Zephyr Hill

A Family Blog

16 Ways to Help Your Child (and You!) Sleep Better

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Ahhh, sleep! Such a wonderful word. Such a wonderful concept! But the reality is that when you have young children, restful sleep is something you often long for but rarely seem to get your fingers on. I want to share with you some sleep tricks we’ve learned over the years with our seven children. NOTE: these are for older babies and children, not young infants who have a natural need for frequent feeding day and night.)

  • At naptime or bedtime, keep interactions to a minimum. That means while dressing and doing the diaper change don’t sing songs, play games or make too much eye contact. Stimulation will actually cause your baby’s heart rate to speed up and blood pressure to rise; neither is conducive to restful sleep.
  • Have a pleasant, consistent routine. With my first born I had a lot more time. We’d do a bath and a storybook and a song every night. Fast forward 11 years and 7 children later! Now there’s not really time for baby massages and warm baths with essential oils. 🙂 So I just dress and diaper the baby with the lights low and that serves as an easy visual cue that sleep time is coming. If they are still nursing, I have a rocking chair we always go to. Sleep routines do not have to be elaborate. The key is to find a consistent cue that communicates “night time” to your baby.
  • Use white noise to create a calming, consistent and audible backdrop to the sleep experience. We use the Dohmie sound conditioner, which you can read more about below.
  • Limit caffeine intake after lunch time if you’re breastfeeding. What you drink, baby drinks to some extent. A big strong cup of coffee in the afternoon might perk you up, but it can result in a wakeful baby that night.
  • If you are cloth diapering, put a lot of time and effort into finding a bulletproof nighttime diaper so baby is less likely to wake for a change.
  • Try putting your child to bed when he is drowsy or drifting off, but not actually asleep. Come back every so often to soothe and settle him again, but let him fall asleep on his own. Make sure before you do this that all of baby’s needs are met (fed, dressed, changed). It’s a fact of life that little ones (and adults, too, by the way) often wake up when they don’t actually need anything except to go back to sleep. If you’ve taught them to go back to sleep unassisted, then it will be less disturbing for everyone, including the baby.
  • If your baby is using a sleep aid like a pacifier, it will pay to break this habit as early as possible. Babies might wake up every time it falls from their mouth and cry until you come and pop it back it. Or they won’t nap if it’s lost or they are not home and it’s unavailable for some reason. It’s a catch-22 in that pacifiers can help them fall asleep and stay asleep, but they can also create their own set of headaches. 
  • Find the best place for your baby to sleep. It might be your bed, a bassinet or a crib. It might be in your room, in a separate room, or with other siblings. We’ve utilized all kinds of sleeping arrangements over the years and did what worked best at the time, and for that particular child. 
  • Ignore nighttime antics. Every once in a while, 13-month-old Erik wakes in the night and suddenly wants to babble, play or horse around. My opinion? It’s 3 a.m. and that’s sleep time! So we don’t respond at all. He fusses and whines a little, but eventually gets the message and goes back to sleep. Only a few of our children have done this over the years, and they grew out of it very quickly and only after a few “episodes.”
  • Encourage older children to fall back asleep in their own beds. Do you have a child that consistently appears at your door or bedside wanting to sleep with you? My favorite method to deal with this is Dr. Greene’s Free Pass. It gives a child the security he needs, plus helps him learn to go back to sleep in his own room.
  • Avoid the dreaded second wind! We still make this mistake sometimes. Miss your baby’s sleep cues (eye rubbing, fussiness, whining, losing interest in toys and people) and you might find yourself with what’s ironically called an “overtired baby.” They are SO tired that can’t seem to sleep at all. When it comes to sleep, seize the moment! There will be less crying and less re-waking.
  • Don’t be a sleep martyr. You might have heard this before: “My toddler wakes up constantly and wants to nurse. I know she needs me but I’m turning into a zombie!” While a newborn needs frequent feeding at night, an older child (i.e. a year or more) generally does not. If neither you nor your child is sleeping well, be flexible and make some changes.  No one should feel guilty for wanting better quality sleep. It’s a normal and natural human need. Mothers too often feel trapped in a “my child needs me 24/7” kind of mentality; don’t do this to yourself. You’re a person with needs, too. Motherhood is certainly about making sacrifices and giving of yourself…..it is not about wearing yourself out to the point of exhaustion just to please a child at any cost. 
  • Don’t respond immediately to cries. Have you ever tried waiting 2 minutes before responding to the cries of an older baby or toddler? How about 5 minutes? Or even 10? Too many moms and dads guilt-trip themselves into thinking they must jump up at the first whimper, never allowing their child the chance to self-soothe. Your response time can lengthen as your child grows and matures. 
  • Be consistent, whatever you are trying. If your baby fusses for a night or two after being left for a couple of minutes, don’t immediately say “this isn’t working.” Transitions take time, and are not always easy (for you or your child). But they are a normal part of life. Stick to your guns and give your plan a fair shot before giving up and trying something else.
  • Try different sleepwear. I know this can be tricky. After all, your 10-month-old can’t say “Mama, I’d rather wear cotton PJ’s to bed instead of fleece.” But sometimes you’ll get a clue that changing what they wear will make them more comfortable. For instance, I noticed that Erik loves sleeping with his feet tightly tucked under his body, and in the morning his feet would still be cool or cold. So I always put socks on him at night and he is much cozier now. Conversely, some babies are very sensitive to heat; look for subtle things like dampness in their hair or on the neck, or even sweaty little feet. Their posture says a lot, too. When I find my toddler with her arms up and legs spread apart, I know she’s too warm.
  • Prepare your older children. Reaching sleep milestones and making bed transitions are rarely 100% smooth. So help get everyone ready for the change. “Samuel might fuss a little more these next few nights. You can go back to sleep while Mama helps him get settled.” Or maybe “I know Susanna’s crying woke you up last night, but in just a day or two she will be used to her new bed.” Thank them for helping out and being patient. Consider getting a sound machine for roommates since all children sleep differently and you don’t want them disturbing each other.

