At about 18 months, many parents agree that their toddlers sleep less well than usual for naps and at night time. In their brilliant book, The Wonder Weeks, Hetty Vanderijt and Frans Plooij refer to a development leap between 18 and 21 months, which results in what they call “fussy behaviour”. Parents have come to call this “the 18 month sleep regression”.
At around 18 months of age, toddlers are truly on the go from morning to night. No longer just walking, many are running, jumping and climbing. They are able to imitate older siblings and adults, and language development suddenly takes off with many toddlers being able to use hundreds of words (although we might not recognise them all just yet). It still surprises me a little when I ask my 18 month old, Frankie, to do something , like fetch me some socks from the drawer, and he does it without hesitation.
No wonder then, that with all this going on, their sleep is disrupted. I have found that toddlers at this age often become exhausted, waking frequently at night and struggling to nap for very long in the day. (more…)
This week’s Star of the Blog is 10 month old Lottie, sleeping soundly on her sun lounger. Here’s what Lottie’s mum had to say:
“I’ve been meaning to write for ages to tell you just how wonderful I think your Sleepytot bunny is! I’ve attached a photo of my 10 month old daughter with her beloved bunny, taking a snooze on a sun lounger on holiday! I recommend the sleepytot to everyone I know whose baby has a dummy and have just ordered another ‘spare’ just in case!”
As you probably know by now, I just LOVE it when people send in pictures of their small people with Sleepytot. It’s genuinely really great to see how loved Sleepytot is and as we know, a much loved cuddly friend can make a huge difference in the day to day life of a baby, toddler or pre-schooler. Check out Fifi and her Sleepytot baby comforter in the images below.
I can’t remember who told me you should never wake a sleeping baby. It might have been my mum, or maybe it’s something I heard a lot of people saying as I was growing up. And it does seem crazy to wake a sleeping child.
And yet, there are times when you should.
Take, for example, a newborn who has day and night mixed up. Your little mite is having beautiful long stretches of sleep in the day and then feeding all night. You need your baby to get most of his calories in the day so he gradually needs less feeds at night. Waking him every so often for a feed, change and cuddle throughout the day, is the beginning of teaching him the difference between day and night. (more…)
I like routines for my small people. They help me plan my day and they prepare my children for what’s going to happen next. My baby naps at about the same time every day so his body is ready for a sleep when I put him down, and this means he goes to sleep without any fuss. (more…)
The truth is that it’s rare any product will magically transform your hourly waking baby or toddler into a “sleeps through the night” dream child. Things are normally much more complicated than this.
But there are some products which really do help. Here are the basics: (more…)
The clocks go forward on Sunday 28th March, but our babies will, of course, have no idea. If you have a baby who has a regular sleep routine and you’re worried the clocks going forward might affect this, here’s how you can keep your baby’s sleep on track. (more…)
People often say to me that they have chosen not to use blackout blinds in the nursery because they don’t want their baby to get so used to only sleeping in the dark, that they can’t then sleep when out and about or on holiday and so on.
I completely understand this and if you have a baby who naps well, sleeps through the night and doesn’t wake at 5am, then please don’t bother investing in blackout blinds or anything else to help your baby sleep!
However, if your baby naps poorly or is an early riser, then blackout blinds can make a significant difference to your baby’s sleeping habits very quickly. (more…)
Napping seems to be one of the most difficult challenges parents face with their baby’s sleep and I can understand why it’s frustrating. A long day with a tired baby is no fun for anyone.
Now, new research has confirmed that sleep is an integral part of how infants learn more about their world.
We have understood for some time now that babies and children need sleep in order to learn. And another study, carried out by psychologists at the University of Arizona-Tucson has found that babies who nap in the day are more likely to exhibit an advanced level of learning known as abstraction. (more…)
