How I helped a good sleeper get better sleep

I helped parents who were struggling with an unhappy baby at bedtime have a baby who would fall asleep with ease.

The background

Baby C was sleeping pretty well by 6 months old. Yes, she was waking during the night, but her wakes were short, and she was easily settled, only waking for one or two feeds. This is better than what we'd typically expect for a baby of her age, so what was the problem?

Well, Baby C had started to struggle with bedtime, and it was becoming quite stressful for both her and her parents. Bedtime always ended with a lot of crying. Dad also had periods of working away, and mum had to put an older toddler to bed on days when she was on her own. Bedtimes had to get quicker and easier.

What I spotted

After analysing Baby C’s sleep questionnaire, I identified some quick wins we could implement to improve both her sleep environment and in the lead-up to bedtime. We also assessed her schedule and found areas where we could amend naps to make sure she was having enough time between her final nap and bedtime, ensuring she was tired enough for bed.

What we did

I armed her parents with a new but flexible sleep schedule to make sure she wasn't having too much day sleep. One that allowed her enough time to get tired before bedtime, and that would help with the tears and sleep resistance. I further gave them strategies to help if night wakings became harder and tips to 'ditch the dummy' when Baby C was ready.

The results

After a week, Baby C had three nights in a row of sleeping through and the other nights, she was reaching 3am before she woke for a quick settle. But crucially, bedtimes had become so much easier, and there were no more tears.