Better Little Sleepers Ltd

Better Little Sleepers Ltd My name is Jessica, I'm based in Reigate, Surrey and I'm a mum of two, to a little girl Sophia (2015) and a little boy Hugo (2017).

Just a reminder that that clocks are going to 'spring forward' by an hour this coming Sunday 27th March!Depending on you...
21/03/2022

Just a reminder that that clocks are going to 'spring forward' by an hour this coming Sunday 27th March!

Depending on your child you may want to try one of the following approaches to help them adjust to the new timings:
1) 4 days before the clocks change, bring your child's naps and bedtime forward by 15 minutes and do this every day until the clock changes. This will re-set their body clocks to the new time.
2) 2 days before the clocks change bring their naps and bedtime forward by 30 minutes each day, so they are at the new time by the day the clocks change.
3) Go big bang and just put them to bed an hour earlier on the day the clocks change.

(Waking them earlier in the morning will help re-set their body clocks and mean they’re tired by the earlier bedtime too).

If you haven't already got black out blinds in their bedroom, now is a good time to get some put up before the Sunday as it will be lighter in the mornings and the evenings too.

Make sure they get lots of fresh air and exercise to help their bodies adjust to the new timings. Remember it takes about a week for our bodies to adjust to a clock change.

On the plus side, if you have an early riser, it may help as 5am will be 6am instead!

For any other questions on sleep or routines, then please do get in touch. xx

Do you believe in routine and mantras?I do! Every night in our house we have a little phrase that we say at night to say...
14/02/2022

Do you believe in routine and mantras?

I do! Every night in our house we have a little phrase that we say at night to say a final good night and do you know how long we've been doing it? Yep since they were tiny babies!

Why? Well us at humans love a bit of repetition and routine as it sets up up for a familiar process which for little ones feels warm and snuggly

All you need to do whilst you are trying to settle your little one is to have a mantra( think night night, sleepy time, don't let the bedbugs bite etc) and say that as you finish your routine. I'd also say to use it whilst you are trying to settle them, especially if they are upset as it's a great comfort to hear familiar words and even better that it's from a familiar voice.

If you do this already, what's your night time mantra?

Fill your children’s love tanks!It’s normal to miss the people we love. When we are apart from special people, our ‘love...
08/02/2022

Fill your children’s love tanks!

It’s normal to miss the people we love. When we are apart from special people, our ‘love tank’ runs dry. When kids have a dry love tank, they instinctively act to get it filled up. It’s like a thirsty person searching for water – you’ll do anything to get a drink. Children will play up, act up, seek attention – whatever you want to call it. But really, this is a cry for love just as real as a cry for water. Our children have emotional needs that are as real as physical needs.

There are two main ways to fill a child’s love tank. Trickle charge, or super charge. Have you seen those electric power points for electric cars that super charge your car battery? They’re not the same as the charging points where the car charges slowly. Trickle charging is like quantity time. Super charging is like quality time. In an ideal world, kids need both. In many families, however, this is simply not possible. Maybe a parent works. Maybe they are deployed. Maybe they are hospitalised. Whatever the reason, there is no positive gain from feeling guilty about what you can’t do. Instead, embrace what you CAN do. If you can’t trickle charge your child’s love tank, then super charge it. 20-30 minutes of unhurried, child-led, focused, undistracted quality time will boost your child’s love tank and almost certainly improve sleep, behavior and connection.

I love sleep but let's not obsess over it....Babies love and thrive on a predictable routine but you don't have to live ...
02/09/2021

I love sleep but let's not obsess over it....

Babies love and thrive on a predictable routine but you don't have to live your life tied to your house!

Having consistent routines in place to cue your baby into knowing that it is sleep time, is perfect for when your day just doesn't quite go to plan.

Naps on the run happen from time to time, the odd one here and there isn't going to ruin your good sleeper.

Keep it flexible mama, you need to get out and about too.

You may or may not know that naps tend to be very unpredictable in younger infants. Babies under about 4 months can be v...
02/09/2021

You may or may not know that naps tend to be very unpredictable in younger infants.

Babies under about 4 months can be very erratic in their nap patterns, and it’s very common for a pattern to not emerge until after 4-6 months.

By about 6 months, most (but not all) babies have established a 3-nap per day pattern. Part of the reason for this is that younger babies are still developing circadian rhythmicity.

Sleep is controlled by two mechanisms – the circadian rhythm and homeostatic sleep pressure. When the circadian rhythm matures, more sleep occurs at night, under the influence of those circadian hormones, melatonin and cortisol.

Until circadian rhythmicity is achieved, naps occur throughout the 24-hour period, with frequent napping and feeding a common feature of early infancy.

The earlier an infant develops circadian rhythmicity, the earlier they seem to achieve a more predictable pattern of sleep. So, some good general advice is to spend as much time outside, in broad spectrum daylight, as possible, to help the infant organise their circadian rhythm.

Holistic sleep coaching takes in to account the child’s developmental stage, sleep biology, family dynamics and relation...
24/06/2021

Holistic sleep coaching takes in to account the child’s developmental stage, sleep biology, family dynamics and relationships, the sleep environment, any stresses and strains such as illness in the child or parent, the emotional and psychological needs of the child and the need for rest and sleep of the parents.

If you need some help with your child’s sleep. Then please get in touch!

