The 18 Month Sleep Regression

Posted May 1, 2013 by Breanna Gunn & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

You were sleeping peacefully…and then you hear your toddler. He’s not just rustling around resettling. He’s screaming mad. Literally. As you drag yourself out of bed, you wonder to yourself what’s wrong? What could be causing your toddler sleep problems? Could this be two-year molars? An ear infection? Is he gassy from eating too much broccoli at dinner? Is his newfound walking (or running!) causing this? The answer: It could truly be any of the above. But it could also be yet another sleep regression. If you’ve survived this long without experiencing the four month or pre-toddler sleep regression, you’re lucky. If you have dealt with a sleep regression before (and believe me, you are in the majority here), maybe you remember the signs: • Resistance to Sleep • Waking at night • Reduced naps (or “disaster naps”) • Changes in appetite • Changes in behavior Sound familiar? Maybe you didn’t notice the signs this time, or you breezed through that last growth spurt. But this? This is something different altogether. Why Another Sleep Regression? If you recall, a sleep regression is a period when your baby, who was sleeping through the night (for an eighteen month old, this means 11... more

Autism and Sleep

Posted April 16, 2013 by Breanna Gunn & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

Every parent deals with sleep troubles at some point. At the least, most children experience at least one sleep regression during their childhood, and this is normal. For families who are affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder, achieving a full-night’s sleep may feel like a never-ending trial. For these families, sleep is not a problem that will likely resolve itself. Autism Spectrum Disorder (or ASD) is a categorical name that covers a series of complex brain development disorders. Interestingly, Autism appears to have its roots in very early brain development. However, the most obvious signs of autism and symptoms of autism tend to emerge between 2 and 3 years of age. With this emergence, often parents are faced with many issues, not the least of which is dealing with sleep. In 2004, the University of Louisville did a sleep survey that included 210 families affected by ASD. The most frequently reported sleep problems included difficulty in falling asleep, restless sleep, not falling asleep in own bed, and frequent awakenings. There is no concrete research to help us understand exactly what causes these sleep disturbances, but some (including the previously mentioned study) have hypothesized a probable source,... more

My 13 Month Old Won’t Go Back to Sleep During the Night Without a Bottle

Posted March 27, 2013 by katie & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

Would you like to have me answer your baby sleep or toddler sleep problem in my next video? If so, scroll down and submit your question in the comment section below. I will pick several questions a month to answer and post them here on the blog! If you would rather read than watch my above video then here is the transcript of this week's toddler sleep problem video: Hi, Kim West, The Sleep Lady and today, I’m going to answer Sarah’s question. This is what she wrote in: “Our 13-month old has only slept through the night five times since birth. He now wakes once during the night and anywhere between 1 and 4:30 a.m. and will not go back down without having a bottle. He then wakes up between 4:30 and 6 a.m. and needs either another bottle or to get in bed with us to go back to sleep until 7 or 7:30 a.m. He takes two one hour naps a day and he goes to bed between 7 and 7:30. We give him a bottle at bedtime and he goes to bed awake. He doesn’t have bottles during the day anymore and we’ve been working to make sure he gets plenty of calories and nutritionally dense food during the day to make sure he’s not hungry at night. I don’t know if needing the bottle in the night is a habit or because he’s truly... more

7 Tips to Take to Gently Wean Your Breastfeeding Toddler

Posted March 12, 2013 by Breanna Gunn & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

Today we’re going to take a bit of a departure from my normal sleep-only articles and delve into something that I hope will help those of you who have questions about how to gently wean your breastfeeding toddler (or even preschooler). First of all, if you’re still breastfeeding, kudos to you! Breastfeeding is a huge commitment, both emotionally and physically. If you have reached a point where either you have decided to end your breastfeeding relationship or you’d like to move in that direction, you’re reading the right article. Perhaps your little one is getting ready to enter preschool, or you have to go back to work, or you just are not enjoying breastfeeding anymore (and that’s perfectly okay). Whatever your reason, you want to end the relationship on a happy note, and now that you have a toddler, there are some special considerations that you may want to make. I need to mention that I am not a lacatation counselor. If you would like more information about breastfeeding or weaning, please check out KellyMom or La Leche League. I wrote this article because many moms ask me about weaning, in particular how to gently wean their breastfeeding toddler or preschooler. 7 Tips to Take Gently Wean Your... more

Toddler Sleep Problem: How Do I Wean My Toddler Off Their Pacifier?

Posted February 26, 2013 by katie & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

Would you like to have me answer your toddler sleep problem in my next video? If so, scroll down and submit your question in the comment section below. I will pick several questions a month to answer and post them here on the blog! If you would rather read than watch my above video then here is the transcript of this week's toddler sleep problem video: Hi, Kim West, the Sleep Lady and today, I’m going to answer this mom’s question. She wrote in and said: “My boy is 17 months old. He’s great about taking a nap during the day and goes to bed very well around 8pm every single night sleeping until 7am in the morning.” (Great news) “He sleeps with his blanket and bear and I only let him have binkies at night and at naps. He always wants two binkies, one to hold in his hand and one in his mouth. I think he uses one as a lovey and I would really like to break him of it. It falls out of his mouth and it knocks out of his crib while he’s sleeping and then he wakes up because he can’t find it. We end up going in to get it for him off the floor sometimes to 2-3 times a night. I’d really like to get rid of the binkie altogether and help him just love his bear and blanket. Any suggestions that will help... more

Toddler Sleep Problems: Are Napping Difficulties at Childcare Causing My Child to Wake at 4am?

