Today, my daughter and I went to the playground. As I bounced on one of the pieces of equipment with her, I realized that I was getting a decent core workout, as long as I structured it right. Exercise was critical to me when my daughter was a baby. It was a way to get out of the house, and it was a way to model good behavior and self-care. When my health was nasty and my sleep was even worse, exercise became a way to tell myself that I was doing something to take care of my body, and … Continue reading →

For a first time parent, it can be a little scary to see the temperatures drop. Ok, maybe you’re not shaking in your snow boots quite yet, but as October turns to November it starts to get cool around these parts. How can you best protect your baby from the cold and still manage to get outside once in a while? Dress In Layers It’s all about the layers. I love wool long underwear and keep it on until April. Yes, I do wash it, and yes, I have a weird sense of fashion. If your child tends to get … Continue reading →

I love this time of year. The air is getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and the trees are beautiful. Just yesterday we headed out towards the local university in a wind storm, and we felt like we were in the middle of a red and yellow leafy wind tunnel. Everything is winding down towards a good sleep, which sounds like a plan to me. In my daily life, I teach kids about the outdoors. I teach partners too, and teachers. Every year in the fall, a group of amazing early childhood educators gets together at the university close … Continue reading →

Are you still looking for a break? When you have a new baby, it can be hard to feel rested, refreshed, and centered. I can’t help you with the sleep or the scattered brains, but there are ways to center yourself and have calmer, happier days with a baby. Schedule down time Life with a baby can seem busy, busy, busy. Even if it’s just a morning a week, schedule time just to be at home and focus on your baby. Silence the bills, the chores, and the myriad of other things that need to happen and just be present … Continue reading →

Our house is now extremely peaceful at night. The last time I updated on our sleep training adventures, my son was still crying at bed time. I am happy to report that each night at 6:45pm, my son goes down in his crib very sleepy yet awake, and he goes to sleep without shedding a single tear. We have taken a few different approaches from different experts. It takes about three days for our son to get into a rhythm. We had a beautiful schedule but had to start from scratch once we came back from an extended visit with … Continue reading →

My daughter is four. Every night after she goes to sleep, she thrashes around in bed. She kicks her covers off. Some time in the middle of the night, I throw the covers over her again because she is searching for them – she’s cold. Keeping moderately warm helps her sleep better. I love my covers. I can’t imagine going to bed without them – they help me feel safe and snug. I believe that they help my daughter feel the same way, but she also dislikes the feeling of the covers because they get in the way of her … Continue reading →

Eighteen minutes. That is how long it took my little guy to fall asleep tonight. When I first decided to teach my son how to fall asleep by himself, I was fully prepared to wait an hour or more. I’m so glad this has not been the case so far. Today was very difficult, yet everything confirmed my suspicions that he was not getting enough sleep. Last night he fell asleep a little after 8:30 and he did not wake up to eat until 11:30. He awoke at 3am, 6:30am, and 8am. He slept nearly 12 hours instead of his … Continue reading →

You have a baby. Your baby does not sleep. This might be because he’s teething, or he has colic or reflux. Or perhaps he is just simply a baby, and one who does not sleep. Babies naturally wake at night because they are hungry and because it’s adaptive to connect with mama a lot during the night time hours as well as the day time. Whatever the reason, how can you survive the days and the weeks of sleep deprivation that follow the birth of your child? Here are some strategies to survive sleep deprivation, from someone whose child neglected … Continue reading →

At 8:18pm my husband put our overtired baby in his crib. It’s 8:35, and he’s still crying intermittently. Over the past few weeks, our nearly five-month-old son has clearly transformed from an infant with regular naps to a baby who wants nothing more than to play all day. Gone are the days when he would fall asleep whenever he needed to, wherever he happened to be. It’s been chaotic! I’ve never been one to believe in the “cry-it-out” method, so this is hard for me, but seeing my baby so tired all day is even harder. The poor thing needs … Continue reading →

I’m a sleep deprivation expert. I’m fully credentialed, having slept less than one hour at a time for months when my daughter was a baby. Yes, less than one hour at a time. That was when she was teething, and she seemed to be teething all of the time. Around a year and a half, she started sleeping for 1.5 to 2 hour stretches, which was bliss. Even more blissful? When those teeth all came in at two and a half, she started sleeping through the night. Lovely, lovely thing. I would do it again. Perhaps it’s the hormones, or … Continue reading →