Dream Baby Dreamers

Dream Baby Dreamers You don’t have to wait to have your child sleeping well today. Support from me will be provided along the way.

I will help you get to the root of your child’s sleep problem and create a custom, easy to follow, step-by-step plan!

Having a Social Life After Sleep Training​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​I have a new blog post up on my website going into more depth o...
09/06/2022

Having a Social Life After Sleep Training​​​​​​​​
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I have a new blog post up on my website going into more depth on this topic. Feel free to head over there to get ALL the details, but bottom line is this - while you can still have a life after sleep training, there will always be a trade-off. You will have to make a sacrifice of either missing out or being late to whatever you want to do, OR mess with your little one's sleep temporarily. ​​​​​​​​
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Unfortunately, you can't have the best of both worlds - BUT because your baby is an independent sleeper, you can always get a babysitter and reliably know that they will still be able to fall asleep. And that's probably worth its weight in gold 🥇😉​​​​​​​​
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Go on over to my website to read more, and to read about what factors should go into your decision when missing or delaying sleep for your baby​​​​​​​​
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https://www.dreambabydreamers.com/blog

QUICK TIP​​​​​​​​If your baby is waking up early and you’re at your wits end – here’s what you do.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​🔥First...
08/17/2022

QUICK TIP​​​​​​​​
If your baby is waking up early and you’re at your wits end – here’s what you do.​​​​​​​​
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🔥First, make sure the room is pitch dark, especially at 5/6 AM when the sun is already out and can easily cause your little one to wake.​​​​​​​​
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🔥Second, and more important (though they’re both actually equally important), put your baby to sleep earlier. This may seem counterintuitive, but if your child is short on sleep (overtired), they will just not be able to sleep in those early morning hours. Besides, we all know it’s a fact that putting your kid to bed late in no way leads to them sleeping in - you’re lucky if they wake up at their usual time, because if anything, they’re more prone to waking earlier than normal. There’s a whole science about it and if you want me to get into it, let me know. But the takeaway point is really to put them to bed early!​​​​​​​​
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Check out my stories for some examples of this.​​​​​​​​
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**Disclaimer: There are several other reasons your baby could be waking early in the morning. This is just one of the more common ones, especially with babies older than age 1. If this doesn’t work, or if you know that light and overtiredness are not issues your child is dealing with, reach out to me so we can work together to figure out what the problem is.​​​​​​​​
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Shame on me for not realizing that the first post I should’ve posted upon my return to insta is an ABOUT ME post 🤦It’s o...
08/16/2022

Shame on me for not realizing that the first post I should’ve posted upon my return to insta is an ABOUT ME post 🤦

It’s obviously been way too long — so here’s the basic about me

✨My name is Margaret, I’m the wife of , a mom to Asher (3) and Aliza (1.5), a pediatric sleep consultant, and an occupational therapist.
✨My youngest just went to daycare, so before I start back in OT in September, I feel like I’m on a much needed vacation for now. There’s still so much to do, but at least I’m relaxed while doing it :)
✨I’m more of a home-body, I love to read (I actually would have loved to be a librarian – sorting books in the library used to be a fun task for me haha), and I love dealing with paperwork (I would have made a great secretary too).
✨I recently got a half-gallon water bottle that I try to carry around with me (maybe you’ve seen me with it). The goal is to increase my water intake, but the reality is that it’s great to use for washing hands on the go and refilling my kids water bottles 🤣
✨I have a major sweet tooth and really love candy and pastries. If you want to know the way to my heart, just bring me a really yummy dessert 🥰
✨Oh also, I know some people are really into horoscopes, so I'll just share that I'm a Virgo according to my English birthday (September 21) but according to my Hebrew, I'm actually a Libra -- which I find to be more fitting since I like to think I'm a very logical and balanced person 😊
✨Last thing - this photo was taken at Chimmichurri (where the only thing I've ever ordered is the Portuguese rice bowl - yummm), and I was trying to take a picture with my son... it went pretty well, can't ya tell 😉

If you want to know more about me, feel free to ask!!

And share something fun about you in the comments below, I'd love for this to not be so one-sided!

Advice for what to do with the bottle post baby's first birthday: chuck it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Ok, well obviously it's not t...
08/10/2022

