To achieve good sleep, you do not have to give up breastfeeding, room sharing, co sleeping, get rid of dummies for example and you definitely do not have to cry it out. As a parent myself, going through the various challenges of parenting, I was disappointed to discover that there were limited resources for struggling parents in the field of children’s sleep. I began to pursue training and certification to enable me to help parents teach their children good sleep hygiene without using controlled crying and cry it out techniques. There is no one solution for any family and the strategies and techniques that I will combine for you individually, will help you become the parent you want to be and enjoy your family as it should be. The consultants all agree that whatever the routine is, it should be started before the child is too tired. Wolfe believes that babies aged four to eight months generally do well if there is no more than two hours between the last nap and aiming to be in bed asleep. That grows to a three- to four-hour gap by 18 months. National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, Discussion of Extinction-Based Behavioral Sleep Interventions for Young Children and Reasons Why Parents May Find Them Difficult, November 2016. A common misconception among parents is that if they just shorten or stop naps, then their baby will sleep more soundly at night.

Lucy says: 'Many parents report success with this method and within that then it deserves consideration. I always want parents to make changes and adjustments and use approaches that resonate for them. However, I do find that it may be over-stimulating and confusing for the child. It is suggested that you PU when crying and PD when calm- this could lead to mixed messages and ultimately teach your child to cry, when ultimately we are aiming for your child not to cry and for them to feel supported and accompanied as they learn.' Soothing white noise is a good option, says Kedzierska-Teague, “especially when you live in a busy place, or simply don’t want to tip-toe around your house when the kids are in bed”. If you do play music or white noise while your child is going to sleep it must stay on for the whole night, says Wolfe. “Otherwise the brain will search for it, as it will always search out the conditions under which it has gone to sleep.”

Achieving better, more consolidated, restful sleep as your child matures can be done without leaving them to cry alone. There’s no one way to sleep train, but many parents find that one or a mix of the following sleep training methods works for their families: Cry it out (CIO) With a baby instinctively wanting to be near or on you, Quinn says your best chances of getting them down in their sleeping space is to create a “womb-like” environment, eg by swaddling and using a hot-water bottle to warm the sheets – but do take it out before you lie the baby down. The problems can be initiated by any one of or a combination of these events and of course, ones that I haven't listed, that each contribute to a cycle of over-tiredness and fuel your recent sleep issues, until sleeping through the night becomes a distant memory. I often describe this scenario as a perfect storm. Make clear decisions, about where you want your baby to sleep - establish a calm and connected bedtime routine, avoid overtiredness at bedtime specifically and understand that very often bedtime benefits from being earlier especially as you help a child to learn a new skill of sleep.

Geoghegan suggests that parents should be aware of nap guidelines for their baby’s age “but don’t fixate on them, some babies need more or less than others”. She also believes that while consistent naps time is important, parents shouldn’t feel like they have to be home every day for them. Parents should not leave their child to cry for prolonged periods, says Geoghegan. However, it’s fine to give your baby a brief chance to cry and resettle before attending to them. With commitment, collaboration and predictability from parents and specific guidance, motivation, mentoring and support from me; you can expect to see improvement in as little as 4-6 days and most certainly within 2 weeks. It typically takes me 3-4 weeks to complete the process, during which time it is not advisable to go on holiday, have a sleep over, vaccinations or go away for a weekend. It can take the brain 3-4 weeks to learn a new pattern and I want you do give your child the best opportunity to learn and I want you to work with an industry leader to achieve this. However, that doesn’t mean parents can’t take some steps towards what Wolfe, describes as “sleep shaping”. These include getting to know how to read the early sleep cues, such as brief eye rub, brief yawn or a “dreamy look” in the eyes. The cry it out method of sleep training, also called the "extinction" method, involves putting your baby to bed and letting her cry until she falls asleep without any comfort or help from you.There were loads of different things we had to implement to get to a good place in terms of sleeping, I don’t think any one thing made a huge difference other than establishing a good routine for naps, eventually the night looks after itself if a baby is well rested. I get asked so many questions about what we did so I hope I have answered it as best I can. I didn’t include our routine because for the first while it was specifically based on her sleep history as prescribed by Lucy Wolfe for Alice and with babies their daily routines change nearly monthly within the first year, like soon Alice will be down to two long naps in the day but it’s 2 or 3 at the moment. And she might wake (or be woken!!) from a nap early so our days are often figured out as we go to make sure she gets about 4 hours sleep during the day. Anyway, my question is... how will I know if he's genuinely hungry in the night? At 6 months is there w possibility he might actually wake due to hunger? Lucy Wolfe, HDip RM, MA Sleep Consultant and Co-Creational Relationship Mentor Author of The Baby Sleep Solution, All About the Baby Sleep Solution, Creator of Sleep Through brand, TV Columnist, Writer and Mum of Four Hiring a sleep consultant has become more socially acceptable in Ireland, observes Kelly Geoghegan of Sleepy Stars, a former maternity nurse and garda, who has worked internationally as a paediatric sleep consultant. She doesn’t encourage the constant use of a night light for babies or young children. “I only recommend the use of a night light when a toddler is ready to be potty trained at night. A source of light in the bedroom can contribute to frequent nightly wake-ups.”