Niamh O’Reilly: Co-sleeping can be a very effective way for a family to get sleep. “Make yourself aware of the safe co-sleeping guidelines.” Those are questions more parents are daring to ask out loud and, it seems, are willing to pay to have answered – judging by the growth of paediatric sleep consultants in Ireland over the past decade. Where once parents may have suffered in silence, or muddled through with family support, the more isolated and pressurised, dual-earning nature of modern family life means looking for professional help has become a necessity for some. Hiring a sleep consultant has become more socially acceptable in Ireland, observes Kelly Geoghegan of Sleepy Stars, a former maternity nurse and garda, who has worked internationally as a paediatric sleep consultant.

Make clear decisions, about where you want your baby to sleep - establish a calm and connected bedtime routine, avoid overtiredness at bedtime specifically and understand that very often bedtime benefits from being earlier especially as you help a child to learn a new skill of sleep. Following years of training, education and working directly with families I developed an effective and practical approach for parents in this modern age of parenting. I felt that it was important that I share my work in this book-so that parents are no longer forced into rigid, scientifically inappropriate routines that have no recourse to the child’s or the parents well being. But then she started teething (second set) and was waking every hour but refusing her bottle, so I just persevered with her over three nights (it was rough). But then when her teeth came through - she slept from 6pm - 6am for the first time ever & has done so ever since... so she effectively night weaned herself! My DS is about to turn 6 months and we've decided that we're going to try Lucy Wolfe stay and support as we are not coping with the night wakings... as I'm writing this we are on our 9th wake up of the night and it is only 3.30am!Geoghegan suggests that parents should be aware of nap guidelines for their baby’s age “but don’t fixate on them, some babies need more or less than others”. She also believes that while consistent naps time is important, parents shouldn’t feel like they have to be home every day for them. There’s no one way to sleep train, but many parents find that one or a mix of the following sleep training methods works for their families: Cry it out (CIO) She doesn’t encourage the constant use of a night light for babies or young children. “I only recommend the use of a night light when a toddler is ready to be potty trained at night. A source of light in the bedroom can contribute to frequent nightly wake-ups.” Also it’s worth noting, Alice is a really placid baby, our toddler is a different animal altogether and we have had such issues with her and sleep but she had a dairy intolerance which didn’t help etc so I know people always ask me things like ‘was it hard to stop feeding her to sleep’ or ‘was it hard to get her to self settle’ and thankfully the answer to those is no for Alice but it will be a different answer for every baby. Know the times that your baby naps and try to plan your outings to accommodate these, she suggests. “Baby can nap lying flat in the buggy in a busy coffee shop or out for a walk. If your baby only naps in a quiet dark room then he/she will have difficultly ‘napping out’ or in a bright noisy creche as they grow older.”

Ursula Quinn: “There is a great deal that could be done and should be done to ensure that everyone sleeps better.” With a baby instinctively wanting to be near or on you, Quinn says your best chances of getting them down in their sleeping space is to create a “womb-like” environment, eg by swaddling and using a hot-water bottle to warm the sheets – but do take it out before you lie the baby down. I am the former European Director of the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants; a member of The International Association of Child Sleep Consultants and a (PV) Member of the Irish Association of Relationship Mentors. My name is Lucy Wolfe and I am a full time sleep consultant and mum of four young children and author of The Baby Sleep Solution, specialising in infant and child sleep problems that parent’s experience and need assistance in solving. If you see your baby on the baby monitor and their eyes are still closed and their cry is more of a whinge it’s okay to give them a little time to see if they can resettle.”

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As a parent myself, going through the various challenges of parenting, I was disappointed to discover that there were limited resources for struggling parents in the field of children’s sleep. I began to pursue training and certification to enable me to help parents teach their children good sleep hygiene without using controlled crying and cry it out techniques. There is no one solution for any family and the strategies and techniques that I will combine for you individually, will help you become the parent you want to be and enjoy your family as it should be. And while this technique may be the right fit for some families, know that it may lead to more tears for some babies. When your baby falls asleep with you in the room, she may be startled and possibly upset when she awakes and you’re no longer there. Bedtime fading method I am a Sleep Consultant, Co-Creational Relationship Mentor, Post-Graduate Researcher (PhD), Mum of four children, Author of the bestselling book- The Baby Sleep Solution and All About the Baby Sleep Solution and creator of the 100% natural “Sleep Through” Bed and Body Sleep Spray and Relaxing Rub. I have been in practice, supporting and guiding thousands of families for over 12 years.

Elizabeth Murray, D.O., F.A.A.P., Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. I am a busy Mum to four lovely children aged 13, 11, 8 and 5 years and can easily associate with whatever sleep difficulties that you may be experiencing, both as a parent and a professional.My books provide the information to encourage parents to establish positive sleep practices and overcome sleep challenges without feeling under pressure to resort to rigid, inflexible, cry-intensive strategies. Hopefully she’ll fall asleep fast, but if she cries a lot, take her out of the crib for a set amount of time (say, half an hour) and then try again. Lucy's programme is gentle, she does not advocate cry intensive methods and encourages a stay-and-support approach. Following our chat, she sent me a schedule tailored to my son's age and we set to work a couple of days after our meeting.

From 6 months of age onwards-working directly with me one a one-to-one basis will give you the confidence to make the necessary changes. My support and guidance will help you implement the plan I will devise for you and motivate you to succeed. The plan is developed based specifically on your child’s, age, stage and your personal parenting preferences. I work remotely via zoom with families worldwide. I will see you once your baby is 6 months plus of age- before this timeframe I encourage that you would use my sleep chat, online courses or books as a resource in the first few months, as very often the challenges that you report are representative of typical infant sleep. I work on a professional, individual basis so that I can safely and appropriately provide support for your specific family unit. Lucy says: 'Many parents report success with this method and within that then it deserves consideration. I always want parents to make changes and adjustments and use approaches that resonate for them. However, I do find that it may be over-stimulating and confusing for the child. It is suggested that you PU when crying and PD when calm- this could lead to mixed messages and ultimately teach your child to cry, when ultimately we are aiming for your child not to cry and for them to feel supported and accompanied as they learn.'I'm combined feeding now so my partner can help a little but like you say it does make it difficult to know what he's getting. He can go 4 hours in the day so maybe 4 hours would be a good time to aim for in the night... say he goes to bed at 7 and we feed if he wakes around 1 and 5ish... Limit the use of electronic media and television, obviously, in the last hour before bedtime, but also through the course of the day. As parents, we can often rely more heavily on gadgets than we would like and routinely their use derails sleep - cutting short the amount of deep, restoring sleep they have and alerting the waking part of the brain when we want it to slow down. It can be challenging to alter our device use, but a challenge that can pay dividends in terms of sleep improvements. Its great that your DDs sleep is improving, but it is hard to see them be upset. The best thing you can do, in my opinion anyway, is to just continue being consistent so it gives her a chance to learn to settle. She'll get there. And although she is upset you are with her and you know shes safe. Are you following the suggested routine? I am loosely for sleep/wake time and I have found that helps alot.