December was a whirlwind. You shopped up a storm, performed magic in the kitchen for your houseguests, went to all of the holiday parties, drank your share of the wine and watched the ball drop. What’s left? Picking up the pieces! With the close of the holiday season comes a stark reality: "normal" life has resumed, and your family is off-schedule, tired and cranky. If you’re lucky, getting back to your normal routine will be a piece of cake, with just a little nudge. But for many of us, it will
baby waking at night
3 Signs It May Be Time For Night Weaning Your Baby
One of the questions we get asked a lot (via Facebook posts, consultation e-mails, and blog article comments), is "When can I wean my baby from nighttime feedings?" Understandably, most parents are eager to get back to enjoying nights of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep, but still want to make sure their baby isn't going hungry. Of course, there is no fixed schedule for night weaning; every baby is different, so every baby will be ready to wean from night feedings at different points. As we
What Does Drowsy But Awake Mean Anyway, When It Comes to Helping Your Baby Sleep?
Pick up any book about baby sleep or read any website, including this one, and the instructions are to put your baby down "drowsy but awake" in order to teach your baby how to sleep and stop waking up at night or nap longer during the day. But, what does "drowsy but awake" actually mean? Does it mean eyes closed or just relaxed? This article will paint a picture about the ideal drowsiness to help your baby or toddler sleep better. Drowsy, But Awake Definition In a perfect world, you'd
Controlled Crying, Cry It Out, No-Cry, or Soothe Baby to Sleep?
Controlled Crying. Cry it out. Don't cry it out. Soothe your baby. Co-sleep. Don't co-sleep. The advice is endless and talk to one expert, say your baby's doctor, and she will say one thing. Talk to another one and he might say do the opposite. Read this book or that book and it's likely to say yet another thing. This week I was quoted as one of three experts in Hudson Valley Parent in an article called Let Them Cry or Rock-a-Bye. One of my quotes reiterates how I believe all families and
When Will Your Baby Sleep Through the Night?
Two of my neighbors and my best friend all had babies within just a couple of weeks of each other less than 8 weeks ago. All of them have commented on the sleep deprivation that goes along with having a newborn and one asked me when my babies started sleeping through the night. First, I always need to ask what that means to someone because, for some, they mean to have a baby sleep through the night, including feedings, and others mean sleep straight through 10-12 hours, with no feedings.
