I am the mother of four sons and a grandmother to seven grandchildren. I am also a teacher so I’ve had quite a bit of hands-on experience. My newest grand-daughter has been keeping Mummy and Daddy up in the night for quite a while now and this is the advice I’ve given them. I thought I’d write this down as it worked and any tips on how to get a good night’s sleep must be worth sharing.

Our greatest gifts are our children and we look forward to the day when we can hold our bundle of joy in our arms and then put in their new cradle in their beautifully decorated bedroom. We can’t wait to enter the nursery to wake our little darling for their morning milk.

IN YOUR DREAMS...

We are warned that babies are prone to waking in the night and screaming for attention but, surely, any child of mine won’t be that unsociable. How can that sound be coming from that tiny little tot?

Lack of sleep makes anyone grumpy but hormones, stress, a new baby and sleepless nights makes the lives of new parents almost unbearable. Your bundle of joy turns you into a bundle of nerves. The problem with newborns is they need to be fed at regular intervals and the only way they can tell you is to scream blue murder.

Babies gradually sleep for longer periods and night feeds aren’t needed any more. Babies aren’t always in agreement with this and will try all sorts of tactics to get your attention.

If you feel that your child is ready to sleep through the night it is important not to establish bad habits as these will come back and kick you in the teeth later. It is so tempting to bring baby into bed with you and this is lovely at 6 months old. At 6 years old or 10 years old, it doesn’t have the same appeal and it is much harder to break a habit at 6 years than at 6 months. Letting them fall asleep in your arms is another no-no. One of my grandsons was 11lbs at birth; rocking him to sleep every night would give a repetitive strain injury within days!!

As parent’s it is heartbreaking to hear your baby cry but you soon learn that there are different types of ‘cry’. – the attention cry, the hurting cry, the hungry cry, the I want my teddy and it’s fallen out of the cot cry, the list goes on but you will be able to hear the difference.

It is worth giving baby a chance to fall to sleep. Let them settle down and get cosy. Sometimes, crying is just a habit as they are put in the cot.

In my opinion, one of the most important things with establishing a routine is ‘consistency’. Babies learn very quickly it is worth the while to create a routine and stick to it. Of course, if you are sharing the responsibility, it is important that you both stick to the same routine or you will have trouble!

Stick to a routine for putting baby to bed. I have always carried out the same routine and I do it without thinking now. Bottle, cuddle (standing by cot), twinkle, twinkle(not necessarily pleasant for any other listeners but...), kiss, “good night” and into bed.

Whatever you decide to make your routine, stick to it. It will take time but if you are constantly changing what you do, you will all get confused.

One of my older grandchildren (7years old) has always been a bad sleeper. He doesn’t live near to me so he can’t get the ‘nanny’ treatment. His Mum and Dad have invested in some audio files and they reckon it works like a dream. I must admit that I love to listen to soothing sounds or meditation when I sleep. I haven’t tried them on a baby but I’m sure they must be worth a try, especially if you are at your wit’s end. I’ll look out for some and let you know what I think.

Good night, sleep tight.