Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

Now that the time has changed and the time has moved forward one hour, some of you still might be struggling. This is most commonly due to baby being overtired from the time change.

I’m not sure about you, but I was EXHAUSTED on Monday. When my husband’s alarm went off at 6 a.m. (old 5 a.m.), I was so tired! I dragged the whole day. I ended up having to wake my boys at 8 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. to try to get back to an earlier bedtime that night. My older son (who inspired this site) was SO cranky being woken up, but once he got going, he did okay. My younger son, though I woke him “late” at 8:15 a.m., he went down for his nap at his normal time (and fell asleep faster than ever) around 12:30 p.m.! We got back on track within just a couple of days, thankfully.

Unfortunately, those with younger babies or those more sensitive to over-tiredness like my eldest son USED to be, you might still have a cranky baby who might be napping less or having more night-wakings or waking too early in the morning or fighting naps or all of the above. Here are some tips to recover from Daylight Savings:

• Offer naps earlier than usual for a few days. Even 15 minutes can make a big difference, but if your baby is really struggling try even 30 to 45 minutes earlier to get back on track.

• Try putting your child to bed earlier, too. I can’t say it enough that night-wakings and waking too early can be caused by over-tiredness at bedtime.

• If you were hoping Daylight Savings was the answer to your 5 a.m. wake-up call and you really don’t want to go back to early bedtimes and early naps, see if your baby or toddler will take an extra catnap during the day to take the edge off of the over-tiredness and get her back on track at bedtime. Yes, even if you have to take a car ride, it won’t hurt to do it this one time.

• If you haven’t gotten back on track, yourself, try to ask your partner, friend, mom, dad, or hire a babysitter and take a nap yourself! You deserve it!

If I haven’t covered your unique Daylight Savings challenge, leave a comment below and I’ll try to address it.

Without further ado, I wanted to announce the winners to the contest! I got sick this week *AND* my computer died, so I wasn’t able to keep up with the Sleep Helpdesk and read through all of the entries, so this is a little later than I wanted, but hopefully still in time to help your families in need! As a bonus, I personally addressed each one a bit more than I originally intended, in hopes that it will give some guidance, hope, or encouragement in your next step to better sleep.

You will get an e-mail if you are a winner (if you haven’t already), so please check your in-boxes. If you don’t claim your prize by Monday, March 22, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. I will choose another winner.

Once again, here is a list of the prizes:
1. A one-week unlimited e-mail consultation package (Value $79)
2. A five-email consultation package (Value $49.95)
3. A copy of Mastering Naps & Schedules – (Value $24) (Giving away two!)
4. A copy of Help Your Child Sleep, a Step by Step Guide – (Value $27) (Giving away two!)
5. A 3-month membership to the Members Area, which includes access to all e-Books, case studies, tele-seminars, and much more! (Value $24) (Giving away two!)

Here is a list of all entries, recommendations and winners. I hope this is helpful and I encourage everyone to take the next step to better sleep! And, remember, even if you didn’t enter the contest you can always e-mail me with your details and I’ll recommend your next step, too!

