Stephanie Donnelly Consulting

It's that time of the year again 🌹 ⏰ Lets get ready to Spring forward!

Yes, we lose an hour of sleep, but that extra daylight is oh so nice! 🌝

How can you best manage your kiddo's sleep? Here are some options...

⏰ Gradual Preparation
Move your child's schedule (wake time, nap time, meals, and bedtime) EARLIER in 15 minute increments starting 4 days before DST (wed).
This works best for schedule-sensitive sleepers.

⏰ DO NOTHING.
That' right... put your kiddo to bed at their normal bedtime and let them wake up naturally. Follow the current clock time for the rest of the day.
This approach works best for early risers, older children, and those with a solid sleep foundation who are more adaptable to changes in routine.

🌞 Keep in mind that our days are getting longer so we want to make sure our kiddos sleep space is AS DARK AS POSSIBLE. 🌚 Darkness signals the body to produce Melatonin, the sleepy hormone.

🌝 Natural sunlight is key for setting our internals clocks, so get those kiddos outside during wake time to help their bodies adjust!

🎈Client Testimonial❣️

A sleep association is anything that your baby or child associates with falling asleep at bedtime, or back to sleep in the middle of the night. The goal is to have your child fall asleep independently at bedtime and have the ability to do so when connecting sleep cycles in the night. In do so, night sleep becomes more consolidated resulting in a well rested child (and parents) in the morning. 😀

👉Sleep associations look a lot different in toddlers than they do in babies and it can be much more difficult to identify them. Need help getting your kiddo's sleep back on track? Comment below or DM me for help!!

Another kiddo is an independent sleeper and another family has joined the Well Rested Club!
This is what it's all about!

Are you ready to be well rested?? I can help!

🍂 We're falling back...but no need to worry! Here are some tips to make the transition much easier! ⏰

Below are a few options for you to choose from for adjusting your child's schedule to prepare for the time change.

Under 4 months? No need to adjust since they aren't on any type of schedule yet.

Over 4 months? These are your options:

➡THE SLOW SHIFT: Push your child's ENTIRE schedule 15 minutes LATER each day starting the Wednesday before DST. This includes wake up time, feedings, naps and bedtime. This plan works best for sensitive sleepers, early risers, and those who don't easily adjust to schedule changes.

➡THE BIG SHIFT: Push your child's ENTIRE schedule 30 minutes LATER on Saturday, the day before DST. Again, this includes wake up time, feedings, naps and bedtime. This plan works best for children rising later (around 7am) or for those with a solid sleep foundation.

➡WHAT PLAN? Do nothing and just go with the flow. This "plan" works best for kiddos who are already waking up and going to bed at a reasonable time (7am/7pm or later) are well rested and not prone to overtiredness.

🌚 What else can we do to help with DST?
🌜Make sure your child's sleep space is AS DARK AS POSSIBLE! Darkness signals the body to produce Melatonin, the sleepy hormone.
🌞Natural sunlight is key for setting our internal clocks, so get those kiddos outside during wake times to help their bodies adjust.

QUESTIONS? DM me or comment below 🙂

Stephanie of Stephanie Donnelly Consulting is passionate about sharing her knowledge and love of sleep with the families she works with.

"As a child sleep consultant, it gives me so much joy and satisfaction to be able to apply what i've learned through my teaching experiences and all that i've learned through FSI to guide families into healthy sleep habits. With my support, guidance and education, we will create a plan that is unique to your family's needs and goals."

It's that time of the year again and if you haven't already begun to prepare, below are some tips that you can do NOW to help get your child's sleep in shape as the new school year begins.

📅Bring back a consistent schedule!
Gradually adjust bedtime so that your child is getting 10-12 hours of sleep before waking up for school in the morning.

📝Bring back bedtime routines!
Kids thrive on routines, and having a consistent routine in place gives their brains and bodies a cue that sleep is coming.

📺NO screen time after dinner!
Blue light from screens restricts the brains ability to produce melatonin, the sleepy hormone, resulting in poorer quality sleep and difficulties falling asleep.

😴Discuss the importance of sleep with your children so they look forward to sleep too!
Sleep is food for our brain and helps us recover from the day so that we are ready for tomorrow. It helps us focus in school, store and receive new information, grow stronger, taller and run faster!

Need help setting an age appropriate sleep schedule for your children? DM me for help and we can work together to achieve a well rested family!

🌞Get your kiddos outside in that sunshine! ☀️

🧠 Natural light during designated wake-times helps their circadian rhythms regulate & increases natural production of melatonin (the sleepy hormone). 😴

Let's talk about the unsung hero of sleep issues... EARLY BEDTIMES 🙌

Early bedtimes promote longer sleep duration, fewer night wakings and help solve early morning wakeups. WHY??

