There is a prevailing feeling that some children are just natural early risers. There is some truth to that. Some children do generally wake earlier than others, but there’s early and then there’s early. It might surprise you to know that as a sleep consultant and as a parent, I feel that any waking before […]
Author: Kristina Amerikaner
Testing and Tired Toddlers: Making Sleep a Priority
I have a toddler at the moment. He’s two. He likes to test. He likes to look right at me as he’s doing something he knows he shouldn’t. Sometimes he even gives me a little smirk. Normal toddler behavior, yes. But it can be really trying. We all know about the Terrible Twos, and now […]
The Dreaded Colic: What It Is, Isn’t, and How To Deal
The word “colic” gets tossed around a lot when it comes to babies. And yet, it remains one of the great mysteries of the babysphere. As a Happiest Baby Educator and family sleep consultant, I have read my fair share about colic and know from working with families who have been affected by it how […]
The Two-Year Sleep Regression – No Joke!
In the baby sleep world, the word “regression” gets thrown around quite a bit. I’m generally not a fan of it. I think it’s easy to chalk behavior up to a regression when, in fact, there are often certain things that can be done to help adjust wonky sleep behavior. But two-year-olds? They are no […]
Baby Sleep During the Fourth Trimester: The Mysteries of Newborn Sleep
In my family sleep consulting practice, I often get calls from new parents asking about how to help their newborn sleep better. If I had the magical answer to that, I’d be a very rich person indeed! While newborns should dictate their own schedule, there are definitely ways in which you can begin to see […]
Keeping Your Child In Bed So That You Can Stay In Yours
It’s 2 AM. Do you know where your three-year-old is? That’s easy. She’s standing next to your bed. Sound familiar? Also a wee bit terrifying. I recently did a post on why keeping your little one in a crib for as long as possible is the way to go, for many reasons. But the fact […]
Keeping Baby in That Crib!
As a family sleep consultant, one of the most common issues I see is a child who has been transitioned to a big-kid bed too early, and is now having a lot of trouble getting to sleep and/or staying asleep. Creepy middle-of-the-night visits begin to occur at the parents’ bedside, or bedtime itself becomes a […]
Don’t Say Goodbye To That Nap Just Yet
“Is it time to transition to one nap yet?” is right up there with “Can I have a snack?” as being amongst the questions I hear the most (These questions don’t usually come from the same people, FYI.) To the former, I give the same answer every time: hold on to two naps for as […]