Since the babes have been little, I’ve worked with sleep trainer, Tiffany of Eat Play Sleep through all the various sleep transitions, regressions and so on. There are so many, you never know just when they’re going to hit, and it’s been so nice to have someone to contact at any hour with questions in the most desperate of times. I still remember the swaddle transition days – those were the worst – am I right mamas? I have a vivid vision of sleeping on the floor next to Slater with my arm over him in his Halo Miracle Suit. Because at the time, putting him on the floor with me next to him was the only way to make sure he did not roll over in it. There’ve been more interesting nights since and plenty to come so I’m grateful to have someone supporting me through. I asked Tiffany to join us here and answer some of your questions from Instagram the other day, so here were the most common questions. There is A LOT of information below, so definitely skim through to the issues that apply to your family, and of course come back when other challenges pop up!
BABY SLEEP QUESTIONS
What’s the best way to get into a good sleep routine early?
-start a good sleep routine as soon as possible! If you are pregnant, start when you bring the baby home in the first few weeks. If you have a few week old little baby or a few months old, start now. The older the baby is, the more stubborn your baby is and set in his/her habits. Best way to start a routine is to get in some sort of eat play sleep cycle. If baby is younger than 16-20 weeks of age, stay on 3 hour eat play sleep, if baby is 4-6months, jump to 4 hour windows.
When is a good time to sleep train?
-The answer is “As soon as possible!” If you are pregnant, start when you bring the baby home, and start an eat play sleep routine. You are not sleep training from the beginning of life, but the first few weeks you are creating a consistent routine. If the baby is over 7lbs and cleared to be healthy, get babe on a 3-hour feed schedule from the beginning. If you have a few week old little baby or a few month old baby, start now. If your baby is 6 months or older, start now. The older your baby is, the more stubborn your baby is and set in their habits. It doesn’t matter the age, the younger the better to start a routine. Once baby is 6-8 weeks old and has gained healthy weight, you can start slowly pushing the baby through the night (with a slow and gradual wean of feeds).
When do I stop swaddling?
-Around 3 to 4 months or earlier, you will stop swaddling, no later than 4 months. This is because babies start to learn to control their limbs and the sudden movements don’t startle them anymore, and wake them up. During 2-4 months, they gain better motor control and soon, some, will be able to pick up a pacifier and put it back in their mouth. Others will find their thumb or finger to help self soothe. If your baby is an infant to 10 weeks old and still breaks out of the swaddle, or “doesn’t like” the swaddle, you may just need to find the right swaddle. Even if babies “don’t like the swaddle” and 10 weeks and under, still swaddle the baby with a swaddle they can’t break out of (Miracle blanket, Halo Velcro Swaddle, Ollie Swaddle are great choices). If your baby is 4 months old or older, stop swaddling now.
My baby takes short naps; how do they learn to take longer naps?
Your baby may have been sleeping like an angel for its first few weeks of life and now no more. Depending on the age of your baby, it could be a few things. With my sleep training clients, it is usually an easy fix. Once a newborn gets out of their “sleepy newborn state”, they wake up to the world. This means, they are more awake and alert to their surroundings. This usually happens between 2-5 weeks of age. I tell my sleep training clients they have a few options. First, you can go into their room, try to pacify your baby back to sleep. Some babies will easily do this. Some wont. Some need to be held for a few minutes, shh shh patting their back, while others need to be sat with for 10-20 min to go back to sleep. Babies sleep in 45 min sleep cycles and we are teaching them to go back to sleep to continue on their own. Once we teach them this, they will learn to soothe themselves back to sleep.
This can get frustrating at times when you have more than one child at home, trying to teach the new baby to go back to sleep, while your other child is peeping in, yelling for you or playing loudly in the hallway while you are trying to put your baby back to sleep. Another option is to let your baby cry back to sleep during their nap. This can be painful for mommy and daddy to hear, but this is not painful for the baby. It is their way of soothing back to sleep. Once practiced crying back to sleep for their nap, be consistent at each nap at home. This can be an easy fix, roughly about 3-7 days, give or take a few. Turn your TV on loud, put a load of laundry in, turn your music up, do a workout app or go outside and bring your monitor (on silent) and water the yard or read a book. You know your baby will be fed soon, so it is not a hunger issue. Just let your baby be and they will figure it out on their own how to go back to sleep…even if it’s off and on crying for 15-45 min. If your baby is just waking early from their nap, sometimes your baby may need 5-10 more or less minutes of awake time, which may be an easy fix as well. Just don’t get caught in one day pacifying, one day crying it out back to sleep, and the next day holding the baby rest of the nap. Just be consistent in whatever you do, and give it about 2 weeks of being consistent, to start to see some success.
