Our contest ran from June 8th to June 14th.  We have determined our winner with the help of Random.org.

Congratulations to Marla, who will have her choice of either a Bed Bumper for Big Kids or a Toddler Size Pillow, compliments of Kidz Comfort!

I love my Bed Bumper!

We would still love to hear from you…check out our site and tell us how we could improve.  Whether it is a larger selection, more variety for each product, website navigation, or anything else…we’d love to hear your ideas and opinions.

Read more about why Toddler Size Pillows may be the right choice for your child:  Read Full Story

Read more about Bed Bumpers for Big Kids and their benefits:  Read Full Story

Here is your chance to win your choice of a Bed Bumper for Big Kids OR one of our Toddler Size Pillows!  Whether you have kids or need a gift for some one else’s child, this is a great opportunity!

• Entry: Just visit our site and then come back here to let everyone know what item and what design you would choose.  I would also love to hear your suggestions on new designs.
• Extra Entry: Join our email list, either here or on our website, and you will get an extra entry.
• Extra Entry: Tweet about this contest on Twitter and receive an entry.
• Contest closing is midnight EST, Sunday June 14th.
• The winner will be chosen using Random.org.

Come see our one-of-a-kind Bed Bumpers for Big Kids.  I know you’ll appreciate them!  I know I did.

I LOVE my Bed Bumper for Big Kids

When I checked on my son the other night, I was soooo thankful that I had created these bumpers.  After all, he is a wild sleeper.  I just had to snap a picture to show everyone exactly how useful they are.  My son had managed to turn himself completely sideways, jamming his head up against what would have been a hard wall.

Our Bed Bumpers for Big Kids are made of 100% cotton with a thick polyester non-allergenic fill creating the soft and safe buffer for your child.

In addition, during colder months, it actually prevents a child’s body from resting up against a cold wall.  We especially appreciate that up here in New England.

We had originally created these bumpers for our own two boys just over two years ago.  We had been concerned about all the tossing & turning they were doing, and all the banging and bumping we could hear during the night.  At least one of them would wake up from this several times each week.  I had to come up with something to help.

The Bed Bumper for Big Kids was then born.  It works on any clean painted wall, best used where your child’s bedside runs along the wall.  It will help them sleep safely through the night, comfy and cozy.

If you are still confused about how they work, check out this video on how to actually mount the bumper on your child’s wall.

Don’t forget to pass this on and enter as many times as you like.

Sleep well!

Read more about Bed Bumpers for Big Kids HERE.

raelynn @ Kidz Comfort

As a Mother, I am quite aware of all the stressful milestones that take place during the toddler and pre-school years. One of these stressful times happens to be transitioning from a crib to a big boy or girl bed. There are several tips and tricks that you can use to make this transition go smoothly and safely for both you and your child.

It can sometimes be difficult to determine when your child is ready to leave the crib. With this decision it is important that you follow the child’s lead. A sure sign is if your child can actually climb out of their crib. This can pose the risk for injury to your child. At young ages, children often do not have the coordination and stability to climb safely, not to mention the risk of falling several feet to the floor.

Children usually transition from their crib to a bed between the ages of 18 months and 36 months according to experts. If they are not climbing out of the crib yet, there is no need to rush it. Dr. Laura Jana, a general pediatrician in Denver, Colorado, and one of Dr. Spock’s experts says “there is no definitive answer to the question of when a child should be switched from a crib to a bed. Each family’s situation is different, and in many ways this issue really boils down to a matter of opinion.” One thing to consider is that the longer a child stays in a crib, the more attached they may become to it and transitioning to a bed may be more difficult.

There are a variety of things that you can try to make it easier on everyone involved. Once you’ve determined that it is time to abandon the crib, set a time-frame for the transition period. The reason for doing this is that it is often easier for the child if they see a bed set up in their room for a couple days while they continue to go to sleep in their own crib. This allows them to mentally adjust to it.

The type of bed that you transition them into is strictly a personal preference. Many choose to place a mattress on the floor initially so that there aren’t any accidental falls from the bed that are from too high up. There are thousands of different styles of beds available today from toddler beds to twin beds and larger. You can find themed beds, beds shaped like cars, canopy beds, etc…The list is endless. Keep in mind that the fancier the bed, the more costly it will probably be, also considering how many years they will be in this particular bed.

Allow them to help create their own space. Take them shopping for the bedding and accessories. Let them choose one special item that they can sleep with each night such as a new teddy bear or other soft cuddly item. Toddler size pillows are usually a better and safer choice than standard size pillows as they are more proportionate to the child’s smaller body. These ideas will comfort them while they try to adjust to their new sleeping arrangement.

