Sneak Peek into my second children’s book…

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Whew! I just finished it. After spending months and months dreaming, writing, designing, sketching and painting it, my second children’s book is now off to be published!

And not a nick of time too soon, as my house has literally fallen apart around me (we are talking dust bunnies that have built their own little hutches in every corner of my house) and orders in my shop have back up slightly (sorry peeps! Working on them right now!!!) my house feels strangely sad with all of this clutter cleared away:

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the book I have been working on is such an important one. It’s all about sleep, from a Heart Centered Parenting perspective.

It’s funny that most of the world shares sleep as a family with their little ones… certainly it’s the most natural thing in the world to most mammals… yet my publisher Lisa Bently (of Do Life Right, Inc.) and I could not find a single picture book that parents could share with their children that included pictures of families sleeping together.

Yes, there is a ton of literature out there for adults to read… but picture books? Nada.  Some of my favorite books for parents on the topic of sleep come from Dr. Sears, who first coined the term sleep sharing.  He is fabulous about coming at it from a medical perspective and writing about the benefits of sleep sharing.

(And if you are interested, this another good read about why some children may show resistance to bedtime…)

Lisa and I aimed to produced the most adorable picture book ever, one that shows gentle and sweet pictures of families all around the world sleep sharing… from a graceful pod of whales in the sea to a troop of monkeys in a tree to families in tents and in hammocks and in RV’s and in boat houses and in neighborhoods, villages, apartments and homes all over the world… I can’t think of a better book to soothe your little one to sleep then this.

In the back of the book are several “Dr. Laura” pages, where I talk about sleep from a Heart Centered Parenting perspective and give some great ideas to incorporate a little nighttime connection in your own family. No, you don’t have to share the same bed to foster a nighttime connection with your littles.  There are lots of things you can do as a parent to make sure nighttime is a time to reinforce your family bonds and help your little one feel secure as they sleep.

Restorative sleep is so important to the cuties who are growing and learning all day long… allowing their bodies to fully relax and their brains to cement the neuronal connections they’ve made during the day ensures that the next day begins as a fresh start, a new platform on which to leap forward.  Part of falling into that deep restorative sleep involves creating a safe and supportive sleep arrangement that benefits everyone.  It doesn’t have to be in the same bed, or even in the same room, although it could be.  In my book I talk about my very favorite ways to strengthen a nighttime bond with your child, regardless of where you sleep.

It’s not about sleep.  It’s about connection.

After all, night-time is soul time.

This is a great book to support any parent who seeks to strengthen their child’s restorative sleep and is a lovely picture book to read to every baby.   All babies intuitively love to see pictures of animals snuggled up as a family and people snuggled up with their children. This book fills a much needed void in the gentle world of heart centered parenting.

It should be available in about 3 months, and I’ll keep you posted right here as soon as I see it! You can also like Do Life Right’s FB page to keep posted on their latest books as they release, and/or sign up for my blog alerts by entering your email in the email box to the left.

xoxo, Laura