Advice for what to do with the bottle post baby's first birthday: chuck it.​​​​​​​​
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Ok, well obviously it's not that simple (unless you start prepping for this moment in advance!), so what should you actually do?​​​​​​​​
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The truth is, each individual person may need to go a different route with this. However, the general advice is to introduce your little one to drinking out of an open cup, or through a straw. You can start doing this around 6 months, right when they begin to eat solids.​​​​​​​​
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Around 10 or 11 months, you can begin to replace one bottle feed with milk in a cup. Start with middle of the day feeds. After you've been doing this for a little bit, replace the wake up feed with a cup as well, and even go so far as to delay offering it until it's breakfast time, so that it's part of the meal.​​​​​​​​
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The bedtime feed is usually the toughest one, but still very doable! What you do here is slowly move the bottle so that it's at the beginning of the bedtime routine, then offer it in a cup before you begin the bedtime routine, and then go the final step and only have it as part of their dinner (or even not having it at all).​​​​​​​​
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With babies under one, you can take this a little slow, so that the bottle is fully gone by the time baby is about 14 months old. If your baby is already older, then there is a little more urgency with removing the bottle, so you may have to speed up the process depending on how often and how attached baby is to the bottle.​​​​​​​​
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As always, speak to your baby’s pediatrician if there are concerns.​​​​​​​​
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And if this is something you want help with, maybe to make a plan, or just some more guidance, feel free to reach out - I’m happy to help!​​​​​​​​
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Is it okay to have a water bottle in bed with baby?Short answer - no.Long answer - it depends.As with all things baby re...
08/09/2022

Is it okay to have a water bottle in bed with baby?

Short answer - no.

Long answer - it depends.

As with all things baby related, it just can’t be a simple yes or no. We have to make it complicated somehow 🤣

In this case, I’d want to know why you’re looking to leave a bottle of water in the crib with your little one. Because the truth is - it’s not normal to want to drink water in the middle of the night. Night time is for sleeping. It’s true that we as adults may occasionally wake up and have a desire to drink, but the key word here is occasionally.

So what’s going on with your baby? Are they sick? Did you wean them off milk and this is the replacement? Or are they always or sometimes asking for water in the middle of the night?

If your baby is sick, and leaving the water with them will be a short term situation, I can be okay with that. But, any other scenario and it’s going to likely be a hard no.

Nighttime is not for drinking. If your child was weaned off milk but now depends on a bottle of water, that means they have a sleep prop. They’re not actually thirsty, but they do NEED it. Considering sleep training in this instance wouldn’t be a bad idea so that habit can be broken.

In the instances where your baby is waking up at night and making the request for water, and you just want to make your life easier by leaving the bottle with them - reconsider! You don’t want to create a situation where a sleep prop develops! As exhausting and annoying as it might be to have your evening or sleep disrupted, just go ahead and bring the water to them. (But if it is already happening EVERY night… well then a sleep prop could actually be there 😩)

You know, I think that actually wasn’t too complicated - wouldn’t you agree 😊😊

True or False?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀You can't teach a baby how to sleep.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀This is TRUE! (but only on a technicality) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀...
06/15/2021

True or False?
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You can't teach a baby how to sleep.
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This is TRUE! (but only on a technicality)
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Sleep is something that we are naturally capable of doing, just like eating and breathing. It's not something we need to be taught to do. But just like we can build bad habits around HOW we eat (stress eating, binge eating,etc) and breathe (did you know most adults are belly or chest breathers, but we're actually supposed to breathe through our diaphragm??), the same can happen with sleep.
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When it comes to sleep, HOW WE FALL ASLEEP is something that we are taught. Whether you realize it or not, whether it's intentional or not, whatever way you have your child fall asleep is you teaching (and then reinforcing) them how to fall asleep.
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And if you're not okay with HOW they fall asleep and you want to make a change and sleep train, what you'll be doing is breaking a habit and teaching a new one.
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**Remember, we're just breaking myths here, so there's nothing actually wrong with how your child falls asleep, especially if it's working for you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I don't often share much about the families I work with, but when it goes so well and they send me a great review, I jus...
06/09/2021

I don't often share much about the families I work with, but when it goes so well and they send me a great review, I just have to share!
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"Margaret is the most professional and knowledgeable sleep consultant. I was close to losing my mind as my 9 month olds daughter did not sleep for more 2 hour stretches at night. She would continuously cry and nothing would help soothe her.
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Margaret changed everything around so fast, I was barely able to keep up! Soon after following her advice my daughter was a new child. She now sleeps through the night soundlessly and it was almost cry-free to get her to this stage.
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My biggest regret is not calling Margaret sooner!!!"⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Check out my stories for more about this family!
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✨0 month old sleep✨⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Wake window: 45-60 minutesNumber of naps: 5+ (depends on their length) Total sleep per day: ...
04/20/2021

✨0 month old sleep✨
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Wake window: 45-60 minutes
Number of naps: 5+ (depends on their length)
Total sleep per day: 14-17 hours
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Congrats on the brand new baby! At this point, focus on:
✔️Healing yourself⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✔️Establishing feeds⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✔️Getting to know baby 😊⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The newborn season can be a bit hazy and sleep (for both of you) can be unpredictable. It's normal for naps to range from 20 minutes long to 2+ hours.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you want to work on something for your little ones sleep, try the following to help establish a difference between night and day⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🌓Create 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🌕Awake time during the day should be in well lit and noise filled spaces. Engage baby, play, coo, and do all the things!!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🌑Awake time during the night should include just a feed and diaper change in dim lighting, with minimal noises.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This will help baby start to recognize eventually that daytime is playtime and night is for sleep!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'll be sharing highlights on baby sleep through the first year, and then grouping some months during the second year. What are your thoughts on this new series? Anything else you'd want me to add into this one, or include in future months?

