Oils and Lotions

This post will be kind of rambling, but I hope you'll bear with me!

Over the last few years I've had the joy and privilege of accompanying first the Blue-eyed Boy and then Curly-Locks to parent-and-tot mornings at our local Waldorf Schools. Mid-morning, the adults and little ones sit down for a snack, but before that, everyone parades out to the washroom to wash hands. And afterwards, in the classroom, comes one of the parts of the morning that the children really love.

The teacher has a bowl, and a towel and some wonderful smelling Weleda lotion. One by one the kids approach, get their hands rinsed off and dried, and then comes the anointing of the hands and fingers. A special hush seems to descend on the room as the tots absorb the sensation. Do I even need to say that such a practice nourishes the sense of touch? We already know how important that is, and even adults can be deprived of the touch of fellow human beings.

So for myself this morning I was using some lavender oil, which is soothing and calming. Lavender can be used to help a child wind down after a busy day and prepare for sleep in various ways. If you have Lavender bath milk, for instance, or a lavender filled small pillow, or the said oil could be stroked into your child's arms.

Another useful herb is rosemary. This can help the child to wake up properly in the morning, which will also help towards healthy sleep at night. Maybe I mentioned before that a simple wipe of the face with a washcloth can do the trick, although you wouldn't want to use rosemary anywhere near the eyes.

Let's use the wonderful gifts that nature provides.

Sleep

A baby's sleep is holy. In fact, sleep during the first three years has a completely different of quality than the rest of life. You could think of it as magic and creative, whereas later on sleep does the job of restoring, refreshing and adjusting our bodies and souls. So it's vital that baby gets as much sleep as possible.

But sleep today can be a huge problem area. Why that is, I can't say. What I can tell you is that three of my children had no problem getting off to sleep, and the fourth was the opposite. Maybe it had to do with the house not being so settled, because his older siblings would be busy with homework, reading, playing or simply chatting.

We tried 'sleep training' him and there'll be a link for on on this later. Didn't work. When we left him to cry, he'd simply get more and more upset, and so would we. Then the comforting would take even more time. So, night after night, one of us sat with him, singing until he drifted off. Sometimes big sister would play her guitar and that was good. A lyre would have been even better.

Fortunately, once he was sleeping, he tended to stay that way. Not always the case with sleep problem babies, I know. Sometimes I wonder if the 2-hour feeding schedule demand fed babies are inclined to fall into add to the waking up syndrome.

Anyhow, I have no words of wisdom to add to the topic. All I can do is refer you to a book that a good friend and long-time kindergarten teacher and trainer recommended to me. It's called 'The No-Cry Solution to Sleep'.

And here's the link to a recent Guardian article if you're interested:http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/12/health-dilemma-sleep-train-baby?

p.s. yes, I do believe a regular bed time ritual can help. So don't give up on this!

When you move a sleeping child

I'm gearing up for a longish post on that 'gender neutral' child. Meanwhile, a shortie as I'm taking a day off.

I was listening to the radio a minute ago and a woman was talking about her earliest memory, how she woke up in a strange house and started crying.

My dear mother taught me that, when you move a sleeping toddler or small child, it's good to murmur, and tell him or her what you're doing, and where you're going to lay them down. Ben did this instinctively, which made me happy. Do it, even if they're fast asleep. Those words will provide comfort.