Saturday Sleep Tip

According to an article from BabyCenter, you may want to try a "sleep instigating snack an hour before bedtime. Some foods naturally spark a release of serotonin, the body's built-in sleep inducer. Try a glass of milk, a piece of whole-wheat toast with a slice of cheese, half a peanut butter sandwich, or oatmeal with bananas."

This tip of course would have to fit with your schedule, and skip if your kids have no problems falling asleep.

In contrast, you want to avoid sugary and caffeine filled foods before bed.

Even the food they do or do not eat can and should be part of the right bedtime routine.

Sleep Ponderings from Me

I just returned home from a 12 day vacation with the family. Husband, wife, three kids drive 2000 miles in 12 days touching five states. It was quite the trip. And I would have to say that my kids (ages 4 1/2, 2 1/2, and 5 months) were absolutely amazing!

So, how did they sleep you wonder? They missed a couple naps when we were driving- just depended on what we did that day and where we had to stop, but overall their sleep stayed on schedule. My 5 month old took great naps on the road, and she would take 3 hour naps on the beach (in her pack'n'play, covered with a blanket, with her noise maker). She woke up at night some of the nights- but 4 of us were staying in the same room. It is vacation; you can't expect perfection.

My other two kids went to bed a bit later a couple of the nights- had to be flexible for the extra fun things you do on vacation, but they went to bed easily, took good naps and were amazing.
Thanks to them getting to sleep well on the trip they were able to keep great attitudes.

Question for You

What is your child's age and bedtime? Is this consistent?

Sleep "Product" Review

Let's note that my sleep "product's" are not necessarily something that you can buy at the store to make sleep occur. They are either some sort of contraption, sleep aid, or something loosely related to sleep.

My kids enjoy the book Owen by Kevin Henkes. It is a cute story about a mouse who is attached to his fuzzy yellow blanket, Fuzzy. This blanket goes with him everywhere. The goal of the parents in the story is to get Owen to not bring his blanket to school. It is a nice story about a blanket, parents, and transitioning to school.

Business Moms check out this new forum and resource

Savvy Business Moms Community Forum
http://savvybusinessmoms.info/forum

They are also holding a contest for a year of free advertising- so if you are in need check it out- the contest ends 9.9.08.

Sunday Sleep Dilemma

Q: How can my youngest get their full nap when I have a 2:30 pm pick-up for my oldest?

A: Well, in the ideal world we would all have a babysitter or a nanny that could stay with the youngest, or maybe a chauffeur to pick up the oldest... but most of us are lacking those resources. I would suggest moving their nap up so that they can get a "full" nap in time for you to pick up your oldest. Then, you may need to move their bedtime a slight bit earlier depending on their melt-down factor. You probably want to take a few days to gradually make this transition if possible. If you don't have a few days, work to really wear them out before the new naptime and go through a nice calming routine before putting them down. This "new" plan will also continue to allow for you to have some "quieter" time during the day.