Five common sleep mistakes

Episode 2: Five Common Sleep Mistakes

five common sleep mistakes We are going to talk about common sleep mistakes that parents make. With this one I actually pulled the moms in my community and they shared some of these sleep mistakes that they made. There were a lot of common themes that I noticed so I wanted to pick out kind of the top five. The first one is not knowing about (or following) wake windows. Yes. Okay, this one is huge. And first off, I want to lead with. If your baby's doing great and you're not following like Windows, don't stress out, okay, this is for the struggling parent, if you're like, what is awake window, or what are the right weight windows for my baby, finding those and fine tuning them can be really, really helpful. Kayla when you were a first Mom, did you know what wake windows or. I had no idea, and I was incredibly grateful that my best friend had gotten into a profession where I could ask her because I was greatly sleep deprived. So, like windows were huge with my second. I remember kind of bothering you, about his wake windows because he was a sleeper, his wake windows would sometimes be a little bit shorter, but I've found that to be kind of true to the way that he is developing, which is really interesting and we can get more into that I'm sure as we continue on with these episodes. Yeah, first of all, you were never bothering me. I always felt like, with your first son, I was kind of just starting my certification as, like, Ellis was born, and so I felt like we were having a learning at the same time I'm like, oh I don't really feel comfortable with the newborn stage but I'll give you whatever I got an LS was kind of like one of your first guinea pigs, which was amazing. It was it was it was really cool to to watch that. So, if you don't know what wake windows are, you're not sure what the right ones are for your age, I do have a free map guide I'll link those in the show notes so you can kind of start figuring out where your child falls, because those are a huge thing to understand, as you're crafting their schedule. Alright, number two is not using white noise, I could not be a bigger fan of white noise. And studies show us that white noise helps us fall asleep quicker. We spend less time awake at night, when we sleep with white noise, and it just improves the quality of our sleep so this one to me, if you're struggling, is a non negotiable. Kayla's nodding her head as we're talking, I completely agree and having what today's, it's just a little bit after July 4 And I will say the white noise was amazing for the my kids aren't ready to do fireworks yet stage, because we did not have any problems, yay. Yes, white noise is, is amazing, I love it I can't recommend it enough. And just one extra thing I would say about that is we really want that true white noise, instead of maybe the ocean sounds rain sounds or even lullabies, those things can all be stimulating to the brain, whereas white noise blocks out stimulating sounds so that's a huge one to get on your side if you're struggling, and I was going to say to for the white noise I know a lot of parents struggle with, kind of understanding what the correct volume is kind of nervous that using one is going to damage their child's hearing, and I know that you, you know a little bit about that know some apps, maybe that can help you determine what volume is appropriate. Yes, that's such a good point because I do get a lot of questions just parents want to make sure. Okay, this helps sleep but is it going to hurt, you know, in the long term or in a different way. So we want to aim for around 60 to 70 decibels. And there are several different apps if you just go on your app store and Google decibel meter or decibel reader, there are some paid ones that you can pay 99 cents for but there's also free ones so I would just encourage you to check that out. And then when you actually do your reading, you know you want to treat your phone then like it's your child so put the phone in their sleep space, turn the white noise on where it usually would be, and see where that's falling. five common sleep mistakes Number three is not using blackout curtains. This is another one if I had to say like my top two things that are just non negotiables if you're struggling with sleep, it's white noise, and blackout curtains, so when we're talking about blackout curtains though, there's really a wide range of what qualifies as a blackout curtain, and they're not all equal. Yeah, and if you're going to pinch, aluminum foil is fantastic. Yes, aluminum foil taping that up over the windows, it looks a little weird, but it works. If you, if you're looking at curtains, you know, typically what I say is the blackout ones and I'm using air quotes that you find that Target or Walmart are not true blackout and even if lights not coming through the fabric, you can see it coming in around the edges of the curtains, so usually you're going to need something a little more one product that I love and I can link this one in the show notes is blackout easy window covers, and they Velcro, up to the, the frame of your window so you can take them down and up, there's no gaps. Light is a huge, huge factor in our circadian rhythm so if your child is sensing light in their environment. It's like a direct signal to their brain to stop producing melatonin, or to slow down the production of melatonin. So, we want that environment really dark for sleep. Number four is not being consistent. This is one I hear from parents a lot, we tried this, we tried this, we tried this, we tried this, and usually it worked, none of them worked so now what or we tried sleep training or we tried X Y and Z, and it didn't work. Usually my question is, how long did we try it for, you know, are we talking one or two nights are we talking, two weeks, because there's a big difference in trying it for a night or two, and then moving on and trying something different for a night or two and really picking something and sticking it out until you see that improvement. So, consistency is huge. Yes, and this has, I mean, yes, we're talking about sleep but being consistent is huge for anything in parenting and really, whether it's discipline or introducing new foods to your little, or if it's for you if it's you know starting a healthier lifestyle, or whatever it is that you're working on. Consistency is the key to any success, really. Yeah, so. Absolutely. Okay. And number five, listening to too many different voices and dependence on sleep. Yes, and I feel this one so much because I probably get. I don't know, maybe five to 10 DMS, a day through Instagram from moms who are, they've been listening to so many different voices, and a lot of times these voices are like polar opposites, and they are just stressed out, and they don't know which way to turn they're just, they're like, I want to do this. I don't want to do this, but I don't know where to find the middle like it's just hard so my biggest encouragement as a new parent and honestly this is sleep and any other area of parenting but try to find the people and the values that you align with, and it's okay to turn those voices up, and then as you find the ones that you don't align with or that don't seem to line up with your values. Turn those off or mute those you know that's okay to do. You know, I don't think any of us want to live in an echo chamber. But there's also something to be said for preserving your sanity and preserving your mental health, and not being constantly bombarded with information overload. Absolutely and I think that obviously this has a lot to do with social media, both a blessing and a curse because you have all of these different outlets all of these different professionals all these different voices that you have the ability to learn from. But like you said, It's sometimes you just have to turn off and kind of realigned with yourself, what it is that you believe or that you want to see your family really work on all of that stuff. And with this to our, our mortal enemy, unsolicited advice, whether it's from parents, mother or father in law. I know that the way that my children are sleeping and the way that I did sleep training does not align with my mama's, and it was not what my mother in law did with my husband. And so unfortunately you'll probably end up hearing Summit, unsolicited advice, especially as a new parent. But just remember, these are your kids, and nobody's had your kid, nobody's been a parent to your kid. And so, this is your chance and your, your decision for your child. Yes, yes, and in situations like those when they come up, and we know they will from somebody, whether it's somebody close or somebody you know on the fringe of your social circle. It's okay to simply say, you know, this is what's worked for us this is what we choose to continue doing or I'm so glad that worked for you, we're gonna try this path, or it's also okay to just say thanks, thanks for that info and, and move on, you know, you don't have to explain to anyone. Why your parenting, the way you are. If you want to, you know, it's, it's totally okay to do that in an assertive way and to kind of let them know thanks but we're not interested. Yeah, absolutely, or I mean if you don't have an opinion on something or you're just in the beginning stages it's okay to say, you know I don't really know that much about it yet. Thanks. Thanks for your input. I'm going to research and and being okay with not knowing too. So, all things are okay. Yes, absolutely, absolutely. Oh my goodness, thank you guys so much for this is kinda like our first recorded episode, guys, we're so excited, and we can't wait to see if the next one five common sleep mistakes

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Episode 2: Five Common Sleep Mistakes