We spend a lot of time talking about our baby's sleep and how to make sure they're getting enough of it. But let's turn ...
04/13/2021

We spend a lot of time talking about our baby's sleep and how to make sure they're getting enough of it. But let's turn the tables and focus on you for a minute. Do you prioritize your sleep? Are you getting enough sleep so that you can function at your best?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'll be honest, it was never a priority for me. I've always been a night person, so no matter how tired I was ALL day, 11 pm rolls around and I suddenly have the energy to get things done. And then I'd go to sleep at 2 am and wake up feeling like total 💩🥱
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About 2 weeks ago, I told myself enough was enough. I set a bedtime for myself of 12 am which is early for me considering that I was rarely in bed before 2 am on most nights. And I stuck to it and I woke up feeling great (even though I do still wake up at night to feed Aliza) . For once, I wasn't walking around all day needing a coffee pick me up.
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Unfortunately that bedtime lasted just over a week, and I've fallen off the wagon since last Friday 🙈😭⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But now that I know how good I can feel, I'm going to try to force myself back into it!! (maybe now I'll be held accountable to it)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What can you do for yourself to improve your sleep?
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Whether it's going to bed 15 minutes early, starting a bedtime routine, shutting off screens for 1 hour before bed, or something else - any little change you implement can make a huge difference!
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Share with me below what change you want to make and maybe we can encourage each other!

One year ago today, I was supposed to be in Florida finishing up the in person training for my sleep certification.God h...
04/06/2021

One year ago today, I was supposed to be in Florida finishing up the in person training for my sleep certification.

God had other plans and it ended up being online, over zoom. (It definitely worked out much better for me because the following day was passover and now I didn't need to freak out over preparations 😅)

I came to the training prepared, having gone through all these books and more. And this isn't counting all those research articles that were on my own to do list. I wanted to know the science behind sleep, especially baby sleep, the history of how we came to know this, what methods people are using and why, and everything else there is to know. (Now that I'm thinking about it, I've definitely read up a whole lot on sleep 😂 indeed! 😉)

I came out of there scared but confident that I knew my stuff, nervous but ready to help families change lives! One year later, I know I'm definitely doing just that 😊

Putting cereal in baby's bottle will help them sleep longer at night.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I'm pretty sure this one is an ol...
04/05/2021

Putting cereal in baby's bottle will help them sleep longer at night.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'm pretty sure this one is an old wives tale, that is unfortunately still advised to moms today (at least it is in the mom groups I'm in on Facebook). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Putting cereal in baby's bottle is NOT safe, and can lead to choking, constipation, overeating, or excessive weight gain.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Although baby does need to be fed well during the daytime in order to be able to sleep longer stretches at night, overstuffing them right before bedtime is not the answer.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When thinking about how to get your baby sleeping through the night, we want to get to the root of what's preventing them from doing so. And more often than not, the struggle has to do with **the way they fall asleep at bedtime.**⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If baby is reliant on any external thing to get them to sleep at bedtime, that's what we want to target because therein lies the solution.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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A baby who can fall asleep without depending on anything external will be able to sleep through the night, connecting their sleep cycles, and not waking unless they're actually hungry or something is actually bothering them.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Now that I've shared my side of it... I'm curious to know, is this something you were advised and you then tried when struggling with your little ones sleep? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Absolutely no judgment if you did - I totally get the need to try anything and everything to get baby to sleep!

More on Night Wakings⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀There are 2 more types of night wake ups that I want to talk about. They typically occur l...
03/18/2021

More on Night Wakings
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There are 2 more types of night wake ups that I want to talk about. They typically occur less frequently, but are still important to be aware of nonetheless! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✨First Third of the Night✨
The first part of the night (about 2-5 hours for babies) is usually when the most time is spent in deep sleep. This is why if you are struggling with night wakings, the first stretch of sleep tends to be the longest before the wake ups take over.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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However, in some cases, your baby may be waking at some point within those first few hours. And when this happens, it's often the result of illness, discomfort, or overtiredness. Make sure the room is a proper 9pm temperature, check their diaper, and consider teething or sickness. If this is occurring often, check baby's schedule to make sure they're getting enough daytime sleep. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✨Very Frequently (every 15 minutes)✨
If this is happening to your little one, I hope it's a rare occurrence! This often signals the same as above - - that something is very much discomforting your little one. One of the perks of a sleep trained baby is that you automatically know something is up if your baby is waking at odd hours of the night or having a hard time sleeping. Go and check on them to make sure all is okay!

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