This Mom of Four Was Running on No Sleep—These 5 Healthy Bedtime Habits Changed Everything

It’s so important that moms get their 8-hours of shuteye a night just as much as the kids but for all those parents reading this, we all know that our children often have other plans. Our relationship with sleep shifts dramatically after we give birth. Just ask Taryn Newton. The digital storyteller, finance guru, affordable stylist, and mom of four— Cameron (13), Calvin (6), Cyrus (2), and Cash, 4 months—certainly has her work cut out for her.

“I try to get as much as sleep as possible but with a young baby, it is not always the easiest,” she explains. “I value sleep but working a 9-5 and having my blog, I’ve realized I cannot do both properly, and in a month I’m depleted and running on no sleep.” To ensure that doesn’t happen, Newton has put strict boundaries in place to get as much sleep as she can (when the baby allows, of course). “I have a set bedtime that I follow no matter if I want to keep doing other things,” she continues. “I shut it down so I can get my rest and be ready for the next day.”

This bedtime routine also applies to her boys and thanks to their new Purple kid’s mattress, when they go to sleep, they stay asleep. “Let me just say this, when the boys switched to Purple mattresses they have been getting out of bed less,” says Newton. “ I definitely think it impacts their sleep. Comfortable mattresses aid longer sleep cycles.”

Read on to learn more about their experience with the new Purple kid’s mattress, Newton’s nightstand must-haves, and her top five healthy bedtime habits—grab a pen, you’ll want to write them down!

Sleep, or lack of it, can contribute to many health concerns including mental health, productivity, weight, immunity—the list goes on! Getting good sleep is all about how you wind down before bed. Can you share your nighttime routine or pre-sleep ritual and how that sets you up for sleep success? Why does this enhance a more restful night’s sleep? 

Every night after the boys go to bed, I go through emails, then I will drink my nighttime tea, typically watch a show with the hubby, then do my skincare routine.  It’s helped me just relax after a long day and also gives me time to connect with the hubby.

What are your nightstand must-haves for a good night’s sleep?

Our Alexa Show, night light, glass of lemon water, and a rice cake. I am sure you are wondering why the rice cake. Well. I am also on the journey to be the best version of myself and trying to lose weight that I gained during pregnancy.  Well, when I am up with the baby in the middle of the night I found myself snacking. So you will likely see some form of rice cake by the bed.  

What are your hacks for getting through the day after a bad night’s sleep?

First, sometimes when you are exhausted it can be difficult to keep focused.  Grab some tea or coffee to help rejuvenate yourself and take your daily vitamins. Then I write out my to-do list to help me stay focused with the day. Additionally, on days that I had a rough night previously, I will make a crockpot meal that is easy so it’s one last thing to remember.

What does your kid/s sleep ritual look like? Can you share the challenges of getting your kids into a healthy sleep routine—what’s worked/what hasn’t? 

My tips to help have healthy bedtime habits are:

• Have children go to bed at the same time every night.
  Establishing a set time helps our kids wind down and start mentally preparing for sleep.

• Create a bedtime routine.
  After shutting down electronics, we bathe the boys and then dedicate about 20 minutes to reading. We allow the boys to also do one Amazon Kids bedtime story after we read together. It turns off at the end of the story so the boys know it’s time to go to sleep. 

• Invest in comfort and sleep-time support.
  We have been sleeping with Purple mattresses since early 2019. It started with our master bed. It used to take me a long time to get to bed and I instantly felt like it was easier to get to bed and stay asleep. At the time my mother was living with me, and she had been having back pain. We decided to swap hers out, and she hasn’t complained about her back since. That convinced us to swap out the boys’ mattress because we felt that it would help our boys sleep better. Cyrus wakes up a lot in the middle of the night and we wanted to try giving him a better mattress. Since making the swap the boys have slept noticeably better. I realized that you have to invest in your sleep. Now our entire family is Purple and I try to convince all our friends and family to make the switch, too.

• Shut down electronics.
  We make sure to turn off the kids' screens to allow their minds to slow down and prepare for the end of the day. We try to turn it off about one hour at least before bedtime. The last thing we need is for our boys to be still thinking about a Fortnite battle when trying to go to bed.

