How Long 'Til Bedtime? | Sleep and Parenting Podcast

This week, Allison is continuing her focus on adult friendships with a conversation with her life-long best friend, Laura Pflum. Allison and Laura share how they've maintained their friendship through the many changes they've gone through in their lives, and while living far from each other. They discuss how friends can be very different from each other, and how those differences may actually stre...

Today's episode is focused on adult friendships. Allison is joined by Amanda Sovik-Johnston, a clinical psychologist and the host of the Active & Connected Families podcast. Allison and Amanda discuss the challenges of making new friends as an adult, and the three conditions that must be present for new friendships to develop. They touch on how friendships change and evolve over the seasons of lif...

Did you know that the aches and pains widely referred to as "growing pains" really have nothing to do with growing at all. These common pains, however, can really mess with your child's sleep. In today's episode, Allison is sharing what we know about these pains and two proactive strategies you can use with your child to help them avoid these nighttime pains. Plus, she'll discuss tips for helping...

In today's episode, Allison is joined by Dr. Danielle Bailey, a pelvic floor physical therapist. They discuss many aspects of the pelvic floor and how it can be affected by pregnancy and giving birth. Dr. Bailey provides a clear explanation of the anatomy and function of the pelvis and pelvic floor and shares the many symptoms a woman may experience and when a pelvic floor physical therapist could...

How closely linked are teething and sleep? This week on How Long 'Til Bedtime, we tried something new. We're calling this episode style Sleep SOS and if you like it, we can start incorporating more of these. Earlier this week, Allison asked her Instagram community to submit questions about their child's sleep. Amy, a mom of a 9 month old boy, had a question about teething and what role it might be...

How can I help my child sleep better at daycare? This is the question Allison hears from parents daily. Daycare sleep can be tricky, even for babies who sleep well at home. But, there are a few things that can really help improve a child's daycare sleep.  Whether your child hasn't yet started daycare or has started and is struggling, take a listen to this episode because Allison is sharing 5 impor...

In episode 65, Allison discussed the importance of teaching your baby to fall asleep independently by practicing putting them down drowsy but awake. In today's episode, she's circling back on this concept to troubleshoot a bit and provide solutions to the number problem parents encounter when they begin working on this with their baby - their baby "wakes up" or cries the moment they are put in the...

A s babies learn to roll it often has a significant impact on sleep. Sometimes it's a positive impact and sometimes it's a negative impact. Over the last year, Allison has had more and more families come to her with 6 and 7 month old babies who are not yet rolling and it has increased her interest in learning more about this big milestone.  So today, she's joined by Dr. Kristi Hammerle of Year One...

Drowsy but awake is a key piece to the puzzle when you are trying to teach your new baby to sleep for longer stretches at night or working on lengthening naps. But this is easier said than done, right? What does "drowsy but awake" even mean? Many parents tell Allison that they aren't sure what it actually means, when to start, or how to make it work in real life. In this episode of How Long 'Til B...

Naps during the toddler and preschool years are complicated. If your child is 2 years old or older and is struggling with bedtime, night wakings or early morning wakings, chances are that someone has recommended that you drop their nap. So is that the best answer? That's what Allison is talking about in today's episode. She's covering why she believes most kids under 3.5 years old can benefit from...

In early elementary school, Allison's daughter, Addison, faced some challenges as she struggled to learn to read. Thankfully, the story for Addison has a happy ending. She is now a skilled and avid reader. But, Addison's journey helped Allison uncover a problem with the reading curriculum that exists in many of our nation's schools. Allison found a tremendous resource that helped her understand th...

Allison and her family started a new tradition last year that set the stage for everyone to dream in a way that can impact their day-to-day lives. They took time as a family to come up with a list of their dreams for 2022. Little glimpses of how they were all striving to make these dreams a reality kept popping up throughout the year.  In today's episode, Allison will share why teaching her kids t...

