FAQ's 
When's the best time to sleep train your baby?

There are many answers to this question depending on whom you speak to, and it may be that you’ve done some sleep training already yourself. Sleep training starts from 6 months old, and your baby doesn't need to be on solids to be ready to sleep train. I would just warn you against weaning your baby early in order to start sleep training, or to get them to sleep better at night, as milk generally has more calories than food, and filling your baby up with solids can cause them to cut down on milk and replace it with less nutritious food which can actually make a baby go backward in terms of sleep. You won't need to stop breastfeeding either. 

Sleep training is best done when you have some time to devote to it, like potty training it does require some dedication and changes to be made. Ideally don't start just before a holiday and only when you’re baby is well.

Teething

When your baby is 3-4 months old. two things happen. The first is that their saliva glands start working and they tend to dribble constantly. The second is that they develop hand-eye coordination which enables them to put their hands and anything else you give them into their mouths. Babies this age tend to be in the oral discovery stage of development and are learning through their senses, and mouthing and chewing everything they can get their hands on is a good way of finding out about the world around them. 

Unfortunately, these changes are what we look for when we're trying to work out if our babies are teething. Some parents say to me that their baby has been teething for months, and yet no teeth have come through. In this case, it is probably not teeth that are causing the baby's behaviour but just normal development. Most babies develop teeth between 6 and 12 months. 

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When your baby does start to teeth it can cause sleepless nights, and some babies experience a sore gum where the tooth is coming through, a red or flushed cheek, dribbling more than usual or they are more unhappy than usual. Some people report runny nappies or even a slight temperature although there's no medical evidence to support this. It's worth remembering that if your baby has a 'true' temperature then it is not associated with teething and is a sign of an illness or infection that may need treatment. 

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It can be hard to work out when to start sleep training around teething but teething should only cause a few nights disruption and most babies sleep a lot better throughout the teething once they can go into a deep sleep and know how to settle themselves. 

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FAQ's

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If you’d like to book me for a consultation or to come to your home, these are the answers to the questions I’m most commonly asked.

I hold a current Paediatric First Aid certificate, I’m DBS checked and I have public liability insurance.

If I am booked in to come to your home, I'll come by car as we do not live near a train station. Do let me know of any parking regulations I should be aware of.

During the night I will nap when the baby sleeps, please provide a bed/sofa/mattress and clean bedding.

In the morning payment is due, I’ll send you an email with the fees and my bank details or you can pay in cash before I leave.

I usually arrive half an hour before your baby’s bedtime so that I can make any changes to the bedtime routine that are necessary and settle them to sleep.

I’ll leave at 6.30 am to get back to my family.

I’ll eat at home with my family so I won’t need any food!

I’ll get you to do your usual bedtime routine and put your little one into their cot or bed but after that, I won’t need you, so you won’t have to get up in the night. It’s a good idea to have some earplugs so that you can get some sleep.

During the night I’ll take notes and email them to you the next day so that you know how the night has gone. I’ll put any instructions for the next day on there.

And lastly, we have a cat and a dog and I’m very happy around both!

I hope this answers any questions you may have but please let me know via the contact me form if there’s anything you’re not sure of.

Best wishes
Cate

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