1. Holly – Big changes do affect sleep, but waking every two hours is exhausting! I’d recommend two or five e-mail consultation package to help your little one to better sleep.
2. (WINNER! Help Your Child Sleep) Elaine – You didn’t mention how old your granddaughter is, but I’d venture to guess pretty young, so I’d recommend Help Your Child Sleep, a Step by Step Guide
3. Tara – Oh no! Backslides are common. I’d recommend two e-mail follow up consultations.
4. Asheley – I would need a little more detail, but I’d have some recommendations for you. I’d recommend a two e-mail consultation package.
5. Gina – I hope you’re faring well this week! I’d recommend the two or five e-mail consultation package, but 10 months is a very common time for sleep problems to crop up.
6. Amy – 18 months is a long time to be getting up multiple times per night! I’d recommend a five e-mail consultation package to get your family more sleep!
7. (WINNER! 3 Month Membership) Mila – I know all too well how sleep deprivation makes you cranky. I’d recommend a 3-month membership or five e-mail consultation package to help your son sleep better.
8. Jaime – Just when you get going on something, they seem to change! I’d recommend a one week unlimited package, so I can provide the support you need and keep you accountable for sticking to it!
9. (WINNER! Five-Email Package) Alishia – Oh how you must be exhausted being pregnant with triplets! I’d recommend a five e-mail consultation package.
10. Kelly – This is a common age for toddlers to test their limits with one caretaker and not the other(s). I’d recommend a two or five e-mail consultation package to get her napping more consistently for you.
11. Erin – You probably don’t need any help. You just need to be consistent with letting her go back to sleep on her own and not get her up before at least 6:30 or 7 for two solid weeks and she will “get it.”
12. (WINNER! Mastering Naps & Schedules) Amber – I’m glad your twins sleep well at night. I’d recommend Mastering Naps & Schedules to improve naps for your son.
13. Claudia – ((HUGS)) I do know your story. Sorry she is still struggling. Now that she’s a bit older, we might need to try some new things. Please do contact me.
14. (WINNER! One Week Unlimited Package) Pamela – I’d recommend a one or two weeks unlimited e-mail package so we can get him sleeping before you go back to work!
15. Abby – Help Your Child Sleep, a Step by Step Guide, but if you don’t have time to read (since it sounds like you’re strapped for time), I can develop a sleep plan for you and I’d recommend the two e-mail consultation package.
16. Tanja – It sounds like it could be a schedule problem him taking so long to fall asleep. You might tweak his schedule. For getting through the night, you just need to be 100% consistent about him staying in the crib and you sitting next to the crib like you do at the start of the night. It might be a few rough nights, but well worth it in the end. If you’d like me to develop a more detailed plan, a two e-mail consultation package would do it and it would be well worth it!
17. Lisa – I’d need more information, but it is probably a schedule problem, so I’d recommend just two e-mails.
18. Kathy – Some babies are quite noisy in their sleep. I’d have to know exactly how he’s “crying” but if you have a monitor, you might turn it down. I know I had to do that when I’d wake up with every little noise.
19. Angela – It sounds like your son is doing fairly well. I’d have some suggestions for you and recommend a two e-mail consultation package.
20. Julia – Tricky because it’s not “that” bad, but could be better. He might be a baby who just needs a nudge, so I’d have some small things we could try to get your baby sleeping all night, so I’d recommend just two e-mails.
21. Melissa – Because you have two, I’d recommend a ten-email package or one-month unlimited e-mail package so we can tackle issues with both kids. You must be EXHAUSTED!
22. Shannon – I remember those days! I’d recommend a five-email package, so we have a few to use when your newborn starts going through changes.
23. Melissa – We might be able to work on night-weaning the girls at this age. I’d recommend just two e-mails to get going!
24. Victoria – Transitioning to two naps is normal at this age. You can most definitely night-wean down to one (or no) feeding and an earlier bedtime would probably help. A two- or five-email package could set you well on your way!
25. Jennifer – Oh boy! I do relate in that when you have two kids and two animals (in our case it’s dogs), it can definitely have more ups and downs than when you just have one child. Hang in there!!
26. Ritika – Have you tried an earlier bedtime? I would definitely have a detailed day-by-day plan that I could set up for you. I’d try a two-email package, so I can type it up!
27. (WINNER! Three Month Membership) Dahlia – Three month membership, so you can read about both nights and naps. It would help a lot!
28. Cindy – I’d need a bit more information, but have some things you can try. I’d recommend just two e-mails to get started.
29. Challene – Ear infections definitely cause abrupt sleep problems. Molars also throw toddlers for a loop. Hang in there!
30. Michelle – That’s great Liliana is sleeping well at night! Have you tried the afternoon nap at a different time? If it’s been going on for less than a week or two, I’d give her a little more time. It is probably not the teething if she’s napping fine in the morning and sleeping fine at night.
31. Carol – You are not alone! This is common. I’d recommend two e-mail, so I can give you a detailed plan on how you can get your son sleeping all night.
32. Lily – Thank you so much for being a loyal reader! It’s great he’s sleeping so great!
33. Melissa – I’d recommend a five-email consultation package, so we have a few for later issues, too, such as nap transitions.
34. Lorie – I don’t blame you for not wanting a repeat. I’d recommend you read Help Your Child Sleep, a Step by Step Guide to come up with a plan.
35. Allison – Your story sounds very familiar. I’d recommend a two e-mail consultation package to improve sleep in your house!
36. Mg – You said 15 year old, so I know you’re tired. I’d recommend two e-mails to get you your bed back!
37. (WINNER! Mastering Naps & Schedules) Lauren – Mastering Naps & Schedules or two e-mail consultation package
38. Melissa P. – Oh I hear your exhaustion! I’d recommend a two- or five-email consultation package to help your daughter sleep better.
39. Yvette – Oh my! You must be SO EXHAUSTED!! I’d recommend a five-email package.
40. Penny – I am guessing reading a book would be too tiring, too. I can make a detailed plan for you to follow. I’d recommend a two-email package.
41. Sara – Now, YOU, must be EXHAUSTED! A five e-mail package would definitely let us make some headway on both nights and naps.
42. Sue – Short naps are common, but I’d recommend Mastering Naps & Schedules, which will be very helpful as your 3-month old gets older.
43. Melissa – Two e-mail would definitely get us going on your 5-month old.
44. Adrienne – Wow on 5 years! I do try to tell people that it’s very unpredictable when a child might outgrow issues, IF they do. For what it’s worth, your 3 1/2 month old sounds normal and 2-4 feedings is normal at this age. I’d give her more time and definitely contact me if things go downhill!
45. Kelly – Woohoo!!
46. Margarita – Oh wow! There are definitely safety issues at play here and you must not sleep deeply at all! I’d recommend a five e-mail consultation package.
47. (WINNER! Help Your Child Sleep) Kjirsti – 4 to 6 wakings is definitely a lot at this age. I’d recommend either Help Your Child Sleep, a Step by Step Guide or two e-mails.
48. Lissette – This is common to replace one sleep association with another. I’d recommend five e-mails to make more headway.