• Get the kids to bed early.
  For us, being so busy, it can be difficult to get them to bed at a decent hour. Sometimes they were going to bed after 10 pm. We started being really intentional about sticking with a schedule. The younger boys go to bed at 8:30 pm and Cameron is in bed at 9:00 pm and sleeps by 9:30 pm.

Can you recommend any books that helped?

We let the boys pick a different book to read each night.

How much have your sleep patterns and rituals changed since quarantine? Why?

The boy’s schedule definitely got thrown off. They started going to bed late and sleeping in. We have gradually started migrating back to normal before school started.

Now, your favorite mattress brand, Purple just launched for kids and yours have been testing it. What were your kid/s first impressions—how has it enhanced their sleep, what changes have you noticed, would you recommend it—tell us everything!

Definitely, the boys have been loving it. I would say the biggest shown change is in our toddler Cyrus. He was previously sleeping on a crib mattress and getting up multiple times per night. He is now sleeping without waking up. 

How are you teaching your children about the importance of sleep hygiene and rituals for a good night’s sleep? Can you recommend any books?

We first lead by example. We show our kids good sleeping habits by having a regime for ourselves and not staying up late. We also have our boys on a nighttime routine.  

What advice do you have for sleep-deprived parents reading this who are struggling to find a routine that sticks and gets their kids into a routine?

First off, you are not alone. I am currently in the thick of it. Hang in there! Remember to stay consistent. Once we stayed consistent every night, the boys started moving at our rhythm. 

Sentence finishers:

When I make time for self-care, I… watch reruns of The Office with popcorn, curled under my favorite blanket.

My go-to tip for a good night’s sleep is ... a nice long shower and a cozy blanket.

If there were more hours in the day I would… write a book.

Moms know best because… we have lived and learned.

A good night’s sleep feels like… a Christmas miracle.

I’d give up sweets for an uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep. 

The silliest thing I’ve done while sleep deprived is… go all day and think it was Tuesday when it really was Wednesday.

Click here to learn more from other moms on their sleep tips, nighttime routine, and experience with the new Purple Kid's Mattress.

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Nothing Could Get This Busy Mom's Kids to Sleep Through the Night—Until She Tried This

If there’s one thing every mom has in common it’s sleep deprivation. In fact, nearly half of all parents with children six months or younger get just one to three hours of uninterrupted sleep a night. For lifestyle influencer, entrepreneur, and mom of two girls—Ayda (5) and Luca (2) (with one on the way)—Mikayla Shocks, sleep just seems like an extension of her day. “My kids aren’t the best sleepers so I am usually awoken by one or both of them one to two times per night,” she tells Create & Cultivate. “Even on the few lucky nights that they do sleep all night long, my mom-brain automatically wakes me up around the times they typically wake!”

Sound familiar? Practicing good sleep hygiene is just as important for mom as it is for baby which is why a good routine always helps—sticking to it though is another thing entirely! But if like Mikayla, you’re having trouble with that, perhaps the secret to unlocking a full 8-hours of uninterrupted sleep is less about how they’re sleeping and more about what they’re sleeping on.

We’re all familiar with the famous comfort-gel Grid technology of the Purple mattress, well now there’s finally a Purple for kids. We sent the new mattress for Mikayala’s two young girls to test out and the results were life-changing. Read on to hear more about their experience along with Mikayla’s sleep tips, bedtime routine (including her nightstand must-haves), and how she’s teaching her kids about the health benefits of a good night’s sleep.

Sleep, or lack of it, can contribute to many health concerns including mental health, productivity, weight, immunity—the list goes on! Getting good sleep is all about how you wind down before bed. Can you share your nighttime routine or pre-sleep ritual and how that sets you up for sleep success? Why does this enhance a more restful night’s sleep?

Whether my kids wake me at night or not, I always sleep better when I follow my own routine after my kids go to bed. This includes: taking a long hot shower, stepping into my robe, putting a good smelling lotion all over my body, doing my skincare routine, listening to my podcast, and making sure my bed is made and my pillows are fluffed right before I get in!

