“When you’re tired you start thinking about you. Don’t be tired. Your mom never gets tired. Be as tough as your mother.” — Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski I recently came across this gem and at first, it had me thinking: We moms – we’re tough MFers, aren’t we? But then I thought: Hold up. I’m tough! I’ll celebrate and take pride in that any day. But I DO get tired! I can appreciate that Coach K was talking to his team about their attitudes and endurance levels in the context of basketball. But still. Moms DO get tired – for many, many reasons. I get to own that, don’t I? How about, “When you’re tir ..read more

At one point or another, all of my kids loved “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond. If you’re not familiar with the book, it’s often described as a “circular tale” where a boy gives a mouse a cookie, only for the mouse to request more and more until, finally, he would like to have a cookie again. It’s little wonder toddlers love the book! Cute illustrations and a fun storyline aside, I frequently tell parents that toddlers live life by the rule of “Plus One.” If they can get away with something today, what else can they get away next? I mean, can you blame them? Ad ..read more

In honor of this whole February month-of-love replete with Hallmark-hearts and milk chocolately goodness, I’ve got this for ya! A love letter to Sleep Dear Sleep, I’m just going to put it all out there: I love you! I miss you! But, I’m a parent now. I’m sorry I didn’t give you much warning about that major change in my life. Selfishly, I thought you and I would just figure it out – like we always have. But I realize now how much we’ve grown apart and it’s literally tearing me up inside. Remember back in college when we used to have a short night together? Then we’d meet back up in the afterno ..read more

When it comes to teaching healthy sleep habits, I talk a lot about building a puzzle – ensuring you’ve got all the elements you need and successfully piecing them together. The good news: in normally developing children, Mother Nature has provided the individual puzzle pieces that allow for healthy sleep. They’re all there! Nothing needs to be designed or recreated. In other words, your child – infant, toddler or otherwise – is fully capable of being a great sleeper. The bad news: we do a fantastic job of overriding and sometimes outright ignoring our body’s natural cues and signals. Part of m ..read more

This National Sleep Foundation info-graphic is one of my favorite resources when it comes to determining how much sleep a child needs at any given age. Instead of using this data to make you feel better about your child’s potential sleep loss, use it to set some goals for healthier habits! IF you’re in the mindset of wanting to maximize your child’s sleep potential, here are a couple of Sleep Pea tips for using this info-graphic and its data to your advantage: Healthy infants and toddlers CAN get 11-12 hours of sleep at night. The additional hours referenced would apply to naps/daytime sleep ..read more

The FDA recently issued a warning reminding parents of the potential dangers of sleep positioners. Sleep positioners, says the FDA, can cause suffocation that can lead to infant death. The initial alert to parents came in 2010 when the FDA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a joint warning after reviewing reports of 12 infant deaths associated with sleep positioners over the preceding 13 years. So why, amidst these dire warnings, does it appear that demand for positioners is growing? FOX News recently reported, “Hundreds of different sleep pos ..read more

The words “time change” have a way of making parents cringe. If things have been going well for you and your child sleep-wise, the last thing you need is a schedule change. If your days and nights have been choppy and unpredictable, you’re probably feeling cautiously optimistic that a time change will work in your favor. Here’s some good news: while an hour of time change can certainly take a toll on our bodies, it typically takes just a few days (generally no more than 3-4) to fully adjust. And, if you’re the planning type, you CAN begin to prepare. First, check out this more in-depth post on ..read more

During a recent trip to Whole Foods, a small, strategically-placed package of chocolate caught my eye at check-out. The label said the product had 1mg of melatonin per piece, and users should take no more than four pieces. I had to laugh because, when it comes to chocolate, I have minimal restraint. “Watch out for that stuff,” cautioned the lady in line behind me. “Oh! You’ve tried it?” I asked. “No,” she said. “But people don’t use melatonin correctly. And now it’s being added to candy!” She had a point. Melatonin is a hormone the body produces naturally as a reaction to darkness. As darkness ..read more

There are a lot of misconceptions about sleep. One that I frequently encounter is the idea that children need to be exhausted before they can fall asleep. Most of the families I work with are well informed about the importance of establishing a set bedtime and following a routine leading up to “lights-out.” Unfortunately, their little ones don’t always comply. Among infants, parents frequently report their little ones are either wide-eyed and bushy-tailed or fussy and inconsolable when bedtime rolls around. Hours of rocking and feeding ensue, only for the child to wake up a short time later. A ..read more

Daylight Savings Time is just around the corner and we’re springing forward! No better time than now for a refresher on how to prepare. When it comes to successfully navigating a time change with your infant or toddler, your approach will first depend on how adaptable they are. Children who adapt easily will likely require less “prep time” for the change than children who are more structured overall. Necessary Structure In many cases, it’s less about how adaptable the child is and more about how much flexibility we can afford with daycare and work schedules to consider. In this case, once the ..read more