Your sleep questions answered!

We are so pleased that our next blog with Maternity Nurse and Sleep Expert, Rachel Waddilove, is one where your questions have been answered! We had such a great response to our Instagram Story where we asked what you wanted to know from Rachel. So much so, that it just wasn’t possible to answer all of your questions, but below is answers to some of the most popular and frequently asked. If yours hasn’t been answered then do check out Rachel’s website www.rachelsbabies.com or one of her best selling books, The Baby Book & Sleep Solutions.

What are your top tips for the 4 month sleep regression?- @whatkristensaw

• If your baby has previously been a good sleeper and at around four months they have started to wake more, it is likely that they may need to start moving onto solid foods. This wakeful period is probably due to hunger, so to prevent this start introducing solids and this may help. If not, then I recommend doing some sleep training with your baby so they learn to self settle themselves back to sleep.

How do I get my son to sleep through the night - he has so much milk in the night? - @isidora_gharbawi

• Try to ensure your son is getting lots of good feeds throughout the day so he isn’t hungry at night. Generally (and depending on the age) try not to let him go longer than four hours between feeds during the day, and wake him if he does. If you are breastfeeding, you may find it beneficial to top him up with a little formula milk to keep him fuller for longer.

For a newborn, how can I prevent the ‘witching hour’ without her going to bed earlier? - @hillary.mitchell

• The witching hour is a time when babies can become a little grumpy and more wakeful during the early evening. Unfortunately, this can just be natural wakeful time and it is not something you can always prevent. Try not to let your baby get overtired and if your baby is fed & ready for bed at 6pm then there is no reason why they can’t go down. I also recommend having a nice bedtime routine of bath, feed, wind, swaddle and then pop them down for bed.

When is a good age roughly to get into a routine with sleep? Ours is due next week! - @this_jessica_c

• Preferably as soon as possible. If you are breastfeeding, you may find that you can’t get into a good routine until your milk has come in, but as soon as it has your little one should learn to settle into a nice 3 hourly routine. It is good to try and have them into a routine by a month old. However, this of course may vary depending on you and your baby’s needs.

My little girl sleeps on her front and it terrifies me - what should I do? - @shopaholic90

• As babies get older and learn to roll around their cots more, you will find that they will sleep on their front and this is ok. If your baby is quite young then you could try settling them on their side and see if this helps.

When should we move our Toddler into a big bed? @little_miss_boothby

• If you have a large enough cot, they have plenty of room and they aren’t climbing out then I recommend keeping them in there up to the age of three. If their cot is not spacious enough and they are starting to climb out then that is the time to move them to a big bed.

When’s the earliest I can start letting baby self settle? - @wyntamyleshayes

• You can do this right from the beginning. I recommend swaddling them after their feed and then putting them down into their cot to self settle.

When do I go from 2 naps to 1? My 10 month old takes 2 x 1 hr naps but takes forever to fall asleep. - @joryzeee

• If your little one’s naptime routine isn’t working then you will have to relook at the whole thing. At 10 months old, I suggest he still has two naps a day, unless he is taking one very long one. You may find that some days it works better to have one long one, and then other days for him to have two short ones.

Why is my 5 month old not going down after a night feed when she did previously? - @sianbows27

• I recommend trying some sleep training with her, and encouraging her to self settle. It may also be time to introduce some solid food to help fill her up and prevent her waking due to hunger. If this doesn’t work then I recommend seeking some sleep training advice.

How do I get my 2 year old to stop waking in the night? He used to sleep perfectly. - @mackenziecerel

• If he is in a cot then the first time he wakes up I would go in, lay him back down and then leave him - try not to go in too frequently and see if eventually he can settle himself back to sleep. However, if he is in a big bed and can get out and walk around when he wakes, then try just going back in quietly and putting him back down. He will hopefully understand that he needs to be asleep, but if this doesn’t work I suggest seeking some more in depth advice.

Don’t forget, if you want further advice from Rachel, or if your questions haven’t been answered then you can get in touch with her for telephone consultations and more via her website www.rachelsbabies.com