Happy National Sleep Awareness Week! Oh, you don’t celebrate this holiday? Well, technically, neither do I.

I make it a point all year round to stress the importance healthy sleep habits for our families. I can bet that because you’re a parent who has come to this site, that you have learned (maybe the hard way) just how sleep deprivation takes a toll on your mind, body, and soul, and how your baby’s development flourishes when he’s getting enough rest. In a sleep-deprived state you aren’t as alert, probably more cranky, less energetic to play with your kids, and probably angry more often. You might even be depressed. It might even affect your marriage. You might even feel like you don’t like your baby some days. I hear all this and more, and I feel for each and every one of you!

The National Sleep Foundation is a big promoter of National Sleep Awareness Week and has released their “Sleep in America” poll results today. They studied four different ethnic groups and their sleep habits and attitudes towards sleep. Interestingly enough, in all four groups, only 4 in 10 said they get a good night sleep every night or almost every night. I suspect that if they studied parents, this number would be even lower! Another interesting result of the poll is that most adults believe their sleep issues will go away on their own over time. I would say this is true a lot of time about parents and their child’s sleep issues: that you believe (or hope) the issues will go away over time. Oh how I wish that was always the case! You can read more 2010 Sleep and Ethnicity Poll Results here.

National Sleep Awareness Week ends with a bang with Daylight Savings starting this weekend (if you are in the U.S.). We “Spring Forward” and lose one precious hour of our day. I know some of you might be jumping for joy when your 5 a.m. riser will now be waking past 6 a.m., but I also know some of you know that schedule changes always seem to set you and your family back. If you are worried about the time change or want to know what to expect from your baby or toddler this summer when it stays light later, please review your Spring Forward with Child Sleep Tips on WorkingMother.com, written by yours truly.

But, wait! There’s more!

I can’t let this week go by without giving you an opportunity to get more sleep for you and your family, so in honor of “Spring Forward” and National Sleep Awareness Week, I’m doing a quick and easy giveaway. Comment with a brief description of your sleep story by Sunday, March 14th at 11:59 p.m. below for a chance to win:

1. A one-week unlimited e-mail consultation package (Value $79)
2. A five-email consultation package (Value $49.95)
3. A copy of Mastering Naps & Schedules – (Value $24) (Giving away two!)
4. A copy of Help Your Child Sleep, a Step by Step Guide – (Value $27) (Giving away two!)
5. A 3-month membership to the Members Area, which includes access to all e-Books, case studies, tele-seminars, and much more! (Value $24) (Giving away two!)

I will be reading your story and trying to find the most apropos family for each prize, so I can really make a difference in your lives. Good luck and happy sleeping!

