A Good Night's Rest For All

The last few weeks I have focused on sleep training and how to properly get your little one to sleep through the night.  As I went through these series, my own house's sleep schedule went crazy!  We went through bouts of teething, getting rid of a sippy cup, and multiple wakings in the night. 

I can guarantee you - this mommy was tired every day and even know as I type this.  I am working towards a good night's rest for all so we all wake up happy and ready to conquer the many tasks we have.  Here are a few tips that I am working on and I thought I would share with you:

1.  Eat an early dinner - try to eat before 6:30.  Your body will have time to digest your food before you fall asleep.  If you eat late, your body is not resting while you are and so your body will not get all the rest you need.

2.  Be in bed at least 2 hours before midnight.   You get better sleep before midnight than before.  (Do as I say, not as I do on this one!)  This is one my husband and I are really working on.  The kids are in bed by 7:45 so you would think we could do this one but we always have projects to catch up on and get so caught up in those that we lose track of time.  This is one we really have to work on.

3.  Relax before going to sleep.  Read a book, drink some chamomile tea, anything that helps your body relax and your mind to stop thinking.   We have so much entertainment in our lives that we tend to over stimulate our minds with all the bright colors and loud sounds from the TV and video games.

4.  Have white noise or a sound machine going in your room.  This works really well for adults and children alike.  My husband and I have a sound machine that we love and not only does it help us relax but it creates the noise that we need to keep sleeping soundly.  We have used a fan in the past.  Instead of running it all night though, we do it have it on a timer so that we can sleep elsewhere without one. 

5.  If you are still not waking up rested, talk to your doctor.  It is possible that there are some medical reasons as to why you wake up exhausted.  Talkaboutsleep.com has some excellent articles that talk about sleep disorders and even sleep self assessment quiz you can take to determine if you are sleeping well.  Don't be afraid to get help because sometimes a CPAP machine is necessary to help you sleep.  A CPAP machine, CPAP masks, portable oxygen concentrators all help regulate breathing while you sleep.  Many people who have sleeping disorders do not even realize that they have them. 

I am striving to help my children sleep through night but as I do that I am learning that I must also do what I can to get the proper rest that I need.  Do you have sleep tips or tricks that you use to sleep through the night?  Leave a comment or a link to a blog post you wrote.  I would love to hear them! 

Disclosure: This is not medical advice.  This should not take the place of your doctor and his advice.  I obtained the above picture from FreeDigitalPhotos.net.  This post was sponsored.

The Sleep Lady’s Good Night, Sleep Tight Book

This week as I focus on sleep training and working with your baby's sleep or lack thereof, I am referring a lot to The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight book. I was asked just recently to review it and it has become an invaluable resource for me.

The book claims to give parents "gentle proven solutions to help your child sleep well and wake up happy." Kim West walks you through sleep methods, routines, and habits that children birth to age 5 have. It covers real life stories and sleep tips that help parents in their journey towards a good night's sleep for both their child and themselves.

My opinion is that this book does more than it claims – it is invaluable! I thought I was doing so many things right and I was but I was also doing so many things right. There were times I was really frustrated with the sleep issues we encountered and I love how matter of fact Kim's advice is. Her answers are practical, down to earth, and easy to follow. I love the routines and schedules that she suggests for children and how to implement those changes.

I have used Kim West's book to completely rid Gracie of the sippy cup and her only sleep crutch now is her stuff dog name "pup-pup". Kim says that the puppy or any type of "lovie" (stuffed animal or blanket) is okay things to have. It's the bottles, sippy cups, and pacifiers that can really become the issue. With infants, pacifiers are okay but she teaches you how to phase out these items and not allow them to become a crutch or bad habit that you will have to later break.

As a parent, I couldn't suggest a better book. Kim covers issues like reflux, sleeping with siblings, nightmares, sleepwalking, and many other issues. If you struggle at all with your child's sleeping, I highly recommend The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight book.

You can also get some great tips from The Sleep Lady online.

Disclosure: This review is based on my own honest unbiased opinion of this product. You may or may not agree with my opinion. I was sent product free of charge to review. No one from the The Sleep Lady was involved in the writing of this post. I was not paid to write this review. 

A Mother's Dream - Sleep!

Being sleep deprived is probably the number one thing that mothers everywhere struggle with the most.  We love our precious newborns but who seriously prepares for the lack of sleep you are going to get.  I loved my daughter when she was first born but I have to admit I struggled with her schedule.  The first 4 weeks of her life were torture.  I can still remember the whole week that she decided to be awake from midnight until five am everyday.  We had revival services at our church so there was something for me to be at every night so there was no rest for this weary mother.  At seven weeks, she was sleeping through the night and I couldn't have been more relieved but getting there was so hard.

Gabriel was easier to transition into sleeping through night and most nights he does.  However lately it has been if one child sleeps through the night, the other one gets up multiple times.  I am tired and it was quite funny because last week I was going to write about sleep training and other great products and information  out there for parents.  However, since I wasn't sleeping I didn't have the energy and I still had some things to learn. 

I really was able to put into practice the very things I am going to share with you this week and I can vouch for the products I plan to share.  They have been lifesavers and I truly wish I had known about them sooner. 

Just tonight, we got rid of Gracie's last sleep crutches and I have had the opportunity to really make sure Gabriel has the right tools to sleeping right. 

So join me this week as I share my struggles of sleep training and feel free to share yours.  Do you have a question? Leave the comment here or send me an email at rachael @ aplusfamily com and I will do my best to answer them this week.  Are you a veteran mom and have some advice to share? Email me with your advice and I would love to post it.