Mommy Sos: All Things Baby Sleep

The 4 month regression can be quite disruptive - and surprising - for new families.  It often leads to trouble falling and staying asleep and can lead to “fighting” bedtime, more frequent night wakings, shorter naps, early waking and more.  In today’s episode, we’re exploring the basics behind your 4 month old’s sleep and the regression itself - and exactly what you can do to help your little one to manage and move through the regression more quickly.   Links Referenced: Free 5 Day Sleep Challenge - Sign up and begin receiving 5 days of video lessons and cheat-sheets immediately! Mommy SOS Sleep School - Enroll in the comprehensive - yet super affordable - course that will have your baby sleeping better in just 5 Simple Steps.  The Sleep School currently offers additional bonus modules (for free!) - including early waking, short naps, night weaning, toddler bed transitions, and more! Take a look at the course curriculum and get started today for just $29!  

Parents today have access to more information than our mothers and grandmothers ever could have dreamed of. Enter a couple of words into a search engine (“sleep,” “baby,” “help,”) and in seconds you have thousands of pages to pore over. Of course, this can be a blessing and a curse. How do we separate good advice from bad advice? How do we know that something that worked for one family would work for ours? Who has the time to go through all that material? It shouldn’t be this hard. That’s why I’ve developed a simple, five-step program that has helped with families from around the world improve their babies’ and toddlers’ sleep. No matter what is going on in your family, these tips are designed to give you a better understanding of what is needed in order to help your baby (and you!) sleep through the night. And to make things even easier, most of these steps are done before you even get to “traditional” sleep coaching! Looking for Additional Sleep Help? Check out these awesome resources - Free 5 Day Sleep

Is your baby waking frequently at night - and demanding to be fed back to sleep each time? In this episode, we’re going to set you up to be a night weaning success. First, we take a closer look at everything you need to make sure to have into place before you begin to night wean.  Then, I’ll walk you through the various methods of night weaning you can choose from. And finally, we’ll touch on my top tips for ensuring that you and your baby are night weaning champions!

April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day so I wanted to dedicate today’s episode to families with special needs children.  In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at why children with Autism and ADHD often have more trouble with sleep than their peers - and the steps parents can take to help their children to develop healthy sleep habits over time.

A baby’s sleeping environment can have a drastic effect on their ability to sleep well - both overnight and during naps.  Creating your baby’s best sleeping environment comprises of several key factors. In this episode we discuss each of these factors and I outline the simple ways you can adjust your baby’s sleeping environment in order to maximize their sleeping potential!

When your baby's sleep totally falls apart, it's easy to become confused and overwhelmed trying to figure out how to "fix" it. On this episode, we're walking through exactly what a sleep regression is, what causes them, and what you can do to take back control and help your baby or toddler move through the regression more quickly.

Studies have shown that new moms lose a total of 44 days of sleep on average during the first year of their baby's life and are “dangerously exhausted.”  In this episode, I’m running down the list of the most common mistakes I see new parents make - and how to help your family to fix (or avoid) them so that everyone is able to get the restorative and restful sleep they need.

How much will my baby have to cry? Is there any way to avoid crying altogether? As with many things in parenthood, tears and protest are often involved when it comes to setting boundaries and making changes. And since the goal of sleep coaching is to make a change in your baby or toddler’s sleep habits and to set healthy boundaries around their sleep, it is actually quite likely that there will be some crying involved.  It is your baby’s only way to communicate! But the range is so widespread - in the amount, the length and the type of crying. On this episode, we’re exploring the different kinds of crying you can expect when it comes to sleep coaching - and my best tips to help maximize your support and minimize your little one’s tears throughout the process.

Ah, the toddler bed. Kids love the new-found freedom, but it often leads to a whole new set of sleep issues - even for children who were previously “good” sleepers.  Join me as we discuss the ins and outs of this process.  I'll walk you through the questions to ask yourself and the steps to take with your toddler in order to protect their sleep. By exploring the most common trouble spots families often face up front, you'll be able to ensure that the transition from crib to toddler bed is a success for your family.

Parenting as an introvert or highly sensitive person (HSP) can feel quite overwhelming at time. As an introvert and HSP myself, I was completely unprepared for the challenges my innate personality would lend to parenting.  Being with my babies all day was exhausting - and not at all what I thought it would be.  But over the years, I have really honed in on some strategies that help immensely.  Whether you're an introvert, highly sensitive person or just an overwhelmed and sleep deprived mama, join me today as we explore my top tips for helping you thrive throughout early motherhood.  