My baby keeps waking for the pacifier, when will this stop?
-If I had a penny for every time a mom said, “My baby sleeps through the night, but wakes for the pacifier every night/early am/multiple times a night,” I would have a lot of pennies! When will this horrible pacifier cycle stop? The answer IS…when you stop going in putting the pacifier in baby’s mouth, baby will then stop waking up for the pacifier. Easier said than done, right?!
“Isn’t the pacifier meant to help soothe your baby?! I thought the pacifier is meant to help your baby sleep better, right?! Instead, this pacifier is driving me nuts and we are both waking up multiple times a night, or waking up way too early before the sun gets up. As part of our bedtime and nap time routine, we give our baby a pacifier to help go to sleep, as a sleep prop/routine. But as we all sit on edge, guessing and waiting in anticipation what time we will wake up to that darn paci falling out. This pacifier is becoming a thorn in my side, but I want her to go back to sleep and I know the pacifier will do just that. But I know, it is going to fall out again!”
Sound familiar?! Well, hopefully this gives you insight. Babies sleep in 45-minute sleep cycles, so when your baby hits the 45 min sleep transition mark (we all know this dreadful 45 min intruder at nap time), your baby is in a light sleep, about to transition into the next sleep cycle. Instead of allowing your baby to transition on its own into the next sleep cycle, you rush in and pop that pacifier back in its mouth in fear of not going back to sleep. At that 45 min intruder mark, you baby has not learned to soothe back to sleep on its own yet. Because of this, your baby is depending on that pacifier to go back in during this light sleep state, almost an awake transition zone. So you ask, when will he stop this, the answer is, he won’t until you stop.
This vicious pacifier cycle happens between 2-4 months, give or take until they can find their own pacifier by themselves around 6-9 months, or until you stop going in. So the next question is, how do I stop?
For one, you need to stop going in and saving the awful pacifier spitting out cycle. Just leave your baby to let cry back to sleep and he will figure it out in 3-5 days to go back to sleep. If this is not your cup of tea of crying back to sleep, then you need to wait till the 6-9-month period when baby can figure out how to pop the paci back in its mouth on own (maybe throw 5 paci’s in the crib, for multiple chances), and keep popping it in for your baby till he learns this skill.
Do what is comfortable for you and your family. So either just biting down and suffering 3-5 days of crying back to sleep, or be ok with a few more months of going in and popping the paci back in your baby’s mouth, with no solid sleep and consistent short catnaps.
When you are ready, your goal is for the baby to sleep by itself and not dependent on you to sleep.
My baby slept great and then hit 4 months +/-, and now is an awful sleeper, what do I do?
Some babies naturally sleep well and then hit the 4 month +/- mark. There are a few things going on. There are different wonder weeks during infancy. Around the 4-month mark, between 15-20 weeks, the baby’s brain is developing at a quick pace. During these weeks, there are new skills the baby is learning. While the baby is asleep during REM sleep, during the 4-month wonder week (can fall between 15-20 weeks +/- a few weeks), babies wake up easier.
What ends up happening during these weeks, if baby was sleeping well, mom goes in and feeds baby to get baby back to sleep. Now, the next night, the same thing happens and mom goes in and feeds baby back to sleep. Now baby and mom have created a new sleep and feed habit that the baby was not doing prior these weeks. If you haven’t hit this yet, let your babe fuss or cry back to sleep when he has hit the 4-month sleep regression. Always ok to go and check on your baby, but if nothing is wrong, then let baby fall back to sleep on their own.
During this hiccup of the 4-month regression, keep sleep routine the same. If you are still on a 3-hour feed cycle and your baby is 4 months old, switch to a 4-hour feed cycle during the day. The baby will take in more ounces per feed and have longer stretches of awake time during the day. Also make sure the baby has a good sleep environment, the right temperature and a sound machine is helpful to sleep more deeply to make it through the random REM light sleep wake ups.
When your babe does wake up at night during this 4-month sleep regression, leave your babe to fuss back to sleep on his own, and in less than a week, your babe will be sleeping soundly again.
What should a newborn – 3-month old feeding and nap schedule look like?