So, we’ve made it through the holidays in one piece. Phew! Sleep seems to be back on track in our house, given we had some late bedtimes and off-schedules surrounding Christmas. If you are still struggling with the holiday upheaval, make sure you review your post-holiday sleep recovery tips, and if you’re a member, be sure to listen to the tele-seminar recording from 12/29. One member e-mailed me this about it:

“LOVED the Recovering from the Holidays and Nap Transitions taping. I missed it yesterday b/c it was the last of the in-laws… and so I was very grateful to hear this today! Perfect taping!”
-Lily

New Year’s is a time to reflect on the last year and how you want the next year to be. Multitudes will make new year’s resolutions and only a small percentage will achieve the goals they set for the new year.

A look back at 2009

This past year has been a big year. In December 2008, this website (formerly picknicksbrain.com) had around 15,000 visitors. This past December 2009, the website enjoyed over 36,000 visitors who viewed over 71,000 pages! I’ve gone from having just a few clients to ten times the number. I get many e-mail messages that thank me for the site and helping their child sleep, even if I’ve never talked to them directly. We’ve added a Members Area, a new book, and a Facebook fan page. I also hired an assistant to help me manage it all and help me get our name out there. It is beyond phenomenal how wonderful it has felt to help you and your families get more sleep and I can’t even put it into words.

This year I also learned just how determined I am to help new parents in many different ways. I became the majority owner of Babble Soft and took over operations from my business partner, Aruni, who is a serial entrepreneur. She is so great and it’s so hard to believe we only met in person for the first time last week!

On a personal level, I celebrated my five-year wedding anniversary, my 4-year old started pre-school and my almost 2-year old started talking in sentences a few weeks ago.

Fortunately, it has been a very good year for me and my family. I am able to fulfill my passion to help other parents with their sleep struggles like I’ve been through myself and be home a lot with my kids (with help) so I can avoid missing too much of these early years.

It has not all been positive, unfortunately. My father and brother had a falling out, my two older brothers were really sick earlier this year (and both had strokes), and just over the holidays I struggled to help my family understand my son’s spirited temperament and strong-willed personality. I’m sure some of you might relate.

It was difficult to explain how my older son is slow to adapt and how his first reaction is often no (unless you can make him think it was his idea ). It’s hard when someone wants to interact with him, yet his first reaction is no. It can hurt feelings and the fact he is slow-to-adapt makes him prefer familiar (mommy and daddy) over someone new (like a visitor who sees him infrequently even if the visitor is someone like grandma or grandpa). He has grown up a lot and matured SO much in the summer before he turned 4, but if you don’t know him very well, you really don’t know how far he’s really come and I only expect great things from him as he gets older (though I still worry what his persistence will be like when he’s a teenager). His younger brother, who I’m sure looks to his big brother to guide him, is much easier-going but is VERY stranger-averse. He takes a long time to warm-up to new people. Though we sometimes wish they would warm up faster, we are not sad that they won’t let just anyone cuddle with them. I know maturity will make a big difference, so we’ll just have to be patient.

Goals for 2010

Professionally, I hope, with the new name of the website, many more babies will find their sleep. I plan to keep writing new material that will be new and different for parents to help their babies find their sleep and, you never know, I might even start on that published book I’ve been thinking about. I also plan for the Helpdesk to remain busy the rest of the year (it’s surely starting out that way!). I plan to enhance the Babble Soft suite of baby care software and help even more parents gain insight into their baby’s rhythms and help manage their baby’s schedule.

Personally, I hope my Dad and brother mend their rift and my two older brothers stay healthy now that they are on the mend and on blood pressure medication. I hope my husband has a fabulous 40th birthday and my boys, who will turn 2 and 5, stay so very cute and the light of my life.

Sleep-wise, I hope my 4 year old will stop having as frequent nightmares as there is nothing that breaks your heart more than a pre-schooler who says “I hope I don’t have a nightmare tonight” and you can’t do much about it. He’s at the age where fear is normal and they are learning about mortality. Other than that, his sleep is in pretty good shape, now, thankfully (though it’s never perfect)! For my almost 2-year old, I just hope he does not need to transition to no-napping like his brother did at 2 1/2. Otherwise, he is napping well and sleeping well most nights (again, not perfect every single night especially with 2-year molars coming in). I do plan to determine whether chocolate really is a sensitivity for him or if it’s purely coincidence that nights he has had chocolate during the day, he wakes at night. We will also transition him to a toddler bed in the next 6 months and start potty training (have you calculated how many diapers a baby uses, yet? Scary stuff!).

