HOW I LEARN THINGS EVERYDAY
So……mistakes, I make plenty but I persevere and try to find the solutions and learning from them.
Today I’m going to a Small Business table meeting at a local café. I’m really nervous as I have imposter syndrome despite running a successful Childminding business for 30 years, in my new venture, Early years Sleep Consultancy, I am still learning. I feel I have to enter the advertise yourself online, get content out, get people’s emails etc world. It is foreign to me and I have always worked word of mouth and recommendations. I hear you shouting at me DO THIS, yes, you’re right but as I said I’m quite nervous in this new sphere and there are so many sleep consultants out there now, who all look amazing.
Back to today, I am trying to amend a leaflet I worked on a couple of weeks aga, but my filing system is chaotic and muddled, I’m sure there’s an app or system for that but anyway, eventually found it. Victory 1. Originally, I made a trifold leaflet but I think it should be half fold. So, I am now configuring everything, cutting and pasting and making boxes. I should add all my laptop, Word, Powerpoint skills are self-learned through trial and error and Google searches. Etc
I made it into a foldable-in-half leaflet then came to printing it. Back to front, missing margins, turned over double back wrong. Sorry don’t know technical jargon for all this! Anyhoo, I finally cracked it (Victory 2) and I can’t tell you how happy I was. Celebrated with cup of coffee. I know – I’m hard core! May have piece of cake at the meeting later today, push the boat right out.
My message to you is no matter how old you are (I’m 60 this year) every day is a school day and learning opportunity. I am a very positive, energetic, in control, independent, glass brimming over type of person but occasionally I have situations where I am uncertain and out of my depth but I’m not going to let it deter me. I always find a way around things, often in unconventional ways.
I’ll let you know how the meeting goes and whether I rock it.
How do I sell myself, what is my USP and why I want to do it differently?!
So, I am a parent of 40 years to 3 amazing children, a brilliant nanny to my 3 grandchildren (if I do say it myself), an Outstanding Childminder of nearly 30 years. I rarely have vacancies; I have amazing references; I know my worth; I’m fairly good at setting professional boundaries, it can get blurry working with parents sometimes but overall, I develop excellent relationship with parents.
A reference I received from a leaving family last week said “Wendy is, quite simply, the best childminder you could ever hope to find. She is warm, caring, compassionate, thoughtful, encouraging, dedicated and, above all, kind. She inspires so much confidence in both parents and children alike. They went on to say “Wendy is also exceptionally knowledgeable about all thing’s child-related and is very generous with her time in chatting through any issues and offering thoughtful and constructive tips. We have felt very privileged and supported to have her on our side”.
I thought that encapsulated me perfectly. That is my USP I am kind, warm, compassionate and caring. I have run my childminding business for 30 years, I do my own accounts, write all my Policies & procedures, I regularly update my professional knowledge. I have a BA (Hons) in Early Years, hard gained over 7 years, part time studying/working/bringing up a family. I trained as A Sleep Consultant during lockdown. I am self-taught in all my computer skills, I set up my own website which I am very proud of.
But I want to do it differently, I have always gone against the grain my whole life, trusting my gut instinct and going with the flow. However, now I’m trying to set up my Sleep consultancy business to sustain me as I move forward into the next chapter of my life. I see beautiful websites, Instagram and Facebook posts and content, lots of prescheduled messages and lovely downloadable information. But I want to keep the uniqueness and essence of me, building relationships with parents, not being automated but I realise I will probably only reach a small audience with this approach. So, my question is how do I do it and maintain my individuality? Do I make some podcasts introducing myself? I have actually done a couple of interviews for Pacey and the London School of Childcare Studies but I am always very aware of my Somerset accent, and I fidget and use my hands a lot.
I am more than a parent and my ‘job’ and wife. I am 6o years young this year and I am in a great space in my journey, my work/life balance is perfect, I have a beautiful family I get to travel to visit every few weeks, a truly remarkable, wonderfully supportive partner. I have great friends and many old friends I should reconnect with. I spoke to a previous mum of children I cared for this morning, it was a great joy to pick up where we last left off and catch up on all our news and history.
I would be very interested to hear people’s thoughts and views about this. How have others done it, am I being unrealistic, do I just need to mimic what others do to reach a larger number of families? Let me know your thoughts. Thanks
#families #parents #childrenssleep #sleep #supportingparents #infantsleep #babiessleep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fe51TzRY1Y
www.sleepybunnies-consultancy.com
#families #parents #childrenssleep #sleep #supportingparents #infantsleep #babiessleep
Reverse cycling sleep in babies.
