A Can Do Mom

Holidays can be so hard sometimes. And honestly, a lot of the time, it’s the people we love most that make them the hardest. I know that sounds kind of harsh, but it’s true. I’ve always loved the holidays. When I became a mom, I couldn’t wait to celebrate with my kids. I had all these ideas in my head of little traditions we’d start and build on as our own little family. But things didn’t exactly go the way I pictured. The first three years of our marriage were… a lot. Both our parents lived close enough that we could see them for every holiday, so we tried to split things up—Thanksgiving with one side, Christmas with the other, and then swap the next year. We thought that was fair. Our parents? Not so much. My mother-in-law felt like all the holidays should be at her house. Thanksgiving dinner at noon, and we were “supposed” to spend the night on Christmas Eve. That didn’t leave much for my family. And honestly, we were already trying to be there for Christmas anyway, because it ...

Many people seem to think that the newborn phase is the toughest stage in a child’s early development, and that after sleep training is complete, it’s smooth(ish) sailing from there. But actually, around the six-month mark, things can become difficult again! And if you haven’t yet sleep trained your baby, it could make starting that process even harder. So the question many parents ask is: Is this the 6-month sleep regression or teething? This question is fair, because both the 6-month sleep regression and teething tend to happen around the same time. It can be hard to determine which one is causing the disruption and the two combined can make for a really tough phase in both your baby’s life and your own. Here’s how to tell the difference between a sleep regression and teething, as well as what to do about both. What Is the 6-Month Sleep Regression? A sleep regression is a period when a baby’s sleep patterns suddenly change. Your baby may become restless during the night or sta...