crying hysterically (emergency contact nap if you see these signs - car seat, buggy, baby sling, etc, and go for a drive/walk)

What other signs have you seen in your baby that signals hunger or tiredness? 🤍

02/11/2021

Babies from newborn to about 3 months have two stages of sleep:

💤light sleep (appears awake) and 💤deep sleep (not easily disrupted)

It’s not until 4 months (for some babies 3-5 months) do they shift into the 4 stage sleep cycle, and this is when the infamous 4 months sleep regression can occur (I don’t like the term regression because they’re actually waking more due to the shift in cycle and some major developmental changes at this age - so it’s a pro-gression really).

If you watch your sleeping baby (0-3 months) you’ll notice they move around a lot/fidget/open or flutter their eyes OR they remain in a deepened sleep with their eyes closed.

During light sleep we may think our baby is awake, and then tend to them too quickly, which actually then wakes them up. So my advice is to wait 5 to 10 minutes, watch baby on the monitor and give them the chance to shift back into deep sleep. This may then extend their nap time.

At 3 months I started using a more structured routine with Jordy, which has really helped me plan my day, especially with the 2 older children to tend to. At about 12pm I’m now aiming for him to have his longest nap of the day using his wake window (approximately 2 hours) and his early tired cues as my guide. So far he has woken without fail at the 1 hour mark, and I may easily have gone in and gotten him up this point as he tends to look around the cot - but I forced myself to wait ten minutes (as he was happy and calm), and watch him, and he went back to sleep each time. This nap is now 2 hours if I time it right 🤍 This does take practice and some times his naps were shorter, but waiting when he woke helped me to establish whether he was actually awake or needing more sleep.

Drop a comment below with how your routines are going and if you have any questions about starting a plan with your baby 🤍

11/10/2021

I hear this a lot from parents/carers.

Over tiredness can be a vicious cycle, as when children are overly tired, they sleep less or less well, which in turn leads to being over tired, and so on.

The main causes of over tiredness:

💤 Early wakings

💤 Short/disturbed naps

💤 Awake too long (read my post on wake windows)

💤 Over stimulation (one of the main culprits - loud TV pre-bedtime)

These then in turn cause the child to be more over tired 😓 So where do we start...

🤍 Ensure regular naps/rest/quiet time during the day (follow wake window guide)

🤍 Try to follow a more consistent routine for a few weeks, which should include a regular nap time

🤍 Limit TV/IPad use before bed (the blue light reflected can impact melatonin production = sleep hormone

🤍 Introduce a quiet time before bed, read a book together, cuddle and talk about their day, full up those love tanks so when they go to bed they’re ready to sleep (toddlers/young children crave our undivided attention)

🤍 Shift bedtime (this may need to be earlier or later depending on your child’s daily routine - I’m always happy to help)

05/10/2021

Oh the dreaded time change! On Sunday 31st October the clocks will go back an hour. This means when your child normally wakes up at 6.30am it’ll now be 5.30am. Their circadian rhythms will soon adjust and everything will go back to normal but for now you can do the following to help ease them in:

⏰ From 25th October adjust your child’s bedtime by 15 minutes later each night until their bedtime is finally one hour later on 28th October (not nice for parents with so much to do but it’ll start the process of adjusting their body clocks)

⏰ Make sure your night light clocks are adjusted. Especially if they wait for Mr Sun on the Gro-clock before they get up for the day.

⏰ Even though it’s darker in the evenings and the mornings still keep those black out blinds up. It will help to keep the street lights/car lights out of view.

⏰ Besides changing their bedtime slightly, stick to routine! Don’t let them know that anything is changing and they’ll slip right into the time change.

⏰ If your child is happy to play or read a book in their bed or cot, get them to stay there and relax until their normal wake up time.

I hope these tips are helpful. Drop a comment below if you have any other helpful hints. Please drop me a message if you have any questions. Good luck 🤞

22/09/2021

Co-sleeping, family bed sharing, babies in their own cot, babies in their own bedroom, siblings sharing, breastfeeding, bottle feeding, feeds during the night, baby sleeping through the night.... ETC!!! It’s all OK if it’s OK for YOU and your baby 🤍

And if not then please reach out for support 🤍 this is a non-judgemental platform and I’ll always work with you and your baby to find what will work best for all of you.

They say it takes a village and it’s even better when that village doesn’t add any undue stress or guilt onto mom/dad/carer 🙌

Always here if you need a chat, just drop me a message xx

16/09/2021

Supporting your baby to set their body rhythm is another quick win you can do slowly over time and here is how...

☀️ Expose your baby to natural sunlight during the day. Sit outside in the shade, go for a nice walk, open the curtains etc. This allows baby’s body to start to differentiate between night and day.

⏰ Work on a predictable wake up time and try and start the day at this time everyday - this doesn’t necessary mean you have to be up too but baby could be up with your partner while you catch up on some much needed sleep. This will help set up the rest of the day’s rhythm.

💤Naps in the day light - this doesn’t work for all babies as some require darkness to sleep without distraction. But if your baby will nap in the daylight then encourage this, especially if you’re a parent on the run all day e.g school pick up, attending kids clubs etc.

🎼Allow for some natural sounds during the day - siblings playing, dogs barking at the postman, window open with a train going by etc. Your baby will learn to sleep through the background noise, which will make for sounder sleepers later on.

🌙Then at night - set up a calm and dark environment, free from day time stimulation like television/loud toys, increase the cuddles and use things like baby massage and bath time to signal to baby that their night time sleep is coming.

What have been some of the daytime ideas you have tried - successful or not? 🤍