Brenda Porter Sleep Solutions

16/06/2025

10/04/2025

Disrupted sleep affects the whole family. Whether the baby is always fractious or parents are always lacking in energy, siblings and other family members feel it too. ⁠
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From barely functioning to being happy, positive and full of energy for all their children, this family benefitted from reaching out and achieving their sleep goals. ⁠
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This is not for other people, this is for you if you need it. ⁠
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The link to book a call is in my bio ... there's no need to put it off any longer!
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29/03/2025

Teach them the skills, help them practice, not be their silent saboteurs.⁠
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Firstly, give your little one lots of bedtime confidence and enable them to feel happy and secure about sleep and sleeping through the night. This is often referred to as independent sleep skills - but please don't confuse this with abandoning them to do it all alone. This rarely gets the results and often just makes them worse. ⁠
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Secondly, give them time and space. Often we are really quick to jump in and help - after all it is sort of what we are programmed to do! But it is important to hold our little ones to their best and give them the opportunities to learn and grow and build their confidence. Sometimes it can take our little ones up to 10 minutes to get themselves back to sleep.⁠
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Finally, be confident, positive, encouraging and calm. Your baby is completely tuned into you and your emotions. If they feel any trepidation or negativity, they will pick this up and wonder what is wrong. When their little brains begin to worry, the cortisol rises and inhibits the melatonin, making it even harder for them to relax and go to sleep. ⁠
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So really what I am saying, is make the initial investment in your baby's relationship with their bed and their sleep, so that they know what they need to do to fall back asleep in the night happily and calmly. ⁠
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28/03/2025

This can often be the thing that gets us tearing our hair out. 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩!?⁠
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So there are the practical and 'normal' reasons for waking - needing the toilet, a drink, check everything is as it should be (no 🐻 or 🐯 in the house etc). But there are other, less helpful reasons too.⁠
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𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: if the room is too hot or too cold, or if we just kick off our covers or the heating kicks in, this can make us uncomfortable enough to wake - again a survival instinct, but not so helpful!⁠
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𝗡𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲: things often do go bump in the night, or more likely rubbish lorries, night buses, owls, siblings, neighbours... they can all cause us to wake up in the night. ⁠
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𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁: once we have done something for 4 or 5 nights in a row, it can easily become a habit. Our bodies just create this new rhythm with a waking at a specific time. We can also create a habit in what we do with dealing with that wakening - so introducing a feed/ song/ playtime etc. ⁠
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𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: The darkness of nighttime is what encourages our melatonin production - if we are exposed to light, the melatonin stops and this means we have no help staying asleep. So checking for chinks in the curtains and blackout blinds may help you identify a source of your night waking!⁠
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But with all wakings, they are going to happen as it is a natural phenomenon. But the difference is in our little ones being happy and confident in rolling over and going back to sleep, instead of needing to wake you all up to help them each and every time!⁠
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27/03/2025

I am the queen of sleep! 🤩 ⁠
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Let me help you and your little ones get the best night sleep possible! 💛⁠
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26/03/2025

Yes, the short answer is that we all wake at points in the night!⁠
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For our littlest ones, it is an important survival mechanism and this is why as newborns they have very short sleep cycles and only 2 different levels of sleep. They are designed to wake to make sure we are still nearby to look after them and keep them safe. Also to top up their tummy if they need it!⁠ 🍼⁠
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As we get bigger, we still go through those sleep cycles, waking up for things like a drink of water or a pop to the bathroom. As parents we often wake just to check on our children. ⁠
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So it is completely normal that we wake in the night, but ideally it should be brief, stress free and infrequent!⁠
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What wakes your little one? Let me know in the comments ⬇️⁠
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25/03/2025

This week I am going to focus on night wakings. ⁠
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🤍 Why do they happen?⁠
🤍 What can you do?⁠
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Helping our little ones get the best sleep can be hard work for us. ⁠
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Being 100% consistent, positive, encouraging and patient can be so so hard when we are utterly exhausted and at the end of our rope. ⁠
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I will give you a clear and solid practical solution. I am there to support you, guide you and carry you when you need it the most. ⁠
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You are 𝗡𝗢𝗧 alone. So drop me a DM.... my inbox is always open! 💌⁠
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23/03/2025