And now here’s more about the white noise machine I mentioned above. It’s a simple trick but it really can help. As part of the Mom it Forward Blogger Network, I received a complimentary sample and compensation from Marpac to share with you how the product worked in our home. The Serious Sleep Bundle includes a Dohm sound conditioner, a sleep storybook and a booklet called Sleep Training 101.

Out of the box, you can see that the Dohm sound conditioner is very small and compact. It’s only about 5 inches wide, which I absolutely love. The box fans and stand-up fans we’ve used in the past take up too much floor space. Plus, you have to constantly clean the blades off. Our Dohm sound conditioner is small, clean and very effective. It’s so compact you can easily throw it in your diaper bag for nights away from home.

At $59.99 it’s definitely pricier than a simple fan, and that’s the only drawback I found. Still, I like our Dohm so much that I’ve added it to my Wish List and plan to get another! It would be a great baby shower gift for new parents.

It’s also very easy to operate. Just plug it in and choose the low or high setting.  The Dohm is different because it uses electromechanical technology to create the sound of rushing air, unlike other devices which utilize a digital loop and cut off after a set period of time. The Dohm delivers constant, consistent white noise. It’s especially great for Erik’s nap time, because other people in the house are awake and it helps to drown out the sporadic background noise we make. I can walk through the room when he’s napping and he doesn’t stir at all. I’ve tested this machine for almost 3 months now and Erik’s daily nap has lengthened to about 3 hours while we’ve been using it. You can bet I’m not doing without the the Dohm anymore!

Our Dohm sleep kit also included Buddy the Bee Finds His Z’s, a cute little paperback storybook that my toddlers enjoyed. It’s 12 pages long with rhyming verses and is very readable. There are lots of adorable animal pictures throughout as Buddy looks for the letter “z” to help get a good night’s sleep. The sleep tips fold-out brochure offered some general sleep improvement tips for your child at different ages. There wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but new parents might find the information helpful.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on better sleep for families!

And don’t forget to follow the folks at Marpac on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. You can use the hashtag #serioussleep on Twitter to see what other families are saying about their Dohm experiences!

 

4 Important Money Lessons for Children

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After making plenty of money mistakes when we were single and first married, my husband and I got on a written budget five years ago and today are happy to have only our mortgage when it comes to debt. There are four important money lessons we want to instill in our children, and I’m thrilled to have found a program for children ages 6 to 11 called Money Savvy Kids that helps reinforce these principles!

