Happy Baby Consultancy

Information overload

One thing I hear over and over again from new parents is the overwhelming amount of advice and information they are given.

Here are my top tips to help with information overload.

If you haven’t already had a baby, read up on as much baby related information as you can. Try and have a rough idea of if you want to breastfeed or bottle feed, read blogs and post from new parents. Before you have your baby, you will be less tired and less emotional and be able to process information better.

For mothers out there googling late at night in search of the different reasons why their baby wont sleep, wont feed, is crying Etc. – ask for help. You are not alone and the more support you can get the easier things will become, even if that ease comes from simply knowing you are not alone.

For every argument you read about childcare, be it sleep, feeding or crying, there will always be a counter argument. Trust your gut and follow the advice you feel most comfortable with.

You may be told something slightly different from every health visitor and midwife you meet, which can be very confusing. Remember that everyone has different parenting styles. Pick the style that works for you and take the information with a pinch of salt.

No one knows your baby better then you do. Trust in yourself, you are new to this but learning fast.

Find a support system that works for you, like minded parents with similar values to you. groups, , friends and families are always a good starting point.

If you are struggling with a new baby and suffering from information overload, I can help. Working privately, I can devote more time to individual families finding ways to support them in a way that works for them and their needs.

Once a baby is over tired, they often struggle to settle and stay asleep. Overtired babies are often cranky and over stimulated. Once a baby has missed their ‘sleep window’ it can be difficult to settle them, and you often find they do not sleep for long once they are settled. The same is true for children.

Over tiredness in babies can look like

💜 Yawning

💜 Becoming quiet and disengaged in games

💜 Rubbing their eyes

💜 Avoiding eye contact

💜 Flapping arms or jerky movements

💜 Fussiness

💜 Crying

Overtiredness in children looks like

💜 Running around seemingly full of energy (this is the fight or flight mode kicking in)

💜 Becoming easily overwhelmed

💜 Difficult to reason with

💜 Not wanting to eat

💜 Disengaged and irritable
💜 Not listening

What does a sleep consultant do?

We help tired parents get the sleep they and their children need. Sleep is so important for us all, for our health, growth and wellbeing.

When choosing a sleep consultant, make sure they are certified and have experience.

Speak to a couple and pick the one that you feel more comfortable.

Sleep consultants should be caring and supportive.

Sleep consultants shouldn’t ask you to leave your baby to ‘cry it out’. They should be investigating why your baby or child is not sleeping, and address that.

My goal as a sleep consultant is not only to get the whole family sleeping, but to make sleep an enjoyable experience, one that baby’s and children can carry with them throughout life.

Who doesn’t love a freebie? Join me on Thursday the 15th at 9am to learn all about babies sleep. 😴 💤 Things I will cover …. 💜 What sleep looks like 💜 How much sleep baby’s need. 💜 Wake windows explained 💜 Nap’s 💜 circadian, rhythms, and routines. 💜 Troubleshooting common problems

Did you know that babies sleep is different to adult sleep?

Unlike adults and older babies, a newborn baby’s sleep cycle is split between 50% REM sleep and 50% non-REM Sleep. By the time your baby is around 4 months old, their sleep cycle will start to divide into 4 different stages of sleep. Have you ever heard of the 4 months sleep regression? No wonder little one’s sleep patterns and behaviours change at this age will so much going on. To find out more about this and how to support your little one, check out my guide a gentle guide to your baby’s sleep. https://happybabyconsultancy.com/shop/

Tips for helping your baby sleep in the hot weather 😴

💜 Keep your child’s bedroom cool during the day by closing blinds or curtains. You can also use a fan to help circulate the air in the room.

💜 Keep nightwear and blankets to a minimum. If it is really hot, then your baby may be more comfortable sleeping in just a nappy.

💜 A room thermometer can help you monitor the temperature of your baby's room. The room temperatures should be between 16C and 20C.

