The Connected Cub

I am starting something new!

I have been a nurse for over 10 years now. I have worked in a few different areas such as mental health, employee health, a surgical unit, and most recently, on a mother baby unit for the past 5 years.

Although I enjoyed all of these experiences, I was always drawn to the idea of working within the surgical team at the hospital. Well friends, that time has come! I will be working full time doing classes, clinicals, and orientation before becoming an operating room nurse. This is such an exciting and motivating opportunity that I feel so grateful to have!

My time helping families post partum at the hospital was such an honour and a wonderful experience. I am a better lactation consultant, prenatal teacher and sleep supporter because of those families. My clients that I have either spoken to or been to your home, THANK YOU. Without you, I wouldn't have gained such valuable knowledge about how I can best support families with different challenges, needs, and goals. I can't wait to start seeing families again in the new year! In the meantime, tell your story, it will inspire others 💚

4 Month Sleep Progression Written by Danielle Behr IBCLC, RPN & Baby Led Sleep and Wellbeing Specialist What are sleep progressions? What used to be known as sleep regressions are now referred to as sleep PROgressions, in the holistic sleep world. We see these progressions as not a bad thing, although, yes, quite challenging at times, it’s a good thing! It means that your infant or toddler is in the midst or the beginning of a big development....

Sleep Progressions 4 Month Sleep Progression Written by Danielle Behr IBCLC, RPN & Baby Led Sleep and Wellbeing Specialist What are sleep progressions? What used to be known as sleep regressions are now referred …

Tired Cues Lets get to it! You will begin to notice as a newborn, your baby will exhibit certain tired cues. Similarly to adults, children and babies show signs that they are getting tired. Some of these signs are similar to adult tired cues such as yawning, eye rubbing and trouble concentrating. Other signs are observed more often in the infant population....

Tired Cues   Tired Cues Lets get to it! You will begin to notice as a newborn, your baby will exhibit certain tired cues. Similarly to adults, children and babies show signs that they are getting tired. …

Split Nights

Split nights are when your infant wakes in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep, usually for an hour or more. Eventually, they become tired enough again to fall back to sleep with your support.

While split nights can happen anytime in the first couple of years of your child's life, they tend to happen between 6-18 months.

Developmental milestones will heavily impact your child's sleep. You will likely experience some inconsistent split nights that are definitely tiring but usually self resolving and short lived.

True spilt nights that may need some parent led help to shift are usually defined as your baby waking for at least an hour, many nights of the week for at least two weeks.

It is most often caused by an imbalance of daytime and nighttime sleep.

To read more and to see how we can help, head to our link in bio to read our latest blog post about split nights!

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Split nights are downright exhausting. When my children had gone through some split night challenges, they were definitely my least favourite to navigate. My first daughter struggled more with split nights around 8 months old. I believe it was because she mostly night weaned herself and started sleeping through the night around 6 months (which I did nothing to cause that to happen) AND she was an early 3-2 nap transition....

Split Nights Split nights are downright exhausting. When my children had gone through some split night challenges, they were definitely my least favourite to navigate. My first daughter struggled more with spli…

Tips for latching a newborn!

It can be incredibly challenging to get breastfeeding off to a great start depending on who is supporting you in your birth and immediatepost partum space. You may not get the help you deserve in the hospital or even at home. It is highly recommended to take a breastfeeding class or set up a prenatal consult with an IBCLC prior to having your baby.

Being equipped with the basics of feeding and what to expect can be the most helpful thing you do! Of course, if you run into challenges or just don't feel right about something that is being recommended, reach out to a lactation consultant near you, we're here to help! 🩶

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Wake Windows ☀️

Swipe through to read about wake windows ➡️

This is something I was definitely hyperfocused on with my first baby. It took me months to get to know her uniqueness and her rhythm. I would say this is typical for your first baby. With my second now over a year, however, it has been much easier to go with the flow and learn what works best for her and our family.

Start with a guide for a typical wake window for your baby or toddlers' age, then adjust from there. If they are taking longer than half an hour to settle and fall asleep once in their sleep space, their wake window may be too short. If they are showing signs of overtired frequently and are really struggling to settle, their window may be too long. Babies and young toddlers can't communicate through spoken words, and therefore, it is up to us to determine what works for them based on intuition and your child's temperament.

Ultimately, I encourage you to try to really tune in and get to know your child 🩶

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