It’s the time of year where school supply lists are being sent to inboxes, mailboxes, and stores, glue sticks, crayons, markers, scissors, and pencils are lining the aisles at every store, just waiting for the mad dash of moms and children to shuffle through them at an alarming rate.

While there is some chaos you can’t avoid during back-to-school season, there are a few things you can do to help ensure that your child starts their school year off on the right foot.

Whether this is your first time sending your little one to (pre)school, or you’ve got some teens in the house, I’m certain these tips will help you out.

Let’s get to it!

Don’t make BIG changes too close to starting at a new school.

Let’s say your little one is able to start preschool, but there are a few stipulations:

1. They must be at least 3 years old.

AND

2. They must be potty trained.

Potty training is a BIG life event for a little person, and it’s important to make sure your child is fully ready to potty train, both from an emotional perspective and a physical one.

You also want to avoid big changes – like this – too close to another major life event, like starting at a new school.

Ideally, you’d have wanted to potty train your child a few weeks ago to make sure the skill was solidified before sending them to school.

If you have no choice and must potty train ASAP, then make sure you’re ready to hit it hard for a few weeks and pray there’s not a huge regression when they start school. And if that does happen, it’s totally normal! Simply inform the teachers or staff at the school that this is a new skill and you’re continuing to work on it at home. They most likely already know this, because, guess what, there are other kids in the class going through the exact same thing!

There’s never really a great time to do these things, and as parents, you have to do what you have to do. If you need help, I know a girl! 😉

Other BIG life events you’ll want to avoid if possible as your little one is starting at a new school:

• Moving
• Having a baby
• Sleep training

Make sure sleep is quality.

Your child is about to do a lot of learning. Sleep is one of the most important pillars of their wellbeing that will help them absorb all the new information they’re being presented with at school.

When we sleep, our memories from the day get sorted. Your child’s brain will decide what is important enough to be kept and stored in memory, or to get rid of something – referred to as “pruning”.

If your child is not a good sleeper, there’s a higher chance that they’ll struggle with remembering content from school.

Summer schedules seem to be later. I’d start focusing on that, and bring your child’s schedule a little earlier. Ideally you’ll be wanting them to be getting about 11-12 hours of sleep at night.

Identify what time they’ll need to be awake to get ready for school, and subtract 11-12 hours from that. THAT is now their bedtime.

For example, my boys need to be up around 6:30/7:00 every morning to get ready for school, so their bedtime is 7:30 at night. Every night.

If your bedtime routine is feeling more like a constant battle rather than a calming and peaceful time of evening, check out our sample bedtime routines by age, for free. This is a great starting point.

You could also get sleep under control by working with a sleep consultant. Trust me, I know how to make it as easy as possible, and can guide you through any scenarios you might run into with your child’s sleep.

Be mindful of the transition and expect regressions.

Going back to school can be a shock to the system, especially if your child had a super lax summer. All of the sudden they’re in a totally structured environment where almost every minute of their day is planned.

They may need to go to bed early the first few weeks.

You may also see both potty training or sleep regressions, especially if they’re at a new-to-them school.

Stay consistent with your routines and expectations and they should get back on track after a week or two, but it’s still important to know that this is normal.

If your child has solid sleep and potty training skills BEFORE starting school, chances are they’ll do just fine.

Have a great school year, everyone!

Handling your child’s sleep while you’re in the comfort of your own home is one thing, but one of the biggest challenges many parents face is managing their child’s sleep when they’re NOT at home.

If the thought of traveling with your child makes you cringe, then I wrote this post for you!

If you can implement my tips from this post, you just might decide that there are far harder things you’ll do in your parenting days, and you might even ENJOY your vacation.

So, pack those bags and buckle up…but first, read this article!

5 things to think about before you travel…

Yes, there is prep work involved you’ll want to do before you leave.

