There are three main types of stimulation: overstimulation, understimulation, and healthy stimulation. Today we’ll tackle overstimulation.

In no world are we ever going to get this right all of the time. We all have appointments, events, and activities that carry importance.

There is nothing quite like the holiday season: Christmas lights brighten up the long nights, our littles play in and wonder at freshly-fallen snow, Michael Bubble serenades us in the background, making the chaos in front of us seem rather peaceful at times … the holidays can help us take pause and be present - to really appreciate the everyday magic of parenthood.

Sometimes I take potential client calls while working in the same room as my husband. I try to avoid it, as I like to keep work calls separate from my family life. A few times in the past I know he’s wondered why I don’t push the benefits of teaching your baby to sleep in order to try to “land a client.”

Once you’ve been around the parenting block a couple of times, then you have a fairly good idea of what to expect - even then, however, there are surprises and “I wish I had known that with my last baby” moments.

Here’s one that might surprise you: Newborns sleep A LOT (wait for it …). However, if you just let baby sleep on their own timeline, you might be making things tougher for yourself.

There are few things in life that will wake you up faster than a strong cup of coffee. Hearing the words “Hi Mommy” near your ear, thinking it’s the baby monitor, and then glancing over to discover your child’s face inches from yours is one of them.

Oh cool, you think to yourself after breathing deeply into a paper bag, so you can climb out of the crib now? This definitely won’t screw over the sleep skills we’ve been working on. Solid skill, babe, solid skill. Anyone else been there?

Ahhh, summer. It’s the season of late night barbeques, weddings, and days spent at the beach - it’s the season I live for. Single me loved those days. When I became a mom, however, I had a complicated relationship with special events for a while. It made me ask questions I didn’t see coming.

Thoughts like,

How do I breastfeed on the beach when the wind is blowing my cover off every 5 seconds?

How in the world am I going to stay awake this late when I know I’m going to be up half the night?

I spent many hours awake at night with my first, feeding her and then trying everything, including begging, to get her to go back to sleep. And if she slept longer in the morning, there was no way I was going to wake her even a second earlier. I needed to sleep.

But back to the questions: Does waking up your baby at the same time each day really make a difference?

When I find a parent hack or product that is a game-changer in the parenthood, I have to share the love.

I had to laugh at how much I became obsessed with this particular product. It felt similar to picking up a new hobby, like bird-watching. Though instead of bird-watching, I was baby-watching. Instead of talking my hubby’s ear off about different kinds of birds, I was talking about the monitor’s different functions. Instead of interpreting different bird calls, I was learning to interpret different types of my baby’s cries. The monitor was my nerd-out set of binoculars. And I thoroughly enjoyed using it.

Turns out, there was a lot I didn’t know about sleep, temperature, and my baby that would have helped me to sleep more soundly at night. So allow me to give you the 411 on navigating sleep through warm weather:

When it comes to temperature, heat is the one we need to be especially aware of. Coolness actually helps to induce melatonin, which helps sleep. Whereas when your little one is too hot they can struggle more in sleep, become lethargic and waking more. In toddlers, overheating can cause nightmares or disorientation.

Has anyone else been living the #shortnaplife? It’s not my favourite place to be.

Short naps are naps that last 20-30 minutes. They are especially rough on the mental health of everyone involved … for a few reasons.

As parents, we often feel a sense of relief after we lay baby down for their nap - especially once we see them drift off to sleep on the monitor. Whew. Time for a break. We go over our mental list of goals: shower, cup of tea, favourite page-turner. We turn the water on in anticipation, and set the kettle to boil. But just as we’re stepping out of the shower, we hear that telltale waaaaaaaaaaa! So much for the tea.

Ahh, swaddling … the 104th thing that made me feel completely unprepared to be a parent. I actually practiced this one on a doll while pregnant, right along with diaper changing and clicking baby into the car seat. As it turns out, swaddling was a lot tougher to do on a LIVE baby … nevermind an overtired baby who had just passed gas and was in the middle of the 5-8 week brain leap … anybody else relating over here? Just me? Cool.

When I find a parent hack or product that is a game-changer in the mamahood, I have to share the love.

This one is a real joy for me to rave about. West Coast Walls has Changed. My. World. And considering that the pandemic has narrowed my world to my home, my office, and Starbucks, that isn’t much of an exaggeration.

West Coast Walls is a local company in my neck-of-the-woods. They provide stunning, removable wallpaper and wall decals. And when I say removable, I don’t mean “you can pull it off along with half of the drywall.” I mean: You can remove it easily and find a beautifully-preserved wall behind it.

For some, Daylight Savings is a delightful sign that Spring is on the way. For others, it’s a phrase included in their mental book of parent curse words.

Regardless of how you view it, it can feel overwhelming at times to know you’ll have to adjust those nap and bedtime schedules.

The good news? It is way EASIER to make adjustments during Spring Forward Daylight Savings.

As mamas, we all have our own stories and adventures with feeding our little ones. I still remember my first day breastfeeding at a public event. I forgot to lock the door to the washroom at a wedding, and a groomsman walked in just in the nic of time to be accidentally flashed. He panicked and fled the washroom like he’d never seen a woman’s breast before. It was awkward.

Mama, that first nap of the day is my favourite time of the day. Bring on the breakfast smoothie, work out pants, and to-do list. This is the time where I can choose to rock the productivity or soak up the solace.

Why is the first nap the ideal time of day to lavish on myself or my home?

Ah, the toddler nap. One of life’s special gifts. I gave an especially-loud cheer when both of my children moved to one nap. Why?

There is only one.

No juggling of the schedule throughout the day needed. There is a morning, and an afternoon. I know when to schedule appointments, coffee dates, playground time … the world is my oyster.

We all get to sleep in different ways. Whether we realize it or not, most of us have a particular “way” of wrapping up the day, or habits we form that lead up to sleep. Personally? There’s nothing like finishing the day with a hot shower, glass of water, and reading a chapter or two in bed by candlelight. Then I love to turn on the fan and turn out the lights.

Bedtime routines - the way we understand our journeys to sleep - are even more important to babies. In fact, the bedtime routine is the most important tool you have in communicating sleep to your little one.

Do you have a nap wish list? I did. For almost every single nap. My nap time wish list was essentially a list of hopeful to-dos while my baby napped soundly for over an hour: work out, clean up last night’s dinner, shower, sleep.

At least that’s what it was in theory. In practice? Well … the naps weren’t always hitting that “over an hour” mark … nor were they happening at a reliable time.

If you are a parent who is dream feeding or is thinking about dream feeding: I get you. Most parents who dream feed do it in hopes that they will achieve longer stretches of sleep. And honestly, when you’re a parent of a newborn, yes - anything to get more sleep.

There are 4 scenarios where dream feeding will help your baby stay healthy: