infant Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Parenting Foundations

Sleep Regression? What is it?

by Brenda McSween | Baby Sleep, Child Sleep, Infant, Sleep Training

Sleep Regressions are talked about a great deal when talking about infant or child sleep. If you speak to a parent with a young child and you mention the word regression you will most likely see a look of fear in their eyes.

Honestly, I feel that these regressions are actually overrated! The fact is that there are many reasons for a change in a child’s sleep and stating if a child is (insert age) they will have a regression in sleep is not necessarily the case. I believe that a number of sleep-related issues get blamed on a specific age when in fact the change in sleep can usually be tied to a developmental milestone or change in sleep needs.

What is a Sleep Regression?

A sleep regression is when your child’s sleep takes a turn to the difficult side. You had a few weeks or days of great sleep and then wham, you are up several times or fighting with your child to get them the sleep they require.

When is it a True Regression?

Changes in a child’s sleep will happen several times. If the change in your child’s sleep has lasted for more than 4 days and cannot be blamed on an illness or growth spurt then you are in the midst of a regression.

The Most Talked about Regressions Demystified!

4-month Regression:

This is when our little ones are moving from the newborn sleep cycle to the sleep cycle that is similar to yours and mine. They are moving from 2 stages of sleep to 4 to 5 stages of sleep per sleep cycle.

8 to 9-month Regression:

This is typically related to a developmental milestone. At this age, there is so much growth going on that is does play havoc with our child’s sleep.

Typically, the developmental milestones that are occurring at this age are as follows: learning to crawl, standing, walking and babbling.

18-month Regression

This can usually be related to increased separation anxiety. This age is famous for this! It does make putting your little one down for sleep a bit more difficult.

2/2.5-year-old Regression

This is usually when our little ones have a verbal explosion! Has your child started to talk a great deal more? This is usually the culprit to sleep-related issues at this age.

Thanks for the Explanation, Now what?

The best thing you can do if you suspect that your child is dealing with a sleep regression is to be patient. If your child had a good sleeping pattern before and you do not introduce any new sleep props your child should be back on track in 4 to 7 days.

If a week has passed and you are still dealing with the sleep regression then I would recommend that you look at your child’s wake time. Your child will most likely benefit from a 15 minute increased wake time.

You adjusted the wake time and are still having issues then I would look for a hidden sleep prop or a prop that your child wakes up requesting.

If you are a Parenting Foundations Member, please feel free to send me a message so I can help you further. If you are not a member yet you can click here to learn more about becoming a member which gives you direct access to me, Brenda from Parenting Foundations.

Bored much??

by Brenda McSween | Parenting

Before you whisk your little one off to have a nap stop to see if she is bored. Yes, you read that correctly!! Babies can get bored.

Let’s put this into perspective. Our little ones are little humans and all humans (big or small) can get bored. Yes, you try to provide entertainment for your child but your child can get bored of you 🙂

What are the signs that your child is bored?

Often a bored child will rub their eyes, look away from you, start to fuss or full on cry! These are also the signs that a child is tired.

Now what?

Before you try a nap or bedtime try switching the activity you are doing. So if your little one is laying on the floor try putting your little one in an Exercauser or Jumper. You can also try placing your child on their stomach or back. Then if all else fails to work take your little one into a different room.

The different room can act as a change of scenery. I do not know about you but I know that if I am looking at the same thing for a long period of time I do get really bored!

A great example of this comes flashing back when I talk about this. Our little man would have been about 3 to 4 months old. I was at home with him and our then 16-year-old. Well, little man was not a happy man and I could not get him to settle. His big brother was doing homework and he stepped away from his work to come help. He simply took him from me and went walking around the house. When he went in the pantry little man stopped the crying right away and he was looking all over the place.

If your child has not been awake long enough change up the activity to see if she is bored before trying to put her down for a nap or bedtime.

Sleep Teaching: Why is this so hard??

by Brenda McSween | Baby Sleep, Child Sleep, Infant, Newborn, Parenting, Toddlers and Preschoolers

Sleep Teaching or Sleep Training can be very frustrating.

I received the following note from a member a few weeks ago:

“This is not going well. Twice we were able to do the drowsy but awake but last night he wasn’t going on that crib for anything. Such a fight. Screaming and crying. Even transferring him was almost impossible.”