1. If your child is not an independent sleeper at home, they won’t be on the road either, and it would be unrealistic and unfair to expect that they would be simply because you’re traveling. Do some sleep training well in advance of your trip to help them solidify the skill so they can bring it with them!
2. If you’re planning on using a different setup for sleep, like a toddler air mattress or a SlumberPod, make sure your child has the opportunity to explore and practice with these items before you can expect them to use them successfully.
3. Think through your child’s sleep routines from beginning to end – make a list of items you’ll need for their bath, bedtime, and nap routines to ensure you don’t forget anything!
4. If you’re staying at an Airbnb or a hotel – or where ever, really – call ahead to find out what the accommodations are: Is a travel crib provided? Do you need to bring your play yard? Will you need to room share or can everyone have their own room for sleeping?
5. If you’re doing a planned trip and following an itinerary (Disney, anyone??), make sure you don’t plan too much and allow for naps if needed. The last thing anyone wants is an overtired child at a theme park. Plan for breaks at the hotel or plan for naps on the go and bring what you need for each situation.

We ended up doing a family trip when my boys were 4 and 2. We shared a house with my sister and her kids, and all the kids ended up sleeping in the same room. My boys were already great little sleepers at home, and they did surprisingly well even when there were four kids in one bedroom.

It helped that they were exhausted from all the activities – we hit up Legoland and Disney and just made sure to have the white noise cranked when anyone was sleeping. On days when we were at the park during my 2-year-old’s nap time, he just slept in the stroller around his normal nap time. We brought a fan to keep him cool and he was totally fine.

Okay, so you’ve thought things through, made your packing list, and made the trip. Now what??

Tips for When You Arrive at Your Destination

As soon as you get there, I highly recommend setting up everyone’s sleep space.

I know everyone will be excited to hit up the beach, jump in the pool, or get in line for the teacup ride, but, trust me, you’re not going to want to have to set everything up when you get back to your hotel or Airbnb and nothing is ready to go and you’ve got a cranky toddler on your hands. That’s the worst possible situation.

You’ll basically want to recreate the sleep environment that you have for them at home. 

Make sure it’s dark. You can use some portable blackout shades or a SlumberPod. Black electrical tape can help cover any small appliance lights on alarm clocks, microwaves, etc.

Use white noise. It will help your child sleep better AND it will help drown out any other noises from room sharing.

Bring sheets, blankies, pacifiers, pajamas, and sleep sacks that your child is used to sleeping with. If it smells and feels familiar, they’ll sleep better.

The other thing you’ll want to try to do is to stick to your child’s normal schedule and routines as best as you can throughout your vacation. Remember, they’re already sleeping in a different environment than they’re used to, so keeping everything else the same will help them out. 

Obviously, I know this trip is likely for fun and you want to make some memories. Do it! Have your little one nap in the carrier or in the stroller.

Know that sleep may get off track the less you maintain routines and schedules. It’s okay, maybe even worth it! But you’ll likely have some work to do when you get back home…

How to Get Back On Track When You Get Back Home

You had a blast on your trip, but sleep came a little bit undone – this is to be expected.

It’s okay!

Because your child was a previously good little sleeper (tip #1, remember?!), it won’t be too hard to get them back on track. You may need to do a “sleep reset” where you refer back to any sleep training method you used to provide a consistent response. Because sleep was previously a skill, it shouldn’t take more than a night or two to get things dusted off again. With time and consistency, they should be back to normal within a few days. 

And, if your child wasn’t previously a good sleeper, and you want to make some changes, reach out to me! That’s what I do! I’d love to help your family too, so you can travel stress-free for years to come.

Nap time can either be one of two things:

Either it’s your power hour where you get stuff done or do something for yourself…

OR

it’s frustratingly short and the bane of your existence as a parent.

My hope is that your experience is the former, but all too often, I find that it’s not.

So, let’s get into it today – why is nap time so important for your little one, and what can/should you expect for naps where your baby is at right now?