You're going to want to save this post!!Is it hunger that is waking your baby??It's so hard to know, right, but automati...
22/06/2021

You're going to want to save this post!!

Is it hunger that is waking your baby??

It's so hard to know, right, but automatically we assume that every night wake up is because baby is hungry.
Here are my ❓ for you to help you decide...

❓ Do they only take a small feed and then fall asleep
❓ Does your little one eventually get back to sleep if they aren't fed
❓ Are they waking up within 2 hours of being fed

If you have answered yes to either of these it could be that your little one is waking and then needing that feed for sleep purposes not because they are hungry.

Has this given you some food for thought❓

Is your little one struggling to sleep in this heat?? Then try some of the below:1)Run them a cool bath before bedtime.2...
17/06/2021

Is your little one struggling to sleep in this heat?? Then try some of the below:

1)Run them a cool bath before bedtime.

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

3)Keep nightwear and bedclothes to a minimum. If your baby kicks or pushes off the covers during the night, consider putting them in just a nappy with a single well-secured sheet that will not work loose and cover their face or get entangled during the night.

4)A nursery thermometer will help you monitor the temperature of your baby's room. Your baby will sleep most comfortably when their room is between 16C and 20C.

5)Don’t panic if your little one is normally a great sleeper but they are struggling during the heat to sleep, once the temperature cools down, things will improve again.

Sent from my iPhone

If your little one is waking up multiple times throughout the night, here is a quick and simple trick that you can try o...
15/06/2021

If your little one is waking up multiple times throughout the night, here is a quick and simple trick that you can try out...

Put socks on them! 🧦

Feet and hands regulate the core body temperature so preventing a drop in temperature may prevent a wake-up or two, especially in the early hours of the morning.

Let me know if you try this tip out!

Good enough parenting is good enough. It’s an often-trotted out phrase, but I wonder if we really understand what this m...
11/06/2021

Good enough parenting is good enough. It’s an often-trotted out phrase, but I wonder if we really understand what this means? It’s not about easing the guilt over the times we know we mess it up. It’s not about thinking in terms of percentages of the day when we nailed it versus the times we screwed it up, got impatient or weren’t entirely emotionally present.

It’s an actual shift in attitude that acknowledges the realness and rawness of parenting.

Your child doesn’t need a perfect parent. It’s not just that they can *get by* with less than perfect parenting. It’s not that they are resilient enough to cope when you (and I) get it wrong, but would be better if we got it right more often. It’s bigger than that.

In essence, children really do not need us to be perfect. They just need us, in all our fallen, broken glory. Just as you are.

Sure, if it helps you to know that your child will be ok if you don’t hit perfection, that’s great. But please also absorb the truth that your children need authentic parents who know they mess up, know that it’s normal, and know that we can have a do-over.

When you learn that, you’ll teach your kids a bigger lesson than if you *did* achieve the never-before-achieved-perfect-parent-status: You’ll teach them about failing, and getting back up again. Saying sorry. Meaning it. Doing better. Trying harder. Persevering.

Kids don’t need perfect parents. They need real parents. Pass it on.

I often say that trying to address a sleep challenge during an acute developmental stage is like trying to redecorate wh...
07/06/2021

I often say that trying to address a sleep challenge during an acute developmental stage is like trying to redecorate when you’re in the middle of building work. If you paint, you’ll get dust in the paint and it might need sanding down afterwards. It’ll be messier and more difficult and take a lot longer. Sure, you can keep the dust and mess to a minimum by vacuuming regularly, but don’t do major work.

I’m not a huge fan of being specific about when babies go through ‘leaps’ – some babies stick to these timelines like it was designed for them, but for other babies it’s way out. The truth is, whenever your baby is learning a new skill or working on new learning, sleep seems to take a hit.

If you think about it, it makes sense. When we learn new things, or have a lot on our mind, when we’re processing something, or dealing with a big situation, we may a) have disrupted sleep, and b) need more comfort. We may eat more chocolate, be more irritable, reach for a glass of wine, or need to offload on a partner.

When babies are doing big stuff – crawling, walking, rolling, sitting, standing, babbling, starting to eat – you name it, they may be more unsettled. Often, once the new skill has been learnt, the sleep spontaneously improves.

The most common time for parents to reach out for help is during one of these phases when sleep seems to be seriously going to sh*t. But honestly, sometimes just waiting another month for the dust to settle, means that not only is your baby in a better place to rethink sleep, but also, you may not be starting from such an acute point.

Honestly, sometimes all it takes is a few tweaks and your little one could be sleeping well. If their day sleep isn't qu...
03/06/2021

Honestly, sometimes all it takes is a few tweaks and your little one could be sleeping well.

If their day sleep isn't quite right then this will impact their nights, sleep promotes sleep.

Check your little ones sleep environment, is it super dark, with no distractions, not too hot not too cold, if these things are bang on then this is going to help promote longer naps.

Check your little ones awake times, are they overtired or under tired going down for their naps? Either or can make it harder to achieve longer naps.

Check that you have removed all sleep associations, anything external that your little one is using to first fall asleep is going to determine whether or not they can link sleep cycles with your assistance.

If you feel that you have got all this covered but sleep still isn't happening for your family, book an advice call and let's dive deeper!

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28 Croydon Road
Reigate
RH20PG

Telephone

01737483844

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