2020-04-01_Mother_&_Baby

SLEEP

Thegentlewaytogetbedtimesorted

MEETTHE

EXPERT

Lucy Wolfe is a baby

sleep consultant, a

mum of four, and

author of The Baby

Sleep Solution and

All About the Baby

Sleep Solution: Your

Questions Answered,

out next month

(£14.99 each,

Gill Books)

Soothe to

I

f you’re a parent, chances are that

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baby in her cot at night and her just

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For your baby to be ready

to start Lucy’s Baby Sleep

Solution, she needs to...

^ Be at least six months old

^ Have a consistent bedtime

routine, which she’s used to.

^ Have an age-appropriate

napping and feeding schedule

that means she isn’t overtired

at bedtime. Babies aged six to

eight months can usually stay

awake for between two and

two-and-a-half hours between

naps, so if you want your

youngster to be ready for bed

at 7pm, aim to wake her up

from her last nap of the day

at about 4.30-5pm.

‘Before starting sleep-training,

make sure you have a stretch

of three to four weeks when

you will be at home with your

baby going to bed in the same

place every night,’ says Lucy.

Make sure any vaccinations

happen before or after this

stretch and, finally, make sure

you plan. If you know what

you’re going to be doing

every night and why you’re

doing it, you’ll feel much more

confident. ‘That confidence will

help to reassur

e your baby

that everything is OK,’ says

Lucy. ‘And that’s key to helping

her relax and sleep’.

THE READY-TO-SLEEP-TRAIN

CHECKLIST