childsleepsolutions

Hi Polly, it's Nicola here. Generally parents gather a group of people and then approach me so we can work out a date to do the seminar. It costs ?25 per person and is free to the host with a minimum of 5 paying attendees. Hope this helps, Nic

Bringing this thread back to the top again! Thanks for those who recommended Carly, she is lovely! She came and did my hair and 2 of my friends, we all love the cuts and the BB is amazing so far! I rough dried it this morning and it went fine and then did the school run in the rain with no hood or umbrella as a test and it dried exactly the same! Unbelievable!!

I love Sandy Balls; camping and the lodges. We always hire bikes and go for a lovely bike ride with the kids. If you fancy this it's worth phoning before hand and booking the bikes you need as they can all get taken on busy weekends. They wouldn't let us do this when we went in March but I think this was because it was such a quiet weekend anyway. Have fun! Ps we put tarp under the tent and it's fine. Also, Moors Valley is nearby which is a lovely country park that's worth a visit.

That sounds really tough! You must be exhausted. You don't need to do controlled crying, there are far gentler ways that will work and get him sleeping though just as well. Certainly try to encourage him to eat well in the day but it may be hard until he feeds less at night. Try to gradually reduce your intervention at night and settle him at times without feeding him, even if it takes a while, though you shouldn't need to stop breastfeeding completely if you don't feel ready to. As long as you are gradually withdrawing your input you are working towards self-settling. www.childsleepsolutions.co.uk

Can I just ask, if you donate through just giving does all the money go to him or does some of it go to just giving? I'm sure someone told me once that they take some money from the total raised? If so I'll just donate direct to the bank account on the link. What a lovely cause, thanks for posting x

I think it is great you said something! I get serious mum rage too! I was at my local v busy sainsburys recently and waited over 5 minutes clearly indicating to go into a space when some moron nipped in ahead of me! I was furious and shouted abuse out of the window at him (dreadful example to my kids in the back!). He just laughed at me and walked off so when I parked I went around the supermarket until I could find him and gradually stole times back out of his trolley as revenge! I intentionally took things that seemed essential ingredients like flour and chicken etc. It was really quite satisfying!

I agree. I love Sandy Balls! Though I recommended to a friend who usually does centre parcs and she was not impressed at all!! So much to do around Sandy Balls though and for some reason whenever I go the weather is great which helps.

I just saw this post! That's fantastic news, thanks so much! I am so pleased that all is going so well, well done x

Try The Parent Consultancy, www.theparentconsultancy.com have heard great things about them! And no TV cameras!

That is so so sad. Regarding what to say, as Yak says, something is better than nothing and I can't imagine there is 'right' thing to say in this circumstance. My mum lost my sister to cot death and she said the hardest responses to deal with were those who avoided her, even though she knew it was just because they were uncomfortable and did not know what to say. I really hope you all get through this and you and your friend who was due with her can support each other as well. Thinking of you all x

Hi, I am a Child Sleep Consultant and I really don't think you have a problem! It is only a bad thing if it makes your life hard and it sounds to me like you are very happy with it so my advice is to carry on as you are! If he were struggling to settle at night or was only managing very short naps it would be advisable to work on it but as this isn't the case just go with it! If it becomes a problem then tackle it then, I think that if you tried now your heart wouldn't be in it and you would probably not see it through anyway. Take care and enjoy the good sleep!

Poor you!! How stressful! If the breastfeeding clinic does not help and she does not improve do consider silent reflux. The short, bobbing on and off feeds could be a sign as is the crying and appearing windy. Is she a noisy, grunty sleeper, does she arch her back, hiccup a lot, thrash?? All symptoms of reflux. Regarding your concern of feeding to sleep, this may not be ideal and be considered a 'no no', however, she is way to young for you to worry too much about this, even if she goes down once a day without this then that is great (though if you can't manage this do not worry), and any habits you think you are forming now will not be deeply entrenched. I am a child sleep consultant and can assure you that no habits that form now cannot be overcome and at the moment you need to do what you can to get through the tricky first few weeks. Good luck x Nicola

Thanks Saffron, will do x

I am a Child Sleep Consultant and currently have a client with a 4 year old girl who really lacks confidence and has very low self esteem. They are really loving parents but she appears really insecure, both with them and in every day life. Does anyone on here know of a good Child Psychologist they could consult with, or any course the parents could attend to get advice on how to deal with this? They live in Chislehurst but would be happy to travel to get advice. Thanks so much in advance for any help. Ps I suggested talking to her school but they are reluctant to involve them.