What are your nightstand must-haves for a good night’s sleep?

• A tall glass of ice-cold water

• A humidifier

• Chapstick

What are your hacks for getting through the day after a bad night’s sleep? 

Coffee and lots of deep breaths!

What does your kid/s sleep ritual look like? Can you share the challenges of getting your kids into a healthy sleep routine—what’s worked/what hasn’t? 

My kids’ sleep ritual (on a good day) goes a little something like them taking a bath and putting lots of lotion and warm pajamas on. Then they each choose a healthy snack to eat in bed (usually a few carrots or some apple slices.) While they eat them, we read two books of their choice. They get a glass of water for their nightstand and get into bed. Then we turn on their noise machine, humidifier, and nightlight.

The biggest challenge with this is that we have a very sporadic schedule, and every day tends to be different than the last. This sometimes pushes their bedtime back which gets them out of their good habits. Some nights also just don’t go as planned and they end up sneaking out of their room three to four times before finally giving in and going to sleep.

Can you recommend any books that helped?

The ABC’s of Sleep by Taking Cara Babies is AMAZING and helped us so much when our youngest was a baby.

How much have your sleep patterns and rituals changed since quarantine? Why?

Quarantine has actually helped improve our sleep patterns and rituals. I attribute this to the fact that this time has really caused us to slow down during the day and free up our schedule of running in and out of the house all day and really focus on creating a routine that we can follow every night.

How much does your mattress impact your and your kid/s sleep and why?

Our mattresses greatly impact our sleep as a family. My husband and I have a pretty nice and comfortable mattress that we invested a lot of money into. The girls’ on the other hand are “as hard as a rock” as my five-year-old puts it. The few times I have laid with her in her bed, I actually thought the same thing (ha!) I would imagine that having a high-quality, comfortable mattress would help my kids’ sleep patterns tremendously. 

Now, your favorite mattress brand, Purple just launched for kids and yours have been testing it. What were your kid/s first impressions—how has it enhanced their sleep, what changes have you noticed, would you recommend it—tell us everything!

THIS MATTRESS HAS OFFICIALLY CHANGED THE GAME! We are on night four of sleeping with the Purple kid’s mattresses and my kids have consecutively gone to sleep and stayed asleep in their own beds every night so far! I don’t know why it never dawned on me that the reason why they were terrible sleepers was that their mattresses were terrible! I 100% recommend this Purple kids mattress for wild sleepers who have trouble staying asleep. I have never slept better in my life because they have never slept better in their lives!

How are you teaching your children about the importance of sleep hygiene and rituals for a good night’s sleep? Can you recommend any books? 

 I try to make them excited about their routine and teach them to love it. I try to emphasize how much better they feel when they’re clean and get into a bed that’s made and has clean sheets.

What advice do you have for sleep-deprived parents reading this who are struggling to find a routine that sticks and gets their kids into a routine? 

Keep it simple! Don’t overwhelm yourself (or your kids) with trying to get into a complicated routine. Set clear boundaries like telling them they can only come out of their room when the sun comes up, and communicating to them how much happier mom and dad are and how helpful it is when everyone gets a good night's sleep in their own beds. Kids love to please their parents so if they have a great night then make a big deal about it and celebrate so they want to do it again, and again!

Sentence finishers:

When I make time for self-care, I... take a hot shower, put on my favorite facemask and podcast, and curl up in my nice, warm bed!

My go-to tip for a good night’s sleep is... making sure your bed is made before getting in and leaving your phone on the other side of the room!

If there were more hours in the day I would... sit alone outside and watch the sunrise with a hot cup of coffee and a cozy blanket.

Moms know best because... we always want what’s best.

A good night’s sleep feels like... hitting a reset button on life!

I’d give up coffee for an uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep.

The silliest thing I’ve done while sleep deprived is... forget to attach the bottle to my breast pump while pumping—oops!

Click here to learn more from other moms on their sleep tips, nighttime routine, and experience with the new Purple Kid's Mattress.

MORE FROM THE BLOG