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I often talk about knowing your little one's sleep cues especially the early ones so that you can avoid overtiredness. Overtiredness can make it realy difficult to settle our little ones to sleep. Crying, meltdowns and tantrums are later cues of tiredness your little one might display but by the time they are crying they may already be too tired.

Read more about overtiredness and why you should try to avoid it here

So how can you recognise those early signals of tiredness? What do they look like?

Early signs of tiredness can vary from  baby to baby. Your baby or toddlers signs may be completely different to another childs. Common early signs of tiredness can be sudden loss on interest in interacting with you, pulling their ears or rubbing their noses or faces.

A great way to familiarise yourself with your own baby or toddlers early sleep cues or signals is to look at the average time your baby can be awake before needing to rest and sleep, ( the table below displays the averages) then around the end of that time pay close attention to your little ones behaviour and see what you notice. Do this a few times a day over a couple of days? What do you notice?  what actions or behaviours do they display  repeatedly  before you notice  the more obvious signs of tiredness? 

Those little things they do could be their unique early sleep cues.

Some early sleep cues your baby may display are:

• Suddenly losing interest in an activity when moments ago they were totally engaged
• suddenly avoiding eye contact
• ear pulling 
• nuzzling into your shoulder or arms
• blankly staring
• many other cues so pay close attention for a few dyas and see what you notice

When you begin to recognise those early signals begin the wind down process. Get them prepared for a nap, in a nice dark and quiet room or place, usuing white noise if necessary. In a few days you will notice your baby falls asleep  more quickly and easily and with a lot less resistance.

Watch a live stream i hosted on the topic over on Periscope Here

 https://www.periscope.tv/SoundlySleeping/1zqJVVaaqLDJB

If you are reading this because you have a baby or toddler doesn't like sleeping as much as you do, I'd love to help you feel more confident, less overwhelmed and kick sleep deprivation to the curb... here are some ways ways i can be of help.

1. You can join my community over on Facebook for sleep deprived mums wanting more gentle and respectful soultions to their babies sleep problems. Connect with me there and other mums who share your mission for more sleep using more gentle and child focussed methods. I created it to be space for commeraderies, support, inspiration or even just a safe space to come and have a good old whinge when sleep deprivation is kicking your butt! To join us over on FB Click Here!

2. If your thinking about maybe sleep training your baby i have a free baby sleep class that can help you decide on how to sleep train your baby or toddler and 7 Key points to think about before you sleep train so that when you do start you see success quickly and with as little stress as possible. To access that free training Click Here....but hurry as i will be taking that free training down very soon

3. You can optimise your little ones daytime sleep to avoid overtiredness ( and undertiredness) by structuring naps throughout the day. I have created for you a daily routine that will ensure that your baby get plenty of sleep during the day and at the right time ( and duration) so that at night time they'll settle to sleep with ease and sleep through the night sooner rather than later. I've created routines for the first year of your baby's life  and you can download your years worth of baby sleep routines here

4. You can work with me privately to help get you and your baby or toddler sleeping through the night. We can work together and plan a sleep solution speciifically for you and your family and have me hold your hand, offerif emotional support and accountability to help you confidently shape ho your baby  or toddler sleeps To book a session with me click here to select a package that suits you and book our sessions together or email me for a free discovery call where we can chat and see if working together is a good fit for both of us!!

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My most challenging cases have always been the cases I've learnt the most from.   This case study was not actually from my work as a night nanny but from my day job so to speak. I was working as a member of management at a Day Nursery and was in charge of the Baby Unit. Names have been changed.


Background info
Baby Victoria aged 10 months old, At fulltime nursery and needs to be held and rocked to  fall and stay asleep both at naptime and overnight.

I met baby Vicky when she was 7 months old, a gorgeous little girl with a passionate fiesty spirit. Vicky was a  quiet observant little girl but if she was upset boy did we know about it. Her personality/ temperament type was The Grumpy Kid to a T, particular, observant ,tactile,thrives on routine doesn’t cope well when they can’t anticipate whats happening next . Vickys mum had recently returned to to work and up until heading  back to work had been babywearing & breast fed  Vicky on demand.

Are you using white noise to help your baby sleep?  I’ve only used white noise as a sleep aid for about 3 or 4 years but it can be soooo useful to help your little settle and sleep well at night. When used correctcly white noise can be a really usefull tool for helping your baby to calm ans settle to sleep and even stay asleep longer.

After doing a bit of research and trial and error i’ve found the best way to use white noise and I'm sharing my tips with you so you can help your little one

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The general consensus with most sleep experts is that rocking your baby to sleep will eventually become a crutch for your baby. Meaning that anytime they wake you will always have to rock or cuddle your baby in order to get them back to sleep.

Well I’m writing this to give MY opinion on the whole rocking to sleep issue.

Rocking or cuddling your little one to sleep is not going to cause sleep problems and is definitely not the reason why your little one isn’t sleeping. Some experts say that if you cuddle or rock your baby to sleep then you’ll always have to do so, it will become a “bad” habit or a crutch. That’s not 100 percent true but it’s not a lie either. Some little ones, depending on the individual personality

I have a joke I share with a colleague of mine that I don’t just sleep train babies I sleep train parents too!

I train them to realise that if they little one isn’t sleeping through the night consistently…It isn’t their fault. It’s not that anything is wrong.  It’s not that anything they do to help them sleep is wrong, their baby isn’t ill or has some secret syndrome that prevents them from needing as much sleep as their friends babies. It’s not because their little ones enjoy being awake and screaming at 3am (in fact they probably want to sleep as much as their parents do). It’s not because you rock them to sleep on occasion or because you missed they’re quiet window yesterday afternoon, or even because you’re inconsistent with your routine  on the odd occasion. It’s just that sleeping independently all night every night isn’t something they have mastered yet…

More than ever I feel that parents need support and knowledge in this area if for no other reason than to stop blaming themselves if their little ones aren’t great sleepers.

When I first started out as a night nanny back in 2000 sleep training your baby was the in thing.

Gina Ford was all the rage and getting babies to sleep through the night as fast as possible was the goal. Before I became a mum myself I didn’t

So you’ve been doing this parenting gig for a while now and so far it’s going ok. You’ve figured out what to do when  they get hungry , and you can now change a nappy without too much poop ending up on your forehead,  You haven’t murdered them yet and they’re growing thriving and gaining weight nicely… just that one thing  that eludes you  is sleep!!