Short naps can be one of the most frustrating infant and toddler sleep troubles. It's also one of the most common trouble spots families need to manage.  On this episode, we're taking a look at the most common causes for short naps - and what you can do to help them lengthen.

Today we’re talking about the dreaded early morning waking. There are so many factors in an early morning waking - leading it to be one of the most challenging baby sleep issues to solve.  I'm going to cover all of the subtle and not so subtle reasons why your baby may be waking early - and help you on the path toward later mornings (and more rest!) With a little detective work and some dedication, you can can truly change your baby’s circadian rhythms and sleep patterns.  Let's dig in!

Today we’re tackling common false beliefs about sleep coaching.  This feel really important to me because I think these beliefs are often both false - and potentially harmful.  Especially to the mamas who are struggling - whether that be with anxiety, depression or just complete overwhelm and exhaustion - and who could really benefit from doing a bit of work to help their baby sleep better but may be scared or feeling ashamed because of what they’ve been told, heard or read.  Join me as we discuss whether breastfeeding and sleep coaching are contraindicated, if you have to completely stop snuggling your baby and whether it's all in your control at all!

Today we are talking about white noise and how it affects your baby's sleep and can even help to calm your baby.  This is actually the topic of one of my most popular blog posts and it’s surprisingly controversial, so I really wanted to dig deep and help you understand the science of white noise and how to use it as a truly positive force for your family’s sleep.

A member of the Mommy SOS Sisterhood prompted today’s episode when she was trying to figure out how she would know if her baby was ready for sleep coaching.  I thought this was such a great topic to discuss because it’s a question I hear so often. And for good reason, too. Figuring out if your baby is ready for sleep coaching and determining when is the best time to tackle sleep coaching for your family can be a multi-step process.  Today we're looking closer at all of the pieces you should consider before jumping in. 

The first few years of parenthood are some of the most challenging of years for marriage -with marital satisfaction dropping to an all time low in the year after the first baby is born.  But learning how to communicate your needs with your partner - and to fight "fair" - is the key to success.  And it’s actually a quite simple formula. A few easy steps can alter your marriage and the ability to resolve conflict peacefully with your partner - forever. On this episode, I’m going to walk you through the ultimate game plan to tackle the disagreements  - and to maximize your marriage’s potential.

The winter holiday season is nearly upon us!  It’s my most favorite time of year - the traditions, parties, family gatherings….the food!  Seriously, it’s just the best. But, even for the merriest and most festive of us, it can also be an exhausting and overwhelming time of year.   Perhaps no one feels this more than our babies (no matter their age).  The traveling, visitors and all around joy can actually wreak quite a bit of havoc on their routines and sleep.  If you’re like me then you definitely don’t want to miss all of the fun.  But if you also don’t want to end up with the Grinch at your holiday gathering, then you’ll want to check out these 5 Pro Tips.

There are so many popular sleep-coaching methods to choose from. And, if you seek advice on your Facebook moms group, from your local friends or from sleep coaching books and blogs, you are likely to get very different – and very strongly held – points of view about which one is best. But, when you’re sleep deprived and foggy brained, it can all feel way too overwhelming…making it hard to choose an option or to even get started. But, there is hope! Depending on your baby’s temperament and adaptability, you may not even need to sleep coach in order to improve their sleep habits.  Today we're talking through 5 easy steps that will help to set your whole family up for success and put you on the path to better sleep.

I've worked with so many moms who hold back and are afraid to sleep coach or try to improve their baby's sleep because they are afraid it will harm their baby in some way.  I've been there too!  But, sleep deprivation affects the entire family - and when you’re weighing the pros and cons of taking steps to improve your baby’s sleep - it’s super important that you have all of the science backed research and information that can help alleviate your concerns and may give you the permission you may need to take that next step.  Tune in to today's episode and learn the Top 10 reasons why I believe - and research shows - that improving your baby's sleep is truly the best bet for the whole family.

Hi, I'm Jennifer Howard - a licensed therapist, pediatric sleep consultant and owner of Mommy SOS. Welcome to the very first episode of the Mommy SOS podcast. On this little mini episode, I wanted to briefly share a bit about myself, who I am and what I hope to share with you.