1. Don’t spend any money until you have a plan for it. Even if it’s just five dollars in a piggy bank, school age children can be taught to allot their funds for different purposes. Money decisions take time, and parents can help children with the choices they will face when it comes to buying, donating and investing.

2. Create incentives for donating, investing and saving. Your child will find it easy to spend money on things they want. But it might be difficult to encourage saving, investing or even donating their money. So create incentives like matching their amounts. If they save up $10 for a bike, offer to add another $10. If they accumulate $5 to give to the parish poor box, add $5 of your own to double their donation.

3. The sooner you begin, the sooner money can go to work for you. Don’t delay putting the principle of interest to work; the earlier a child starts a savings account, the bigger the rewards will be later on. (Hint: you can even start a savings account for your newborn baby.)

4. Avoid borrowing when possible. Borrowing from someone else creates a financial burden; you’re never really “free” until that obligation is paid in full, and the more debt you have, the less income you have to work with on pay day. A child can mistakenly assume that borrowing is a quick and easy way to get money, but there’s nothing quick or easy about paying the lender back!

The Money Savvy Kids home edition that we received free to review includes:

  • Money Savvy Pig piggy bank and goal setting stickers
  • 44 page soft-cover Parent Handbook
  • 8 chapter CD-ROM with over 100 color images and four sing-along kids songs about money
  • 21 page soft-cover Student Workbook
  • 22 page soft-cover Money Savvy Kids Coloring and Activity Book
  • 17″ by 22″ When You’re Smart with Money Poem Poster

It retails for $39.99. If you have more than one child that will be using the program, an additional kit containing another bank plus the workbooks and stickers can be purchased for just $23.99.

The eight CD-ROM lessons are very enjoyable and easy to understand. Simply pop the CD into your computer and a colorful PDF document opens up that contains all the chapters. I sat with Joseph and Catherine in front of the laptop as we read each lesson aloud. The program starts out very logically with a chapter about the history of money. My children loved learning about the bartering process used in ancient times and as soon as Daddy came home, they shared some facts from the lesson with him.

Here are a few screenshots to give you an idea of how colorful and engaging the lessons are:

There are fun workbook activities to go along with the lessons:

I personally found the Discussion Guide for Parents to be a great resource as we worked our way through the lessons. The commentaries from Susan Beacham (nationally syndicated finance columnist and founder of Money Savvy Generation) are very insightful. The four songs on the CD are entertaining to listen to, and they are sung by children, so that adds an element of fun. The first, which is about the history of money, was our favorite. Out of all the course materials received, the least-used item would probably be the money poem poster, mostly because it focuses heavily on making and spending money.

It took us about 45 to 60 minutes to complete one chapter plus the corresponding activities. I would say that’s an ideal amount of time for the 6 to 11 age group. You could do 1 lesson a week or even a couple per week. It’s ideal for home learners and private/public school students. Unfortunately, most children aren’t really introduced to financial concepts until high school, yet they deal with money from the time they are very young. Why not start early and get the core principles instilled right off?

Another bonus: doing a program like this with your child at home starts a conversation about money, and that’s an important one to have. Children frequently ask for things (toys, books, clothes, candy, you name it!) and the typical parental response (guilty mama here) is to put them off by saying things like “maybe” or “one day” or “perhaps for your birthday.” When you’ve taught your child some basic money principles like those found in the Money Savvy kids program, your conversations can be more meaningful. You might instead say “you could save up for that toy using your bank. Let’s write down how much it costs and see how much is in that slot when we get home.”

One more thing: as you might imagine, the divided bank is a HUGE hit. All my children want one now! I just ordered a second pig (in purple) for Catherine. Joseph likes that he can see his money grow in the different compartments, and labeling them with stickers was a lot of fun. The bank is big enough that each compartment will hold quite a bit of money. Both coins and currency (folded and creased tightly) can go inside; each foot opens individually at the bottom so you can get the money out.

How your child divides up his money is a plan you can work on together. Everything doesn’t have to be parceled out in four equal shares. As a general rule, we’ve taught ours to put 10% of anything they earn immediately into the “Donate” slot. This is our family’s way of stressing that every material thing we receive is a gift from God, and that we show our gratitude by cheerfully giving some of it back for good causes. The remaining 90% is then apportioned due to circumstances and current financial goals they are trying to reach. Sometimes it’s easiest to just split it 30/30/30, if possible. (Example: my son gets $10 for cutting grandma’s lawn. He puts one dollar into Donate and then $3.00 each into Spend/Save/Invest).

