Hi Benjamin,

It sounds like the stroller might be a great option for when you’re out and about, given that he’s already 9 kilos.

To get to the point where naps outside are a bit easier, it would be helpful to help him learn how to fall asleep on his own. I have outlined how you can work on this skill at home below.

For naps, what you’d want to…

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Hi Emma,

Thanks for your rapid reply. it’s true about them becoming more alert. He’s only 5 months old, but seems to be a bit beyond that compared to others we know. He is quite a large baby and has outgrown his bassinet, so we’ve had to take that option off the table, sadly. But the carrier works occasionally, so that could be an option to…

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Hi Benjamin,

It’s great that you’ve got a great sleeping environment to help for your little one at home.

Unfortunately, getting them to sleep in busy environments can be really challenging and that’s the case for all babies, regardless of how good their sleep setup is at home. There’s just so much going on around them that it’s hard for them…

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No worries at all Leone. Let me know how you go and we can adjust/tweak as needed.

Hi there,

So, we have a great sleep environment setup at home in our room for our now 5 month old. It’s a crib next to our bed as the bassinet no longer fits him (he never slept in it anyway). The room has a type of blind that cuts out all light, so it’s dark and relatively quiet (the dogs where we live are a but loud sometimes). During the day…

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Hey Emma.

Thanks so much.. I am going to try implementing the above tips. Helps to have a cut off for the pyramid… Now I know if it doesn’t work in 20 minutes just put him to sleep.

Thanks again… Let’s hope this works

Hi Leone,

It’s great to hear that he’s putting on weight!

It’s great that you’ve already got a consistent wake-up time for your little one. What you’re describing – where he sleeps a lot of the day – is pretty typical for a four-week-old. What you should notice is that he starts to have longer and longer periods of wakefulness after a feed…

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Hey Emma

I totally get the questions and appreciate you taking time to help.

• So I wake him between 7 and 7.30 unless he wakes up earlier on his own.
• He naps all day currently.. With the odd wake periods during feed time. He hasn’t really been up for play time much. I find that he nods of to sleep while I’m feeding him. He does sometimes get up…

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Hi Leone,

It sounds like sleep overnight is really challenging at the moment. Not sleeping between 1:30am – 5am isn’t something we would typically be expecting, and it must be exhausting for you.

Given that it’s a new behaviour, I just have a few questions to help me identify the possible cause and the right approach to take. I’m so sorry for…

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Hi Pav,

I think we need to work out how much total sleep Roh needs in 24 hours and then use that information to help identify the best schedule for him. Are you able to send me through a weeks worth of sleep information – so the time he wakes each morning, the time he starts his nap, the time he wakes from the nap, the time he falls asleep…

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Thanks Emma

This does really help. It’s really hard to read his sleep cues right now but I am trying to understand him.

Yes, everything is quite busy and new so we are adjusting.

I am experiencing him stay up for most of the night… Like between 1.30am and 5am. I am actually sleeping with him in my arms at this point so that I can get some…

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Hi Leone,

Firstly, congrats on the arrival of your little one! Sounds like your house would be really busy with a one-year-old and a one-month-old.

About the long wake periods

Yes, it’s possible for your one-month-old to have a longer wake window, particularly in the afternoon and evening. What you’re describing – staying awake for 2+ hours,…

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HI Catherin,

It’s great to hear that your little one’s sleep has started to become more consistent!

Given that she’s 18 months, here’s what I’d recommend:

Start by setting a consistent wake-up time

For the next few days, regardless of what time she goes to bed, wake her up at 7:30am.

What this does is help set her circadian rhythm so that her…

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Hi Emma,

We are having a run of 530-6am wake ups for over a week. Yesterday Rohan slept 12-230. I woke up him at 230. He was tired in the second half of the morning with crankiness, clinginess, falling over and few tantrums. He was better in the afternoon but still a bit off and by 650pm was rubbing his eyes. He was asleep 35 minutes later…

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Hi Emma

Please help… I have not slept from 1.30 to 5.30 because my child will not go down to sleep.

Hi Emma

I have a 1 month old. I am trying to implement your suggestions but am having a few difficulties. I have a 1 year old and now a 1 month old. Sleep with my 1 year old was a nightmare so I am desperate to get through this phase with my 1 month hold with alot more sanity.

I have a few questions

• Is it possible for my 1 month old to have a…

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Hi Emma, It has been a while since my last communication with you. I hope that you are well. My little one will be 18 months old on Sunday. Shortly after our last message, her sleep started to be more consistent, waking up less during the night and sleeping for longer stretches. Her sleep during the last two months has been very consistent…

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Hi Pav,

Poor Rohan! It sounds like it’s just one thing after another at the moment. Hopefully those molars come through soon and he’s a bit more comfortable.

Just to clarify what I mean when I say “12 for a nap” with Rohan, I’d actually lay him down a little before 12 so he’s asleep by 12.

For a 22-month-old, a typical day usually looks…

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Hi Emma,

We are now teething second set of molars which seems to be making Rohan even more tired! Can I check when you say nap at 12, do you mean lay down in cot at 12 or aim asleep at 12?