Why Nap Time is IMPORTANT

Sleep is directed by two systems – circadian rhythm (which isn’t fully developed until closer to 12 weeks old) and the homeostatic processes that keep us alive, which is basically a fancy way of saying, “sleep pressure” that builds up over the course of being awake.

It’s the homeostatic process that needs our attention when it comes to naps. Better daytime sleep will lead to better nighttime sleep.

Your little one is growing fastly and furiously – they’ll grow more in their first three years of life than they will at any other time of their human experience. Is it a coincidence that most kids need naps, especially the first three years of life?? I think not!

Their brains are working in overdrive, and, as they take in stimulation throughout the day, they need a break to relieve the “pressure” – you guessed it, a nap!

As your child grows and develops, they can be stimulated for longer periods of time between needing a break, and their awake times will increase. They’ll have a bit more stamina.

Basically, once the sleep pressure can build no more, they NEED to sleep to reduce the pressure again. When your baby is younger, the pressure builds faster, yielding more frequent naps.

Think of naps as the bridge(s) to bedtime, when your child has their body’s biological clock and sleep hormones on their side. Night sleep is also the most restorative sleep, so we want to make sure your child is getting enough sleep during the day (naps!) to help nighttime sleep go smoothly. If you’ve ever experienced an overtired child at bedtime, you know what I’m talking about.

If bedtime has been a battle, it’s likely the rest of the night will be too.

Solid naps help prevent overtiredness, which helps prevent these bedtime battles, which leads to better nights.

All this to say, NAPS ARE ESSENTIAL to quality sleep. Good naps will yield better nights. Better nights will yield overall better health and well-being.

Nap Development Over Time

Naps don’t start to consolidate until closer to 6-months of age.

When your baby is first born

• They only have 2 sleep stages (they’ll experience the shift to four sleep stages sometime between 3.5-5 months)

AND

• They have an immature circadian rhythm (this won’t mature until closer to 12-weeks) and may have day/night confusion until this gets sorted out

Because of these two things, naps are totally and completely sporadic, especially the first few months of life.

As a newborn, your baby may sleep as little as 20-minutes for a nap or upwards of 3 hours. Eventually, you’ll want to start seeing the longer stretches of sleep happen at night instead of during the day. If you don’t start seeing this happen by 6-12 weeks, your baby may be experiencing day/night confusion and there are some things you can do to help that, but that’s another conversation for another day!

Your child may also experience the 4-month sleep regression (this is actually when they make the shift from two- to four sleep stages, just like us adults have) which can cause more night wakings and shorter naps, especially if your baby isn’t an independent sleeper (not many are at this age, and that’s okay!).

By 6-months old, and if you’re working to build some independence around sleep, you should start seeing some more predictable and consolidated naps start to happen, hopefully arorund 60-minutes or longer.

Nap Expectations by Month

0-1 Month Old

• Your baby may take 4-6 naps during the day
• Shoot for 45-60 minutes awake between waking and sleep
• Some/most sleep will need to be assisted
• Naps may last 20 minutes – 3 hours

1-2 Months Old

• Your baby may take 4-6 naps during the day
• Shoot for 45-60 minutes awake between waking and sleep
• Some/most sleep will need to be assisted
• Naps may last 20 minutes – 3 hours

2-3 Months Old

• Your baby may take 4-5 naps during the day
• Shoot for 60-75 minutes awake between waking and sleep
• Some/most sleep will need to be assisted; try for the earlier naps to be unassisted in the crib or bassinet
• Naps may last 20 minutes – 3 hours; cap naps at 2.5 hours if these are the longest stretches of sleep you’re seeing in a 24 hour period

3-4 Months Old

• Your baby may take 3-4 naps during the day
• Shoot for 75-90 minutes awake between waking and sleep
• Some sleep will need to be assisted; try for the earlier naps to be unassisted in the crib or bassinet
• Naps may last 20 minutes – 3 hours; cap naps at 2 hours if these are the longest stretches of sleep you’re seeing in a 24 hour period

