Lauren Boston Gentle Sleep Coach {San Diego Resources}

Do you need a sleep coach?

Have you ever thrown up your hands in frustration while your child screams out at you in sheer exhaustion? Tried putting them down for a nap and all they wanted to do was play with you or their toys? 

Or do you have an unruly toddler who was once the perfect sleeper but has since morphed into a night owl who refuses to go to bed at a decent hour or nap during the day? Have you tried "everything you can think of" to get your child to go to sleep and they still refuse?

If you've  answered yes or nodded your head to any of the above, it might be time to check out a sleep coach.

But Is It Really Worth It? 

Through training, technique, and patience, using a sleep coach and learning the way your child thinks about sleep might help you approach the situation with a new outlook. By gaining the insight a sleep coach has to the inner workings of baby and toddler sleep, a lot of frustration can be removed from the equation.

Some of the stories I've heard, including one from a good friend over at Mommy to Elodie, are down right amazing! By working with Lauren, following her advice, and sticking with it, moms and dads have had the satisfaction of happy, sleeping children who magically fall asleep at bed- and nap-time!

For more proof of Lauren's sleep success check out the testimonials on her website. 

About Lauren
Lauren Boston, Sleep Coach & Postpartum Doula, has a true passion for all things related to children's sleep.

Her own daughter was colicky, and a terrible sleeper. Shortly after Lauren called on the services of a sleep coach she saw dramatic results in her daughter's sleep, and overall mood. Lauren was convinced she had to share this gift with other tired parents.

Lauren's Philosophy
Lauren is a Gentle Sleep Coach, trained and certified by Kim West (aka, 'The Sleep Lady'). The method she teaches is gentle, and does not leave children alone to "cry-it-out".

Her knowledge, gained by personal experience and formal training, makes her an excellent choice for parents looking to transform sleepless nights and create a well-rested family.

Post Partum Doulas
In addition to Lauren's Gentle Sleep Coach Certification, she is also a DONA trained Postpartum Doula (http://www.dona.org/mothers/faqs_postpartum.php) and trained in postpartum adjustment, newborn characteristics, breastfeeding, infant development, and the promotion of parent-infant bonding. Her role as a doula is to provide education, non-judgmental support and companionship, and to assist with newborn care and family adjustment. She can offer evidence-based information on infant feeding, emotional and physical recovery from birth, infant soothing and coping skills for new parents.

You can find Lauren on Facebook and take a peek at what she has to offer by visiting her website.

To connect with Lauren, or for more information, feel free to contact her. 


The Noise Girls have yet again put together an amazing giveaway event just for your family! The For the Family giveaway event starts on September 1st so please remember to hurry back and enter for your chance to win.

And Lauren Boston has joined in on the fun to offer one lucky reader a noise machine to get you off to the right sleepy start in the giveaway. Head on over and like her on facebook or subscribe to her website to stay up to date on great advice, ideas, and resources!

Disclaimer: I received no compensation in exchange for this post. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. 

5 Things That Keep Your Child From Sleeping

In our home one of the biggest struggles we have is sleep. From naptime to bedtime, sleep equals stress in this home. But with a few changes to our schedule, and advice from a sleep coach, we could easily change this around to a more peaceful outcome.

My buddy Kari over at Mommy to Elodie recently posted about her experience with sleep coach Lauren Boston and I must say that she gives me hope!

Lauren has kindly listed out a few things below that can help you troubleshoot just where you need to change things up. And with a sleep coach like her, I'm sure you'll see a great improvement in your child's sleep.

If you've experienced any of these items listed you may be interested in talking with Lauren more in depth to help change you child's sleep for the better!

The 5 Things That Kept 

Your Child From Sleeping Last Night

1. Too late of a bedtime
 
Children need on average 10-11 hours of sleep at night for the first 9 years of their lives!Watch for your child’s sleepy cues in the evening (between 6-8pm, depending on their age). When they are rubbing their eyes, yawning or increasingly cranky these are good indications that it’s time for bed.

2. Nap deprivation
 
Too late of a bedtime and skipped short naps will create more night wakings and poor quality sleep - not to mention an overtired child! It might not be logical but its true! Sleep begets sleep. Make sure your child is having age appropriate naps so that they don’t get over-tired.


3. Your child was put down in his crib or bed already asleep
 
If you put your child to sleep by rocking, nursing, walking, bottle feeding or lying down with them, they become dependent on you to put them to sleep. When your child wakes during the night (we all do) they will expect the same thing from you in order to go back to sleep. Putting your child into their crib awake will help them learn how to fall asleep on their own.

4. Inconsistency is how you respond to your child during the night
 
If you are inconsistent in how you put your child to sleep and how you respond to them when they wake up, you may inadvertently create more crying! Consistency in sleep coaching is your key to success!

