Just like with any other hard earned habit that relapsed over the last few days, it can be painful getting your child back on track with sleep after the holidays.

In most cases, cold turkey is the best approach to getting your child back to sleeping independently, all night long, in their own bed.

If you did cry it out (or Ferber, or the chair method) to initially sleep train, go right back to your sleep training plan. If you were offering night feeds while staying with friends or family, it’s fine to wean off those cold turkey if your baby or toddler wasn’t eating at night prior to the holiday. Otherwise, I suggest a more gradual approach. 

If you didn’t break your habits for too many nights, it should be a fairly quick reset, although not necessarily painless. If your child was in your bed for a few nights, they will certainly protest returning to their own beds. But the protests shouldn’t last more than 1-3 nights, unless you made exceptions for many nights in a row.

Likewise, try to get them back to their normal, hopefully healthy, diet as soon as possible. Offer plenty of fruits and vegetables to ward off any constipation associated with too many sweet and starchy holiday or travel snacks. Try to get them outside for fresh air and exercise every day this week. That will help get them eating more healthfully again AND sleeping better – fresh air and outdoor exposure to daylight always help sleep. 

And if sleep has gotten further off track and you want to end the year with a well-rested family, schedule a free consult and consider great sleep the gift you are giving yourself for the new year.  

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Holidays with loved ones can be really fun for little ones... and highly stressful, too. All that excitement is exhausting!

Of course I'm going to suggest you keep the schedule the same as usual, to the extent possible. But what about when it's not possible?

For twice a day nappers, try to prioritize getting the first nap in the crib or, if you must travel and you have flexible timing, in the car. Many babies will sleep reasonably well in the car. If you can get one good nap in, it's less risky to compromise the quality of the second one.

For the second nap, or the one nap for older babies and toddlers, all bets are off. Drive around the neighborhood 47 times -- ideally with someone you don't get to see very often for company -- or do a stroller nap. Your little one, once past the age of newborn oblivion, is probably not going to nap well in a brand new environment and it may not be worth trying. Of course, if you are staying somewhere for several days and your child has already slept there the previous night, they may be able to nap successfully there. 

Try, as much as you can, to keep bedtime the same. As your loved ones to move the holiday meal earlier or prepare yourself to feed your child early and put them to bed at the regular time, even if your family is disappointed by this decision. Your extended family doesn't understand that missing bedtime will lead to overtiredness, which can be miserable for everyone. 

After the big day, get back to your regular routine, as much as you can while traveling. Hopefully after the big day, your family or friends will be more understanding of your need to prioritize your child's schedule. But not everyone without young children will know or remember how important good sleep is, so don't be afraid to gently remind them. 

Make sure to get your child outside for fresh air at regular intervals. That will help regulate their mood as well as their sleep. Exercise for toddlers and older children can help tremendously with overstimulation fatigue. 

And no matter what, as soon as you get back home, buckle down and do a quick reset to the old routine. The faster you get back to your excellent routine, the easier it will be to get back on track.

If you'd like a well-rested family before the end of year, set up a free consult and get the sleep your family needs to enjoy their time together. 

Many of us have been taught to believe that middle of the night wakings are normal for young children, far beyond the small baby stage. But few (none?) of us enjoy them. 

Often on consultations, parents' eyes get wide when I tell them that they really don't have to offer a night feeding past the age of, say, 6 months. (You are certainly welcome to offer one past this age, but it isn't required.)  Reading on parent groups on Facebook, I see that many parents will offer a night feeding even at ages 2 or 3... and that it's normal for a toddler to need a peanut butter sandwich or serving of milk at 2 am. This is not true and I would argue, not even healthy. 

Regardless, if you are struggling with middle of the night wakings and want to be sleeping through the night, here are the top things to investigate. 

The first culprit is overtiredness. If you have worked with me before, or you've done your sleep research, you know that overtiredness produces a stress hormone, cortisol,  that makes it harder for children to fall asleep and stay asleep. The more tired they are, the more they wake up. These children usually wake up cranky in the morning. They often appear like they are the Energizer Bunny in the late afternoon or early evening. 

The second culprit is habit. If your child is used to receiving attention when he or she wakes up in the middle of the night -- whether it's a feeding, a cuddle, a parent lying down with the child, or even scolding the child -- your child will continue waking up at night. Even with negative attention, your child would rather have that than no attention from you at all. It's normal for children to want to be with their adults at night... but normal doesn't mean healthy. It's better for everyone -- with a few exceptions,  namely children who have endured trauma and need extra nighttime attention -- to get good sleep at night. 

The third culprit is much less common, and that is undertiredness. If your child is dealing with this, she is likely going to bed very early and/or taking a very long nap. They then have a "split night," wherein they wake up for a while in the middle of the night. These children are typically cheerful when they wake up in the middle of the night and are ready to play, unlike children waking from overtiredness or habit. After 2-4 hours, they have built up enough sleep pressure to fall asleep again, and then will sleep until the morning. These children typically do not  seem overtired in the morning. 

If your child's issue is overtiredness, they need an earlier bedtime. This is always the first thing i suggest trying.

If the issue is habit, you need to either gradually or abruptly eliminate the nighttime habit. If you are offering a feeding at night, gradually reduce the volume of it. If you are lying down with your child at night, start sitting next to their bed instead, and gradually move your chair further and further from them. 

Don't try ruling out undertiredness unless the other two options have been eliminated -- this is quite rare. If this is suspected culprit, shorten or eliminate the nap first. Only after that has been attempted should you move bedtime later. Most children under six need a bedtime between 6:30 and 7:30 pm -- quite a bit earlier than the American norm. 

PS I hope you are all sleeping gloriously after "falling back" on Sunday night but if you aren't, help is available. Schedule a free consult and find out how your family can be sleeping beautifully through the night in two weeks or less, guaranteed. 

Ahh, fall, crisp leaves, chilly mornings, and darkness that falls before your child is home from school.

Daylight Savings Time ends in most of the United States on Sunday, November 5. Hawaii and Arizona no longer have DST. 

Ideally, you would have started preparing your children already but it's not too late to soften the blow for your children if they easily affected by time changes. Babies are usually the least affected and older children and adolescents can be quite affected. 

Starting Friday night, put your child to bed 15 minutes later than usual. So if bedtime is usually 7, make it 7:15. In the morning, try to get them to sleep 15 minutes later. Move meal times and nap times 15 minutes later too.

It's important to not do more than 15 minutes per day if you can avoid it, because over tiredness can backfire and lead to early morning wakings or night wakings.

On Saturday night, put your child to bed 30 minutes later, so 7:30 instead of 7 pm. Move wake time, mealtimes, and nap times 30 minutes later the next day... which is Sunday, standard time. So in reality, you'll be putting them to nap at 8:30 and 12:30 but their body clocks will feel like it's 9:30 and 1:30. 

(This assumes that you have flexibility on Sunday with regard to outside obligations.)

On Sunday night, you'll put them to bed at what feels like 7:45 pm but is actually 6:45. And Monday night you'll put them to bed at 7 pm standard time, which will feel like 8 pm. Then you'll stay with this bedtime from then on.  

Changing time zones is no fun but making the change gradually can definitely make the transition less painful.

PS If you need help with too-late bedtimes, too-early wake times, night wakings, or inadvertent bed sharing, you are not alone. Schedule a free consult and find out how you can get your family sleeping beautifully in 2 weeks or less, guaranteed.