http://www.thenightshift.co.nz/

The Night Shift, Auckland (2025)

18/07/2023

I had some wonderful content planned. But I sat down to create and something inside simply said "no". I'd just finished a call with a lovely client couple. Term 3 has started. We are back to routine. The day was ripe for some good productivity. Yet something said "no".

I don't know about you but I am very good at ignoring these little voices that tell me when to rest and when to put myself first. But today, something said I should listen. And so I did. I turned off the laptop and went for a walk. When I got back I had breakfast. Then I watched TV for a while. The day has vanished and I have achieved absolutely nothing that I planned to do. And I feel wonderful for it.

Sometimes putting aside our to do list to focus on ourselves is the best thing we can do. Not just for us. But our whole family. I know I am definitely a more patient Mother when I've had time to relax.

Do you allow yourself to rest and reset? What are you favourite ways to unwind? When was the last time you listened to the little "no" inside?

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

13/07/2023

Ever wondered why your baby wakes upset? It could be due to one or several things! Often a consistent routine and settling technique (whichever one you choose!) can help your little one to wake happier.

If you would like help troubleshooting why your baby wakes upset, I'm just a quick message away!

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

11/07/2023

Awesome safety information from Carla , Car Seat Restraint Technician.

Car seats and baby sleep go hand in hand. For most babies the lulling movement and white noise while traveling in a car are the perfect combination for putting them to sleep, and all toddlers after a fun day out are prone to sleeping off their adventures on the way home.

Aside from the risk of totally upsetting their sleep routine, car seat sleeping can still be safe. The key to this is avoiding head flop.

What’s the risk?
For young babies, head flop poses a significant risk to their breathing. Babies airways are about the size of a straw and are quite flexible, which means that if a baby’s head tilts forward their airway is easily blocked. They don’t have the neurological drive or the muscle development to lift their heads while asleep to re-open those airways. Ensuring their car seat is on a 40-45 degree angle mitigates this risk by keeping their head in the proper position.

So what can you do if your babies head is flopping forward?
- Check your car seat manual to ensure that the seat is installed on the right recline (45 degrees is ideal)
- Ensure the harness straps are at the correct height per the manual and that the harness passes the pinch test
- If you need more recline and your car seat model allows it, increase the angle by putting a rolled towel or pool noodle under the front of the car seat
- Still flopping? Look for your local child restraint technician on the NZTA site (or ) for help checking your car seat install and fit.

What about older children?
As children’s brains and neck muscles develop, their breathing is not so much of a worry as they will wake themselves or lift their heads if they’re not getting enough oxygen. The biggest concern for them is that if their head is flopping forward too far, it may be outside of the protection area of their car seat headrest. Checking their car seat installation and harness or belt fit is still key to preventing head flop. For forward facing kids, you can put a sticker on the vehicle roof that they look at if they’re feeling sleepy. Falling asleep looking up can keep their head in an upright position so that their car seat headrest can still do it’s job.

Thanks for helping keep our little people safe Carla!

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

05/07/2023

Support. That is why you should choose The Night Shift.

The level of support you receive from The Night Shift is unrivalled. I have heard stories from clients about how their friends sometimes had to wait 2-3 days between calls from other Baby Sleep Consultants. 2-3 days! That blows my mind. The whole point of hiring me is that you have a go to person who can help you as close to on the spot as possible. When naps are tough and the resettling effort is wearing you down, I want you to have support during that nap window... not 2 days later.

Real time, real advice, real support. That is what makes The Night Shift different.

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

05/07/2023

Can you weave Mum? Can you draw ### Mum? Can you do Irish Dancing Mum? Can you do wheelies on your bike Mum? Can you build a rocket Mum?

Instinctively the answer to many of these questions (and more) is no. But a lesson I didn’t even realise that my Mum had passed onto me, is never letting your fear or your uncertainty get in the way of trying new things. I figure (as is the case with my Mum and I) that we don’t fully realise how important this lesson is until it is tested. And Miss E certainly does a good job testing me in this way! She loves to create and still has a beautiful belief that her Mum knows everything. She is often found hatching elaborate plans of what we are going to make, where we might be going and what we might get up to while we are there. And although I often want to say, “I don’t know how to build a rocket”. Or “I don’t know how to do Irish Dancing”. I try it all. Because it turns out that we can build a rocket. We can weave. And there is so much joy in dancing around the living room with Emma Wiggle and a 5 year old, arms tight by our sides and legs flying everywhere.

Encouraging a confidence in our own ability to try new things (even if initially we have no idea where to start) is one of the most important lessons I can teach. Self belief opens the door to endless opportunity yet that door is so often slammed closed because we hear, see or use negative messaging that wires us to focus on our limits rather than our potential. But this isn’t just an important lesson to teach our kids.

5 years ago my self belief in parenting or ever being able to get my child to sleep was at zero. And the idea that a couple of years later I’d be running a Baby Sleep business would have been utter nonsense. But I surrounded myself with people who support me, who I trust to provide helpful advice, and you know what happened? We did get sleep on track and I do have belief in my parenting. I learned that I can trust my parenting instincts. I studied hard and now I’m here to support you too. So you can find your parenting confidence and your self belief.

I believe in your ability to navigate parenting and all its struggles. Do you believe in it too?

