Welcome to the crazy & unpredictable world of understanding your little one’s sleep! Learning how our bodies sleep, and more specifically how our little one’s bodies sleep, is essential to thriving in parenthood. Understanding the science means that we have the opportunity to embrace the ebb and flow of life, strengthen our resilience and flourish in the unpredictable. Learning the balance of under-tired and overtired is an important piece to the puzzle. We’re here to guide you through this journey, with a blend of knowledge as RNs, NICU & Paediatric nurses and as fellow mamas. Let’s do this parenthood thing together!
The mystery of the under-tired child
What does under-tired even mean and why does it matter? It’s all about sleep drive. Sleep drive works in harmony with your sleepy hormone, melatonin, to help you go to sleep. Recognising when your little one hasn’t been awake long enough to build a natural sleep drive is important. An under-tired baby may not be physically ready for bed, which can lead to them resisting bedtime. Using awake windows as a guide can help you avoid approaching bedtime with a baby who’s not ready to sleep.
Navigating awake times and sleepy cues can be hard but it’s not about perfection, it’s about experiencing and growing through the ups and downs of parenting.
How our bodies sleep – the over-tired section
You’ve likely had this conversation before: “She didn’t have any of her naps today” with a response like “Oh great, that mean she’ll sleep well tonight”. Contrary to popular belief, missing naps doesn’t always lead to better sleep at night. When little ones surpass their sleepy stage they tend to reach out for the panic button and their little body becomes stressed. When this happens it can lead to a restless sleep and, when they do sleep, they can wake up grumpy. Understanding how ‘overtired’ affects the body and its connection to sleep is important in being able to manage sleep schedules and help avoid those ‘big feelings’ from being overtired.
Making awake times & sleepy cues your own
Coming from personal experience, each child has their own unique little rhythm and sleepy cues. It is so important for you to understand that this is a guide. This is not an exact science and needs to be embraced with flexibility and resilience. My suggested awake times are one part of the bigger picture including keeping track of naps and sleepy cues, and being able to respond to these the best way you can. This means, sometimes there is no ‘best way’, sometimes you’ve got to head off to that appointment right in the middle of nap time and that’s totally fine! Flexibility and resilience means that you can know that your little one may be overtired by the time you get home and because you know this you’re mentally ready to handle it. This will help you avoid feeling frustrated and wondering what went wrong. Recognising and responding to our little ones the best way we can means that our beautiful, chaotic, intricate dance continues to evolve into something beautiful.
Repeat after me:
“I am flexible and resilient. I am everything my child needs.”
Getting our mindset and expectations in the right place is so important when it comes to the world of sleep. Coming into this part of life with wonder, awe and excitement, being in the right space to feel those bad days but not let them colour our world, is key. Gather your village, surround yourself with people who can encourage and uplift you, and most importantly, trust yourself.
At GROW, we can be a part of your village
The heart of what we do is to make you feel empowered and encouraged as the parent of your child. We want you to walk your unique path without judgement or fear. We want you to have the courage to trust yourself. We offer sleep coaching that will do just that. Let us be a part of your village.
As always, with much love, B.
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