Baby and child sleep

25/07/2025

I wish all new parents knew…

😍That you have everything your baby needs. You are the perfect parent for them.

🤗Picking them up for cuddles, helping them fall asleep, contact napping etc etc isn’t spoiling them. In fact quite the opposite, we know it’s helping healthy brain development and attachment.

👶🏼Knowing and believing this will help you relax into your new role and not question yourself too much. Try and enjoy the early weeks and not worry about things your baby just isn’t ready to do on their own yet.

🥰And remember, self care is essential, not selfish. To take care of your baby, you need to take care of you.

❤️Please share with a friend who needs to hear this today

21/07/2025

Is you’re little one waking too early in the morning?

As a paediatric sleep consultant and health visitor I know that lots of parents struggle with this and because your one year old has had quite a lot of sleep already it can be very hard to persuade them that 5am isn’t a good time to start the day!

Here’s a few ideas for what not to do if you want that 5am to be more like 6 or 7am…

❌don’t put them to bed too early, 10.5-11/12 hours overnight is quite normal if they’re having 2 naps in the day

❌no milk or breakfast until your happier with the time (make sure they had lots of calories the day before and even a bedtime snack if their teatime was early).

This is because although our circadian rhythms are governed mainly by light and dark they’re also influenced by when we eat…so your little one’s body will soon get used to early milk/breakfast.

❌don’t draw the curtains or blinds until it’s time to get up

❌don’t chat, be really boring! Just gently remind them it’s still sleepy time

❌don’t get them up to play/watch tv etc until your happy with the time

❌don’t expect immediate results as you’re trying to shift their circadian rhythm a little so it could take a week or so of being consistent but keep the faith, it does work!

16/07/2025

👋It’s been ages since I said hi (er November ‘23 to be precise!) so thought it was definitely time to put that right.

🥰If you’ve been with me for a while, thank you 🙏 and a really warm welcome if you’ve just found me ☺️

👩🏻‍⚕️I’m Rosy, registered nurse, health visitor and certified paediatric sleep practitioner (RCPCH & RCN). I’ve been helping families with their little ones sleep for 8 years now!

🩷💙💙I have 3 adult children of 25, 23 & 19 (can’t believe I’m saying that tbh as it’s seems like yesterday I was in your boat with the sleepless nights!). I’ve been married for 27 years💒

🏝️We’ve all just had the most amazing holiday together in Paxos and Corfu, partners included!

🐶 🐶And I have 2 extremely cute dogs who often make impromptu appearances on zoom calls with clients!

😴You’re in exactly the right place if you’re looking for responsive baby or child sleep help and support that work with your little one’s biology, age and developmental stage.

❤️I’m here for parents who know that strict sleep training methods that involve separation aren’t for them but doing nothing just isn’t an option anymore either. There is a middle ground!

😴I help you create happy bedtimes, reduce overnight wakes and improve naps. Always age and developmentally appropriate.

❤️Like this post and give me a follow if you want to hear more from me.

29/07/2024

It’s very warm in the UK so you might be a bit worried when you see the temperature in your little one’s bedroom. But try not to worry too much and there are a few practical things you can do.

Keep your blinds down and windows open in the day. Use a fan pointed away from baby, with ice in front of it for your own mini air conditioning system! Worth a try anyway…

At nap time, just put them down to sleep in their nappy, no clothes or sleeping bag (unless they’re old enough to fiddle with their nappy, in which case maybe just a 0.2 tog sleeping bag. Vests may make them feel hotter as the fabric can stick to their skin.

Give them their usual bath or wash as when they get out the bath and the water evaporates on their skin it can help cool their core temperature by a degree or two (great for adults too!).

At bedtime, if it’s still sweltering, stick to just a nappy and perhaps put them in their summer tog sleeping bag later in the night so they don’t wake up chilly in the early hours.

Offer babies under 6 months extra breast/formula and if over 6 months you can offer extra milk feeds or water as needed.

And just keep your expectations low and expect a bit of a disturbed night. Anything else will be a bonus!

Do you have any good tips to share? Let me know in the comments below.

13/03/2024

23/02/2024

Keep baby sleep simple…

There is so much info and advice out there about baby sleep.

It can feel pretty overwhelming and exhausting. Trying all the things.

I’m a health professional and paediatric sleep practitioner with many years of experience working with little ones and their families.