5. Underlying medical conditions 
Such as: asthma, allergies, reflux and sleep apnea. If you suspect your child is suffering from any of these conditions, talk to your pediatrician.
 

Lauren Boston is a Certified Gentle Sleep Coach and Postpartum Doula. She offers her sleep coaching services to tired parents all over the world.

Lauren was born in Los Angeles, raised in Canada, and now lives in San Diego with daughter Charlie, 2, and husband Jordan. When she's not helping tired families you can find her enjoying time with her family, at the park, beach or enjoying other 'San Diegan' activities.

Help Kids Stay in Bed with the Sleep Buddy {#NoiseGirls Review}

The one thing I still struggle with my son at night is the fact that he wakens and comes into our room at random hours. Some nights he is in our bed by 11pm and other nights he sleeps soundly in his own bed. You never know who you're going to wake up next to in our bed!

I've been searching for a solution and I think I found it! 

Sleep Buddy not only helps children know when to stay in bed simply by the soft blue light it emits, it also lets them know when they can get out of bed when it turns off. And Sleep Buddy doesn't just stop there. Each buddy is wrapped and packaged special for the recipient. 

My son flipped out (in a good way) when he received his present and quickly wanted to open it to see what was inside. I read the note from Sleep Buddy to him welcoming him into the family and let him go at it.

What he found was his new Sleep Buddy system complete with a light and book explaining exactly what the Sleep Buddy was and how it was used. As soon as he saw the book he sat down and asked me to read it to him. As I did he asked questions along the way.

His first concern was being able to get out of bed when he was thirsty. Then if he could get out of bed to go to the restroom. Then he wanted to make sure that if Molly was crying he could come in our room to see if she was ok. All testing to see when he could ignore the light to come into our room.

We went through everything again and then I showed him this:

He was quite excited about the prospect of getting a reward once he got down to the end of each week AND that he was going to be able to put the stickers on all by himself in the morning. We were good to go!

We tested out the Sleep Buddy first for naptime. My son has no problem taking a 3 hour nap without waking but my daughter is still working on it. So we decided to explain everything to her and let her try it out for us during her nap.

Since she has only been napping in her toddler bed for a few days we thought it'd be a good test to introduce both at the same time (the new bed and the new Sleep Buddy). While she didn't sleep for as long as she needed she did stay in her bed and called out for me instead of getting out of bed early from her nap! I call that a success.

My son still has nights where he crawls into bed with us but he's quite adamant that the Sleep Buddy was off when he comes in. He hasn't been coming in until early morning and that's a success as well. Now if only his sister would take his lead and start sleeping in her bed the whole night.

I guess we have time to work on that!

If you're looking for a great way to help keep your child in bed longer I highly suggest that you check out the Sleep Buddy. It truly is a complete sleep system. I'm so glad we have it in our home now!

You can purchase your Sleep Buddy on their website. Sleep Buddy can also be found on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Interested in winning a Sleep Buddy of your own?

Sleep Buddy has been kind enough to offer one lucky winner a complete sleep care system of their own in the Noise Girls' Around The House giveaway event.

The giveaway event will be held from June 25th to July 16th and will include multiple packages valued at over $3,500! Make sure to head back and enter to WIN one of these amazing prize packages.



Disclaimer: I received a Sleep Buddy for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.  

Naptime is My Time

Naps are like a battery charger. Not just for my kids but for me as well. No, I don't "sleep when baby sleeps" but I do get a small break when the kids nap.

My kids vary rarely nap at the same time but when one is down I get a little bit of down time with the other. Or I get to work without being interrupted twice as much. And sometimes, if I'm really lucky, both overlap their naps by a half an hour or more. And when that happens... oh yeah, it's great. In that half an hour I either am very

We stick with the same routine most days.

Wake up, eat breakfast, clean up a little, play in the front yard, go enjoy a playdate, gym time, or another activity outside of the home. And then we return for lunch and naps no later than 1pm.

Then, depending on how much I tired the kids out, either one or both goes down for a nap. Each kid takes a 2-3 hour nap so when they stagger them we're home for the whole afternoon. And that can be good and bad. Sometimes I go a little stir crazy. I want to go do things, run errands, etc.

I mean, come on... the kids don't need me right at that moment. They're sleeping.

But instead of running errands and enjoying our afternoon I get sucked into the internet. I write, I work, I read up on the happenings of my friends and family. (And I get my daily Pinterest fix.) It's pretty much the same routine each day. Sometimes, although very rarely, I also get to do a little crafting. And that makes mama happy.

When my daughter naps, which is usually the first thing that hapens, I get a little time to play with my son. We create things, make fun art projects, bake, and play. I'm able to work one-on-one with him and focus on our colors, shapes, and other tot school activities. He knows it's his time and he tries his hardest not to get tired and miss out by falling asleep.

