10 Signs I Can Recognize When My Baby Is Sleepy

Identifying the signs of a sleepy baby sounds easy, but for many new parents it is something very distant and believe it many do not know how to identify when the baby is sleepy that is why putting the baby to naps or sleep at night seems impossible.

Liliana Amaro Child Sleep Coach shares this list that has been compiled during the years of work helping families sleep.

1.     Yawns: Very common just when they are ready to sleep this signal is presented if you could lie the baby right after the first yawn it would be ideal.

2.     Red eyes: When a baby is tired and ready to sleep, the eyes usually become watery and red, a sign that they are ready to close and rest.

3.     Constant blinking: Like the previous signal, blinking constantly means that the eyes are ready to close and almost involuntarily the blinks fall and fall, but the baby tries to open them, it is when they say that he resists sleeping, help him by placing him in a dark environment so that they do not open anymore.

4.     Crying for no reason: It is when the baby can no longer with fatigue, wants to sleep, but cannot do it, the nervous system is altered and over tiredness makes it cost more work for the baby to fall asleep. This is a strong signal and indication that you should try to put him to sleep before it is later.

5.     Touching the eyes: this signal is accompanied by the other signs related to the eyes and it is normal that when blinking and having red eyes the child touches them without stopping

6.     Lack of concentration: A sign that you cannot doubt when you try to entertain a baby and completely ignores you.

7.     Lack of appetite: When you want to feed him and the child does not even open his mouth, he goes back or refuses to eat, he can end up in tears. It's better to stop and try to put him to sleep

8.     It refuses to bathe: Nobody wants to be wet when they just want to sleep, normally the baby will cry and we think he does not like to bathe, but it is not so, most babies enjoy being bathed, but at the right time, bathing an extremely tired baby is a very bad idea. If you spend the time of your bath, it is better to skip it.

9.     They lie on your shoulder: A lovely sign, when the baby lies on your shoulders when carrying it or constantly puts the little head on its side anywhere it can, it is better to take it to bed. This sign occurs in still babies

10.  Hyperactivity!  The most common is and the most mentioned by parents "my child has a lot of energy before sleeping" is when the window of opportunity to put him to sleep is gone and the baby enters a new phase of energy. It is difficult to put a baby at this stage, it is usually recommended to let 30-45 mins pass before trying again and trying in a quiet environment.

Good Luck!

Behaviors that affect sleep

The Importance of Reading Before Sleep

Bedtime routines are recommended at all ages and if we start introducing them as children are young it is better, so we get used to certain activities and perform them as part of our daily lives.

Liliana Amaro Sleep Coach recommends reading as part of our evening routine, the benefits are as follows.

·         It makes us put technology aside.

·         Helps concentration and memory

·         Increases knowledge and culture

·         Reduces stress

·         It helps us sleep better.

Reading disconnects us from everything that involves movement and physical effort. It is one of the recommendations to promote sleep, because already at night reading is a kind of relaxation exercise that can be sustained until the eyes begin to tire and the concentration fades gradually entering a period of trance, we can get to fall asleep suddenly or decide when to stop.

Reading or telling a story is always recommended as part of the childhood routine as it serves children as an indication that the next thing is to close their eyes and sleep. An adult can do it in bed, and it is advisable to set a time when you should close your eyes and sleep, this means that if you have trouble sleeping the book should be left at the set time as a limit, or after a certain number of pages. It is likely that many people will be able to read for hours and this is not bad we simply have to be aware that sleep is important and necessary.

If you already practice reading and still cannot sleep, Liliana advises putting the book aside, turning off the light (total darkness) breathing deeply 10 times, thinking about every part of our body, and starting to imagine every page of the book we read before bed, you will probably fall asleep at some point and if you don't keep imagining until you don’t know your sleeping. Reading is one of the healthiest and most relaxing ways to get to sleep and rest deeply.

People that read are usually well social interactors and people that can spend more time by themselves, this day this skill and virtue is getting lost and replace by the technology, we can work together on making the reading a fashion and a never passing tradition, perhaps in the nearest feature owning a hard-copy book will be more valuable than not having one. Reading is Fundamental.  In fact, it is one of the most important ingredients to becoming all that you can be. Reading provides a window into the world around you and helps you do better in all subjects. Most importantly, reading can not only help you become a better student, but a better person.  You can learn from the brightest people whenever and wherever you choose.

