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More Sleep for Mom

Simple Steps to more Sleep

Before you attempt to juggle all the pressures of parenting, you need to safeguard your own health and get some sleep yourself. Here are some tips for how to get more sleep:

1.  Ask your husband to take some shifts on the weekends so you can nap. That way you can catch up on some of your lost sleep from the week.  

2. Call in the troops. Whether it's your mom, sister or a friend...find someone who can come in and take the kids off your hands. If it's a neighbor you trust, offer to reciprocate in some way. Perhaps you could offer to swap kids and give her a break, or bake her favorite dessert. The key is to find help so you can get a few extra winks in during the day.

3. Sleep when the baby sleeps. As soon as your baby takes an afternoon nap, drop everything and crawl under the covers. If you have a toddler too, make sure everyone naps at the same time. If your little one resists, persevere–try putting him into your bed and lying down together.  

4. Get a book on solving sleep problems with children. I recommend The Sleepeasy Solution: The Exhausted Parent's Guide to Getting Your Child to Sleep–From Birth to Age 5 by Jennifer Waldburger and Jill Spivack. It's one of the best out there and these gals are Hollywood's favorite experts, having helped celebs like Ben Stiller and Greg Kinnear. There is plenty of advice for parents who need to help their children be better sleepers. Once your children are sleeping well, you'll be better able to get the rest you need.

I've never been embarrassed to call on the "village" to help me out with parenting issues. Many of us live in urban centers, not in small towns. Yet I have found that the spirit of the village is alive and well in the city with our neighbors, friends and family members. Don't be shy about asking for help. If you feel you have to reciprocate, ask how you can do this–you may be surprised at how generous people can be.

Meet our expert:

Terry Carson is one of the first life coaches in North America to work exclusively with parents. In addition to having a Master's degree, Terry is a trained and certified coach with the International Coach Federation, as well as a certified Coach-Parenting ^TM coach. As a mother of four, she understands how patience and consistency are needed to face the challenges and demands of parenting in today's world. Outside of her private practice, she reaches audiences throughout North America by writing articles, giving lectures, keynote speeches, workshops, tele-classes, parent group coaching sessions, and corporate Lunch'n'Learns. A published magazine author, she now offers time-strapped parents her CD, Excuse Me!, a series of how-to methods for teaching children to interrupt politely and get rid of whining. www.theparentingcoach.ca