Then he goes down and my daughter quickly wakens. She knows that she needs to be quiet when her brother is sleeping although sometimes she gets eager to wake him up so I need to keep his door closed most days or else she will find a way to get him up. She usually enjoys a little swing time outside and playtime with the dog. She also loves playing with her brother's toys. You know... the ones he never lets her play with.

But that overlap is my time. My time to myself. 

It gives me the break I need to recharge, regain my control, and prepare myself for the whirlwind that is our evenings. And if my kids didn't take naps I wouldn't be able to get everything done. I don't know what I'll do when my son goes to preschool in the fall. Probably cry. But maybe he'll hold onto nap time and maybe I'll still get a few days of overlap.

I love naptime. 

What do you love to do with your time to yourself?

It Aint Always Rosy {Naptime}

Just about every mommy or parenting book out there says basically the same thing about naps. They're important. And routine/nap schedules are key to a happy child. So if your child takes two naps a day you should make sure that they take those naps in the same place (or similar) at the same time daily. No alterations should be made so that they have the optimum environment for peaceful sleeping. And NO letting them sleep where distractions are bound to wake them up.

Try abiding by these rules when you have an infant who takes two (and sometimes three) naps and a toddler who takes one nap usually at alternating times. You'd get one grumpy toddler who's cooped up at home because their sibling is sleeping during playtime. Enter our routine. In order to make everyone happy I've tried my best to work around this situation. And I think it works... for us.

We only do playdates in the mornings. That way M gets a cat nap before we leave (or while we're out) and can take a longer nap when we come home and her brother naps. Staying home in the afternoons is no big deal since it's getting hotter and hotter at that time. Now I'm trying to get E to nap later in the day so we can align the two naptimes together and Mommy can get some solid alone time to get work done.  You know... the cleaning, dinner prep, internet surfing, and work. Oh, did I let that third one slip? Mama needs some mindless entertainment too!

When M was taking multiple naps a day (read: more than two) I wouldn't just stay home and let her sleep. She'd get her sleep in the car, in the ergo or in the stroller so her brother could go to playdates with his friends. I figured as long as she was getting at least some sleep she'd be good, right? Our plan seemed to be working.

Well now that she's on two naps a day I am constantly resisting the urge to just stay home all day and let her sleep. Some days she gets only one good nap a day and others she gets woken up way before she can get a decent amount of sleep. It gets me wondering what really is best. A toddler who is happy and well socialized or an infant who has her solid, peaceful rest.

And then I have to also mention the fact that M still naps in her swing when we're home. Or on me. We still haven't attempted another go at getting her to sleep in the crib and I have been putting off letting her sleep in our bed like E did at this age because I don't want her to get used to it. So I think I'm kind of setting myself up for failure. I need to just bite the bullet and start working on a naptime routine where both kids are sleeping in their rooms (don't worry, E has that one down after 2+ years).

No Cry Sleep Solution is a life saver!

So I bought the book everyone raved about so I could try to wean E off of nursing to sleep and than eventually get him to sleep in his room. My plan was to get E off the boob first (still nursing at night... just not all the way till he's asleep) and than get him into his own bed. We're currently looking for twin extra long frames to fit the mattress we already have. I assumed getting him into a twin bed instead of trying for his crib or a toddler bed would be less stressful for all of us since he's only slept in a bed. And a roomy one at that (not for us!).

My goal is 15 months. By the time E is 15 months I want him in his own room. But in my mind I have pushed it to 18 months just in case. What can I say? I'm a softy. This is why we aren't doing CIO. I just couldn't handle it :(

So we started working on our sleep routine on Thursday. We gave ourselves an hour of quiet/wind down time including changing into pj's and a night time diaper, playing in the bedroom quietly with Daddy while Mommy puts clothes away, reading 3 books, prayers and than nursing. E was asleep by 8pm. Success!

The next day, Friday, I wanted to get to bunco after E was asleep. In order to do this I needed to get him to sleep by 7pm. Would it work? Well... I found out that he got up from his last nap at 3pm. Score! He would definitely be exhausted by 6pm to wind down and sleep by 7pm. Guess what? Success again! I got to bunco on time and E was asleep.

The greatest success I've had out of the past four nights was last night. E nursed, pulled off, sucked his thumb, rubbed my arm and WENT TO SLEEP! Without the boob!!! Success is sweet!

Now I need to focus on naps. I have started to see that E normally goes down for an hour nap at 9:30am (currently he is sleeping) and again at 2:30pm. So he sleeps for 2-3 hours during the day and 11-12 hours at night. This is the perfect amount of sleep for a little one his age.

I really think we can do this. Slow and steady definitely wins the race. I'll keep you updated!