💜 If your children’s bedroom is difficult to cool keep the bedroom door open and open a window if it is safe to do so.

💜 Use a fan to cool the room, but don’t aim it directly on the baby as they cannot regulate their body temperature.

💜 Check if your baby’s chest or the back of their neck feels clammy as this is a sign they are getting too hot.

Weaning – taste the rainbow.

When it comes to weaning your baby try and offer them a variety of first tastes. Aim for a wide range of colours, flavours and textures.

Here I have steamed and blended the following fruits and vegetables to use as first tastes.

🍎 Apple
🔵 Blueberry
🥬 Kale
🥦 Broccoli
🥔 Potato
🥕 Carrot
🔴 Beetroot

This tray of puree will offer 14 different meals. Try offering your baby a new flavour every other day. They will only take in a small amount at first, so a small ice cubes size is more than enough.

Sleep for the whole family.

Sleep or the lack of it affect everyone. For parents with more than one child, they know that if one child is an early riser this can cause them to wake other siblings who may otherwise have carried on sleeping. For parents who are running on little sleep, this can affect their mood, how they handle situations and parents as a whole.

We all need good sleep, and I am here to help you achieve that. My approach is gentle and effective. I have a lot of experience and many different techniques, depending on what I feel would work best for your situation. By working with families, I can tailor make a plan to get them the results they need.

Get in touch today and start getting the sleep you and your family need. 💜

s

Travelling with babies 🚅✈️🏎️

Here are my top tips for travelling with babies, whether it’s by car, plane, train or boat.

💜 Plan ahead. How long will you be travelling for? Not just how long the fight is, but the actual time door to door.

💜 What time are you travelling? Will it mostly be overnight or during the day? How will this affect your little ones naps?

💜 If you have connecting flights/ trains on your journey plan for delays or long walks between terminals.

💜 If going through security where liquids are restricted to 120ml, make sure you have enough travelled sized portions that you will need and give yourself time to get water and other liquids once you are through security.

💜 What meals will your baby need? Make sure you pack enough milk (if formula feeding) and meals if weaning to last you from door to door, plus a bit more encase of delays.

💜 Plan for delays. Take extra food, nappies and entertainment.

💜 Pack a change of clothes for your baby and yourself. Accidents happen…

💜 Check what documents you need to travel beforehand. Some countries require you to have your child’s birth certificate.

💜 If your baby needs medication, have you got enough to last you your whole trip plus a few extra days in case of delays? Check any medication they are on is not illegal in the country you are travelling to.

💜 Allow time for your little one to lie down, stretch out and have a kick about, travelling often involves a lot of sitting which can get uncomfortable.

💜 When flying, bear in mind that it is often around 40 minutes from when you board the plane until the plane is up in the air and the seatbelt sign is off. Give your baby a chance to lie down and kick and stretch before boarding the plane. If you plan on feeding for take off, remember to factor in extra time and milk for delays.

Sleep associations 🐻🍼

We all have sleep associations. These objects, sounds or routines help our bodies transition peacefully into sleep.

Sleep associations can help us feel safe and secure throughout the night as we transfer from one sleep cycle to the next. For example, if we fall asleep with the duvet on us, and wake with it having fallen off, we will most likely pull it back over us for warmth and security before falling back to sleep.

For babies, when they wake during the night, (which we all do naturally) they will naturally search for their sleep association that helps them to feel safe and secure and aid their sleep. This may be a dummy, a blanket, white noise, or the comfort of a parent.

If you are struggling to get your little one sleeping through the night or connecting their sleep cycles in the day, have you looked at their sleep associations? Are they crying out for you to replace the dummy or to be rocked back to sleep?

My favourite sleep association for little ones is a muslin. They are often something we have plenty of in the house, they are easy to wash and can fold up small for on the go, not to mention they can double up as a bib, small blanket or a cloth for wiping up a mess!

What sleep associations does your little one have?