And the vast majority of behavioural sleep concerns can be resolved by getting the following foundations right:

🌚Sleep environment
🧸Bedtime routine
🍼Nutrition
🌦️Daylight exposure
❤️Connection & feeling safe
😴Tired enough/not too tired

And I’m going to deep dive into all these foundations in the next few weeks.

Give me a follow if you don’t want to miss anything and if you’re already following (thank you 🙏) check the 🔔 in the top right by my insta name so you’ll be notified when I post.

21/02/2024

Does your toddler wake up too early?

It’s a really common problem and can take some patience to resolve but it can be done!

And in practice I find one of the most common reasons toddlers wake too early is because they’ve just had enough sleep so it might be time to drop a nap or push bedtime abit later.

Do you have an early riser?

18/02/2024

Do you need a sleep consultant?

This might be an unpopular opinion but I feel I’m pretty qualified to say (health visitor and paediatric sleep practitioner here 🙋🏻‍♀️) you don’t need a sleep consultant in those early days, weeks and months.

Don’t get me wrong, I get lots of enquiries and calls from parents with newborn babies but I generally chat with them (for free) and hopefully reassure them. We talk about the erratic nature of newborn sleep, and how this is totally normal and keeps them safe. We talk about how to encourage a circadian rhythm and maybe get going with a bedtime routine.

And reminding them that giving them lots of help to fall asleep, feeding responsively and not to a schedule are absolutely the right thing to do.

And knowing that you are NOT creating bad habits or spoiling them by doing this.

I will often signpost to breastfeeding support, their health visitor or GP etc if there might be other issues at play like tongue tie, reflux or silent reflux, CMPA etc.

But from around 4-5 months onwards you can get into abit more of a pattern and set up some really great sleep habits moving forward.

Totally age and developmentally appropriate, responsive and definitely no CIO or anything remotely similar.

❤️Show this post some love and give me a follow if you resonate 🙏

10/02/2024

New Parent Reminders

I thought it was time to repeat my new parent reminders. I don’t think you can ever hear them too much can you?

Back when I was a health visitor this is the one I had to repeat! “You can’t spoil a baby”🛑

New parents often get told they’re making a rod for their own backs (what a silly phrase!). But this couldn’t be more wrong.

Picking them up for cuddles, helping them fall asleep, contact napping etc etc isn’t spoiling them. In fact the opposite is true, it’s promoting healthy brain development and building positive relationships. To trust their needs will be met. ❤️

Plus it means you’re more likely to enjoy the early weeks and months rather than worrying about things your baby just isn’t ready to do on their own yet.

Please tag a friend who needs to hear this today ❤️

09/02/2024

Your baby’s sleep…

Try not to worry about how much total sleep your little one is getting. Or how long their naps are.

Some things you just can’t control. Your baby is going to want different amounts of sleep every day.

Sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes long naps, sometimes barely 30 minutes. Different from other babies exactly the same age.

And the variability isn’t a failing on your part, it’s normal! There’s nothing wrong. You’re not doing anything wrong.

But you can control their environment, bedtime routine, encouraging some self settling if this is developmentally and age appropriate and ensuring there’s enough (but not too much!) awake time before bed.

These are the things that you can control and that can optimise your little one’s sleep for their age and stage.

So have a great weekend and try to worry less about the things you can’t control.

For more health professional sleep advice and support give me a follow 🙏
With love ❤️ Rosy

25/01/2024

A consistent bedtime routine can help reduce nighttime waking, increase sleep duration and help your little one fall asleep more easily!

How a bedtime routine might look:

✅lasts 30-45 minutes

✅includes the same steps each night as many nights of the week as possible

✅has 3-4 age appropriate activities such as bath, feed, teeth brush and stories

✅prioritises connection through cuddles, massage etc

And avoid screen time and bright lights in the hour or so before bedtime if you can. These work against your little one’s circadian rhythm and will hinder melatonin production, the sleep inducing hormone.

Plus even the most gentle seeming programme can lead to nighttime fears in children 2 years and above.

A bedtime routine that evolves over the years can not only help with sleep but also things such as dental hygiene, speech and language development, literacy, emotional regulation and healthy attachment.

And last but definitely not least, can really help you get an hour or two to yourself in the evening! 🎉

05/12/2023

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/post-natal-health-professionals-75916349403

A morning of questions and answers, support and signposting for anything postnatal!Trudy Brock- Birthjourneys Midwifery and Trauma Therapy: Debriefing and identifying emotional needs.Nadine Harrison- Chiropractor: Postnatal back and pelvic pain.Rosy Whitwell- Baby and Child Sleep: Paediatric sleep c...