The Sleep Nanny Podcast

Sleep Talking with Suzy Reading

On this week’s podcast I am Sleep Talking with the wonderful Suzy Reading.
Suzy and I met a year or so ago at an event and hit it off straight away, I always love chatting with her, she is so open and calming! 
Suzy is a Chartered Psychologist specialising in well being, stress management and facilitation of healthy lifestyle change. She is also an accredited yoga teacher and personal trainer.  She is passionate about empowering people with the tools of self-care to help them weather and recover from periods of stress, loss and change and to boost resilience in the face of future challenges. 
She is also the author of The Self Care Revolution and her new book, Self Care for Tough Times, something that we could all do with dipping into right now!!  She has also written a book aimed specifically at children called Stand Tall like a Mountain, Mindfulness & Self-Care for Children and Parents. 
As a mum herself, I wanted to talk to her about motherhood and discuss strategies we can use with our children to help aid sleep and manage worries, especially in this strange time of Covid.  
You can find Suzy on Instagram (@suzyreading) and on Facebook @SuzyReadingPsychologyAndYoga
Enjoy!
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Paying For a Sleep Experts Help

https://youtu.be/zW-yIR9qhRQ
Why pay for any kind of expertise or guidance?
It’s usually because you don’t know the answers and figuring it out for yourself could take years or leave you in a worse place if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Or it’s because you can’t seem to stick to things, perhaps you lack confidence or have worries and something is holding you back from achieving your goal.
We are so lucky today that we have so much information at our fingertips, but this can also be overwhelming and confusing  – sometimes it’s difficult to see the wood from the trees, and to get help from an expert is the only way forward.
Here I’ll share with you the reasons why people who invest in experts get great results….
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Sleep Talking with Ruth Crilly

Introducing our new ‘Sleep Talking with…’ series on The Sleep Nanny podcast.
Each episode I have a conversation with a special guest about every parents favourite subject – Sleep!
During these conversations I will be asking guests to reflect on their own experience of their children’s sleep, looking at particular tricky stages and challenges.  I’ll also be inviting specific experts on who can provide a different perspective or guidance……..and, of course, I will offer tips and advice along the way!
This week I am Sleep Talking with Ruth Crilly aka A Model Recommends!
For the past 10 years, Ruth has been running the hugely successful blog and website, A Model Recommends.  She’s an entrepreneur and Mum of two to Angelica, 4 and Ted, 3 and she understands the strains of little ones not sleeping!
We had a brilliant chat about how it feels in the middle of the night as a mother, (lonely!) and how getting the sleep you need keeps your mind in a healthier state.  We also touch on the subject of juggling babies and young ones during the 2020 Covid pandemic and how this is a learning curve for every parent!
Ruth is now venturing into the world of apps.  Towards the end of last year, Ruth launched The Night Feed, the first app designed to keep you entertained while the rest of the world sleeps. It includes engaging content, discussions, Q&A’s… with this, you’ll never feel alone in the small hours again!
For more about Ruth, check out her Instagram @modelrecommends and you’ll find The Night Feed App @nightfeedapp available to download from the app store!
Get your free copy of our Baby Sleep Guide.
Download Now

How Much Sleep Does Your Baby Need?

How much sleep your little one needs evolves all the time, with each phase of development.  When it comes to managing each transition, knowledge is most definitely power, so check out our Sleep Needs Chart today so you have all the information you need.
Whilst every baby or child is different, a vast majority will fit into the averages in our chart, so look at the range and take a moment to assess where your little one will fit to avoid a sleep deficit.
Difficulty settling at night, disturbed nights, and early rising are all consequences of a sleep shortage, but it’s also important to consider how much time elapses between each nap.    It’s a common misconception that our little ones will tell us when they are tired using cues such as eye rubbing and yawning.  Don’t be tempted to wait for these signs, as often it will be too late and can cause over-tiredness.
My advice is to have one eye on your baby and one eye on the clock and knowing your wakeful windows is key.
And remember, just because your  little one may not want to take a nap doesn’t mean that they don’t need a nap!
Become and Sleep Nanny Insider TODAY for tips, tales and tactics to empower you for healthy sleep and a happy household!  Get instant access to the ‘Insiders Library’ and the Sleep Needs Chart!

Helping an Over Tired Baby

Being over tired is so often the cause of sleep challenges for babies and young children.
You’d think being tired would lead to sleep but being too tired actually makes sleep worse!
Check out my advice this week and find out why being over tired is causing your little one to wake at night and how to figure out if your child is in fact over tired!

Audience Question – 8 Month Old Sleep Schedule

This week I am answering a great question from one of my audience members;
8 month old Ottilie has never slept through the night, sleeping typically for 2-3 hours before waking.  Recently things have got a lot worse, and she is now waking every hour.
She has never been able to self settle, Mum has tried a variety of strategies to encourage her to sleep longer such as introducing a dummy, gradually retreating from the room, and going back in at intervals and nothing seems to work.
This is a great question and sounds like a challenging time for both Ottilie and Mum.  8 months can be a challenging age, this is a time that can be referred to as a ‘regression’ age however in my opinion it is very much a time when progress is made.  Your baby is growing and developing at a huge rate and this can have an impact on even the greatest sleeper.
However Ottilie, sleep wise, is displaying newborn behaviour, at 8 months she should be having 2 solid naps during the day (some children may even need a 3rd nap) totalling 3 hours.  To avoid overtiredness she should avoid being awake for more than 3 hours.
Also, the bedtime routine is key here, keeping things calm, restful and consistent.  Make sure you do the same things in the same order every evening, setting the cues for sleep.
When the crying starts, decide on a response (smoothing, shushing, patting for example) and make sure you are consistent with this at bedtime, but also for night wakings.

