Sweet Dreams by Ash

15/03/2024

Struggling with short naps? 🫣

When a baby does a 20-30 minute nap… this is what we call a ‘catnap’ and it is quite often the number 1 reason families come to me for help 🫠

Typically for newborns and right up until 6 months of age… catnapping is actually biologically normal!
Their sleep isn’t mature enough for them to consolidate their sleep!

But….

We can help them through this and teach them how to sleep longer (linking sleep cycles is what I’m referring to) 🧐

For babies over 4 months of age, my top tips will work alongside some gentle sleep training and will coach your baby to sleep longer 🙌🏼

💫 Settling Method:
This is an important one as babies at different ages will respond differently to settling. Newborns/younger babies LOVE hands on settling, whereas babies often 5-6 months upwards can get very frustrated with patting/touching etc…
Choosing the right method for your baby is important!

💫 Awake Windows:
Sticking to an appropriate awake window will be key to staying on top of any overtiredness!
If your baby is extremely overtired, they will find it VERY difficult to drift back into sleep when they ‘partially arouse’ during their sleep cycle.
The same goes for undertiredness… your baby will not have enough sleep pressure to link sleep cycles during a nap.

💫 Consistent Nap Times:
Typically speaking, most babies on 2 naps will have a morning & afternoon nap. Babies on 1 nap will have a long lunch nap…
Keeping your nap times consistent will help your baby fall into a rhythm of wake/sleep phases and settle to sleep easier and stay asleep for longer.

If you are struggling with catnappjng or not being able to get your baby to consolidate their naps, comment ‘NAPS’ and I will DM you an exclusive discount code to work with me! 🙏🏼

12/03/2024

GROWTH SPURTS ⬇️

So you may be wondering what I mean when I say 3, 6, 9, 3, 6, 9….

These are when growth spurts typically happen!

3 weeks
6 weeks
9 weeks
3 months
6 months
9 months

During these growth spurts your baby may seem more hungry (cluster feeding if a newborn), this is 100% normal and expected!

How does this disrupt their sleep? 💤

Your baby may be wanting extra feeds to help increase your supply to meet their needs (if breastfeeding) or wanting more after finishing a bottle (if formula).

It’s normal to increase their feeding temporarily while this passes!

They may wake more often for feeds overnight, but this should only last a week or so! 🍼

Every baby grows at their own rate and some babies may go through growth spurts earlier/later than these ‘typical’ ages.

If you are struggling with overnight wakes and can’t seem to get on top of it, I can create a plan to help get your baby sleeping longer overnight 🙏🏼

Comment ‘🍼’ to gain access to an exclusive discount code for my services ✅😍

10/03/2024

3 ways to help 🔑⬇️

If your baby is struggling with waking frequently overnight… it can be sooo draining!
When I say ‘frequently’ this could be as often as 2 hourly! 😵‍💫

These are my 3 tips to help reduce overnight wakes (this is mainly aimed at baby’s older than 4 months as newborns you should feed on demand) 💫

🍼 Feed 4+ hourly:
This is mainly so your baby drinks most of their calories during the day, rather than taking most of their calories at night.
Studies show that frequent feeding overnight can actually cause MORE wake ups (hello reverse cycling!)

Food intake acts as what we call a ‘zeitgeber’ - which is an environmental variable that acts as a circadian time ‘cue’.
This basically means if you offer frequent night feeds, this sets your baby’s circadian rhythm to need a feed at those times 🫠

⏰ Consistent Routine:
Having a regular routine that is appropriate for your baby’s age will make sure their naps are within the natural biological sleep windows and their body is regulated at bedtime.
This limits the chance of your baby becoming overtired and if naps are consistent, they are unlikely to be undertired.
Both of these things can contribute to frequent overnight wakes 🫣

👶🏼 Appropriate Settling Method:
If your baby is over 4 months of age and waking frequently, pick an appropriate settling method!
Baby’s at 4 months should only need up to 2-3 feeds overnight.
Using a settling method for wake ups prior to the 4 hour mark will help your baby learn to sleep longer blocks.

If you are struggling with frequent overnight wakes and can’t work out the reason… LET ME!
I work with families every single day with this sleep problem and we achieve FAST results! 🙌🏼

Comment ‘night wakes’ to gain access to an exclusive discount code for my services ✅😍

07/03/2024

HERE THEY ARE 👋🏼

There are many factors that can disrupt your baby’s sleep… but I will explain my top 5 that I think are the most relative 💫

💤 Overtired/Undertired
This is probably the most common!
Most babies that are overtired or undertired have a restless sleep and will wake frequently or for long periods overnight and be difficult to settle.

💤 Developmental Milestones
This is common when your baby is learning a new skill. They are usually in line with the common regressions such as 4 months, 8-10 months, 12 months, 18 months and 2 years. Think of skills such as rolling, crawling, standing, walking & talking!

