FREE Consultation

Hello friends,
To celebrate our Facebook "likes", we're giving away a 60 minute phone/email consultation ($75 value). We can talk about sleep or lack thereof, nursing troubles, nap time drama, what to do with your charming, colicky baby, how to increase brain power through play, or anything else you can dream up.
Sound like a good deal? Perfect, well here's how to win.

1. Go to our Facebook Page and "like" it.
2. Follow our blog by clicking one of the "subscribe" buttons on the right side.
3. Post a comment here that is a baby-related problem you'd like to solve or an issue you're having with your little one.

At 5:00 pm EST on Friday, we'll randomly select the winner and pretend to do a balloon drop/confetti cannon. :)

Don't forget, you have to do all three steps to be considered. Now, fire up those questions!!

Your personal baby expert,

Cortney

Daylight Savings Time

Hello friends,

Spring is just around the corner and that means it's time to change the clocks. Most of us will "spring forward" this weekend, which has parents asking "what does that mean for my baby's sleep"?

The good news is that the Spring time change is usually more beneficial for sleep training than the Fall time change. If you have a little one who tends to wake earlier than you'd prefer, like 5:30 am, that wake up time is now going to be 6:30 am. To your baby, it still feels like 5:30, but your clock will say 6:30. Make sense? Good.

So, now you're probably wondering how to adjust your baby's routine to take advantage of the time change. Well, your window of opportunity is short. After a few days, your baby will adjust to the new time, so it's important to help your baby make the most of the time change.

There are two ways to handle DST. The first is to just make the switch cold turkey style. If your baby's bedtime is 7:30 pm, you can change the clocks on Sunday evening and put your baby to bed at the new 7:30 (which feels like 6:30 pm). If your baby isn't ready for sleep, you can put her to bed at 8:30 (which feels like her good ole' 7:30 pm). The next morning, you should wake your baby at her regular time, say 7:00 am (which feels like 6:00 am). Now you should follow your regular routine according to the new time. By the second or third night, you and your baby will adjust to the time change.

The other way to adjust your baby's bedtime is to do it slowly over the next few days. Start backing up your baby's bedtime by 15-30 minutes each day until you've reached the new time (so you're backing it up one hour). So, if 8:00 pm is bedtime at your house, you'll need to work on getting to a 7:00 pm bedtime because once DST happens, what feels like 7 pm will now be 8 pm on the clock. The next morning, be sure to wake your baby at her regular start time, like 7:30 am (which feels like 6:30 am).

Alternatively, you could just change the clocks and change your child's bedtime to be an hour later than usual, which means the same would apply for your morning start time, feedings, and naps. The baby wouldn't feel any different, only the number on the clock would change. For example, if 7:00 pm is bedtime now, next week it would be 8:00 pm.

The time change is really helpful if you have a baby or toddler who tends to wake earlier than you'd like and has trouble going back to sleep. The baby who likes to start her day at 5:30 am will now be getting up at 6:30, which is a much more reasonable start time.

Still have questions? Call or email for a quick consultation!

Your personal baby sleep expert,
Cortney

Never wake a sleeping baby - myth or truth?

Hello friends,

I often hear parents, caregivers and especially grandparents saying "you should never wake a sleeping baby". Is this true or just a gross error in judgement that previous generations have been passing down to their children? My answer depends on the circumstances surrounding the decision to wake or not wake a sleeping baby, but here are some guidelines.

I believe ALL babies should be awakened to feed every three hours during the daytime until around 4 months old. Nursing babies and babies under 6 pounds may even need to feed every two hours, but NOT longer than three.

If you just let a baby sleep as long as he wants, he'll sleep all day and eat all night. If you consistently wake him to feed every 3 hours after a nice, restorative nap, he will soon start sleeping longer stretches at night. Essentially, he will figure out the difference between day and night!

Once a baby is nursing well, has regained his birthweight and is over 6 pounds, he can eat at night only when he wakes on his own. In other words, don't wake a healthy, weight-gaining, sleeping baby at night.

Ideally, a 4 week old should be eating at 7 am, 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, 7 pm, 11 pm, and 3 am. Nurslings may still need to eat every 3 hours around-the-clock or may cluster feed in the evening.

For a customized plan for you and your baby, along with tips for less crying and more sleeping, call me today! It's the six year anniversary of the start of Gibson Newborn Services and to celebrate, we are offering 20% off consulting services. Call us today for sleep tonight!

Best wishes for happy, healthy, well-rested babies,

Cortney

Understanding sleep training

Hello friends,

Have you heard of "sleep training"? It's a popular term that has been floating around for years. It's becoming more and more clear to me that most people really have no idea what "sleep training" is. Doctors, authors, parents and even supposed sleep trainers are all talking about baby sleep training and they are usually wrong.

Undoubtedly, the biggest misconception is that sleep training and "cry it out" are the same thing. They are not the same thing, not even close. It's true that some sleep training might involve some level of crying, but not all sleep training involves crying, just as, not all crying is sleep training.

Gibson Newborn Services specializes in early sleep training and teaching healthy sleep habits without crying. For babies under 4 months, sleep training is simply about avoiding bad habits and instilling good ones. Unfortunately, for older babies who have not been taught to fall asleep on their own, sleep teaching often requires some crying and even CIO. The older the baby is, the harder and harder it is to teach good sleep habits. Call us start off on the right foot!

So the next time someone tries to tell you that sleep training is a bad thing or is all about crying and ignoring your baby's needs, you can correct them. With our gentle method, babies are sleeping 10-12 hours by 12 weeks old. The side effects of this are; continued breast-feeding success, less post-partum depression, little to no crying, and happy, well-rested babies and parents. We don't withhold feedings, ignore baby's needs or force them to sleep.

Beware of sleep trainers who want to allow your 0-12 week old baby to cry for extended periods of time or who advise putting your baby to sleep on his belly. Babies should be getting 8-12 feedings a day until they regain their birthweight. Then they should be fed at least 5 times during the day and fed when they wake at night (1-3 times).

If you are seeking professional advice about newborn care or sleep training, call the experts, we're here to help!

Best wishes for healthy sleep and happy babies,

Cortney