Hello and welcome to Sleep Matters with Lucy Wolfe, I am so pleased that you have found me; I can help to transform your disrupted sleep life wherever you are located in Ireland and all around the world.

American Academy of Pediatrics , Pediatrics, Reducing Nocturnal Awakening and Crying Episodes in Infants and Young Children: A Comparison Between Scheduled Awakenings and Systemic Ignoring, February 1988. In extensive sleep advice on mychild.ie (and in the "Mychild 0-2 years" book given out by public health nurse), it explicitly says parents should not bedshare if the baby is under three months, was born prematurely (before 37 weeks) or had a low birth weight (less than 2.5kg), or if you or your partner are smokers, have consumed alcohol or other drugs, or are "over-tired".

Know the times that your baby naps and try to plan your outings to accommodate these, she suggests. “Baby can nap lying flat in the buggy in a busy coffee shop or out for a walk. If your baby only naps in a quiet dark room then he/she will have difficultly ‘napping out’ or in a bright noisy creche as they grow older.” After a few nights of putting her down at that time, move bedtime 15 minutes earlier and repeat the process with this new bedtime. From birth you can begin to gently shape your child’s sleep in the first 6 months and implement my effective and caring, percentage of wakefulness approach and from 6 months onwards up to age 6 you can learn all about my stay and support method and sleep guidance that promotes sleeping through the night and napping well by day, when your child is developmentally able to do so. Kelly Geoghegan: “Sometimes tiredness can be blinding and parents can’t see the obvious changes that need to be made.”

We probably had a couple of months of going in and out to him every few mins at bedtime (usually for max 15 mins?) and then he was great after that at going down and has been ever since. I am a Sleep Consultant, Co-Creational Relationship Mentor, Post-Graduate Researcher (PhD), Mum of four children, Author of the bestselling book- The Baby Sleep Solution and All About the Baby Sleep Solution and creator of the 100% natural “Sleep Through” Bed and Body Sleep Spray and Relaxing Rub. I have been in practice, supporting and guiding thousands of families for over 12 years. Our first meeting took place over Zoom and after reading the 'Client History Review' I had sent through ahead of it, Lucy seemed very confident that we could solve all our problems in four weeks. I was delighted to hear her encouraging words but also a tiny bit doubtful as my son seemed to be very stubborn (I had tried other methods I had found on Google… and nothing worked). As the weeks passed, the sleep routine schedule not only allowed me to be happier and more present with my children and husband, but it allowed me to get to know my youngest son better and understand the 'why' to some of his behaviour. Now that he was having naps (long ones, thank god) and was more rested and happy, it made other issues come to light, such as his sensitivity to certain foods I was giving him.

You can apply the same nighttime sleep training strategy for naps. If you’re trying cry it out or Ferber, keep in mind that after 30 minutes of crying, a good portion of the nap may be gone. So you may want to set a limit on crying (say, 10 or 15 minutes) before trying another method of getting your baby to sleep. How long does sleep training take? And while this technique may be the right fit for some families, know that it may lead to more tears for some babies. When your baby falls asleep with you in the room, she may be startled and possibly upset when she awakes and you’re no longer there. Bedtime fading method In the early months, parents “waste a lot of energy worrying about something that is not yet biologically developed”, says Wolfe. But from six months onwards, while the amount of sleep is important, she prefers to focus on what happens between the naps because “if we have the dynamic right, the body will respond in kind”.

The consultants all agree that whatever the routine is, it should be started before the child is too tired. Wolfe believes that babies aged four to eight months generally do well if there is no more than two hours between the last nap and aiming to be in bed asleep. That grows to a three- to four-hour gap by 18 months. Become as informed as you can be - then begin to lay a solid foundation - discover your child’s language for sleep - and attempt naps by day before they become overtired. While some parents worry that some methods might harm a baby's health or create attachment-related issues down the line, research shows that sleep training doesn’t increase the risk of behavioral or emotional problems later in childhood. If you’re stressed, anxious and unwell, the baby will tune into it.” Parents, especially mums, she adds, should not be afraid to talk about post-natal depression or feel ashamed to look for help. However, O’Reilly says that if at all possible, a bedroom should be a place to sleep. “Keeping it free of too many toys or ‘things to do’ will create a sanctuary and peaceful space for babies and older kids.”Does your little one wail for extended periods of time before falling asleep? Her body might not be ready for sleep at your desired bedtime. The bedtime fading method can modify her circadian rhythm to get bedtime to where you want it to be.Here’s how.