How Long 'Til Bedtime? | Sleep and Parenting Podcast

Allison shared that she's been diagnosed with Hashimotos disease in episode 42. As a result of her research on how to improve her thyroid condition, she learned that gluten is the number one irritant for people with thyroid issues and Hashimotos. Once she started eliminating gluten in her life, it didn't take long for her to realize she would never eat gluten again. Today she shares 5 things that...

Today, Allison shares why and how she removed screens from her house during the work and school week… and the impact that decision has had. While she strongly recommends that kids have no screens from dinner to bedtime for sleep reasons, she also suggests you might try out this plan for setting a boundary if you are still struggling with screens. She thinks your family dynamic may also shift in a...

Allison considers toddler clocks the most valuable sleep tool a parent can use for children over the age of 2 years old. Today she shares the one key to ensuring one of these little clocks or lights will become your best parenting hack. Whether you haven't yet introduced a clock or light system or you previously tried and it wasn't effective, this episode is for you!  Enrollment in the September 2...

Parents are often anxious about cutting out snacks or milk before bedtime. In today's episode, Allison shares how bedtime snacks often link to your child's behavior at dinner and the best way to cut them out with limited drama. She gives you a plan to smoothly remove the bedtime snacks and milk from your child's routine. She finds that most families can make this change within three nights of stic...

Whether you're preparing to send your child back to school or you're already in the throes of the new school year, this episode will help you think about optimal sleep as it relates to school performance. Allison will walk you through how to figure out how much sleep your child needs and how to adjust their schedule if it needs some tweaking after a more relaxed summer.   Click here for informatio...

In today's episode, Allison has a fascinating conversation with Dr. Stephanie Grice, a beloved pediatrician in Charlottesville, Virginia. Allison set out to interview Dr. Grice about the issues families face as they learn to feed their baby, but as they got talking, the conversation ended up more like a chat over coffee than a formal interview. We invite you to listen in as they discuss some of th...

Did you know that nearly 20 million people suffer from thyroid disease and up to 60% are unaware of it? Or that women are 5-8 times more likely to have thyroid disease? In 2020, Allison learned that she had hypothyroidism, caused by an autoimmune disease called Hashimotos. A routine physical was the beginning of an ongoing health journey for her. She gets lots of questions about her Hashimotos, so...

August is National Breastfeeding Month. In the coming weeks, Allison will have conversations with experts on both breastfeeding and formula feeding. Today, she is sharing her own personal feeding journey. Things didn't go as she planned with either of her two daughters. This is a candid walk through how she fed her daughters and how she felt along the way. Allison hopes her story helps other new m...

Today, Allison shares her thoughts on a very popular sleep intervention approach for preschoolers and early elementary age children - the bedtime or nighttime pass. She's not a fan of this method and she wants to help you understand why because it may help you as you evaluate various approaches. Learn about Allison's Preschool Sleep Program: Your Preschool Sleep Champion Click here to watch or lis...

We know busy parents love to try products that come highly recommended from people in their lives. From time-to-time Allison is going to create an episode highlighting her favorite products. Today, Allison shares 5 products she's currently loving.  You can use these links to check out these products: Dandelion Turkish Towels Swim Coverup Spot Cover For Pimples Instagram account: @everydayreading  ...

In this Q&A episode, Allison tackles a question from an expectant mom. This listener wonders if she should introduce a pacifier to her baby. She's worried it could negatively affect nursing and she's concerned about needing to break up with it down the road. Allison provides both the pros and cons of introducing a pacifier, as well as her thoughts on whether introducing one is overall a good idea....

As the United States prepares to celebrate July 4th with a long weekend of fireworks, Allison shares thoughts on protecting good sleep for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. 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 "...

Buckle up listeners, this is a good one. This episode is packed with helpful information. Allison talks to Bev Sidders, a chemical engineer turned licensed master esthetician, about all things sunscreen…. plus a little bonus on bug spray as well.  Each question Allison asks Bev yields tons of great information. Here are some of the highlights: how to choose the right sunscreen for everyone in your...

Allison definitely learned from personal experience that summer vacations with infants or young children can be difficult. These adventures definitely can feel more like trips rather than vacations because young children still need round-the-clock care and they have the ability to derail any plans very quickly. In today's episode, Allison will help you navigate the sleep aspect of your summer trav...

As summer approaches each year, Allison gets questions about relaxed summer bedtime schedules. Parents wonder whether they can shift bedtime later when kids don't need to wake for school. Or they need help explaining to their child why they have to go to bed when it's still light outside.  In today's episode, Allison will address some things to keep in mind if you're thinking about summer sleep sc...

Today's episode is a fun one. Allison shares baby gift and registry tips from the moms in her Have Baby, Need Sleep newborn sleep coaching program and her Sleep Tight community.  Ashley Sharp, the owner of Allison's favorite local baby boutique, Green Bean Baby Boutique, joins Allison to share her product recommendations for babies and moms. Check out Ashley's store at Green Bean Baby Boutique or...

Today we close out our four-part series dedicated to maternal mental health. Allison is joined by two friends, Ellen Jones and Holly Kennedy, who share Allison's passion for helping new moms and have created a maternal coaching business called Mother Tree Wellness. They share the challenges they faced in their own personal postpartum journeys and offer concrete advice for moms navigating this majo...

Today, we continue our series on maternal mental health with an insightful conversation between Allison and her dear friend, Caroline Vasquez. Caroline candidly shares her personal postpartum depression and anxiety journey in the hopes of helping other new moms. Caroline is a full-time working mom of two and we know many moms will relate to her.  Find more information at Postpartum.net Allison men...

Please be advised that suicide is discussed in this episode.   May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and we are dedicating all of our episodes in May to maternal mental health. Today, Allison has an emotional conversation with her friend, Britt Davis. Britt shares how her own maternal mental health and that of her friend, Allison, have forever changed her life. She shares her thoughts on h...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and this Wednesday, May 4th, is World Maternal Mental Health Day. The purpose of World Maternal Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of maternal mental health issues so that more women will get treated and fewer will suffer. Allison is very passionate about the health of mothers and raising awareness about postpartum depression and anxiety. This week is the...

In last week's episode we talked about nightmares and night terrors. That topic naturally leads to the conversation of nighttime fears, of which monsters are a common one. Today, Allison shares 3 popular approaches to helping children overcome their fear of monsters or other imaginative creatures and why she doesn't find these approaches to be helpful. She will also give you the language to use to...

Did you know that 40-50% of children will experience nightmares or night terrors? If you have a child who has experienced one or both, you know that these events can be very disruptive to sleep and sometimes they can be disturbing. The good news is that even if you have a child who is prone to nightmares or night terrors, there are things you can do to reduce or even eliminate these sleep disturba...

Are you considering moving your child from the crib to a bed? Is someone in your life pressuring you to ditch the crib? Trying to prepare for where your child will sleep when you bring a new baby home? Today's episode is for you. Allison often tells people that one of the most valuable pieces of advice she can give them is to keep their child in the crib longer than they think they need to. In tod...

Sleep is so critical for our health. Allison has made improving her own sleep a true priority for quite some time now. She knows she's a better parent and overall much more productive if she is well rested. She could talk for hours about all the tactics she's tried in her quest for restorative sleep. Today, she's sharing how she tracks her sleep and the top five practices that have made the bigges...

Nearly every day, Allison gets a message asking her thoughts on a certain sleep regression. Tired, frustrated parents can find an internet article on a "sleep regression" that occurs almost every month between 3 and 24 months. But are there really this many true developmental sleep leaps? The short answer is no, but listen in to hear Allison's detailed advice for each of the stages of development...