💤 Environmental Factors
Noise, light, or changes in surroundings can disturb a baby’s sleep.
This is where white noise & pitch black dark rooms come into a great advantage!

💤 Inconsistent Routines
Babies thrive with consistency! They love routines!
If your baby has an inconsistent routine… it will disrupt their circadian rhythm (internal body clock) and this can lead to sleep disruptions!

💤 Illness & Teething
Pain or discomfort when your baby is sick or cutting a tooth can cause them to be unsettled and wake frequently.

To encourage longer stretches of sleep overnight and longer naps, I would suggest following an age appropriate routine with consistent nap times.

Getting their sleep environment perfect is also key! 🔑

Sleep regressions and illnesses/teething are only temporary so help your baby when needed and when they are back to their healthy self, stick to their normal routine!

Drop your fave emoji if any of these have affected your baby’s sleep! ⬇️

Like, share & comment on this reel to help me out 🙌🏼🙏🏼

29/02/2024

28/02/2024

23/02/2024

We’ve all been there… 🫣

The feeling you get when your baby has been asleep for 30 minutes and is a serial catnapper….

Your minutes are running out and you know they will start stirring soon.

So you watch the monitor like a hawk looking for any bit of movement 👀

This is very typical for babies up until 6 months of age…
Their sleep is maturing but they may be getting to that age where they can start taking longer naps otherwise they get into a cycle of being overtired!

Once your baby is around 4 months of age, we can start teaching them to self settle and resettling (which will mean they can learn to link their sleep cycles and transition back into a deep sleep) 🙌🏼

Work with an age appropriate settling method, give it a couple weeks of consistent reinforcement and you’ve got yourself a baby who takes over 1 hour naps! 😍😍

Comment ‘ME’ if you want me to support you through this transition 💤

22/02/2024

WHY YOU WILL BE THANKFUL 👇🏼

Those early months of having a baby are bittersweet… but they also come with sleep deprivation, baggy tee’s, messy mum buns and roller coaster emotions 🎢

And then…. you throw in serial catnapping, multiple dummy replacements and what feels like 1000 feeds through the night to the mix!

It is TOUGH!

I have lived through those days and have been in your shoes. It is EXHAUSTING!

What if I told you there’s a way you can make it easier?

Setting up your baby’s healthy sleep habits from day ONE can make allll the difference 🙌🏼

There will still be slight road bumps where they get sick, teething, growth spurts etc… but with a consistent routine you will get through it far easier!

What have you got to lose?!

Comment ‘💤’ to get the 7 healthy sleep habits straight into your DM’s! 🔥

21/02/2024

WHERE TO START 👇🏼👇🏼

So your baby has probably been up all night or catnapping during the day and you have no idea what to do…

You can start by implementing positive sleep associations from BIRTH!

This sets up your baby with healthy sleep habits from day 1.

What you can start doing:
➡️ Following age appropriate awake windows

➡️ Ensure their sleep environment is perfect for sleep!
This includes a pitch black room, temperature of between 18-22 degrees, white noise and free from distractions!

➡️ Create a bedtime routine from birth! This is so CRUCIAL!
Babies love predictability so sticking to the same bedtime routine every night will set them up for restful sleep.
This can be as simple as a bath, bottle/feed, read a book and bed!

➡️ Once your baby reaches close to 4 months, encourage them to settle to sleep themselves by backing off your assistance over time

➡️ If you are a routine family, follow an age appropriate routine as babies THRIVE off this!

If you are struggling to pin point the exact cause for your baby not sleeping, let ME figure it out for you! 🙌🏼

Comment ‘📞’ and I will DM you the link to book a FREE 15 min chat for me to do the guesswork! 🔥

20/02/2024

4 MONTH SLEEP REGRESSION 👇🏼🤪

We’ve all heard about it and dreaded when the time comes…. BUT…. it is more of a PROGRESSION in terms of baby’s sleep maturity.

When you feel like you have just figured out your baby’s sleep and navigated your way through the ‘fourth trimester’… then your baby starts suddenly waking more often and becomes difficult to put down for sleep.

During this time, baby’s sleep cycles mature more to like adult sleep cycles in terms of overnight going from 4-6 hour sleep cycles to 2-4 hours.

Want to know some of the signs that your baby might be hitting this regression? 👇🏼

➡️ Suddenly waking every 45 minutes during the day
➡️ Waking as often as 2 hourly overnight
➡️ Becoming increasingly more difficult to put down to sleep

To help your baby get through this stage, you can first ensure baby has a good sleep environment, following age appropriate awake windows (roughly 2 hours at 4 months) and using positive sleep associations such as white noise, swaddling/sleeping bag etc

All babies go through the 4 month sleep regression so you are not alone!!

Drop a ‘💤’ emoji if you’re currently going through this regression 👇🏼