I believe the key to successful new year’s resolutions to keep them realistic, so I’ll finish this by saying my new year’s resolutions are to exercise more often, help more parents with sleep problems, and go to bed earlier myself (I am writing this after midnight so I’m not off to a great start here! LOL). I hope, if you’re still struggling with your child’s sleep, that you make one of your resolutions is to help them sleep better. I promise you, it’s realistic!

What are your new year’s resolutions (sleep or otherwise)?

The holidays are tricky for your baby’s sleep. Grandma and grandpa want to spend time with the little fella, since they don’t get to see him that much. Or, you have two parties to go to on the same day, babysitters galore, or you have a lot of family members over making it really loud during nap time. Some people even like to get babysitters just to go Christmas shopping, especially those of you with more than one kid or twins or triplets, or more! After all, keeping your eye on two kids running around makes it THAT much harder to actually look for gifts to buy for people (believe me, I know!). That’s one reason I do most of my shopping online, these days. You might think that I often link to Amazon because I’m an affiliate (I get a very small percentage of sales at no cost to you), but I actually LOVE Amazon! I’m an Amazon Prime member and my holiday shopping alone more than pays for it, not to mention all the birthdays, sleep books I want to read, etc. throughout the year.

If you travel during the holidays, this can make many parents anxious and I tend to get a lot of questions about it around this time of the year. Don’t fret. There are things you can do to make the transition easier including making “away” as much like “home” as possible, being consistent in your routines, and getting back to normal as much as possible when you get back. If you have holiday visitors, try including grandma or grandpa in the routines by letting them read the bedtime stories. For more tips on your baby’s sleep, please visit MomCentral this year where I go into your baby’s sleep and the holidays in more detail.

To help some of you even more during the holidays, I’ve decided to give the gift of sleep this year by giving away the following:

•   Two copies of my e-Book, Help Your Child Sleep, a Step-by-Step Guide, to help a tired family with their nighttime troubles.
(Value: $28.50)

•   Two copies of my e-Book, Mastering Naps & Schedules, to help a tired family with their baby’s nap struggles or to help establish a routine.
(Value: $24.95)

•   Two 3-month memberships to my exclusive Members Area, where you gain access to all our e-Books, case studies, weekly expert advice by yours truly, and much MUCH more!
(Value: $18)

AND

•   Two two-email personalized consultation packages, where I customize a sleep plan for your specific situation. I promise we can get a lot done in just two e-mail! Read other parent stories. (You can also feel free to save these to use later, too)
(Value: $24.95)

AND

•   Your choice of a $57.20 Target or Amazon gift card (so the total prizes equal $250 just because I’m a little anal and silly like that. Go ahead and check my math. I used Excel! )
(Value: $57.20)

Why am I giving away so much? It’s the holidays, we should all be generous and I LOVE helping people with their sleep struggles, that’s why!

How can you win one of these lovely prizes? Just leave a comment below and I’ll randomly choose winners (using random.org).

Make sure you enter below NOW, forward to all your friends and family, post it on Facebook, and tweet on Twitter! Share! Share! Share! The baby on his dad’s shoulder at the top is reason enough alone to share. Soooo adorable!

(Note: One person / e-mail address can’t win two prizes. If I randomly choose the same person, I’ll choose another winner, to be fair. You can enter up to once a day, though (Max 9 entries).)

Happy Thanksgiving!!! (at least to the U.S. readers)

This week is a good time to find the silver lining and say what we are all thankful for, sleep-wise. I’ll start:

• I am thankful that my once challenging son, who inspired this site and is now 4 years old, can now be walked up to bed, put on his PJ’s, brush his teeth, cuddle in bed for a few minutes and he falls right to sleep. No fuss. No muss. (most of the time) Gone are the days where it took me an hour to put him to bed. Hooray!
• I am thankful that I can put my 21 month down for a nap by proclaiming it is “nap time” and he walks up the stairs, I put him in the crib, say night night and walk out.
• I am thankful that, most nights, my 21 month old wakes briefly, sits up in bed, and lays back down without needing anything.
• I am thankful that I can now check on my son before bed, since he sleeps with the door open and can stare down at him for a few seconds watching him sleep peacefully. I couldn’t do that when he was a baby because he’d wake up when I opened the door, yet he couldn’t sleep through noise, so I couldn’t keep the door open, either. I look forward to when my younger son’s door is open, too.
• I am thankful that I didn’t have to break a pacifier habit or thumb-sucking habit for either boy and, most of the time, they can find their own blankies (occasionally I’m woken up by my older son because he can’t find it and it’s buried in covers or on the floor).
• I am thankful that we figured out that if our sons don’t have a snack before bed that they sometimes wake up earlier in the morning or in the night.
• Mostly, I’m thankful to have two wonderful boys who are the light of my life.
• I am thankful that the fact that my boys are imperfect sleepers has given me this unique opportunity to meet so many parents out there and allow me to help them with their troubled sleepers. It is truly one of the most rewarding things in life I’ve ever done, so far.
• I am thankful that I can do my Black Friday Shopping online this week, so I can sleep a little more on Friday, one of my (very) few days off.