Again, safety is always a priority. Be sure to have a means for keeping your child from falling out of the bed such as a bed rail. If the child’s bedside is up against a wall, another great safety item is the Bed Bumper for Big Kids. This will help to prevent nighttime bumps and boo-boos while your child tosses and turns in their sleep, creating a barrier between your child and their wall.

Gradually begin to let them nap in the new bed during the day if they are still taking naps. This is also a great way to actually be awake while they “react” to their new sleeping quarters. After several successful naps, begin getting excited with them about how big they are now. Let them help you disassemble the crib and remove it from the bedroom. Make the whole experience exciting and happy.

To prevent wandering around the house, a gate can be used to segregate them from the rest of the house, either by putting it in their doorway or by putting it in a hallway so that they can only access your room or their own room. Be sure that all precautions are taken with regards to child proofing your home.

It is very important that you are patient and give it time. If you are relaxed and loving during the whole process, your child will do fine and you will all sleep very well.

To sum it all up:

• The bedroom and home should be completely child proofed.
• Make their sleep area fun and interesting, allowing them to choose some décor.
• Make sure there are comforting items in the room; nightlights, stuffed animals.
• Reasonable transition period with new bed in room while child is still in crib.
• Start by having them sleep in the new bed during nap times.
• Be sure to segregate them from other areas of home by use of gate.
• Give it time.

My 5-year old son snores, and loud.  We never really saw an issue with it until recently when he spent the better part of several nights in our bed.  He was restless, always kicking, pushing and turning.  He snored and snorted and sucked air in through both his mouth and nose, sometimes sounding as if he was gasping for air.  We started to become a bit concerned about it.  After all, how could he actually be sleeping well?

I started to Google “children snoring” and found so much information about it, but one particular article caught my eye.  It was called “Sleep Apnea as a Cause of Bed Wetting?” Coincidentally, our son also wets his bed quite frequently.  Wow…is it possible they could be related?  Along with that, it also attributes hyperactivity to sleep apnea in some cases.  Guess what…my son borders on hyperactive as well, along with having a lack of focus sometimes in school.

The main culprit appears to be the adenoids.  If the adenoids are enlarged, it can cause sleeping issues including apnea.  Sleep apnea, according to Wikipedia, is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep.  Each episode, called an apnea lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep.  The standard definition of any apneic event includes a minimum 10 second interval between breaths.

If your child is exhibiting these symptoms, iVillage obviously recommends having your child evaluated by their physician.  I know I will be doing that now.

To read the full iVillage article, just visit www.iVillage.com or go directly to the article here… iVillage.com article.

Sleep Well!

raelynn @ Kidz Comfort

Rae Lynn Glispin is owner of Kidz Comfort, offering great sleep solutions for children and encouraging a calm and soothing bedtime routine. First to create the Bed Bumper for Big Kids, she expanded her product line to include comforting and stylish items for every child. Visit http://www.kidzcomfort.com for more information.

When my son was somewhere around the age of two, he suddenly began waking up during the middle of the night crying.  Not just a simple cry though.  It was a terrifying screaming cry.  My husband and I would rush into our little boy’s room and ask franticly, “WHAT’S WRONG, WHAT’S WRONG?”  We would pick him up, but he would thrash and kick until we put him on the floor where he proceeded to throw himself around, still screaming at the top of his lungs.  This would happen every few nights, usually lasting at least an hour each time, and this wouldn’t stop for a couple years!

Like many new parents, we had never heard of night terrors.  We had absolutely no idea what was going on.  Was he in pain?  Should we take him to the hospital?  How stressful to be so out of control and unable to help your own child.  Years have past and our son is now five.  We have not seen a night terror in a year or so (thank goodness!) but the memories are still etched in our minds.

This story is not uncommon.  The ending, however, is always the same…the night terrors eventually stop when the child grows out of them.  The main goal is to keep them safe during these events.

Here, several Moms share their own stories:

Shawna Zaludek of Ballerinas and Buckaroos wrote:
My oldest who is now 11 went through night terrors from around the age of 3 to the age of 4. She would wake up screaming, usually in a terrible sweat. I was a young mother and did not know what I was dealing with. I took her to her doctor and due to a very traumatic divorce (her father was a very violent man) she developed night terrors from stress. My heart would break every time I heard her screaming, when I did try to rouse her it usually resulted in her being more upset and very confused. I was so thankful when she finally outgrew this, what a heartbreaking ordeal for a parent to go through as you feel that your hands are tied and you cannot “kiss” the hurt away.

Cathryn Weaver of www.MiraclesWithWater.com and www.DrinkTheRightWater.com wrote:  Our perfectly normal, happy, and very healthy 11 month old boy started this and turned us all upside down and inside out with concern. I read everything I could get my hands on and as it turned out, the ROOM DECOR seemed to be the trigger. I had gone from calm baby blue to not-too-bright yellow with green accents and I had a very brightly multi-colored owl on his wall near his bed. I walked him around his room during the day in the light and he played with his toys in his room and all was well, but at night, a totally different story. I don’t know if you have recently redecorated or moved, but for us, the decor was the problem. I removed the owl and no more night terrors. I know this is awful for you and I hope it does not last too long.

