I want to start by giving you some reassurance. It’s totally natural for your Small to have a parent or person preference when it comes to settling to sleep AKA bedtime boundaries.

It can feel really frustrating. In fact all of the feelings! And parenting is so personal it’s hard not to take it personally.

But it’s all down to familiarity and what your Small is expecting to happen at bedtime. Change is strange and any deviation from what usually happens (going off peep piste!) can cause resistance and/or a Small who refuses to sleep.

Doing the bedtime routine for two can be tricky to start with!

Settling two to sleep can be tricky. Especially at the start!

So here’s my top tips for settling two to sleep:

Doing bathtime for two can be tricky. Especially at the start!

HERE’S MY TOP TIPS FOR TUBBY TIME FOR TWO…

When you make that transition to a toddler bed, your toddler finds a newfound freedom that they’ve not had before. They suddenly realise they can get out of bed themselves!

This can naturally cause some anxiety and worry for you but, it’s all part of the transition process. When something is new it’s a novelty and it’s normal for your toddler to explore their new bed and push the bedtime boundaries.

Does your Small wake up the moment they come into contact with their cot? If that’s a hard yes, you aren’t alone - I don’t call it the bed bomb for nothing!

If changes aren’t working it can feel like you’re failing or doing it all wrong, but change is challenging even the caring way! And you aren’t failing OR doing it wrong if it’s not working right now.

Here’s 10 things to consider when change isn’t happening:

Is your Small teething?

Here’s my top teething tips for you:

I get asked this question a lot so here’s the full falling asleep down-low for you!

When it comes to falling asleep there’s two really important things:

It REALLY sucks when your Small is sick, and it can steal their sleep!

If they’re in discomfort it disrupts their sleep. Just as it does ours! It’s so tough and tiring, but it’s usually only temporary.

Your first part of the night is most commonly the more settled part. This is because your Small’s sleep hormone melatonin level is at its highest, and homeostatic sleep drive (sleep pressure) is very high. I can’t guarantee your Small won’t wake up, but they’re usually settled fairly swiftly and easily if they do!

I want you to know that frequent wake-ups aren’t your fault and there’s rarely only one reason behind them.

There can be many reasons why your Small is waking frequently at night, but if they’re waking up super frequently it COULD be a red flag there’s an underlying issue disturbing their sleep.

Does your Small pinch, pull or scratch your hair, skin or body part to sleep? If that’s an oh ouch yes, you aren’t alone. I’ve seen mole, nipple, ear, and lip twiddling in practice! This isn’t a bad habit or negative sleep association, and if it’s working for you and your Small you don’t need to stop.

If your two year old’s sleep is unsettled, I hope it reassures you that you aren’t alone, it’s never too late to make changes, Toddlers find sleep tricky too!

The three bed biggies for your toddler at this stage are:

1. Their nap needs can change.

2. They might be ready to cap their nap.

3. Some sleep separation can start.

The three bed biggies for your baby at 12 months are:

1. Their nap times might need tweaking.

2. They might be ready to transition to one nap.

3. Their physical development is in overdrive and many start walking around this time!

There’s a LOT of physical changes going on at this stage. It’s likely they’ll start to crawl, pull themselves up or even walk! As they grow they may be able to manage more awake time during the day. With their new fun and unfamiliar skills they might find it harder to switch off at bedtime and want to practice their new skills at night. This is tiring but very normal!

Your baby’s sleep changes all the time because they’re changing all the time! I think it’s a sensible idea to check in on their sleep regularly. But around six months is a great time to do this because there’s some big changes happening at this stage!