Category Archives: Bedtime

Prepare To Spring Forward At 2:00am On Sunday, March 10th with Pajanimals Coloring Printables and Video | @SproutTV

Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Alicia's Corner, Bedtime, ,

Are you prepared for losing that extra hour of sleep when the clocks are turned forward an hour for Daylight Savings on March 10? It may not be so easy, especially if  you have young children,  who have trouble adapting  to change. But you can get ready  with sound advice and tips for a smooth and calm transition to Daylight Savings from Certified Sleep Experts from Sleepy Planet, Jennifer Waldburger and Jill Spivack, and your friends, the PAJANIMALS, from The Jim Henson Company and Sprout, the 24 hour children’s preschool channel. 

We all know toddlers and preschoolers need plenty of sleep to get through their busy days, especially as they ease into Daylight Savings.   Now, you can learn what it takes to keep your child’s bedtime routine on track with these simple tips from Waldburger and Spivack, who serve as consultants for the critically-acclaimed preschool series, PAJANIMALS, a series designed to help parents establish a bedtime routine for their preschoolers.  PAJANIMALS airs nightly on Sprout during The Good Night Show and follows the amazing adventures of four sweet, gentle and cuddly musical puppets that model the skills preschoolers need to move through their days successfully.

pajanimals bedtime help

The Night Before  – On Saturday, March 9th, turn clocks AHEAD 1 hour.
If your child normally sleeps till 6:30 AM, the next morning he/she might be sleepy until 7:30 AM.  The entire schedule – naps and bedtime – will then shift one hour later. If you’re happy about this change, great!  Just protect your child’s room from too much light in the early morning, and use white noise so they won’t wake with the birds.

If you’d rather help your child get back to the usual schedule, try the following:

  1. Set your alarm for 6:30 AM (according to the new clock) and wake your child at this time.  To them, it will feel like 5:30 AM and yes, they may be cranky and tired, but their body will soon get used to the new schedule.
  2. Put your child down at the normal nap time (if they are still napping) according to the new clock and resume a normal schedule from there.  Don’t allow a nap longer than usual.
  3. On Sunday night, put your child down at their usual bedtime according to the new time.

Additionally, Sprout.com offers many Pajanimals’ games, activities and content to help your child navigate through their bedtime routine, including:

 

There is also the fun, Pajanimals’ video “How Do I know If It’s Morning Time,” available on YouTube.

 

And more springtime fun for the Pajanimals:

Tune-in to Sprout between March 18 – April 14 for their “Spring is Sprouting” event, and catch some of your favorite Pajanimals’ episodes, including Apollo’s Special Day, Puppy Love, Share Day, The Cow’s Meow and Team Fort!  Pajanimals also airs every Saturday morning on NBC Kids!

More About Pajanimals:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Pajanimals

Follow The Jim Henson Company:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/hensoncompany 

Twitter: @hensonparents

Follow Sprout:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sprout

Twitter: @SproutTV

 

Graco® True Focus™ Digital Video Monitor Review

Bedtime, Gadgets, Safety, , ,

Bringing a new baby home from the hospital is an exciting experience.  You want to do everything you can to make sure that your baby is safe and secure in your house. The Graco True Focus Digital Video Monitor, available at Walmart, will help assure you that your baby is safely sleeping in her room without you having to go in his room and risk disturbing her sleep.

My daughter is six-years-old and we still have a video monitor in her bedroom.  She has what we think are night terrors and will cry out or whimper in the night.  Before we had a video monitor either my husband or I would get out of bed to check on her.  When she was about 2 1/2 years old her pediatrician told us that parents shouldn’t wake a child who is having a night terror.  We have had a video monitor in her room since.  Having a video monitor in her bedroom is a must for us and  allows us to check on her without actually going into her room and risking waking her.

Graco True Focus Digital Video Monitor
Graco True Focus Digital Video Monitor
A typical baby monitor only allows you to hear the baby. The advanced technology in this video monitor allows you to see your baby in real time. The digital zoom provides a clear, close-up view of the baby on a high-resolution, 2.4″ color video screen.