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

28/06/2023

💜 You might want to start before you have your baby. Set yourself up with sleep knowledge before you bring them home.
💜 You might want to wait until after 4 months. Know that they are physically mature enough to start sleeping more independently.
💜 You might want to wait until they are 12 months. Navigate everything together in the early stages but be prepared for your return to work.
💜 You might want to wait until there is a new sibling.
💜 You might want to implement strategies on your own proactively.
💜 You might want to wait until you are at Desperation Station.
💜 You might want support along the way.
💜 You might want to do it on your own.
💜 You might choose never to sleep train.

Whenever and however you choose to support your child is entirely up to you. Know that there is space and love and support for you no matter what your choice.

Know that if you do choose to focus on your child's sleep, that I am just a DM/email away.

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

27/06/2023

Four days away. My favourite little city. Two amazing friends. No timetable. No responsibilities. It was a long overdue opportunity to surround myself with some of my own Village. And my goodness it was good!

No surprises though, it was also so good to be home. Do you ever wonder how old our kids will be before we can leave them without thoughts of them consuming our entire consciousness?

Like anything worth doing, self care isn't always easy. It took a long time for me to accept that I needed time to myself. I spent half the time thinking about what the family were doing without me. But was it worth it? Did it restore my spirit and my energy... heck yes! Because after all it is not just the baby that needs the Village.

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

14/06/2023

Is your video monitor a tool or a dependency?

While I acknowledge that a video monitor can be a useful tool. We should not be addicted to them like the latest Netflix series. It is not healthy and it is not necessary. When we are fixed to our video monitors like this we often end up disturbing our sleeping little ones when we just don’t need to. And we heighten our own anxiety!

Unless your child has a medical reason to cause you worry, or you live in a mega mansion, I find it hard to believe that you can not hear when your child cries, babbles or chats away to themselves (yes even if you have an upstairs/downstairs situation). People often argue that they need to check that baby is safe. But if you are confident that the sleep space you have provided is safe before they go to sleep, then what is going to change once they are asleep? Why do you need to watch them on screen? If they are stuck in anyway (which happens less often than you think) they will let you know! If they wake and need your help resettling, they will let you know that too.

Your child being in bed is an opportunity to find balance between parent and partner and self. Use it to your advantage. Switch off the video monitor and help yourself switch off your mind.

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

12/06/2023

Reece and I love food. We love cooking. We love our environment and we love eating seasonally. We put a lot of emphasis on healthy attitudes towards food. And it has always been important that Miss E not only enjoy food but she understands where her food comes from and how to grow and cook it.

Now we are in Auckland .nz helps us build on what we started. Like any other 5 year old she doesn't always want to try new tastes but we have seen her improve in this over the last few months. It is great fun to see what's in the Wonky Box and is an awesome conversation starter as we chat about what we see, smell, taste etc.

Having Miss E help in the kitchen is magic. Not only does she learn how to be part of our family team. But it really sparks her imagination and cooking interest. She has been confident (but careful) with a knife for what feels like forever and could almost make the pizza dough from scratch on her own lately.

But its not all about inspiring the older kids. Access to the kitchen serves our smaller bubbas too. Ignore the mess it might make and create a small workstation so they can explore too. It might be as simple as a bowl of flour to play with. Or you could offer a variety of fruit or veges of different colours, sizes and shapes to pick up and investigate.

Family meal times are magic. I speak to a lot of my clients about the importance of eating with your child. There is so much more to mealtimes than just the food... how to pick up the food and/or cutlery and raise it to your mouth, how to chew the food, how to gag, how to swallow, how to sit still and have conversation, how to stop among all the daily busyness and be together, how to pause and listen to your body's full signals and so much more!

We are bombarded on the daily with information and studies and research about how much our children role model what we do. Role modelling a love of food, being curious, and eventually helping with domestic duties is a win, win, win from me.

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

07/06/2023

People often ask me why The Night Shift is different. The answer is simple, it is you.

You and your family are unique and individual. You believe different things. You have different goals. You raise your family using different philosophies. Some you use daycare, some of you stay home. Some of you have other children, some of you don't. Some have a traditional nuclear family, some share custody. And for all of those reasons (and more), the solutions that I discuss with you are specific to you and your family.

A plan that is tailored to your family is a plan you can believe in. A plan you believe in is a plan you are confident in. A plan you are confident in is a plan you can stick to consistently even when the going gets tough. That is what makes this work. And that is what makes The Night Shift different. Solutions specific to you, not generic downloads.

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

06/06/2023

Lunchboxes. They are a new adventure for us. Until now we were fortunate enough for preschool to provide meals. Now we are at Big School, we are in new territory.

I don't want to get into any lunchbox battles here. I know that some kids are more fussy than others. I know that budget restraints dictate what we can and can not offer. But I am really keen to hear about the favourite lunchbox fillers at your place!

Miss E loves cheese and marmite scrolls (as below). They make a great change from her usual cheese and marmite sandwich and are super easy to make. We also love wraps with ham or cheese and marmite. And mini cheese muffins too.

Any age or stage... what is your go to!

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

31/05/2023

Spread the love, tell a friend... know where to find me when you need me

| Your Baby Sleep Consultant
thenightshift.co.nz | Rest well to live well 🌙🦉

The Night Shift

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