I hear this quite often. Typically, Night 4 or 5 is the absolute most difficult. You would think it would be getting much easier. The reality is that things “get worse before they get better”!!

When things are feeling impossible know that it is actually a good thing. This is an extinction burst! Once the burst happens you will slowly start to see change.

Unfortunately, your child’s sleep needs are ever changing which means you may be dealing with night wakings after you have had a few weeks of “bliss’. This can be very frustrating. It begins to feel like all you are doing is trying to figure out the next sleep related issue.

The following is a list of things that can have an effect on your child’s sleep:

1. Learning a new skill

2. Growth Spurt

3. Illness

4. Teeth

5. Separation anxiety

6. Not getting enough time awake during the day

My best piece of advice regarding this is to know that it is normal and that once you get comfortable with making minor changes as needed you will fly through all these changes. There will be some minor bumps but with time and consistency, your child’s sleep will get back on track.

As always please feel free to connect with me to discuss your child’s sleep concerns. You can send me a message through the website, write a post on a forum, or drop a note into the private Facebook group.

Daylight Savings: Coming to an End!

by Brenda McSween | Child Sleep, Infant, Newborn, Parenting

Daylight Savings is coming to an end on November 2, 2020, at 2:00 am. The clocks will fall back.

We will get to sleep in for an hour!!!

Back to reality…Before I had a child, I got to sleep in. Now it just messes with our lovely schedule 🙁

There are a few different ways you can handle the time change.

1. Do absolutely nothing leading up to the day

Put the time change on ignore until it happens. Then once it occurs you may have to adjust bedtime and nap time so your child does not get overtired. If your child typically naps at 12:30 he will be ready for a nap at 11:30.

Every 3 to 4 days you can push your child’s nap later by 15 minutes until you reach the desired nap time. You will have to do the same with bedtime.

2. Push sleep times later in 15-minute increments leading up to the change

7 to 10 days before the time change you can push your child’s sleep times ahead by 15 minutes. Every 3 days add an additional 15 minutes to the sleep times until you reach the desired 1 hour later sleep time. When the time change occurs you child’s sleep times will be back on his previous schedule.

3. Use it to your advantage

If your child is waking up around 8:00 am and going to bed past 8:00/8:30 pm they will automatically be switched to a 7:00 am wake up and a bedtime of 7/7:30 pm.

4. Change your clocks after you have had your coffee

There is nothing worse than looking at the clock while it reads 6 am when you are used to it reading 7 am. Postpone changing the clocks as long as you need. I will be waiting until after I have had my morning coffee!

All the best with the time change! Here’s to hoping someday soon there will be no more time changes!!!

5 Tips for Dressing Your Baby

by Brenda McSween | Infant, Newborn, Parenting Tools

It is my pleasure to have Miranda from Joined at the Hip as a guest blogger. I asked Miranda to provide advice on dressing our little ones. As a mom to three beautiful little girls, Miranda had to quickly figure out how to dress her daughters in a timely fashion. Miranda has developed an amazing clothing line that helps take the stress out of dressing an infant or toddler.

Five Tips for Dressing Your Baby

I’ve dressed a baby or two in the last few years. I have three gorgeous little girls and I’ve learned a lot from them. They are the reason that Joined At The Hip exists and the experience of dressing them has heavily influenced the features of my styles. Here are my top 5 tips for dressing your baby:

Dress your baby in one extra layer than you’d wear. For example: If you would wear jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, then baby would do best in a long-sleeved outfit plus a light sweater.
To tell if baby is hot or cold don’t judge by the temperature of their hands. Instead, check their back or neck. Babies generally have poor circulation so their hands and feet often feel cold even if they are not.
Look for clothing made from 100% cotton. Cotton is soft and gentle on a baby’s skin and is 100% natural, so it is non-allergenic. Cotton washes well, aerates baby’s skin and wicks moisture, but do note that it will shrink up to 10%. All J.A.T.H. outfits are made from 100% cotton.
Avoid pieces that snap in the back. Generally baby will be lying on their back while you dress them so doing up those snaps is a giant pain in the…back. Heh heh.
Try to make it fun! If you sing songs and make silly faces, baby will be less resistant to getting dressed. Play peek-a-boo with an item before you put it on or blow a giant raspberry on that soft little baby tummy.

Hope this was helpful. Have a fabulous day!

Miranda