Some New parents wonder how to start reading to a newborn because is too little they believe there is kind of wasting time, but if you think a little bit longer nothing you do with a child is waste of time in other hand is completely enriching for the child to listen to your voice and recognize sounds at young age, the time that you spend reading is bonding time, is relaxing for you and him. Introducing reading to a routine can help the transition to bed more pleasant and easy.

What to read is another question, well just look at a library or a book shop the options are infinite, you just need to pick the right book for the right age. Liliana founder of www.zzleepmybaby.com  recommends the following: for a young child sensory books are quite successful since they get attracted to colors, sounds and shapes. For toddlers’ books with adventures, teaching about fear, feelings, manners are great and not just for them, sometimes a as parent we cannot find the right wat to explain situations, so a book is always a good resource. For children that have bilingual parents the reading time before bedtime is an exceptional time to introduce it.

When you have multiple children this also can be tricky but if you have some that can read or hold a book, you can make them choose a book read to each other or just look at the story and imagine what is it a bout and tell them you can all discuss it together at breakfast time. This is a great skill that you can start forming at young age until your child is able to read before bedtime.

For last one golden tip from Liliana as Children Sleep Coach reading of just 1 book as part of the routine is enough for those children that are not easy at bedtimes.

Here is a link in where you can have ideas and material to begin this wonderful activity with the kids https://www.storyberries.com/free-kids-books-lost-toy-bedtime-stories   

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What are Quality naps?

There is a big difference between the 20-minute naps and Quality naps, 20 minutes of nap in the car seat when you go to do errands or visit someone is not a good nap, much less for a baby, they really do not know how long they have been asleep and perhaps they feel they have rested but in reality it is not so, fatigue will continue to accumulate and it is likely that you will suffer the consequences of having a baby with accumulated fatigue later.
Nowadays we see many babies with these patterns, in the afternoon we find crying babies, fuzzy, difficult and those who fail to fall asleep easily at bedtime or at night.
Try to get your baby to take 1 or 2 good quality naps for more than 1 hour depending on age, this will help your baby sleep better at night and be happier during the day.
Remember that we have our sleep calculator to check the number of naps your baby should take according to his age.https://www.zzleepmybaby.com/sleep-calculator

Dad at Bed Time👨

From experience, I know that most of the families that have children for the first time go through this (Of course there are exceptions and I know them well) anyway it never hurts to read these tips that are super valuable for the Man of the house to participate hands-on bedtime.
If you are an advocate of Attachment Parenting, you know that they recommend the Balance and with this it refers to EVERYTHING among some important points, caring for baby, caring for the partner, self-care. So in this, it is super important to achieve balance and share responsibilities and not because dad goes to work all day the care of the baby must be exclusive to the mother.Let me begin:

1. Breastfeeding is an exclusive activity of the mother but the father can participate in this, helping the mother by carrying the baby, changing the diaper before or after being breastfed and putting him to sleep.

2. When a mother is extremely exhausted, an essential recommendation is the use of a breast pump so the father can administer the milk during the night that way the mother can sleep more. It is notorious that the mother will have excess milk but an hour or two more of continuous sleep will make a difference! (If you don't know what to do but are interested, contact me l.amaro@zzleepmybaby.com ) . If the baby is formula-fed then there is not any excuses.

3. My GOLDEN tip is to take turns at night to put the little ones to bed, that means freedom to sleep early, take a bath, read, relax or why not watch a movie!

4. Do not criticize or point out what your partner is doing, this can result in a lack of security and disinterest since everything that Dad does is wrong. Be Careful this always happens when we are overtired and in a bad mood. Dad has another way of being and we must give him the opportunity.

5. Worry about the bonding between the father and the children, integrating them into activities and especially in the Bedtime Routine generate an incomparable bond, trust and security. (I remember that my dad told me stories every night and I loved it) It also serves as a relaxing time for everyone and "free" time for mom.