We all know that the toddler years can be tough, so it's no surprise that sleep can become a casualty. ⁠
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As with previous sleep regressions, it is often due to a developmental leap or a change to their routine or environment. So things like walking, talking, a rush of many new words, a sibling, new childcare, moving house or transitioning to a new 'big bed'.⁠
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We have to be sensitive to the fact that the smallest things can cause serious overwhelm to little ones, and accept that sleep might not always be perfect, but what makes it easier it keeping as many things consistent and as routine as possible. ⁠
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And, as with all regressions, keeping boundaries, routines and schedules will help you and your little one navigate it as best you all can.⁠
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Are you going through this with your little one? ⁠
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22/03/2025

When you've only just survived the four month regression...⁠ the 8 month regressions is upon you!⁠
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The 8 month regression, like all the others, often feels like your child has been replaced by a sleep fighting demon! You have had a 7-7 sleeper and all of a sudden they are up 2-3 times a night, taking a bottle or a feed again, and waking early in the morning ready to start their day. ⁠
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At 8 months this can be down to a few things...⁠
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- 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. This is a massive new thing for baby and is incredibly exciting. When babies learn a new skill, it is tempting to stay up overnight to practice! It is also taking more energy in the day which can make them even more tired. ⁠
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- 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆. This can often be seen at this age, when little ones are getting their head around 'object permanence' - this is when something disappears from view and they think it is gone forever! ⁠
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- 𝗡𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Often we can go from 3 naps to 2 naps at this age and night time sleep can be impacted from both the actual change to routine and the change in the amount of daytime sleep. ⁠
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As a result of all this amazing development at this age, it should be expected to experience a disruption to sleep. The good news is, that solid routines and good sleep habits and hygiene, mean that this often passes in a couple of weeks!⁠
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21/03/2025

The four-month regression, everybody agrees on, is the real deal, and it’s permanent.⁠
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Many of us just think of sleep as an on-or-off situation. You’re either asleep or you’re not. But sleep actually has a number of different stages, and they make up the “sleep cycle,” which we go through several times a night. ⁠
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𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟭 is that initial stage we’re all familiar with, where you can just feel yourself drifting off, but don’t really feel like you’ve fallen asleep.⁠
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𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟮 which is considered the first “true sleep” stage. This is where people tend to realize, once woken up, that they actually were sleeping. For anyone taking a “power nap,” this is as deep as you want to go, or else you’re going to wake up groggy.⁠
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𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟯 is deep and regenerative. Also known as “slow wave” sleep, this is where the body starts repairing and rejuvenating the immune system, muscles tissue, energy stores, and sparks growth and development.⁠
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𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟰 is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. This is where the brain starts to kick in and consolidates information and memories from the day before. It’s also the stage where we do most of our dreaming.⁠
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Once we’ve gone through all of the stages, we either wake up or come close to waking up, and then start over again until the alarm goes off.⁠
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Newborn babies only have 2 stages of sleep; 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟯 and 𝗥𝗘𝗠, and they spend about half their sleep in each stage. But at around the third or fourth month, there is a reorganisation of sleep, as they embrace the 4-stage method of sleep that they’ll continue to follow for the rest of their lives. ⁠
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When this change takes place, baby moves from 50% REM sleep to 25% in order to make room for those first two stages. So although REM sleep is light, it’s not as light as these 2 new stages that they’re getting used to, and with more time spent in lighter sleep, there’s more of a chance that baby’s going to wake up.⁠
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20/03/2025

Lets talk sleep regression.... this week find out what could be causing your child's sleeping habits to alter, how long sleep regression can persist, and how to assist your child in returning to a more restful sleep pattern at night. 😴⁠
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19/03/2025

I have spaces left in April!!

Are you struggling with little one's sleep?
Are you struggling with your own lack of sleep?
Do you feel stressed and overwhelmed each day?

I can help you and your family get a great night's sleep using a gentle and responsive approach ... you could all be sleeping by Easter!

Drop me a DM, or click the link in my bio x