4-6 Months Old

• Your baby may take 3 naps during the day
• Shoot for 1.5-2 hours awake between waking and sleep
• Some sleep may need to be assisted; try for the all naps to be unassisted in the crib or bassinet; the last nap is usually a catnap
• Naps may last 30 minutes to 2 hours

6-14/15 Months Old

• 2 naps during the day
• Put your baby on a set schedule now with naps occurring at the same times every day
• You may need to adjust bedtime if naps were short
• Naps should last 1-2 hours each, for a total of 3-3.5 hours of daytime sleep

12 Months+

Your baby may transition to one nap anywhere between 12-18 months, with the average age for this transition to take place being around 14-15 months. Once your child is taking one nap, it will basically split the day right in half, with the nap occurring for 2-3 hours right in the middle of the day.

I hope you find this information helpful! And, if you can’t seem to nail down naps, or nights for that matter, make sure you reach out and get in touch with me. That’s what I’m here for!

If there is one piece of information I wish I could give to all new mothers, it would be about awake windows.

In the newborn months, there is so much learning between a mother and her baby, and while it’s a beautiful time, it can also be stressful as the family adapts to a new routine.

When my oldest was born, it was a tough period. My husband and I were living with my parents at the time, and we had very little space. On top of that, it was very much life with a newborn: nights were rough, nursing was tough, and we were trying to figure everything out as new parents.

While many new parents will find it unrealistic to create and stick to a schedule when their baby is a newborn, it can be extremely helpful to have some routines in place. Not only can routines be helpful for your baby, but it can be helpful for you as you navigate a brand new world. 

So how can you create age-appropriate routines while ensuring your child gets all the sleep they need?

Awake windows, my friend.

What are awake windows?

Simply put, awake windows are your child’s wake time between periods of sleep. It’s the amount of time your child is likely able to handle being awake before needing to be put down for a nap.

As your child grows, they will generally be able to stay awake longer in between naps. 

Here’s a chart showing awake windows for ages 0-24 months:

To break the chart down: a 0-3 month old baby can handle being awake for 40-90 minutes in any one stretch of time. Once they reach that range, they’ll likely be ready for a nap. 

You’ll notice that each age group has a range of time. Here’s why: Your child is a unique human and not a robot. 

Babies aren’t programmed to go to sleep after being awake for a set time. Some babies will need a little longer awake windows, and some will need shorter awake windows. This range allows you to tune in to your child’s unique needs and respond to them.

Why are awake windows so important?

Awake windows, along with your child’s cues, help you determine when your child is ready for sleep.

However, as your child continues to develop, you won’t always be able to rely on their sleepy cues to give you notice that they’re getting tired. Instead of slowly becoming less engaged with what’s going on, your baby is likely to remain engaged in activities, become overstimulated, and miss giving you signs that they’re getting tired.

And once your baby is overtired, they can become fussy and clingy, making it harder for them to fall asleep.

Awake windows help you stay ahead of that “point of no return.”

If you know that your child can handle being awake for about 2 hours, then around that 2-hour mark, you can take your child into a different room to begin their nap routine, which helps prevent them from becoming overstimulated and overtired.

On the flip side of this, following awake windows ensures your child is getting a good amount of awake time during the day, which is just as important for their development and sleep.

If your child isn’t quite ready for bed but you put them down before their awake window range, they may fall asleep, but chances are, they’ll have a shorter nap. You want enough sleep pressure to build up before putting your child down for sleep so that they will be able to have a good, long nap.

Awake windows give you some predictability within the day instead of worrying that you’ll miss sleepy cues or put your baby down too early. 

When can you pivot away from awake windows?

For the first 3 months, your baby will likely feed and sleep on demand – whenever they want. Watching your child’s awake windows to ensure your baby isn’t staying awake too long can be helpful.

