There are many things that new mothers worry about with the impending arrival of their new little one. The delivery, baby clothing and supplies, feedings, sleeping... frankly, being tasked with caring for a helpless little baby and wondering how they'd ever survive with us caring for them! 

Breastfeeding is something that can be incredibly important to new mothers wanting to be successful at doing so. Establishing a supply, figuring out the latch, learning the different holds, figuring out hunger cries, and ensuring that they are providing the valuable nutrients for a little body to grow and thrive. Unfortunately, it is commonly thought that if you want to exclusively breastfeed, you have to give up precious sleep and resign yourself to feeding your child at their every whim and call at all hours of the day and night. This does not have to be the reality.

In working with my families and talking with parents about getting their child started on the path to sleeping better, a topic that comes up many times is the sleep prop. There are many facets to the sleep prop: what is it? What does it do? How does it affect sleep? How can you remove it? How can you prevent the introduction of the sleep prop? Inadvertently, it can play a huge role in how it affects your child's sleep, your relationship with your child, and how you interact with your child and family. In most cases, it starts out on the basis of something that is good, it helps your child sleep and saves your sanity. Unfortunately, it can morph into the catalyst that draw battle lines between you and your child, and even you and your partner, and in the end, affects everyone's sleep, and not for the better.

We are wrapping up the Overtired Series! When we started the series, we first talked about 10 typical signs of littles being overtired. They were identified as follows:

1. Extreme hyperactivity
2. Behaving irritably or crabby
3. Constant hunger
4. Physical cues 
5. Clumsiness
6. Increased resistance to falling asleep
7. Catnaps
8. Needing constant stimulation
9. Easily awaken
​10. Early wake-ups