-A sample schedule looks like this; precise times should be what work for your family:
7am – EAT then PLAY
745/8 – 10am – SLEEP
10am – EAT then PLAY
1045/11-1pm – SLEEP
1pm – EAT then PLAY
145/2pm – SLEEP
4pm – EAT then PLAY
5-6pm – Catnap Sleep – SLEEP
* Bath *
630/7pm – EAT/BED (Feed then straight to bed. No Play time at this feed)
10/1030 or 11pm – DREAMFEED
What should a 4-month old feeding and nap schedule look like?
-A sample schedule looks like this; precise times should be what work for your family:
7am – FEED
8am – BREAKFAST solids + sippy cup of water
915/920-11 – NAP
11am – FEED
12 pm – LUNCH + sippy cup of water
145/2-345/4 – NAP
345/4 – SOLID SNACK (let babe sleep as long as babe wants)- wake by 5pm if still sleeping
5/530pm – DINNER solids + sippy cup of water
630/7pm – FEED then Straight to bed
What should a 6 -7-month old feeding and nap schedule look like?
-A sample schedule looks like this; precise times should be what work for your family:
7am – FEED
8am – BREAKFAST solids + sippy cup of water
9-11 – NAP
11am – FEED
12 pm – LUNCH + sippy cup of water
130-330/4 – NAP
330/4 – FEED (let babe sleep as long as babe wants)
430/5/530pm – DINNER solids + sippy cup of water
630/7pm – FEED then Straight to bed
What should an 8-9-month old feeding and nap schedule look like?
-A sample schedule looks like this; precise times should be what work for your family:
7am – FEED
8am – BREAKFAST solids + sippy cup of water
915/920-11 – NAP
11am – FEED
12 pm – LUNCH + sippy cup of water
145/2-345/4 – NAP
345/4 – SOLID SNACK (let babe sleep as long as babe wants)- wake by 5pm if still sleeping
5/530pm – DINNER solids + sippy cup of water
630/7pm – FEED then Straight to bed
Are there any safe crib bumpers on the market?
-The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has placed the responsibility on the parent or caregiver rather than the manufacturer whether it is safe to use a crib bumper. And at the same time American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), recommend to avoid crib bumpers. In conclusion, they are not banned, so this decision is left up to the parent to use or not use.
When is it okay to give the baby a blanket to cover up with?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), wait until your baby is at least 12 months old to use soft bedding in a crib, like blankets and pillows. This can increase the risk of suffocation or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Safe alternatives to blankets are sleepers, sleep sacks, and wearable blankets.
I have an almost five-month old baby girl. She just doesn’t sleep well at night. We will get a good stretch from 7-11/12 and then she is up hourly tossing and turning. I often feed her just to get her to go back to sleep (and me!!) but I’m back at work and can’t sustain sleeping in 40 minute increments. We had a point where she was sleeping six hour stretches but that’s gone. I can’t do cry it out – like it physically affects me to hear her scream, plus I live in an apartment building so not fair to neighbors. Help please!
-A 5 month needs to learn to sleep on their own, and they need to learn to self soothe with crying. Each night, decrease the feed time by 2 min and on the last night, you will eventually have to let cry to sleep and then this will take less than a week to do. Use a sound machine on loud to drown out the crying. But babies need to learn to self soothe, and they learn this by crying.
We sleep trained our little guy when he was 6months old. He is now 10 months and still wakes up at least once a night, sometimes for 1-2 hours. I try not to intervene but he gets SO worked up.
-just keep consistency and stop intervening. He has created a habit of waking and when you intervene, it continues the habit.If he is not teething or not sick, let him cry back to sleep. In less than a week he should be back on track.
Advice on getting second child (2 months) on a sleep schedule? So chaotic with two!
–Get your baby on a schedule when you feel ready. Here’s a sample day to look at including tips for integrating toddler/older child’s day below:
7am – EAT then PLAY
745/8 – 10am – SLEEP (NAP)
10am – EAT then PLAY
1045/11-1pm – SLEEP (NAP)
1pm – EAT then PLAY
145/2pm – SLEEP (NAP)
4pm – EAT then PLAY
5-6pm – Catnap SLLEP – (CATNAP)
* Bath *
630/7pm – EAT/BED (Feed then straight to bed. No Play time at this feed)
10/1030 or 11pm – DREAMFEED
At 8-10 NAP, play with your 1st born and have a morning activity. Do craft time, playdough, independent play, play games outside, have a toddler friend come over to play, or any fun toddler activity.