It doesn’t hurt to get some things off our chest, too, so we don’t bottle them up inside. I am NOT so thankful for:

• I am not so thankful that sleep is still not perfect for my eldest son (who inspired this site).
• I am not so thankful that my son is so sensitive that our imaginative play or something that seems “ok” to see on TV causes nightmares for three nights in a row this weekend (hoping for a good night tonight).
• I am not so thankful that if we think our younger son has eaten enough, but he hasn’t, that he will sometimes take longer to fall asleep or wake in the night (this is finally getting less common as he gets older).
• I am not so thankful that with two boys who aren’t the perfect sleepers that sometimes it still feels like I will never just sleep well every day again and that I’m commonly waiting for that wake-up call, even on “good nights”.
• I am not so thankful that one day my boys will be older and not need mommy anymore and I will probably be sad because now they don’t need me anymore and I will wonder why I worried so much about their sleep, yet I would love not to worry about it and it is so ironic that one day they will be teenagers that I will have to drag out of bed and I’m not so thankful that it all makes me sound so crazy.

What are YOU thankful or not-so-thankful this year, sleep-wise (or not)?

Happy Thanksgiving! Have a very joyous and safe holiday. And, sStay tuned for a BIG announcement in the next week or two!

Parenting is hard work and when you have a challenging sleeper and sleep-deprived yourself, it’s all that much harder. This article is straying away from sleep for a moment, to take some time to allow you to focus on you for the moment.

I hope all of you will take some time for YOU this holiday season, away from the sleep struggles for just a moment (the holidays are a crazy time for sleep anyway!). It’s important to recharge yourself, so you will be a happier person and have more patience with your little ones as you solve their baby sleep problems, whether you are helping them sleep through the night or nap better.

If you need help finding ideas that you can do for yourself, I encourage you to look at the “5 Minutes” websites. I was recently interviewed at 5 Minutes for Mom. They also have 5 Minutes for Giveaways, 5 Minutes for Parenting, 5 Minutes for Special Needs, 5 Minutes for Going Green, and 5 Minutes for Books.

If those don’t tickle your fancy, here are a few interesting articles around the ‘net for your reading pleasure. You can read about whether rich and poor kids’ brains are different, how to keep your children’s identities safe, the simple math of losing weight, or look at Dooce’s 14-week belly.

I hope those of you who celebrated Eid’ul-Adha, Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe, or St. Lucia Day had a great holiday! And, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Boxing Day, Happy New Year (did you know it would be delayed one second this year?), Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Omisoka, and Happy anything else you might celebrate that I haven’t listed! I love learning about different cultures, so please do comment below with your choice of holiday (even if it’s not in December!).

With that, I leave you with one of the guest posts from my holiday giveaway this month. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! See you after the new year when I’ll continue my Baby Temperament and Sleep series.

Rock-A-Bye Baby

I can still remember being a young woman and dreaming about my days as a mother. I had it all planned out. After a day of cuddles and giggles I would gently rock my baby to sleep with a story and their very own lullaby. (I had planned to write a personal lullaby for each child). Not many years later the reality of a baby was there but all my other motherhood fantasies seemed distorted in the reality of, well, life. Yes, my baby was soft and sweet and I loved him in a way I never even imagined. But suddenly I was seriously lacking in the sleep area and slipped into a depression that took over every part of the me I had always known. And when I would try to sing my baby would cry. And so would I.