This has nothing to do with bicycles I’m afraid!
This is a message for parents and working parents who are having all night wake-ups for feeds. This involves a reversal of feeding so during the day your little one may feed intermittently and quickly but during the night they are feeding longer and frequently. It is quite common in babies 4-5 months old as they are establishing sleeping and feeding patterns. It can also be quite common when mums return to work and their little ones do not feed much during the day with their care givers, they then make up for it in the evenings.
It is different from having growth spurts where feeding is frequent and regular day and night. Babies under 6 months tend to wake still during the night for feeds, that is quite normal.
If your little one has reverse cycle feeding then it is not just the case to stop feeding at night, that is when they are genuinely hungry so it is a process of reducing gradually over a period of time while increasing daytime feeding which they may not want as they’re not hungry.
It is thought breast milk volume is highest between 1-5am and decreases through the day. And busy mum’s (who isn’t a busy mum?) may notice a decline in their milk production when they get home from work or following a demanding day, despite pumping. I know there is a great variation throughout the world for returning to work and that is a whole separate debate. My daughter, in the Netherlands, returned when both her babies were 3 months old; my daughter-in-law, in the Czech Republic can take up to 3 years; here in UK I’m seeing the average of 1 year now; whilst the USA is also 12 weeks.
Trying to figure out why this is happening is important-
Is your little one easily distracted during the day, too much noise, light, out and about a lot, over stimulation, this is tricky in busy lives with siblings around, things needing to be done, visitors etc.
Is there some form of oral aversion- they may refuse both the breast and the bottle. While they may forget themselves and start feeding, they will then turn their head away and gag or vomit. Is your little one only eating while drowsy or for dream feeds? You should talk to your Health Visitor/Doctor about this as there may be other issues not being identified. https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/oral-aversion
Frequently waking at night for feeds and only falling asleep during these feeds. This becomes habit forming too as little one is looking for feeds to help them fall asleep. You could add a dream feed before you go to bed at night and practice some sleep association techniques-shushing, patting, patting and putting your little one down drowsy but awake.
Some Tips that may help.
If your little one is easily distracted try finding a quiet corner or cosy nook to feed in where it is away from bustle and distractions, with low lighting, if you have a young child/children keep them close by- reading/playing quietly or occupied elsewhere.
The Easy Method was invented by the late Tracy Hogg, also known as The Baby Whisperer. It is not a schedule but a consistent pattern and routine which little ones look for and love to follow. Try to implement EAT, ACTIVITY, SLEEP AND YOU TIME. Details https://www.wikihow.com/Apply-the-Baby-Whisperer%27s-Sleep-Method It is really helpful if your little one falls asleep with each feed during the day.
Reduce the night-time feedings- first wake up of night-
· full feed
· next feed cut by two minutes,
· full feed
· reduced feed and
so on throughout the night.
Gradually reduce the timing of each feed in 2-night increments. This may take 7-10 days. Alongside this support your little one to consume more calories during the day with more feeding, tickle their feet/ears gently to wake to finish feeding. Try to put them down drowsy but awake for sleeps.
If you’re bottle-feeding, try offering smaller amounts of milk more frequently throughout the day. If your little one is not finishing their bottles experiment with different teats or if appropriate try a sippy cup. Dads/partners can play a big role in bottle-feeding through the night, little one’s won’t smell the breast milk and it’s a lovely period of time in the darkness of night for all those lovely cuddles, strokes and interactions.
This phase may last for quite a long time as your little one has adjusted their feeding cycles and it has become a habit. By decreasing night-time feeds and finding other ways to soothe and help get them to sleep they will be hungrier during the day.
Adding in sleep associations alongside feeding, stroking, shushing, humming, tapping will help your little one associate the rhythms with sleepy time, then as you fade out/reduce feeding your little one will recognise the other associations you have been using.
At the end of the day use your gut instinct, this is your little one and you know them best. However, if there are things you need help and assistance with don’t hesitate to reach out for support. It takes a village to raise a child and many parents live away from their families who traditionally would have provided that back up.
Please do not worry about ‘spoiling’ your little, they need lots of attention, they need your love, care, cuddles, kisses and reassurance to thrive.
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