At 10am, Feed babe and then leave for an outdoor activity that your toddler will enjoy. If location of activity is kind of far, go and wake baby up at 940/945am and put babe in the car with car already packed (during naptime, pack the car for the outing including lunch for toddler). When you arrive at 10ish at your destination of activity, feed babe there and then do your toddler activity.
At 11am, put babe down for a nap in car seat, stroller, ergo, sling, whatever you have and nap your babe on the go. By 1230pm, start to head home.
At 1pm, FEED your babe and by 130/140pm, put your toddler down for nap (or if you have an earlier toddler napper, put toddler down at 1245pm and then feed your babe at 1pm. I would advise putting toddler down at 130/145pm so they are both down at the same time instead of staggered. Use food as a snack to stimulate your toddler and keep up longer. And then by 145/2pm, put babe down for nap.
By 4pm, Both are up. 4pm – Feed babe
430-5pm, get toddler some exercise outside in backyard, front yard, park or some other exercise activity for your toddler.
5pm/530pm – Catnap for Babe, Toddler Dinner
6pm – Bath for both (Individual or together. Can always put infant tub in bathtub with toddler).
630/7pm – I would feed babe on the earlier side at 630pm and put down for bedtime and then put toddler down right after at 7pm and do your toddler routine.
730pm – Pour yourself a glass of wine ☺
TODDLER SLEEP QUESTIONS
When is the best time to transition to a toddler bed?
-there are many opinions on this but in mine, the best time is when it works for your family situation. Some families have children close in age and may be forced to transition to toddler bed with side railing (around 2 years of age or less) when a new sibling is entering the home. Other families typically transition between 2.5 – 4 years of age. Four years old would be on the later side but if the child isn’t climbing out consistently and is content in confined space then totally fine to transition on the later side. With a “big kid” bed comes a new set of boundaries, so just be ready to have those set up and start disciplining when these boundaries are pushed or broken.
How can I get my toddler to stay in his toddler bed?
-First you have to look at daytime and see what’s going on. Is toddler between 3-4 yrs of age ands till napping? If so, maybe drop the nap. If close to 3 years of age and still napping 2-3 hours, cut off 30 minutes and wake him up early so he is more tired through the night. Ask yourself what kind of exercise he is getting between 3-5pm. If child has been doing same calm indoor and outdoor activities, try increasing activity level during those hours. No stroller walks, make toddler scooter, swim, use trampoline etc. Bedtime should be 6:30pm-7:30pm, if later he is probably overtired. If child is watching shows between 3-5pm replace with exercise. Shows in later afternoon/evening can overstimulate.If tried all it’s probably about discipline. Bedtime is bedtime and consistency is key.
My 2-year-old is boycotting nap time, but still needs a nap:
If your 2 year olds +/- is boycotting naps, look at your day. What kind of physical activity are you doing prior naps? Are you going for a stroller walk and child isn’t exercising? If so, stop doing these stroller walks before nap and make your toddler exercise. Have you been doing the same or similar activities prior nap for at least 2-4 months? Is so, time to change the activity and step up the toddler exercise. Do more physically challenging activities that exert more energy. Instead of stroller walks, do beach walks with the toddler. Do more climbing, swimming, trampoline parks, beach play, anything that will exert more energy than child is used to.
Next thing, is your napper napping too early and has been napping towards the 12 noon time for some time? If so, move nap time back 30-45 min and see if this helps. As they get older they need more awake time and play.
Another question to ask, is child getting 2-year-old molars, and is in pain awake during naps? Ask your pediatrician about using IB profin for 2-year-old molars and may just need some pain reliever (if your Dr. okays it) to subside the pain for 2-3 days.
Even if the 2-year-old is battling nap time, let the 2-year-old cry to sleep. This is fine and will go to sleep eventually. Stay consistent and keep napping the child. This is just a phase and the babe will get over this, as long as you stay consistent and keep putting babe down for nap time.
And then when something is really the matter, you always go in and give TLC for a completely random wake up 1 x every few months or sickness. But if it happens again consistently, back to discipline.