Separation Anxiety

From around 4-7 months babies become aware of object permanence. This means they recognise that things can be gone from their sight but still exist and return, Playing peek-a-boo is great way to demonstrate and practice this.
You might spot signs of separation anxiety at a parent and baby group or when leaving your little one with someone else. Or it may show up at bedtime for a little one who was previously okay to be put down and left alone.
Now lets take a look at some simple tips you can adopt to ease any separation anxiety now or if it crops up in the future…
Practice! – If you are at a group with other parents and babies, encourage your little one to explore and venture away from you while you remain in one place. They might keep checking to see that you’re still there and when they want to return to you, you’re right there! This helps build trust and confidence in your little one. Similarly, you could practice dropping your child off say at Grandma’s for a few hours to give them a chance to get used to you going and coming back again. This is a great one for stay at home parents to practice ahead of a child starting school if they’re not used to being away from you.
Swift transitions – When you part from your child, don’t linger. Say your goodbyes and off you go. I know, first hand how hard this is. It’s like you want to stay until you get that happy goodbye but it’s probably not coming and it’s easier on the little one if you get on with it and go. You might feel terrible but they bounce back much faster!
Goodbye Ritual – A consistent goodbye ritual will act as a good trigger for your little one that it’s time to part company and as they get used to you returning as well, this ritual will be a positive cue. When you do your parting ritual, be fully present with your little one.
Engage time – Make some special time for extra engagement with your baby or child if they’re feeling a bit anxious. This focussed attention entirely between you and them helps to reinforce a secure attachment and a healthy bond.
Tiredness makes it worse! – We’re all more fractious and less rational when we’re tired and more so for babies and young children. It will be easier to ease separation anxiety in a little one who is not desperately over tired so try to keep him well-rested.
Be consistent – Especially when responding to night wakings or bedtime challenges. If your response is wavering or inconsistent, this can cause insecurity. A consistent response from you encourages a secure attachment because your child knows what to expect and it helps your little one to know that you are there, whether in sight or not you are close by and always return.

Audience Question – 3 Year Old Sleep Regression

I received a fabulous question from one of my audience members;
Three year old Joe gets so overtired during the day, because he doesn’t nap anymore.   Should Mum reintroduce a day time nap, or should she bring bedtime forward?
Great question, three can be a tricky age.  Some children are ready to give up their day time naps, whilst other children still need a sleep in the day until they turn four, or even four and a half. ⁠ ⁠
This is a time when over-tiredness can creep in and build up. ⁠ ⁠
For Joe, reintroducing the nap is probably not the best move, but by all means if he nods off whilst out and about then let this happen as he may need it.  But there is no need to enforce a nap if he is not used to doing one.
Definitely go ahead with an earlier bedtime, early nights will be key here as the length of the day will be too long for him.  Lots of parents may worry that this may result in early rising, however this is not the case.  In fact, over tiredness is the main cause of early rising, so do not fear putting your little one down early!
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1 Year Old Sleep Schedule

How much sleep does your 1 year old need? How does this change from 12-18 months? And what impact does it have on your little one if they’re not getting enough sleep?
In this episode we’re going to uncover the reason why your 1 year old might have begun waking in the night or super early in the morning and what to do when they begin to resist the afternoon nap!
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9 Month old Sleep Training

Question:
Hello. My son is nine months next week and ever since he was born he slept through until about three months, then he started to wake up in the night. He’s had his moments where he’s woken up once and that was it, but then I think teething and that play a big part. He’s breastfed. He’s now getting weaned onto formula, so he’s on three bottles of formula and two breast milk currently. Eventually he’ll be on all formula. But I was wondering if there’s any tips for routine or food weaning, whether he’s not getting enough. What time do you do it before bed, bottle and feed? Just things like that. Really just any tips, because it’s just very hit and miss with his sleep at the moment. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.
Lucy:
It’s a great question. And at nine months, actually the routine is really important because they’re changing so much at this age. They’re usually down to two naps a day, so two naps of about an hour and a half each. They do need a total of three hours daytime sleep. So that could be one key indicator, if you’re getting night wakings. So make sure they are getting enough daytime sleep. Three hours is ideal. Bedtime around 7:00 PM is going to work quite well. Nice routine, few steps leading up to that. And that feed before bedtime, that’s still likely to be needed. Just make sure he finishes the milk first and then goes to sleep rather than going to sleep on the milk. As the night feeds, many babies are done with that at this age. They don’t need night feed anymore. There is a chance that some babies could be hungry, but the way this one was described, I would say probably not.
So, it’s probably more likely that just a lovely, comforting, reassuring response to any night wakings will help him settle back off to sleep. If he’s not using milk to get to sleep at bedtime, he’d probably then won’t rely on it to get back to sleep in the night. So that’s another reason why that’s going to be really helpful at bedtime.
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