Hi there, great advice from everyone. It is definitely something that requires intervention of some sort but don't worry, whilst no one has said me too on here I'm a child sleep consultant and its certainly not a rare problem. I get at least one client a week with a child over 2 who is awake for hours at night, so don't worry, I doubt there is anything physically wrong you are probably right, she is just completely overtired. If a child gets overtired their levels of cortisol raise which make it harder for them to get to sleep and stay asleep.

Hi there, I agree with Gubodge, sometimes the load on their digestive system actually leads to more disturbed sleep. Make sure that you introduce new foods at lunch rather than dinner, and also, as someone else mentioned, make sure he is still getting all his milk, the milk is actually more filling for them than some pureed veg! What a shock to the system though when he was previously such a good sleeper! Good luck

Sanne Panne, If you are happy with your nanny then I assume she is a nice girl, in that case I think she would be happy with whatever you could afford, half a weeks pay for half a year worked is pretty good anyway! I always felt a thank you went just as far so maybe put it in a little card saying you think she is great and thank you.

Hi there, I've worked as a nanny and know lots of nannys, I would say the Xmas bonus is the most common bonus time rather than at the annual review, most nannys I know are very happy with a weeks wage, some get more, some a bit less but the only bosses really moaned about are those that give none!!

I went cold turkey with my daughter and offered her cows milk in a tommee tippee, she went mad on the first day, a bit less the second and then just threw the milk at me in disgust on the third but with no histronics! After a couple of weeks she did start to take milk from her cup (she was just over 1 at the time). What I guess you have to remember is 1) you are in charge and 2) even if she is very cross at first it won't last forever! Will probably hurt your boobs more than it will hurt her! Good luck.

Poor little thing!! It's hard when little ones are poorly! I was told by a doctor when my eldest had a bad bug as a baby that with children they no longer say to starve the bug and suggest you offer them what you would usually and let them eat if they want to even if they then vomit. Seemed odd to me but then so did starving her! I did still offer her food but made sure it was quite bland food. Hope she feels better soon.

Ps should also add that the above is not meant in any way judgementally, if co-sleeping or night feeding works for you then go for it!! My youngest loved being breastfed to sleep and woke once a night for this for a whole year (don't tell my colleagues!) And I dealt with it at 1 when I had enough of the nightly wake up call!!

Hunger is unlikely to be an issue at his age but if you are concerned make sure he has protein and carbs at his last meal. If you do this then you can be sure that hunger is not an issue when he wakes and feel more confident in not feeding him. Developmental milestones also have an impact on sleep but if you make sure you do not respond too quickly and ensure you are consistent you should be able to novercome this. The stats quoted earlier are true (I'm a child sleep consultant so it keeps me in business!) but it is also true that 97% of these children can be taught to sleep better so don't let the stats make you a defeatist!! Try and look at what he gains from his night waking, is it closeness with you, attention, a breastfeed that has led to a suck to sleep association, and remove this. It is true that some children are naturally better sleepers than others but the skill to sleep well can also be taught! Nicola

That's dreadful!! You poor thing! I have a v v v old chassis from a bugaboo frog, if it fits with your attachments (about 9 yrs old so design may have changed) that you are welcome to borrow. I live in chislehurst now though. Nicola x

Could you try every other day? That is quite young to drop naps completely. I would probably persevere if I were you even if he only has a short nap as it will be far harder to persuade him to go back to napping once you have stopped and it could just be a phase. You know what its like, their needs change all the time just to keep us guessing!!

Hi again, I know what you mean about 11 hours perhaps being sufficient, however, I think the fact that he struggles to last until his lunchtime nap and also that he wakes screaming suggest that he could do with a bit more sleep. Though as previously mentioned, early waking is a tough one to crack and some children are just larks! I really think you should try wake-to-sleep before you move bedtime back, if he gets overtired that could actually make the early waking worse. Good luck!