KoalaBabies.ca

Instagram doesn't like to add my posts here in a timely manner. Make sure to follow me there for more content!! .ca

Is there anything more frustrating than a child waking in the night and being ready to party for hours?? This is different from a typical wake up where they quickly resettle, but instead want to stay awake with what seems like no end in sight. Split nights involve taking a reaaaally long time to settle and fall back to sleep.

Split nights can happen for a number of reasons - during developmental leaps, unbalanced daytime sleep, bedtime is too early, or parental expectations of total sleep in 24 hours is off. There needs to be enough sleep pressure for them to both fall asleep, and stay asleep long enough to make it through that long night.

Keep in mind, your child isn't purposely trying to destroy your life with these middle of the night parties! It isn't harmful to them in any way either. However, it isn't conducive to our lives (unless you're able to make up for lost sleep throughout the day).

What can be done about split nights? This is really dependent on the cause and if it's developmental, really only time can help that one.

If daytime sleep is unbalanced, or sleep schedules are off however it would require some tweaking in order to find your child's sweet spot when it comes to sleep timings (and being flexible because that is also bound to change).

If you need any help with this, please reach out for a consult!

I can't tell you how many times I've been triggered by the sound of one of my crying children. Especially my eldest who is highly sensitive. I remember thinking to myself "there's no way a baby should be crying THIS much?! what am I doing wrong?!"

I also remember when someone told me this phrase - that my child wasn't giving me a hard time, but that they were having a hard time. Suddenly my perspective changed.

This mindset shift has made a big difference in how I respond and help my children. No matter how exhausted I am, I know that it's not personal and I have to remain calm and in control.

Still to this day I find this incredibly difficult. But I find myself repeating this phrase to remind myself to be empathic to my little one's struggles. To respond with love. And to try to find out why they are communicating in this way - are they tired? hungry? need some quiet time? sensory overloaded? feeling pain or discomfort? need more one on one connection? separation anxiety? overstimulated? etc etc.

Whether it's your newborn, toddler or preschooler expressing big emotions - try to remember this phrase. Because it's true. They don't have some secret goal to make things incredibly difficult for their parents - they are communicating a need. They need you to help them regulate and learn how to mange those overwhelming feelings. Tune in to them and try to figure out what they are trying to tell you.

You won't get it right every time. You won't remember this phrase every time. You may lose your cool. That is all okay too - but if we can respond with empathy and love and from a place of calm, it can go a long way in helping our children learn how to regulate these emotions on their own as they grow. It also teaches them that we are their safe space and their needs will not be ignored, regardless of their age.

Just wanted to share my Instagram post here as well! Go over to Instagram https://www.instagram.com/koalababies.ca/ and find this post to enter the Giveaway.

⭐️Giveaway time!

To celebrate my eldest's 4th birthday today and 100 followers let's have some giveaway fun! 🥳

I am excited to be giving away your choice of one of the following: 1 hour phone consultation or a copy of my Night Weaning guide.

To enter giveaway:
1. Like this post
2. Follow .ca
3. Tag a parent of a 0-36month old or a soon to be parent.
4. Share this post in your stories for an extra entry!

Contest open until Saturday August 27th.

*This contest is in no way affiliated with Instagram.

Reposted from

Your worth is not measured by percentiles or averages or milestones reached.

Your worth is not measured by the number of hours your baby sleeps.

Your worth is not measured by your (un)willingness to separate from your child.

Your worth is not measured by your ability to “bounce back”.

Your worth is not measured by how closely you meet society’s expectations.

Your worth is not measured by clean floors and empty laundry baskets.

Your worth is not measured by your ability to pretend you’ve got this.

Your worth is YOURS to determine.

Your worth is measured by baby laughs, shared naps and cheeky smiles.

Your worth is measured by midnight snacks, milk-stained sheets, and well-worn shoulders.

Your worth is measured by your child’s feeling of safety; by the depth of their belief that they are never alone in this big, wide world.

Your worth is measured by your ability to surrender; to bravely step into the darkness with your eyes closed, your heart open and your soul curious.

Your worth is measured by your willingness to respond rather than react; to see your child for who it is they are, rather than what it is they are doing.

Your worth is measured by your ability to bravely hold the space for your child to express their big emotions, no matter how inconvenient, triggering or difficult it may be.

Your worth is measured by your ability to lean into discomfort; to stare down your own insecurities and dare them to melt away in the presence of unconditional love and acceptance.

Your worth is measured by your willingness to be needed, truly needed; to recognize that you are your child’s true north, you are their compass guiding them home.

Your worth is measured by your willingness to fail gracefully, to forgive easily, to apologize wholeheartedly, to show up imperfectly and to evolve with enthusiasm.

Your worth is measured by your ability to withstand judgment as you trust your intuition, making your choices based on love, not fear.

But, above all else, your worth resides in the hearts of your children and, for them, it is immeasurable. You are the sun and the stars and the moon. You are the infinite possibility. ✨️

Here's the thing - there's no one answer or quick fix when it comes to your child's sleep. If anyone is promising you such a thing, you may want to look for other options.

As Baby-Led Sleep Specialists we look at a large number of factors in order to support longer stretches of sleep without sleep training. It is not just as simple as making a schedule change.

However, once all of the pieces of the puzzle have been addressed and considered then we can not only make changes to help your family get more sleep but also help you to feel more confident in the decisions you make for your child moving forward.

The pieces of the puzzle:
nutrition, environment, medical, birth, development, temperament, emotional well-being, routines/patterns, parents (self-care, mental health, etc), culture/lifestyle and sleep needs and requirements.

If even one piece of the puzzle is out of place we could see night waking beyond what is normal, early rising, short naps/no naps, false starts, refusing bedtime, split nights and more.

The goal is to find the missing puzzle piece and get to the root of what is going on so we can create lasting healthy sleep habits.

So while this approach may take a bit longer it will maintain the attachment relationship while supporting everyone's needs.

What do you think might be the missing puzzle piece for your little one? Comment below!