It’s been very rewarding to watch my 10-year-old son take responsibility for his money and make plans for how he will spend it. One of the most wonderful things to see is how he quietly puts the money from his Donate slot into the collection basket at church every so often. There’s no fanfare and no boasting. He’s a little man who’s learning to be a good steward.

Why do I think the divided bank is such a great concept? It’s an excellent visual device to help children understand abstract money concepts. As they portion their money out for different things, they’ll understand that they are responsible for each dollar that comes to them. And using the Money Savvy Kids program, they’ll learn more about what they can accomplish with each of the four goals: SAVE – SPEND – DONATE – INVEST.

You might also check out the Savings Spree iPhone app – available for purchase at the App Store. It reinforces all the sound money principles I’ve covered today in a very fun and addicting game for children!

The great people at Money Savvy Generation want to help your children get smart about money, too! They are giving away a complete home kit to one lucky reader! It includes all the learning materials we reviewed, PLUS a free signature divided bank. Choose from any of the 5 colored pigs, a football, soccer ball, cow or football.

Tiny Love Take Along Bouncer Review & Giveaway

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Welcome to the New Year, New Baby Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama’s Baby Cupcakes and co-hosted by So Easy Being Green and Viva Veltoro! Join us in celebrating the New Year and Michelle’s new baby girl born this December! This hop is focused on items for babies aged newborn to one year. After entering my giveaway, you can use the linky to hop around the other blogs! Each prize is worth at least $25.00.

Tiny Love’s newest bouncer has been aptly named the “Take Along” because it’s lightweight and quick to pack and travel with. I received a Take Along bouncer in exchange for an honest review and was very eager to see how we liked it!

There’s no assembly required. I pulled it out of the box and popped it open. The gray and red color is scheme is very neutral and the overall design is quite sleek and modern:

I found the triangle-shaped base to be very sturdy, and it doesn’t take up too much floor space.

Other nice features include a cover that’s easily removed for washing, mesh sides for good airflow and a mechanism on the back that very clearly shows you whether the seat is locked or unlocked. To fold up you simply press a button on the front, push down on the front of the seat and unlock the back. The seat pretty much folds up on its own from there and lies almost flat for storage.

The Take Along Bouncer is designed for ages 0 to 12 months and Erik was 9 months when we first tested out this seat, however I think the ideal age is definitely 0 to 6 months. He likes bouncing in the seat but usually needs a toy to keep him interested or he starts getting squirmy. After Erik hit the 10-month mark, I passed our Tiny Love bouncer on to my younger sister who has a 2-month-old girl. She called me to say they love the bouncer for several reasons. Like us, she found that the base is very sturdy, so the seat is safe and stays put. Also, with the open front, it’s easy to put baby in or take baby out (no toys, bars, etc. in the way). The angle of the seat is also just right for young infants; they can recline comfortably yet still look around and see what’s going on.

The Take Along bouncer seat includes a big gray storage bag with a red drawstring which I found was useful for keeping it clean and protected, but it’s not comfortable to carry because the drawstring is very long and thin. It would be fantastic if the carry bag had a wider strap, or was shaped more like a tote bag or backpack you could easily sling over your shoulder.

The Take Along Bouncer is available at your favorite baby gear retailer and sells for just $39.99-44.99. You can watch a video of the Take Along Bouncer in action on YouTube.

And you can enter to win one of your own in the New Baby Near Year giveaway hop! Use the entry form below, and then hop around to the other participating blogs for more prizes!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

A Toy Garden: Fair Trade, Made in the USA (Plus a Giveaway!)

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Do you enjoy shopping for toys and gifts from home? I do! Do you appreciate simple, natural toys that will stimulate and delight your child without expensive batteries, noisemakers and cheap plastic? I do!

I happened upon A Toy Garden just a few months ago and was charmed by the extensive selection of beautiful toys, many of which are made here in the USA. Everything in the store is meant to inspire hours of creative play, and A Toy Garden is family owned and operated.