Non-REM sleep (deep sleep) helps the body and brain recover from being overtired. In children, the bulk of non-REM sleep occurs prior to midnight. Early bedtimes allow your child the opportunity to soak up as much non-REM super-sleep as possible so they can wake up the next day feeling well-rested (and so can you🙃).

Bedtime battles, multiple night wakings, early morning wakeups, cranky overtired children sound familiar? Let's solve these issues together.

✨The newborn 👶 phase is a time full of emotions and adjustments. Your job as the parent is to bond with your little one, follow safe sleep practices and keep baby well-rested so they can grow, grow, grow!

5 tips to help your newborn through the fourth trimester are:

✨1: Keep baby well-rested during the day. How? Watch for sleepy cues and keep wake windows short. Newborns can typically only handle about 45 minutes of awake time at once. This means from eyes open to eyes closed- 45 minutes. So, try to keep an eye on the clock AND your newborn to keep them from getting overtired.

✨2: Create an optimal sleep environment at night. You may notice that your little one can sleep just about anywhere during the day, but at night we want to keep the room dark, cool, and mostly quiet, think “cave-like”. Use a white noise machine to help block out household and environmental noises. Babies are not born knowing that nighttime is for sleep, but we can teach them!

✨3: Keep nighttime wakings unstimulating. When baby wakes for a nighttime feed or diaper change, try to keep lighting to a bare minimum. Use a red or amber colored bulb in your bedside lamp. Keeping it boring helps keep them in sleep-mode.

✨4: Offer full feedings during the day. Practice a “wake, feed, play, sleep” schedule on repeat throughout the day. Baby is more likely to take a full feeding when he/she wakes well-rested from a nap. This schedule also gives time to burp/digest/remain in a upright position before babes next nap. It is important to feed newborns according to your newborn nighttime feeding schedule as discussed with your pediatrician.

✨5: Use a consistent soothing routine. This can take time to develop and practice, practice, practice- find what works best for you and your baby. Rocking, singing or nursing might be what works best for you two. Go with the flow and don’t worry about sleep associations at this point.

What’s a sleep association?? Stay tuned for my next post!

Wake windows work great BEFORE our little one's bodies have developed a regular rhythm (circadian rhythm) but after that, it's BEST to use BIOLOGICAL SLEEP TIMES to help pinpoint the perfect timing for sleep.

This development happens around 4-6 months of age. Biological sleep times are the times when we know our little one's bodies are producing melatonin (the sleepy hormone), in preparation for the brain and body to sleep, resulting in more restorative sleep.

When you follow wake windows, nap times can vary everyday depending on how long or short the last sleep period was. These times may not align with your child's biological clock, resulting in less restorative naps and an overtired child.

One of the best parts about following biological times is having predictability in your schedule!!

Want to get your little one on an age appropriate schedule that aligns with his/her body-clock?? Visit my site, www.stephanie-donnelly.com or DM me for more info :)

🚫Wake windows work great BEFORE our little one’s bodies have developed a regular rhythm (circadian rhythm), but after that, it’s BEST to use BIOLOGICAL SLEEP TIMES to help pinpoint the perfect timing for sleep.

This development happens around 4-6 months of age. Biological sleep times are the times when our little one’s bodies are producing melatonin (the sleepy hormone), in preparation for sleep. Sleeping during these times is much deeper and restoring for the mind and body.

🚫When you follow wake windows, nap times can vary everyday depending on how long or short the previous sleep period was. These times may not align with your child’s biological clock, causing naps to be less restoring and a chronically overtired child.

✨One of the best parts about following bio times for naps is have PREDICTABILITY in your daily schedule 🙌🏻 and a happy, well rested child! 🙂

Ready to get your little one on an age appointment schedule that aligns with his/her body ⏰?? Visit my site - link in bio‼️✨

❓WHY did I become a Pediatric Sleep Consultant ❓

⬆️ This kiddo right here ⬆️

A first time Mom + an infant with a milk protein intolerance who only knew how to contact sleep because that was the only way we could comfort her = a very overtired baby/family.

👉We were tired of guessing on how to get her to sleep independently. We had reached the end of the internet looking for answers. We knew reactive co-sleeping was not safe and we needed help.

✨SO, we hired a sleep consultant.
Was it all kittens and rainbows overnight?? NO! Did we work hard and commit to a plan that our family was comfortable with and see HUGE IMPROVEMENTS?? YES‼️

When THEY sleep, YOU sleep! ‼️(reread that again!)

The fact that I could get more than 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep drastically improved my PPD 🎢 mom-emotions! 👍🏻

👆🏻That’s WHY I want to help families achieve healthy sleep habits. 🙌🏻

😊Are you ready to be well rested?