Posted February 19, 2013 by katie & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

Would you like to have me answer your toddler sleep problem in my next video? If so, scroll down and submit your question in the comment section below. I will pick several questions a month to answer and post them here on the blog! If you would rather read than watch my above video then here is the transcript of this week's toddler sleep problem video: Hi, Kim West, the Sleep Lady, and today I’m going to answer Dana’s question. Dana emailed in with this email: “Hi, I have a 16-month-old son who’s been having sleep issues a lot lately. Ever since he transitioned to one nap because he moved up to the toddler room at daycare, he naps about an hour-and-a-half to two hours starting at 11:30am. He goes to bed between 6:00 and 6:30pm but he’s been waking up at 6:00 and today it was 4:00. I let him cry and fuss until 6:00am but it’s disruptive on my sleep, my husband and my 10-year-old stepdaughter to have my son crying for two hours non-stop. When I do go get him, he wants to drink milk and he has a dirty diaper; however, even if I just went in there to feed and change him, he stays awake. He did it the other day after waking at 4:00am being given milk and being changed. The past weekend, I put him... more

Toddler Sleep Problems: My 15 Month Old Cries to Hold My Hand to Sleep- video

Posted February 12, 2013 by katie & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

Would you like to have me answer your toddler sleep problem in my next video? If so, scroll down and submit your question in the comment section below. I will pick several questions a month to answer and post them here on the blog! If you would rather read than watch my above video then here is the transcript of this week's toddler sleep problem video: Hi, Kim West, The Sleep Lady and today I’m going to answer Sarah’s question. This is what she wrote in: “Shortly after birth, my daughter Lacy began holding my hand during nursing and when going to sleep. Foolishly, I gave her my hand and by now at 15 months old, she depends on me holding her hand when falling asleep three times a day. When she realizes my hand isn’t there anymore, she wakes up almost immediately crying for me and my hand. We have always tried to encourage a doll at bedtime but in the end the doll just doesn’t mean anything. She wants my hand. I put stuffed animals around the house and blankets next to her on the crib in hopes that she’ll attach to something other than my hand. How do I get her to have any interest in a lovey? The hand thing is not working anymore for my tired family. Please help me with this toddler sleep problem.... more

Toddler Sleep Problems: Power Struggles

Posted February 7, 2013 by katie & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

Written by Gentle Sleep Coach Tracy Spackman I often feel like I'm doing "Creative Parenting". I have 5 children and I found that I need to frequently mix up my method to keep it working when it comes to getting the kids to do what I want them to do. My 9 year old was taking hours to get 20 minutes of dishes done and this happens a lot. This day she had a friend over and the dishes were not happening. She would dance, laugh, sing, perform, touch a dish but not actually do anything about them while staying in the kitchen "doing the dishes". So my latest big idea was this..."Fine, Chloe I will do the dishes and you can sit on this hard wooden stool and watch. Your friend can sit over there. No talking." Then I started to wash the dishes as slowly as a turtle. After about 10 minutes (I washed the worst dishes first so not many got done but the ones I cared about the most did...) and she finally says..."Stop! I will wash the dishes!" It was torture to her to not be able to play with her friend until they were done and I was doing them soooo slowly. She did them super-fast and went to play. Mission accomplished. Now when I ask her if she wants to watch me do her job she says "No Way". I didn’t find that method in a... more

Toddler Sleep Problem: My 15 Month Old Continues to Wake During the Night for a Bottle!

Posted January 22, 2013 by katie & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

Would you like to have me answer your toddler sleep problem in my next video? If so, scroll down and submit your question in the comment section below. I will pick several questions a month to answer and post them here on the blog! If you would rather read than watch my above video then here is the transcript of this week's toddler sleep problem video: Hi, Kim West, The Sleep Lady and today, I’m going to answer this mom’s question. She wrote in the following: “My daughter is 15 months old and was born premature at 31 weeks.” (So, I’m going to consider her about 13 months.) “We’ve had some problems getting her to sleep at night since she was born. She still wakes up several times during the night and when she wakes up crying, I give her a bottle and once she’s done, I lay her back in her crib to fall asleep. I first put her down at 7:30p.m. This is after her set bedtime routine of bath, bottle and brush teeth. Once asleep, she will sleep until 12:30a.m. which is then followed up by her waking up every few hours until she’s up for the day at 6:30 a.m. When she’s home, she takes a two-hour nap around 9 and then a 45-minute nap around 3. I’m not sure what she does when she’s at daycare. They... more

Toddler Sleep Problems: My 3 and 1 Year Old Both Don’t Sleep!

Posted January 15, 2013 by katie & filed under Toddler Sleep Problems.

Would you like to have me answer your toddler sleep problem in my next video? If so, scroll down and submit your question in the comment section below. I will pick several questions a month to answer and post them here on the blog! If you would rather read than watch my above video then here is the transcript of this week's toddler sleep problem video: Hi, Kim West, The Sleep Lady and in today’s video blog, I’m going to answer this mom’s question about her toddler sleep problems. Here’s what she said, “Hi, Kim. I saw you speak when my son who is now almost 3 years was only 6 months old. It seems from day one he’s had sleep issues. Recently, he went through about six months of great sleep patterns until his sister was born last year. Since then, there’s been lots of change and some changes in his sleep patterns as well. He refuses to allow us to leave his room at night until he falls asleep. If we try to leave before he wakes, he’ll scream mommy and daddy until he wakes my 1-year old up next door. If we’re lucky to escape after he falls asleep, he’ll wake again at 1, 2, 3 a.m. only to scream again and wake the entire household. He has one nap at daycare from 12:45 until 2:45 and we... more