Sherri Frushon, CEO of Baby Huggables wrote:  I have a son who is now 24 but when he was younger, he went through about 5 years of having night terrors. He would walk the hall way at night, sound to sleep, flapping his hands like a bird in the air, calling out and reaching out.
I had to put up gates every where so he would not fall down the stairs or get in to things he was not suppose to get in to while he was walking around. These lasted until he was about 6 years old.

My other younger daughter who is now 11 years old, had night terrors from about 3 years of age to about age 8. She too would walk the hall way at night and knock with her fist on the walls and keep knocking and crying out loud. She looked like she was awake but in reality was never awake during any of these night terrors. I would gently guide her back to her own bed and help her back in to her bed and make sure she was comfortable and she was ok prior to leaving her room. I did set up gates at night so she would not get herself hurt.

After having been exposed to two (2) children who suffered through these horrible night terrors I did some research and a low carb diet with minimal sugar is highly suggested to those children who suffer through night terrors. It is never recommended that you wake up a child who is having a night terror, but lead them back in to their bed and softly speak to them and tell the child everything is going to be ok, prior to leaving the room.

I also read that night terrors will go away by the age of six (6) however, this was not the case with either of my children. My son was around age of seven (7) when he out grew the night terrors and my daughter stopped having night terrors at age eight (8).

I do believe diet prior to bed has a huge control in night terrors, no caffeine or chocolate of any kind, low carbs and less sugar is best.

Jen Edwards of Kids’ Keys to Success wrote: Great of you to post this topic…It really freaked me out the first time it happened.

My daughter was almost three. We had a normal night…nothing different about the day, nor with her bedtime routine. At 7:30 we read our bedtime story and tucked her in. She soon fell asleep to the humming of her humidifier and at 3 am I was startled out of my own restful sleep with a blood curdling scream. I ran to her room (I don’t remember my feet hitting the floor).

She was standing straight up in bed and screaming unlike any noise I have ever heard before. I picked her up and held her, but she didn’t melt into my arms like she normally does (like with a nightmare). finally she calmed and like she never noticed the noise or disruption she quietly went back to sleep. My nerves where shot from my adrenalin hit and I felt frazzled and dazed.

The next morning she didn’t remember it and I exhausted from adrenalin withdrawal the rest of the day.

I came to learn more about night terrors and how common they are. I wish I had known that before her first one!

Kathy Stuhr of Shaklee wrote:  My daughter used to have night terrors when she was still in a crib. She would wake up screaming at the top of her lungs. Eyes wide open but you could see she was still asleep . I would pick her up and she would point to ’something’ and I would walk around the whole house thinking she wanted something. Finally, I would just sit in the rocking chair with her screaming and would do that until she fell back asleep which could be up to 1/2 hour. She didn’t have them often but when she did they were frightening…she probably had 3 or 4 of them. She didn’t sleep thru the night consistently until she was 17 months old….boy was I tired.

Candace of www.sonbeams.com wrote:  I’m not sure I could say my son had night terrors, but he has gone through a spell where he’s woken up many nights obviously bothered about something. He’s 4, and it’s hard to explain sometimes exactly what he’s thinking. But he has talked about dreams, and some of the things he’s told us would make them ’scary’ dreams. THANKFULLY, I came across a website due to some health concerns, and strange enough – I believe he ONLY has trouble sleeping on nights when he’s had sugary foods before bed. Candida (yeast overgrowth) DOES cause nightmares and such, and once I began paying attention to when we ate ‘bad’ foods for this – it did appear linked to the nights he ate those foods!

Got your own Night Terror story?

Toddler Size Travel Pillow

The measurements of a toddler size travel pillow is normally 12″ x 16″, and at Kidz Comfort comes with a stylish pillow case that fits just right.  The pillows can be used at home in their own bed, at daycare, preschool or Kindergarten for nap time or in the car for those long trips and vacations.  They all have a 100% cotton fabric pillow case and a non-allergenic fill to help with those allergies that seem to be popping up more and more with children.

Obviously, you should never use a pillow with an infant, or even on a toddler until they are at least 2 years old and are past the point of the risk of SIDS.

My kids love these pillows because they are the perfect size to snuggle up with when they are going to bed or taking their naps at school.  Wouldn’t you rest better knowing that your child was more comfortable?  After all, kids don’t always know how to communicate that something is not comfortable.  Take care of it before it becomes an issue and buy today at Kidz Comfort.

Sleep Well!

raelynn @ Kidz Comfort