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Whoever said “sleep like a baby,” obviously never had a baby, especially at night. There has to be some way to help kids sleep better, so you (the parent who is up at all hours with them) can sleep too. Right? Yes there are some things you can do. Keep reading for tips from one momma to another.
Routine is key for kids, especially bedtime. This routine can start very young too, like months old young. Here’s the key, it is not necessarily the time that is important to the routine, it is what you do. Time helps kids to get enough hours of sleep, but what is done helps them fall asleep. Be consistent.
Go through what all you do to get them ready for bed: bath, pjs, teeth, stories, prayers, oils, cuddles, rocking, good night kisses. Then figure out what is the best order for you to do them in. For our house it is the older child gets their pjs on, while mom fills the diffusers and changes the last diaper before bed. Then we come together to brush teeth, apply our oils, and read our bedtime stories. The older is then tucked into bed while the younger is taken out of the room to be rocked and cuddled to sleep. They know the order and it helps them prepare for bed, no matter how much they don’t want to go to bed.
For the light sleeping children a sound machine can help immensely to hide the sudden night noises. Something that plays soft music, or nature sounds that is not distracting, but just enough noise, that a sudden dog barking doesn’t wake the child up.
For children who struggle to stay still, but like tight spaces and cuddles, a weighted blanket may help if they already like blankets. Weighted blankets offer physical pressure in the form of proprioceptive and tactile input (input through the skin and the feeling of touch). This type of input is incredibly calming for most children. The weighted blanket acts like a huge hug that comforts them. You can find weighted blankets anywhere from 5 to 30 pounds. Proper weight guidelines for a weighted blanket is 10% of your body weight.
My favorite tip that helps my kids sleep better, is to diffuse essential oils in their room. I start the diffuser at the beginning of our routine and it helps set the mood to calm down and ease into sleep. Watch your oil sources here. Walmart essential oils is not going to cut it. Those are NOT pure essential oils contrary to what the label says. FDA does not regulate the essential oils well, so a bottle with even ONE drop of pure essential oil, and the rest filler and chemical, and still be labeled pure. I only trust the company with the Seed to Seal Promise (you can check out more about that here).
My favorite oils for my kids are Gentle baby, Peace and Calm, Cedarwood, White Angelica, Lavender, Sleeplyze, and Geneyus. If one of them is struggling with calming down I will often apply one small drop of Sleepylze or Geneyus to the top of their head and gently massage it in.
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