TIPS TO SETTLE ONE OF YOUR TWINS (BOY/GIRL) -11 MONTHS

1.     Revise her bed time routine, 7:30-8:00 could be a bit too late for her sleep cycle to be already pass, try moving it a bit earlier by 15-30 minutes earlier, and try this for a week.

2.     The strategy of sitting next to her is good, however you should try to avoid the contact o keep it to a minimum.

3.     Your Bed-time routine should be short max 30 minutes.

4.     Wait a few minutes (10mins ideal) before attending, sometimes we are so scared of letting them make some noise with the fear of waking up the siblings but by giving time we give them the chance to resettle again. If there is not chance there is not attempt.

And yes it is possible that in the beginning the brother will wake up but in not more than 3 nights both will be used to, one to keep sleeping through the noise and the other one to resettle.

If you don’t feel like testing your luck, then move the good sleeper baby to your bedroom in a portable cot for a short period of time and start the strategy! 3+ nights of hard work on the same method will be great to see changes.

5.     Do not bring her to your bed, children love the company of an adult and will develop the habit of crying every night to get moved into the parent’s bed. Do it one more night and once you are ready talk to her about that won’t be more visits to the bed and explain that she will need to resettle in her own cot.

6.     Once you’re are 100% convinced that is the time to start. Begin to apply the tips 1-5 and do not mover into your bed again. Hard Work? Yes but no more than what you do now and the good thing is that this will have positive results and more happy long nights. Give it a go for a least 1 full week (5-7days) and then decide if works or not.

Sleep Well

3 HOT TIPS TO SWAP THE COT FOR A BED!

The Following three tips are perfect to know if now is the right time to swap your baby’s cot for a little bed, you will find how and when is this change ideal, every week mother around the world ask me this question.

1. If you baby is younger than 3 years of age, it is recommendable to keep it in a cot, and you may wonder why, this is because him/her has not 100% perception of the space and place while sleeping. You can evaluate this by observing your child whether he/her still rolling all over or waking up in the opposite direction. I can warranty you that by the age of try a kid is more likely to enjoy a single bed.

2. If your child is sleeping all night without waking then is a good time to make this transition. If your kid is still waking through the night and you think this change will be the fix, you may be lucky and it is possible that happens but by my experience as sleep consultant the cases of this being a fix to sleeping problems are rare.

3. Take ownership of the new bed! Before you make the change of the cot to a bed, make sure your child fully recognizes and knows the new sleeping place like “hi/her bed”. Speak about the change and make it memorable for them.

Day Light Saving = An Early Riser Child

For many parents with young children, this likely means waking up calls as their children rise with the sun. Yes I’m afraid to say that my experience every year I get to work with many families going through this phase of early wakings.

Happens to Everyone!

Last week going to the Gym around 5:30 am I got surprised on the side of my driveway by a Dad carrying his baby.

Early walks with baby

Two Suggestions!

This is an effect that we Australians experience as the sun rises very early! Yes before 5:00 am and of course the young children with general good sleep habits are very set to the circadian rhythms dictated by the day and night. So if you wonder what can be done to avoid this? I have couple of suggestions to try:

Here:

1.Is go to bed early and follow the circadian rhythms: this means go to bed as soon is getting dark and rise with the sun, plenty of things to do like a fresh walk, enjoy a coffee. This advice is the most recommendable as you will get a lot of sleep and also you will be ready when your child is up and running.
 
2.Make the room of your child very very dark and I don’t allow to say is not possible! Everything is possible if you want to do it: you can get dark and thick curtains (blackouts), get a piece of dark fabric, dark paper anyway If you wish to rest for longer you can find the way.
 

Let's Get Started

Happy to help.

It is important to mention that this suggestions will work when the child is a good sleeper with no recurrent problems at night, when this early wakings are like the top of the cherry then you should be looking in to fix the core and root of the problem in order to achieve more hours sleep independently of the waking up time.
You are not convince on what to do and need more sleep in the mornings?
Contact me by email: l.amaro@zzleepmybaby.com Or
phone/text : +61 0409622424
If you want to know more about me: www.zzleepmybaby.com

Creating a Healthy Sleep Routine for Your Little One

Please find this very Interesting Blog in where we have contribute for My Deal.com.au

Manage the situation if they wake up:

“If a baby has been nursed or rocked to sleep at bedtime since birth, it's not surprising that they wouldn't know how to fall asleep independently. The good news is that many babies can figure out how to get back to sleep within just a few minutes of waking up in the night! If your child continues to fuss or cry for more than a few minutes, you'll want to go in and offer some comfort, but it's important to let your child do the work of falling back to sleep. You can speak softly to your child and do some gentle rubbing or patting, but you should avoid picking your child up and rocking or nursing back to sleep.”