Again, you may totally disagree and this is ok. But in my opinion and children need discipline, they need boundaries, if you want an obedient child. Just like in marital issues, personality disorders, there has to be boundaries, consistency, and hard work needs to take place. If we stretch the boundaries in any of these areas, we will risk our own hearts, souls, and lives. Just as with the child, we give them a longer leash, bigger boundaries, there is more room for time to be wasted, more time to test our patience, more time to become frustrated. If we keep our boundaries tight, and when they cross them, there are consequences. No need to sleep train your 2-year-old child, just need to start to disciplining and yes, she will test you over and over again, but she will know the leash is short and can’t get by you. If the leash is too long, she will wonder way longer then you want. It should take no less then 1-2 weeks to nip this in the rear. All of this is hard work (just like any client of yours putties in the time to change a behavior, create boundaries, or work on a marriage), it takes time and consistency. With these new boundaries, you and your spouse will have to be on the same page for this to work.
What age do you stop toddler napping?
-on average toddlers drop to no nap between 3-4 years of age. Yes some toddlers nap till 5. As long as the nap doesn’t interfere with bedtime, having random wake ups at night, or waking too early in the morning, then fine to keep toddler napping.
When do I drop my toddler to one nap, instead of two naps?
— Usually around 15-18 months on average, your one year old will go to one nap. Some hit this earlier and some hit this a tad later, which is totally fine.
When will I know we need to move to one nap?
Here are some signs of needing to go to one nap. If you are close to the 15-18-month mark, and your baby may take two short catnaps or if your baby was taking two long (1.5-2 hour) naps and now taking one short nap and one long one, and falls between the 15-18 months (or close to this age). If your baby is doing this, then its time or it’s getting close to transitioning into one nap. Other signs, if your baby is fighting going into nap time or not falling asleep and staying awake for 30-45 mins, first move the nap back. These signs are just letting you know you are getting closer to moving to one nap. Sometimes, your baby may nap easily at first nap and not the second nap. Then just move the 2nd nap further back, giving more awake time. As soon as the 2nd nap starts to interfere with not going down easily for bedtime or fighting bedtime because he may not be that tired, then chances are, you need to move the am nap further back, and move towards going to one nap.
My toddler is ready to go to one nap, but how do I do it?
— My recommendation is keep your baby up till about 1245 pm. Give lunch around 11/1130 pm and then another snack around 12/1215 pm. Offer water, toys, whatever you can do to keep baby awake. If you know your baby can’t make it to 1245 pm, then go somewhere in the car around 10am and let baby fall asleep in the car for a 10-20 min (no longer) catnap. Then keep baby up till 1/130 pm for a solid one nap. This way, you get a quick power nap, once you arrive to destination, wake the baby up, so you will have a great afternoon nap. You may need to do this for a few weeks or so, or a few times a week, getting a power catnap around 10am, and a longer nap in the afternoon if baby can’t stay awake till 1245pm. Give yourself grace and your baby grace over the next month to transition into one nap. Some days may be a catnap and a long later nap in the afternoon, or a solid 1.5-3 hr nap. Just remember to give time for this transition, for mom and toddler to get used to.
My toddler is fighting bedtime and is taking over 45 min to put him to bed. Help!
— First thing, is your toddler still on two naps or one? If two naps, you need to cut down to one nap around 1230/1 pm ish. If your toddler is napping too late in the after towards the 4/430pm hour, start waking your toddler 30 min earlier around 3/330pm and see if this helps bedtime battles. Second thing, what kind of exercise is your toddler getting between 330-5pm? If you have been doing the same play/activities for the last 3 months or more, change it up and increase exercise. Toddlers need hard exercises, so if your toddler is used to outdoor play in the back yard, indoor play, going on a stroller walk or going to the same park, exercise in the afternoon needs to change and increase the challenge ability. No more stroller walks after 330pm, walk, scooter, or balance bike to the park instead of driving or stroller riding there. As the weather is getting warmer and have access to a pool, beach, lake or river, start using this as exercise (with an appropriate floating device/water wings or guardian with toddler). Start mixing up the parks and trying bigger kid but toddler appropriate parks, relay races, trampolines, nature walks for 30-45 min, or anything else that increases their exercise. This is all more work on the parent or child care taker from 330-5pm and its way easier to turn on a tv show during this time, but toddlers need hard exercise, especially if not going down by 7/730pm at the latest for bed. If your toddler is doing all these things above, then it is a discipline issue your child isn’t obeying when it is bedtime, and that is a whole different conversation. First try all the above if bedtime is a battle.
How do I get my toddler to sleep past 545am?
