Saturday, October 24, 2015

Time to "Fall Back": Tips For Helping Baby With Daylight Savings

Daylight Savings ends on Sunday, November 1st at 2am. Turn your clocks back one hour.

One question that often comes up in The Pump Station & Nurtury's Mommy & Me classes this time of year is "How do I help my baby adjust to daylight savings?" Every year around this time we prepare to move our clocks back one hour. While adults can usually adjust to this time shift pretty quickly, babies and toddlers often find the change a bit more difficult. Here are a few suggestions to help make this transition go a little smoother:

1. Start to shift your baby's feeding and sleeping schedule ahead of time.
Begin preparing a week ahead of time by pushing feedings, naps and bedtime later by 10 minutes each day. So for example, let's say your baby's bedtime is normally 7pm. Starting six days before daylight savings try to slowly push your baby's schedule by 10 minutes later during the day. So if baby usually feeds at 7am, see if you can do the feeding at 7:10am. If baby is super fussy by 7:05am, then of course feed her then, but you get the idea. 

Just try to make the routine adjustments as the day goes on. If her first nap of the day is typically at 9am, see if you can put her down closer to 9:10am. These small time shifts should help keep your baby from getting too hungry or being over-tired. Therefore, by the end of the day, your normal 7pm bedtime will now be around 7:10pm. 

The following morning, shift everything by 10 minutes again, so bedtime on the second night now falls at 7:20pm. Continue with the 10-minute shift each day. If all goes well, then on Sunday morning, you can wake your baby according to the new time.  So if baby typically woke up at 7am before the time change, you can now awaken her at 7am with the new time change. Her feedings and sleep times should now be adjusted to the new time. If you find it is still off a bit, just continue to shift in small time increments until you are back on track. 


2. Adjust the light: Melatonin, a hormone that helps induce sleepiness, is affected by light. Therefore, a helpful tip during daylight savings "falling back" is to allow your baby to have some light exposure in the early evening, and then use blackout shades at bedtime so that her room is not too bright in the morning.

3. Don't Panic: Please remember that even if all this planning doesn't go quite according to schedule, simply by keeping to a steady routine, within a week or so your baby should naturally adjust to the time change.

By Jill Campbell, Psy.D. Staff Psychologist
Upcoming Sleep Classes and Services
Sleep: Getting Your Newborn Off to a Good Start
Ages: Newborn - 3 months with Jill Campbell, PsyD
November 19 at 3pm in Santa Monica Enroll...

Sleep: Your Growing Baby
Ages: 4+ months with Jill Campbell, PsyD
November 5 at 3pm in Santa Monica Enroll...
December 3 at 3pm in Santa Monica Enroll...

Sleepy Time: Gentle Sleep Techniques for You & Baby
Ages: 0-12 months with Marilee Hartling, RN, MFT, Infant and Child Development Specialist
Dates to be announced soon! Learn more...

Mommy & Me Groups - Topic discussed according to baby's stages. Sleep is a biggy! Click here for more info... To enroll or inquire about available grous please email Dinora@PumpStation.com (Santa Monica Location) or Norma@PumpStation.com (Hollywood Location). Make sure to mention your baby's birth date so we can find the group that is right for you.

Sleep Consults available with Jill Campbell, PsyD.
To setup a consult please email Jill@PumpStation.com
Learn more...

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

You’re busy, BUT don’t make mistakes when it comes to childcare!

by Lindsay Heller, Psy.D. Professional Nanny Consultant


As busy working parents, we’re often times faced with a schedule that’s completely overflowing with both work and family responsibilities. It can be hard to set aside time for extremely important tasks like finding the perfect person to take care of your children. However, not focusing the required time and attention to finding a nanny can lead to these common mistakes:

1) Skipping the background check: can be a big “no-no”. How do you know if your candidate has had any brushes with the law without one?

2) Hiring in a hurry: if you hire a nanny without a face-to-face interview and without interviewing multiple candidates, you could be headed towards a nanny nightmare.

3) Not identifying your needs beforehand: could leave everyone in a state of confusion. Did you want your nanny to have cooking abilities? How about a car with a valid license? Without this step, the nanny you hired may not even be up to snuff for all of the things you need her to do.

4) Not using a reputable agency: finding someone through internet sites like Craigslist can be a crap shoot. Better to consult someone familiar with the industry before hiring.

If the thought of hiring a nanny while balancing your work schedule leaves you reeling, then join us!

The Nanny Class” with Lindsay Heller, PsyD
THIS SATURDAY at 3pm at The Pump Station & Nurtury® Hollywood
Whether you are thinking about hiring a nanny or just have questions, drop in! You will receive essential handouts and all of your questions will be answered. Sign up here...