By teaching your child to fall back to sleep on their own, you can better set them up for an ongoing, healthy sleep schedule”

Here the link to read the full blog:

https://www.mydeal.com.au/blog/post/creating-a-healthy-sleep-routine-for-your-little-one

24 Hours time line to create a Sleep Routine

In this basic time line you can learn the best and recommended times for your child to have a nap, eat and go to bed . This time line will be changing as your child grows and the naps suddenly will be reduce until they end n just one NAP at mid day (around 12-15 months).

Also bare in mind that the newborns have feeding times during the night, but essentially by 6 months you want to achieve a routine similar to this time line.

Time Line for a 24 hr Routine

Is your kid an early riser?

Is your kid an early riser?

It has been proven by any of us that here in Australia many Kids become an early riser as summer days hit this side of the hemisphere and you wonder why this happens. Some regions understand and have accepted and every summer they change the clock to summertime, this helps to make use the daylight more efficiently and if you think it is logic in sense of sleep.

Our bodies follow circadian rhythms and are just logical that when the body receives some sort of light since noise and change of temperature it feels like waking time. This especially for younger kids and babies.

So here are some tips to make easy those early waking times.

·         Move bedtime earlier 15-30 minutes

·         Make sure the windows or room remains dark as possible in the morning

·        Hot? make sure the room is ventilated

·         If you hear a call in the morning before a reasonable waking time, wait a few minutes before responding.

·         If you have a kid under 3-keep it in the cot-wait the longest possible, he/she may resettle without help (make sure room is dark) If there is a window and they can see daylight is more likely they don’t want to sleep back.

·         If you have a kid sleeping in a bed- reward to staying bed until the desired time

·         Place a digital clock and teach the number to recognize, so that means is time to get up.

·         If still dark and he is waking up, after waiting: go to room explain that is not the time to get up and try to resettle.

·         If none of the above work for you-then is time to reinstate a mid-day NAP

If you have any questions or need a hand for any of these situations, please call or email always happy to help.

Liliana Amaro

0409622424

l.amaro@zzleepmybaby.com

Direct Approach: “Crying out Method”

Direct Approach: “Crying out Method"

They majority of mums have a fear of sleep training with the help of a Sleep consultant, they fear the crying out method. This method is NOT used by Zzleep my baby, however I will explain the science behind it.

In the Sleep Consultant circle this method is known by the “extinction” and is based on Ignoring the cry or call of your baby this is the most difficult for parents and especially for the mum if she still breast feeding, as she won’t know with certainty if the baby is hungry.

When this method is applied the crying in a baby will increase, and if is the technique chosen by the family is necessary to have an action plan and routine in place for the consistency and effectiveness.

 Surveys have demonstrated that lots of families still using this approach due to advise by other parents or as the last resort, especially when they don’t know about the existence of the professionals in the field, Zzleep my baby can help you with gentle techniques for the baby and the mother.

Liliana Amaro-Sleep consultant.

Magic Sleep Table

	MAGIC SLEEP TABLE
AGE	NAPS	NAP TIME (HRS)		SLEEP (HRS)		TOTAL SLEEPPER DAY (HRS)
		MIN	MAX	MIN	MAX
1 MONTH	3	2	2.5	8.5	10	15-16
3 MONTHS	3	1.5	2	10	11	15
6 MONTHS	2	1.5	2	10	11	14-15
9 MONTHS	2	2.5	2	11	12	14
12 MONTHS	1 or 2	2	1.5	11.5	12	13-14
2 YEARS	1	1	1 - 2	11	12	13
3 YEARS	1 or 1.5	1	1-1.5	11	11	12
4 YEARS	0	0	0	11.5	11.5	11.5
5 YEARS	0	0	0	11	11	11