See “My 2-year-old is boycotting nap time, but still needs a nap” & “My 20mo old – 30-month old slept all night and started waking at night, what could be the problem” questions and there will be answers in here to trouble shoot the early wake ups. The trouble shooting will either be about naptime (shortening nap time, dropping naptime), bedtime routine, and increasing daily exercise before and after naptime. Also, if you have early am light coming in, get some block out blinds or shades to cover the early am light.
My 2 year old twins are fighting their nap…any tips?:
-See the question “My 2-year-old is boycotting nap time, but still needs a nap” and trouble shoot with these answers in that question. And with twins, they still both need naps, so stay consistent and it is fine if one wakes the other one up. Still leave them be for naptime and they will get used to each other waking up, crying or making noises.
My 20mo old – 30-month old slept all night and started waking at night, what could be the problem?
-An almost 2-3 year sometimes has a sleep regression. What happens between 2-3 years of age, they become defiant and harder to break bad habits because they understand everything now, even if they trick you to think they don’t get it, they do get it and just fooling you! At this stage of age, comes strong willed defiance. With this defiance should come the start of discipline. But first, try to trouble shoot what is going on first. Sometimes around the age of 2-3 you may go on vacation, grandma was visiting and routine was off, preschool started, child was sick and the routine got thrown off. First thing, first, get back on routine.
Stay consistent and keep putting babe down for bedtime with normal bedtime routine. Let’s look at our routine. If the child is saying he is scared when he wakes at night, originally it could have been something scary. To test this, let’s see what’s happening before bed. Is the child watching TV right before bed and seeing something scary, even if it’s Pete from “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”? If so, take out TV before bed (yes, this may be scary for you to take TV away, but the child will forget about it in 3 days and you may have to do a puzzle with the child before bed.
What time is the child napping till in the afternoon? If napping past 4pm, the child is napping too late, and cut 30 min off of nap time. Yes, nap time may be your lifesaver, but it may be interfering with night time sleep. If the child has been napping till 4pm for the last 6 mos-1 year, shave off 30 min of the back end of nap time and wake the child up 30 min earlier. Yes, the child may be cranky when wakes, but too much day time sleep may be interfering with night time sleep. Even taking TV out as a whole during the week may be disrupting sleep at night with imagery that he just can’t shake to sleep. It’s worth a try for a week, in addition to all the other nuggets in this essay :)
Another question to ask yourself, what kind of physical activity is your child doing between afternoon nap and dinner? That 330-5 pm-ish time? If you are just doing indoor play or backyard play, it may be time to step up the activity and increase more exertion during this time. Yes, this is more exhausting for you, but 2-3 year olds need hard exercise. Take them on a scooter ride, balance bike ride, trampoline park or back yard trampoline, swimming, beach play, relay races, etc. No more afternoon stroller walks if you are doing so, start hard exercise as soon as possible.
One thing to consider, is the 2-year-old molars coming in and child is waking in pain at night? Ask your pediatrician about using IB profin for 2-year-old molars and may just need some pain reliever (if your pediatrician okays it) to subside the pain for 2-3 days.
Is your family expecting a new sibling in the family or did a new sibling enter the home recently? The child may be experiencing a little anxiousness or excitement (or resentment ☺) and just keep consistent with routine. The newness of the new baby will wear out soon.
Lastly, what are you doing when the child wakes? Are you bringing the child into your bed? Are you curling up in their bed? Even though it is hard to be woken at night, and way easier to bring them into your bed, if you are not willing to put in the hard work of stopping this, then the wake ups will continue. No more pulling child in to your bed, no more going into their bed to help them sleep. They need to sleep on their own (if you want sleep), and in their own space. A 2-year-old is smart. Warn them before bed, that mommy or daddy is not going to do this or that when you wake at night. If child is still in a crib, then the child needs to cry back to sleep at night. The child will be over this sleep wake up thing, in about a week or less. If the child is in a bed, then every night you need to go walk the child back to his own bed. Yes, this becomes very exhausting, but the child needs to know you are consistent and no means no. If you have tried all these things, then the child needs discipline and that’s a whole other question.
All in all, stay consistent with your sleep routine and your rules with sleep. When your 2-year-old is not sleeping like you would like, consider the list above of possible factors how you may be able to troubleshoot this issue.
I think that’s all your questions for now, and I hope you found some answers! If you’d like to connect with Tiffany for more support feel free to find her at @eat.play.sleep.training or email her at tiffjaeger@yahoo.com.
Thank you, Tiffany for all your helpful tips!