Can I also ask what your generic recommendation is for a child of 22 months with sleep schedule? There seems to be a lot of information out there not to go…

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No worries.

Let me know how you go! And we can tweak things as needed.

Hi Emma. Thanks a lot for all the suggestions. We’ll give it a shot!!!

Regards,

Santiago

Hi Santiago,

Thank you for sharing all those details! Here are my thoughts and suggestions:

Overnight sleep

The pattern you’ve described – a longer 3-4 hour stretch of sleep, followed by shorter stretches as the night goes on – is very typical for this age. Over time, that first stretch of sleep at the start of the night will gradually…

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Hi again!

1. Her general mood during the day.

There´s times where she´s satisfied and is able to stay on her own for a bit, but most times it´s hard to even get a toilet break. If you play with her she´s pretty engaged and smiles a lot for a bit, but after maybe 30 mins she gets uncomfortable (squirming and becoming vocal) and we start wondering…

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Hi Santiago,

I’m so sorry for my delayed response! I somehow missed your post.

Before I provide some suggestions, I’ve got a few questions. You’ve given a lot of helpful information already, but there are a few more details I’d love to understand so I can give you the best advice.

1. Her general mood during the day. You mentioned she escalates…

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Hi Emma!

My daughter, is currently 14 weeks old and was born at 37 and a half weeks (so she´s technically 11 and a half). She is exclusively breastfed.

From early on, she has been quite fussy, and she started using a pacifier around day 3 (hospital staff couldn´t think of any other way to help us get her to sleep, we were exhausted). Currently,…

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Hi Paven,

Your plan sounds good. From what you have said, it does sound like with the new wake window length at the end of the day, he seems to be generally happier and settling to sleep slightly quicker.
I would try and keep this pattern for a week and then review it, as it can take them a little while to adjust.

Keen to hear how it goes.

Emma

Hi Emma,

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your time. We have had issues with long latency for weeks if not months (at bedtime). Figuring out whether it is under or overtired has been a problem as Rohan is mostly not upset during the time he is trying to sleep but recently I have felt it is overtiredness as he is not himself on waking and…

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Hi Pav!

It’s great to hear from you again.

It sounds like Roh had a few rough weeks with illness, then the vaccine, and then that developmental leap on top.

Has the change in behaviour continued, or if it has started to settle down? Often, when illness and vaccines happen, their sleep can disrupt for a little while, but it tends to settle back…

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Hi Emma, not sure if this is useful information. I decreased the second wake window by 30 minutes to 5 hours 15 and he took 70 minutes to fall asleep. He was trying to sleep – I could see he is sucking on his sleep sack as usual and changing position, by 50 minutes he started crying so i went in and gave him a cuddle for a few minutes as crying…

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Hi Emma,

I hope you are keeping well. I am wondering if you can help us as I think we have ended up in an overtired cycle. Rohan has been sick back to back then vaccines then travelling and now having a huge developmental leap saying new words every day, walking up and down steps independently etc.

I found the clock based sometimes pushed…

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HI Cherry,

Wow, 12 weeks already! Time really does fly!

Your approach to settling her for naps sounds really great. Doing your nap routine, putting her in the crib, placing your hand on her chest for a count of ten, then taking it away and moving away from her and letting her drift off by herself – is a bit like your own modified settling…

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Hi Emma,

Hope you are doing well! My baby is now 12 weeks (time pass by fast!) and I’ve gently started to use the pyramid with her. She is responding to things I’ve tried, sometimes well some times not so much.

For her first couple of naps of the day, she usually is very easy to put to bed in the crib, I just have to rock her a couple minutes and…

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Hi Lizzie,

Wow, 3.5 months – she’s growing up so fast!

From what you’ve described, it does sound like the dummy might be causing those more frequent night wakings. So I do think it might be time to let it go, and it’s absolutely fine to start now rather than waiting until four months. That said, if you’d prefer to wait, that’s okay too. Just…

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Hi Emma,

I think the time might have come to wean my baby from the dummy! She’s 3.5 months now and goes to sleep generally pretty well with it in – I can put her in the cot awake with dummy and often will settle by herself, or need me to put the dummy back in a few times. But she’s now waking every hour (or more) overnight from about 10:30pm…

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No worries at all.

Thanks Emma. I was following this advice as it seemed more logical. And, I haven’t been too strict about the distance; I just put the speaker on the other side of the room.

Thanks for your confirmation

Hi Kateryna,

Before I give you specific advice on transitioning away from rocking, I’d love to get a clearer picture of where things are at. So when you have time can you please answer the questions below?

His routine

• Does he have a consistent wake-up time each morning (within about a 30-minute window)? If so, what time does he usually…

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Hi Benjamin,

You’re right, the advice out there can be confusing!

The second piece of advice is the one that aligns with current safety guidance. The goal is to keep the sound level at your baby’s ears within a safe range, not just to limit what the machine is set to. So it’s the volume where your baby is sleeping that matters most.

The…

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