Luckily things get better. That first baby is now eight years old and has three younger brothers. During that time and with each baby (or babies in one case) I have learned to sing that lullaby, although I’ve found that wordless humming seems to work the best. Some tips that I have learned in my years is that what works for one baby will not always work for every baby. Be willing to try new things and new techniques. Get to know your baby. Are they happier bundled up tight or do they like to wiggle around? Do they sleep better with a little light or in the dark? My twins actually sleep much better when their room is completely dark, but my four year old has always needed a light on. Be in tune to what they want and keep trying until you find what works. I think the most important thing I’ve learned as a mother is that I don’t have to be perfect. My children are cared for and loved. Isn’t that what really matters in the end?

Happy Thanksgiving!! Also, happy belated Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers. Sorry I’m late with that.

I hope everyone’s holiday season is very warm, loving, safe and, of course, filled with lots of good sleep! I am thankful for many things this year, first and foremost my family. My two boys bring me such joy each and every day and I can’t remember life without them. When I was pregnant with my 2nd I wondered how I could love anyone as much as my 1st, but I do! Your heart just grows.

I can list many things I am thankful for, but one important change this year is not only the birth of second son, but also this website. I wasn’t sure how it would work out and I’m still not, but the feedback has been wonderful!! I set out to help people with their baby’s sleep struggles after mine had so many sleep problems and I do feel I’ve done just that. When I reread some of my testimonials of some of the people I’ve helped, I know I have helped many people, but it always makes my day when I receive an e-mail from someone I have helped. I thought this e-mail from this week was fitting considering it’s Thanksgiving. Here it is:

It’s a miracle! Thank you so much for your website. Our 7 month old son would only fall asleep for a nap while breastfeeding and usually that meant me lying in my bed nursing him until he feel asleep and then (hopefully) sneaking away. This was okay until he starting crawling and then it was potentially dangerous, i.e. him falling off the bed. I tried putting him in his crib but he would get hysterical and I couldn’t take it so I’d bring him back to my bed. Then I found your website, followed your directions to a “T” and now I lie him down in his crib and he’s asleep within a couple minutes! After only 2 days of trying your method.

Big appreciation to you from the Hale family in Watertown, NY, Lance, Molly, Hannah & baby Caleb!

I just love getting these e-mails!! And, after getting her permission, I wanted to post it here on the site. I never tire of them and it always warms my heart when even just one more person is getting better sleep.

I hope all of you and your families get good sleep this holiday season!

If you haven’t bought anything for Father’s Day yet, you may be able to win something free! I thought I’d post some links for some free giveaways I’ve seen around the web. I was not ahead of the game enough this year to do one of my own, but still would like my readers to be able to win something. Maybe next year I will host one for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day! Remember, though, the best Father’s Day gift is sleep!.

Father’s Day Giveaways still in play

Mommy Daddy Blog – Jr. High Sweethearts Chronicle Their Adventure Through Parenthood are new parents since April and have a great blog with their reflections as they go through it. I think many of us can relate to them…except for the Jr. High sweetheart part which is just so awesome!

Win a Dyson! (Valued at $499) at An Ordinary Life. It’s a blog in which she talks about her journey through life as a Mom, and college student. Talk about multi-tasking!

My Mom Shops is giving away a Little Tykes Fold-Away Climber. Deadline is June 10th.

Dr. Moz is having a give away worth over $160 with some cool stuff in a gift pack!

Great Father’s Day gift ideas:

My Mom Shops will be posting ideas for the next few days. This site has some great shopping ideas for any day!

Amazon always has great gift ideas and if you are an Amazon Prime member, you get FREE 2-day shipping all year! It’s great! For the high-tech and green dads out there, check out Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device. It looks very interesting and you won’t use up paper reading your favorite books.

AskMen.com has a top 10 Father’s Day gift list, too.

I hope you find the perfect gift you’re looking for! One week to go!

Father’s Day is on the horizon! What better way to say Happy Father’s Day than to help your baby sleep better?! Using coupon code “FATHER1″ you will receive 25% off any of our sleep consulting services. You can also help your baby / child sleep with our Help Your Child Sleep FREE Guide! If you have not signed up yet to receive one, now is the time.

Topics include quick facts pertaining to:

• How much sleep your child really needs
• Napping and schedules
• Sleep routines
• Explanation of sleep associations
• Night-weaning
• When and how to sleep train
• Descriptions of a variety of sleep training methods (No-Cry to Cry)

If you like the Quick Guide or have questions, you may desire even more detail in the above subjects and more. Please see our e-Book, Detailed Guide to Help Your Child Sleep.