In today's episode, Allison is reviewing her progress towards reaching the goals she set for herself at the beginning of the year (spoiler alert – everything didn't go as planned!). She's checking in on herself and sharing how she did with her system of quarterly check-ins and building the practices she wants to establish in her life. Plus, she shares her plans for habits she wants to go after in...

Allison shares six sleep products that she and her clients have been loving the most in 2022. Listen to Episode 22. 4 Tips for Navigating Sleep When Your Child is Sick Listen to Episode 26. 5 Myths About the Crib to Bed Transition Listen to Episode 46. The Key to Success with a Toddler Clock SlumberPod discount code is SLEEPANDWELLNESSCOACH and the link to apply the discount code is:  https://shar...

Many of us deal with food allergies or dietary restrictions in our everyday routines. This can be overwhelming at times, but when you add in travel or holiday dining and parties, managing our food choices can be much trickier. Today, Allison shares how she stays gluten free over the holiday season. She touches on how she makes sure she has the correct food for herself no matter if she's staying at...

The holiday travel season is upon us. You may be preparing to take your family on a long car ride or be flying somewhere. Your travels may be taking you to stay with family or to stay in a hotel. Some children will be sleeping in their own room during these travels and some of you will need to roomshare. And on top of everything else, many will be traveling to different time zones. So today, Allis...

We recently marked the one year anniversary of How Long 'Til Bedtime. Cue the confetti! Thank you all for listening in and coming along this journey with us. Stay tuned for many more practical solutions as we head into our second year.  Throughout our first year, we invited many guests to share their expertise with us. After each interview, Allison asked each of them some rapid-fire questions unre...

Allison is addressing the two most common questions and concerns she hears from families after the fall time change.  Click here to watch or listen on YouTube Enjoying How Long 'Til Bedtime? Please consider rating and reviewing the show. This helps Allison support more parents. Click here , scroll to the bottom, rate the podcast, and select "Write a Review." And if you're a Spotify listener, you c...

Happy Halloween! Today, Allison shares her approach to Halloween and sleep around this unique day. If your child is nervous, worried or scared before or after Halloween, there are four things you can do to help you get your child's sleep back on track quickly and avoid a sleep regression. Listen in to hear Allison walk you through all four. Listen to episode 53. Conquering Nighttime Fears and Nigh...

The dreaded fall time change is upon us again. But there's no need for concern. Allison has guided her community through this transition for years with great results. Her plan makes it a very quick and mostly painless process. Today she shares how you can help your child smoothly transition to the new time and avoid getting stuck with crazy early wakings. She also discusses where we currently stan...

Today, Allison has a very sweet and informative conversation with her 9 year old daughter, Addison. Good sleep doesn't come easily to Addison. She's prone to worrying at bedtime and to having nightmares. Sensitive children like Addison are the children most likely to have a sleep regression triggered by Halloween. So, Allison is talking with Addison about ways to help your child stay on track even...

In today's episode, Allison has a fascinating discussion with Dr. Andrew Glassick, an orthodontist in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Glassick developed a real passion for understanding how orthodontics can improve children's health and sleep after an experience with his daughter prompted him to learn more about how the structure of the face and mouth can play a major role in our sleep and overall...

Today, Allison is responding to several listeners who have asked for advice on how to trust a babysitter to put their child to bed. Once you have bedtime running smoothly, it can be hard to imagine putting that in jeopardy just to have a night out. But, with the right preparation, a night with a babysitter does not have to take your sleep routine off track. In this episode, Allison is outlining th...

Allison works with many families who have grandparents taking a very active role in childcare. Having family members help to take care of children brings so many benefits, but it can also provide some challenges. Some parents find it difficult to convince grandparents to follow their child's sleep plan and schedule. Today, Allison shares some of the reasons why this can be a sticking point for gra...

Today, Allison talks with Leah O'Connell, a family photographer in Charlottesville, Virginia. They discuss how to de-stress a family photo session. There are many great nuggets of advice in this episode, with a lot of laughs sprinkled in, too! Leah advises Allison on: how to choose outfits for your family to wear how to choose the location, season and time of day for your session why your home is...