The Restful Nest

08/03/2023

Can we all agree that summer has flown by at warp speed? I am back to school myself in just 12 days to get ready for a new year of teaching Kindergarten! Everly Rose will be entering 2nd grade, Magnolia Mae will hanging in Young Fives and the twinnies, August & Arlo, will be in preschool a few days a week and hanging with their favorite nanny, the rest of the time. Soaking up the remainder of summer break with my crew before we all return back to the hustle and bustle of a fresh school year. ☀️✏️🍎

02/28/2023

Join me this evening for a free chat on children’s sleep! As an early childhood teacher, I’ll be focusing in on children ages 3-6. Don’t forget to RSVP using the email below!

12/26/2022

I couldn’t get to Christmas cards this year, so this will have to do! Merry Christmas from The Bartscht Crew! ❤️

07/05/2022

Happy Fourth Birthday to this little firecracker, Magnolia Mae. You are such a ray of sunshine. Honestly, some days I just want you to stop growing because you and your raspy little voice and big heart are just perfection. 💓

06/13/2022

Helloooo Summer Break! ☀️🌊

06/09/2022

An article that I wrote for the local Brick Magazine!

My name is Alexandra Bartscht; I am a pediatric sleep consultant and the founder of The Restful Nest. Using my experience as a former elementary school teacher, I have combined my passion for childhood development with my deep interest in improving the quality of sleep.

05/30/2022

Traveling with four kids is NO joke, but it’s moments like this that make it worth it. 🌊☀️🐠💙

04/17/2022

Happy 6th birthday to our first born, Everly Rose. You are as spunky as they come. You are unique, curious, confident and assertive, most importantly you have the most kind and generous heart. We love you so and can’t wait to see what wonderful things you achieve in this world. 💓

04/03/2022

Happy (early) birthday my darling August & Arlo. What a true miracle you are. You really are the perfect “pear”. It was a lovely birthday celebration this evening until you both got the birthday barfs halfway through the party. Hopefully you feel better in the morning! ❤️

03/12/2022

This Sunday, March 13 at 2:00 AM, our clocks jump forward one hour for Daylight Saving Time. This time change is usually considered “the good one”. Why? Those of you with early morning risers, your 5am riser will now be waking at an acceptable 6am! 🥂🎉🎊🎈

Just a reminder! While it can be very tempting to let our little ones sleep in later than 7am (who doesn’t want an uninterrupted hot cup of coffee ☕️), I would advise against it. If you’ve got a little one that’s still napping, it’s important to keep them on their current schedule. Waking after 7am can make it hard to adhere to your normal schedule AND the lack of time awake in between naps may cause a skipped nap because the child is just not fatigued enough.

03/09/2022

🌷SPRING FORWARD🌷

An oldie but a goodie~ you’ll want to save this!

Well it’s here. Every parent’s favorite time of year. The dreaded time change. We can thank good ol’ Ben Franklin for this one. While Ben is known for his many wonderful inventions, the time change is one I that I can’t get on board with. I’d love to do away with it all together, but sadly, I don’t make the rules. So, rather than fuss, here’s some advice to minimize the disruption of your child’s sleep!

If you have an easy-going angel baby, you may find that the time change really isn’t THAT big of deal. An easy-going child may not fuss when put to bed an hour earlier than normal and will greet you with a smile on their face when you personally wake them in morning by 7am. After a day or two, the new time will become the norm and no one in the house will think about it again, until the next time change. Lucky you with your angel baby.

However, this is not the norm and many children need a helpful nudge in the right direction. You can begin this evening, by changing bedtime in 15 minute intervals. For example, if your little one normally goes down to sleep at 7PM, after the time change, even though the clock says 7PM, it will feel to your child like 6PM. It’s important to ignore the clock and think about it from the child’s perspective. Why am I being put to bed an hour earlier?

My recommendation is, this evening begin to transition in that direction, putting your little one down at 6:45PM, rather than 7PM. Thursday, lay your child down at 6:30PM, Friday, down at 6:15PM and finally, Saturday evening, lay your child down at 6PM.

I know it can be a pain, but remember, it’s a temporary disruption and everyone will adjust. It may just take a few days to get back on track. Be patient!

02/22/2022

SLEEP & DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

Developmental milestones like rolling over, sitting up, crawling, standing, walking, gaining verbal skills, etc. are all new and exciting experiences that can cause sleep regressions. For whatever reason, children love to practice these new skills in the crib and sometimes, no matter how exhausted they are, they just. can’t. stop.

Here’s the good news...this is short term and it usually blows over in a week or two after baby masters the skill. The other important thing to keep in mind is that your child is reaching developmental milestones and learning to master new skills, which is a positive thing! Here are some tips to help your little one through this process…

✔️If your child cannot resist the urge to flip, sit up, crawl, stand, or walk in the crib, but cannot get themselves back down into a lying position, you really have no choice but to go in and help them out. One thing to keep in mind when doing this, is to have brief and minimal engagement. You do not want these parent visits to become a game. Do not make a lot of eye contact or have a long chat. Simply walk in, keep the lights off, lay baby back down and leave the room quietly. You may have to do this quite a few times, until baby exhausts herself and falls asleep.

✔️Practice makes perfect! Find time to practice these new skills with baby outside of the crib. This can help speed up the process.

✔️If baby is rolling to her tummy, pause for a moment before rushing in to flip her back over. Give baby a chance to try and fall asleep on her stomach. Many babies actually learn to love (and prefer) sleeping on their tummy!

✔️Do not revert back to old sleep habits during a regression. If baby has mastered getting to sleep independently, do not return to rocking or nursing to sleep. You’ve worked too hard to create a good schedule with healthy sleep habits to undo all your hard work!