Monitor Screen and Vision Modes

There are different vision modes built in, including a night mode, so you will always have a clear picture. For convenience, there is a built-in clock so you can check the time while you are checking on the baby.

Graco True Focus™ Digital Video Monitor
Photo taken at night when my bedroom and my daughter's bedroom were dark - The lines are not on actually on the monitor but are a result of photographing a monitor.

Features active parents will love

For active parents, there is a belt clip on the video monitor so that you can keep it with you as you take care of things around the house. You can bring it with you to any room and you will never feel like you are too far from your baby. With this monitor, there will be nothing to worry about if you decide to close yourself in the bathroom for a bubble bath or head down to the basement to use the treadmill. Your baby will be in your sight at all times. The child unit even comes with a battery back-up so will not lose sight of your baby during a power outage.  This Graco monitor operates on a 2.4 GHz frequency, so there will be no interference from other household electronics.

This digital video baby monitor provides new parents with a worry-free experience while their child is sleeping. New parents want to be able to watch their baby at all times. With this video baby monitor, parents can do that. While the baby is sleeping, parents have the benefit of being able to go about their normal routines and baby is never out of sight.

Connect with Graco:

Alicia Hagan, Editor
Disclosure: I received a Graco True Focus Digital Video Monitor for review.  Graco asked for my honest opinion about the product and did not influence my statements in any way.

Introducing the new ‘Magical Unicorn’ Pillow Pet and a Giveaway!

Bedtime, Contests, Toys, ,
Madelyn with her new Magical Unicorn Pillow Pet
Madelyn with her new Magical Unicorn Pillow Pet

Both of my kids have Pillow Pets and love them.  Their Pillow Pets go with them on trips, outside, to bed, on the couch, etc.. You get it.

Few things compare to the comfort and companionship of a soft, cuddly plush stuffed animal. Pillow Pets™ plush folding stuffed animals add true function to that warm and wonderful feeling by combining the security of a stuffed animal with the functionality of a pillow. Made of high quality, super soft chenille, Pillow Pets™ plush folding stuffed animals make the most precious snuggle pals for you or your loved ones.

An ideal naptime companion – not to mention a comforting partner on road trips or airplane rides – Pillow Pets™ plush folding stuffed animals are anything but just another stuffed animal. Extremely versatile, these unique creations are the stuffed animal version of Transformers. Close the strap across their bellies and you have friendly, comforting pets. Open the strap and the pet becomes a comfortable pillow! Even more, Pillow Pets™ plush folding stuffed animals are so soft you’ll think you’re hugging a real fur coat! A pillow and a pet – all in one – Pillow Pets™ plush folding stuffed animals keep the companionship alive, even when your child sleeps.

Pillow Pets kissing
Pillow Pets kissing

Pillow Pets™ plush folding stuffed animals and other plush products are favorites for all ages — from toddlers to teens, expectant mothers to grandmothers! Whether you choose a jungle animal, farm critter or sea creature – or all of the above – Pillow Pets™ plush products are so cute and cuddly, you won’t want to put them down!

Here’s in insider secret.. By Thanksgiving – My Pillow Pets will be launching a brand new interactive website for kids – complete with interactive games, fun learning facts, and a whole new online experience for the My Pillow Pets fan club around the world.

I highly recommend buying the children in your life a Pillow Pets as a holiday gift this year!

GIVEAWAY!

To enter to win a Magical Unicorn Pillow Pet leave a comment below telling us why you want a Magical Unicorn Pillow Pet.

Earn extra entries!

  • Ask a question on Magical Unicorn’s bio here.  For example, someone asked Magical Unicorn “Does your family live with you?”.   Have your child come up with a fun question!
    – Be sure to come back here and leave a comment telling us what you asked!
  • Like My Pillow Pets on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mypillowpets.
    – Make sure you leave a comment here telling us that you ‘Like’ My Pillow Pets
  • Follow us on Twitter & Facebook (2 extra entries) – be sure to leave a comment telling us you follow

Entries accepted through November 24th.

