Toddlers are awesome - they are mobile, (sometimes) verbal, and so much fun to play with! They are also learning to assert themselves and test boundaries including, quite often, sleep boundaries. In my sleep consulting practice I have heard from parents whose toddlers are climbing out of their cribs, refusing naps, seeking attention at bedtime, waking through the night for bottles, wandering into their parents’ bed and so much more. Whether you are currently in the thick of toddler sleep struggles, or want to know how to prevent issues before they arise, keep reading for my favorite toddler tips!

For the purposes of this guide we’ll be covering all the different nap transitions, when to expect them, how to manage them (spoiler alert #2 - bring bedtime earlier), and how to suss out whether your child is truly ready to drop a nap or just going through a nap strike.

Listen, I am not a gadgets person (why buy a bottle warmer when you can warm a bottle in a pot of water?). And I especially don’t like products with short-lived use (my personal experience with the magic merlin sleep suit). But if you asked me my top must-have baby/toddler products, a sound machine would be #1 on my list.

Daylight savings time (DST) is the practice of setting the clocks forward by one hour in the spring (“spring forward”) to enjoy longer daylight hours in the warm summer months, and then setting the clocks back by one hour in the fall (“fall back”) to return to standard time. So what we call “daylight savings” in the autumn is actually the end of daylight savings time. Any way you slice it, changing clocks can wreak havoc on sensitive sleepers.

As much as it hurts to say goodbye to summer vacation, August is the perfect time to start preparing for school. And I'm not talking about new pencils and backpacks (although school supply shopping is so. much. fun.) I'm talking about making sure your kids are well-rested enough to handle the excitement and challenge of a new school year! Follow the checklist below to get sleep back on track!

Many parents at the end of their rope wonder if melatonin supplements may be the magic pill (or gummy) that will help their toddler or child sleep better. Spoiler alert - there is no “magic pill” that will fix your child’s sleep issues. Longstanding bedtime battles and recurrent night wakes are 100% resolvable with schedule adjustments, consistent routines, and behavioral management. But can melatonin help?

The answer to this question involves my favorite topic - sleep 🧪 science!

Did you know that all of us - newborns, babies, children, adolescents, adults - move through different sleep stages as we snooze?

If you love to read about baby sleep 💤 then you've probably heard about wake windows. A wake window is the recommended amount of time your baby "should" be awake between sleep periods.

Absolutely not! It is true that, for many children, baths are a soothing activity that settles them into a delightfully calm state - perfect for bedtime! But there are a few reasons why you should consider eliminating bath time from your evening routine:

Let’s be real - when your child stops napping it can bring up a whole bunch of emotions: bittersweet happiness that your toddler is growing up, but also hair-pulling frustration that you, the parent, have lost your mid-day break.

Right now! It is never too early to read to your baby. We started reading to our daughters when they were newborns and they are both huge book lovers to this day. We read to them all day long (what else is there to do with your new baby anyway?) and always included it as part of our bedtime routine.

Traveling with little ones can be challenging, especially keeping them on their sleep schedule. Nothing can ruin a vacation more than a cranky, underslept kiddo. I’m here to offer my favorite, low-cost travel accessory to help optimize your child’s sleep space no matter where you are traveling -