Sonya, the creative and generous lady behind A Toy Garden, sent our family the very popular herbal bean bags to review: one set is made of brightly colored cotton fabrics, the others are fruit and veggie fabrics. These lovely sets are handmade by Sonya herself; each includes 8 bean bags and retails for $20.

The bags are filled with dried beans and fragrant herbs like lavender, mint and chamomile. They measure 3.5 inches square. The bright patterns and fruit/vegetable prints are colorful and very appealing. My children love to “divide them up” before playing by picking their favorites.

Sonya had a few suggestions for how to enjoy the bean bags: tossing, stacking, counting, juggling and hauling around in toy trucks. As children are wont to do, mine came up with a few of their own.

Inevitably, there was a bean bag war in the living room. They have a blast with these!

One of the bean bags was damaged during shipping and a small side seam opened up. And after several days of enthusiastic play from my children, a second bean bag seam opened up in one place. I put both of these bags aside and temporarily closed the holes with tiny safety pins; when I have a spare moment they should be easily repaired with a needle and thread. After asking Sonya about it, she assured me that “if one ever rips or develops a hole, I replace it for free.” Sure enough, Sophia sent me an email to say she will mail two replacements. UPDATE: It’s November 11th and our two replacement bean bags just arrived. Great customer service!

We keep our Toy Garden herbal bean bags in a big basket in the living room, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that my toddlers have played with them every single day.

Delightful wooden toys, natural paints, instruments, dolls, gnomes, trucks, dress-up and more….you can spend a really long time at A Toy Garden and still not see it all! I love that they sell wooden blocks of all shapes, sizes and colors; this is one of the most durable and timeless toys you can buy; ten years ago when my oldest was a baby, my mother bought them a set of wooden blocks. To this day, they still play with them and even incorporate other toys (like Legos, Hot Wheels and Little People) in with the blocks. A good set of wooden blocks is an investment I would encourage any parent to make.

And look at the toys I discovered in the Christmas section! An articulated dragon pull toy, a child’s bead and felt cardinal wreath, a cozy bunny rabbit Advent calendar and a handmade acorn Advent ladder:

 

If you are looking for high-quality, long-lasting, made in the USA toys to tuck under the tree this Christmas, please go check out this wonderful family-owned business!

And while you’re here, enter the giveaway: Sonya is going to send one of my readers (U.S. only) a set of 8 herbal bean bags, just like I reviewed. And next week, a Toy Garden is sponsoring ANOTHER giveaway on my blog for a $25 “Black Friday” gift card! Make sure you subscribe to my blog by email so you won’t miss the second giveaway.

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED*

How to Make Spaghetti Sauce from a Jar Taste Homemade

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Thanks to Pompeian Olive Oil for sending me a product sample in exchange for a review!
Using canned marinara sauce is an easy way to make spaghetti without watching a simmering pot all day, but there are a few things you can add to give it a more homemade taste. My personal favorites are a robust red wine (or sherry), ground cloves and olive oil. For the oil, Pompeian Extra Virgin is a good choice because of its purity and full-bodied flavor. You might not know this, but Pompeian is the only olive producer in the U.S. that blends and bottles its oil fresh daily. Blending oils from different locales gives Pompeian oil its consistently delicious taste, despite the differences in olive crops from year to year. 

I start by adding about a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan; then I heat over a medium flame for a minute or two. Then comes my jarred sauce of choice, a dash of ground cloves and about 1/4 cup red wine. Simmering for about 30 minutes or so helps the flavors to meld (and gives my children time to set the table). After the pasta has boiled, it also helps to splash some Pompeian Extra Virgin oil over the noodles. This keeps it from sticking to the pan, and adds just a tiny boost of flavor.

When time is short, I’m all about “doctoring” some sauce from a can or jar, and when we have company over people always tell me they love my marinara!

If you are a veggie lover, sauteed mushrooms and onions are tasty add-ins. Diced tomatoes add extra flavor and texture. And Italian sausage will make your sauce extra savory (adding ground beef can actually contribute to blandness). While some jarred sauces already have garlic or garlic powder in them, it doesn’t hurt to saute a few cloves in oil to kick the flavor up a few notches.

You can connect with Pompeian on Facebook and find recipes and other helpful tips online at their website. You are welcome to share with me your tips for making canned sauces taste more homemade. I love to hear your ideas!