Goony Goo-Goo and GaGa Too! Madelyn is HOOKED on this book

Bedtime, Books, Contests, New posts, , ,
Goony Goo Goo and GaGa Too
Goony Goo Goo and GaGa Too

Like I’ve said in previous book related reviews, Madelyn LOVES to read.. or rather, be read to, at this age.  From what I’ve seen, most 3-5 year olds get hooked on something and it becomes part of their routine.. for a long time.  Such is the case with Goony Goo Goo and GaGa Too written by children’s book author Kia Morgan Smith.

Goony Goo Goo and GAGA Too
Goony Goo Goo and GaGa Too is a tale of two sisters Selena and Celeste who are less than enthusiastic about their new baby brother.   They don’t understand why he can’t talk or walk and at the first indication that ‘Baby Boy’ understands what the girls are saying, the girls go on and on assigning him chores and such.  Mom is none to happy about the girls attitude about Baby Boy and gives them a piece of her mind by explaining to them that Baby Boy isn’t their servent boy and that the girls should appreciate their little brother for who he is and what he can do.  The book is whimsically illustrated by Brandon Fall.

Click this link to buy Goony Goo-Goo and GaGa Too on Amazon.com.

Here’s a brief video of Madelyn showing off the book and her favorite children’s book author:

Kia Morgan Smith Twitter

Follow Kia Morgan Smith on Twitter

Kia Morgan Smith on Facebook

Follow Kia Morgan Smith on Facebook

GIVEAWAY!

We are giving two lucky readers a copy of Goony Goo Goo and GaGa Too. To enter, leave a comment (click to jump to comments) below telling us why you want to win.   Get an extra entry for following us on Facebook here and and an extra for following us on Twitter here.  Be sure to leave a comment telling us that you are following us and include your Facebook & Twitter ID’s so we can give you extra entries!  Entries accepted through November 29th.

Bedtime Stories for Preschoolers

Bedtime, Books, Madelyn's Bookshelf, , ,

Tuck Me In bedtime story

If I ask Madelyn (4 yrs old) if she wants to me to play a game with her or read to her she choses to read.  I love that!

Madelyn has so many more books than Sebastian (11 yrs old) did when he was her age.. he would have rather played with toys than read.

Madelyn’s bedtime routine includes that I and/or my husband 3-5 books to her. While I try to choose relatively short books so as to not drag bedtime out, my husband reads long books.  Yay, Daddy!  I’ll be honest.. by bedtime, I’m just ready for her to go to sleep so I prefer to read shorter stories.

Madelyn has three stacks of hand-selected ‘bedtime books’.. sorted on her bookshelf in order of importance.  A few of Madelyn’s favorite bedtime books are Tuck Me In by By Dean Hacohen and Sherry Scharschmidt, A Bedtime for Bear By Bonny Becker, and Moon Dreams By Ruth Martin.

A Bedtime for Bear bedtime storyA Bedtime for Bear is about a Bear who, when impish Mouse comes to spend the night, is in for a rude—and very funny—awakening and is the companion story to the New York Times bestseller A Visitor for Bear.

In Moon Dreams Luna loves to look at the moon.  But Luna wonders where the moon goes during the day and each night, after desperately trying to stay awake, her dreams taker her on a journey as she searches for the moon far and wide.

Tuck Me In - bedtime storyTuck Me In.. one of my favorites.  Who needs to be tucked in? Turn each page until all baby animals–and little readers–are cozy and ready for sleep in this bedtime ritual.  Tuck Me In is the last book we read at night because after tucking all the baby animals in, in the book, Madelyn is ready to be tucked in.  Thank goodness!

We recently acquired two more bedtime stories, Interrupting Chicken and Switching on the Moon, so stayed tuned to see which stack these books end up in on Madelyn’s bookshelf!

Enjoy,