Author: Lucy Wolfe

Sleep and your new baby

Infants require a significant amount of sleep in the first few months of life.  It may be surprising for some new parents to discover that sleep does not come naturally to your much anticipated arrival, or you may find that your new baby is rarely awake.  Just as they come in all shapes and sizes, the ability to sleep well at the start, varies hugely from each individual child. However, the amount of sleep necessary for healthy development does not differ hugely from baby to baby and there are a number of elements that may be addressed to ensure that you all get as much as possible.

5 steps to eliminate bedtime battles

Bedtime battles can involve a long drawn out bedtime routine, demands for one more story, a drink or something to eat. Whatever way your bedtime battle unfolds, all parents report that it is draining and stressful and a time that few look forward to. Here are 5 simple steps to help create a struggle-free bedtime process.

Toddler naps

Daytime sleep for children can be hard to master but completely necessary for young children and an area where parents may need to spend some time helping their child to develop the ability, to ensure that they are well rested both at night and during the day, which is vitally important for development. Why is … read more >

Sleep tips for pregnancy

Achieving good sleep when you are pregnant can really be a challenge. It is usual in the first trimester to experience extreme tiredness and then you have the promise of the second trimester when you should begin to feel vital and well.  However, this isn’t always the case and as your pregnancy progresses and you … read more >

Making the move from cot to bed

Just with most parenting strategies and ideals what works for some may not work as well for others.  Having your young child sleep in a cot for the first 2.5-3 years of life is typically a good idea for a lot of families.  Many parents will choose to transition their child from the cot into a bed at a much earlier age, for a variety of reasons.

10 Steps to Bedtime Routine

  Don’t underestimate the power of the bedtime routine.  A predictable sequence of events, that happens in the same order, at around same time and in the same place every night.  It is that simple. The premise of the bedtime routine is to bridge the gap between wakefulness and time for sleep and I suggest … read more >

Recovering healthy sleep habits following sickness or teething

Lots of factors affect your child’s sleep, the timing, the environment and way in which they go to sleep, developmental leaps and stages, travel, maternal mood for example.  Another sleep disturber is sickness and teething.  Sickness and teething has an ongoing impact on your child ability to sleep well.  Many children will experience bouts of … read more >

Nightmares and night terrors

It is important for parents to know that sleep disturbances are a normal part of development and are often more difficult for the parent than the child.  During our typical phases of sleep, we all wake up momentarily and have “partial arousals”, it is at this point during sleep that our children can be susceptible … read more >

Gentle Natural Newborn Sleep Tips

Young babies are notoriously bad sleepers and sleepless-children are one of the biggest challenges faced by parents of an otherwise healthy child.  At the start, from birth to around 4-6 months, I would expect most parents to have frequent night time awakenings for feeds and variable naps scattered throughout the course of the daytime.  It … read more >