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Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. It can feel so daunting when it comes to choosing childcare - there are so many options! Whatever your reason is for needing childcare it is important that it suits you and your child/ren’s needs. In this blog I am going to talk you through the different options of childcare and why they may (or may not) be right for you.
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Crying is typically seen as something which is negative; something that we do when we are sad, upset, angry, frustrated etc. However, there are times when we cry for other reasons and often a ‘good cry’ can actually make us feel better..!
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. The day when clocks change is coming up and it can always be a worry that this is going to have an effect, meaning all your hard work on getting a good sleep routine in place could be ruined. Fear not! There are some easy ways to keep this on track!
This blog specifically focusses on the clock change that we have in October, where we ‘fall back’ and gain an extra hour…or we hope that this would be the case but not always so when we have little ones.
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Do you find that you put your little one to bed at night and they go off to sleep, but then wake up anywhere between 20 to 60 mins after they have gone to bed and need resettling? This is often to referred to as a ‘false start bedtime’ and it often means that you have to go back to your little one to resettle them or in some cases repeat the bedtime routine so that they go back off to sleep. For some once your little one is settled after this then they tend to sleep for a longer period, or for some it can be for the remainder of the night.
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. When your little one goes to nursery one of the most common things that any parent or carer has to deal with, is your little one crying when you drop them off. For some it can start before even leaving home and your little one saying they don’t want to go or getting very upset (I was this child and my parents still remember it now!) and for others it is once you are at nursery and having to say those goodbyes.
I spent 10 years working in nurseries and have supported hundreds of families through this difficult stage, it does get easier and there are some things that you can try to help…
Read MoreWritten by Emily Darwell, Family Consultant. The Fourth Trimester is often used to describe the time after your baby is born when you and your baby/babies are getting used to your new lives together. As with the other trimesters this is around 3 months.
There is a lot for a baby (and you) get used to in this first 3 months not least learning how to be together! This is also a time for babies to develop their senses and get used to all the noises, smells and sounds they encounter outside of the relatively quiet, dark, warm womb.
When reading the blog, particularly if you have older children, or multiples, there are lots of useful pieces of information to help you to support your baby / babies during this time, but in lots of cases it might be difficult for you to devote this time solely to your baby /babies with so many other things going on. The important thing, during these first 3 months in particular, is that you recognise that this is a period of adjustment for everyone and that your baby / babies, their siblings and your partner have plenty of love and support during these first 3 months to help make this whole transition easier for everyone.
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Looking at our little one’s naps can be a huge focus for the first few years, from things such as ‘are their naps too short?’, ‘too long?’, ‘are they napping too much or not enough?’ – it can be all consuming. We then finally feel that we have got the nap timings nailed and it is all going well, and then we start to notice that things are changing again. This is when we have to prepare for what is often referred to as a ‘nap transition’ so this might be going from 3 naps per day down to 2, 2 naps to 1 and then (sadly!) the day when it goes from 1 nap to no nap!
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. There are lots of different types of nurseries to choose from – large, small, independent, chain, attached to a school, forest school, Montessori etc. You need to think about what type of nursery will best suit you and your child. Another key thing to consider is location – will you, for example, have enough time to drop off and pick up before going to work? Can you walk to the nursery if this is something that would work for you?
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. White noise is something which is mentioned a great deal when talking about sleep and especially the sleep of babies and young children.
It’s important to note that while white noise can help to settle your little one for sleep it often needs to be used alongside other approaches such as a pre-sleep time routine, which white noise can form a part of. Have a look at our other sleep blogs which include lots of information about sleep for young babies, sleep associations, early waking, naps and much more.
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