After 4 months, you can begin to shift away from awake windows and lean more towards a clock-based schedule. While there is no certain age you need to do this by, once your child has a better sleep schedule and good routines have been established, it might be easier for you to know at certain times, your little one will take a nap.

Generally, you’ll see this happen quite naturally.

Your baby may take naps at the same time each day, wake up from naps after a specific time, and go to bed around the same time each night. Once you notice those patterns, it’s a good time to make that jump.

Some parents will find that they prefer a clock-based schedule as it allows greater flexibility in activities. For instance, if your baby takes naps each day at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., it can be easier to plan events out of the house, as you know exactly when your baby will be going to sleep. 

But what about awake times? I don’t want my baby to become overtired!

Remember that your child’s awake time has a range for a reason. Even if your child has an off day and they wake up earlier than normal, keeping a clock-based schedule is okay, as there’s still some wiggle room in their awake times.

Having this information about awake windows can be a powerful tool as you begin the journey of helping your child get better sleep.

And if your baby is between 0-16 weeks and you’re wanting a little more help with their sleep, we have a newborn sleep guide that is the perfect solution for you. Grab it here today!

DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU.

When we enter parenthood, we’re not given a guidebook.

In fact, we’re not given much of anything, other than a precious new baby to care for. If you’re anything like I was, I just wanted to do everything right for my child. So I did what I thought was best in each moment.

But I’ll be the first to admit: I didn’t do things perfectly. When my first was born, we co-slept until I became a sleep consultant and he was 3.

The second time around, I knew I didn’t want to do the same thing because I WAS EXHAUSTED! My second son slept in a bassinet next to my bed for about 6 months. As you can imagine, we had a lot better sleep the second time around. 

I then realized how much better this set-up worked for my family and wanted to help other families if they found themselves in a similar situation looking for changes. And that is what led me to become a certified sleep consultant.

Many things can impact sleep and help or hinder your child’s sleeping habits. The foundation of helping your child sleep well is that they’re in an environment that is set-up for sleep. There are five steps that you can take to create a sleep-ready room to help promote the best sleep possible for your baby.

Create a Quiet Sleep Environment

The first piece of a sleep-ready room: white noise.

My kids will not sleep unless the white noise machine is on! In fact, they ask for it!

Here’s the thing about white noise: when your baby is in utero, they are used to constant, loud noises. When they are born, they enter a pretty quiet environment compared to where they spent the last 9 months. White noise can comfort your baby, as it simulates the environment where they felt safe and secure for so long.

Additionally, white noise is great at creating a noise barrier for things going on outside the room. If your baby is trying to nap and your toddler is playing in the living room, a white noise machine can help prevent outside noise from creeping in and waking your little one. I personally recommend the Hatch sound machine and nightlight combo.

When it comes to white noise, you want to place the machine away from your child’s crib or bed so that they don’t accidentally pull the machine down. 

While you want the white noise to be loud enough to drown out any outside noise, you don’t need it too loud. Aiming for around 50 decibels is ideal, and there are great free decibel reading apps that you can download to your phone. Simply place your phone on your child’s mattress to read the white noise and adjust the white noise level!

Create a Dark Sleep Environment

Big windows are great for natural light, until that light wakes up your sleeping child. To prevent the early morning sun from waking your child up before you’re ready, you want to create a dark sleep environment.

Blackout curtains work wonderfully for this – basically anything that makes the room completely dark is ideal. I recommend the EZ Slumber Blackout Curtains.

Not only are blackout curtains effective at preventing a too early wake up, but they also help ensure your child gets all the daytime sleep they need.

Light signals to our bodies that it’s time to wake up, as it prohibits your brain from making enough melatonin to keep you sleeping longer. If your child is napping in a brightly lit room, they may not fall into a deep enough sleep to cycle through multiple sleep cycles.

The best way to measure whether your child’s room is dark enough is to try this:

Go into your child’s room, turn the lights off, and close the curtains. Let your eyes adjust for a minute. If you can see around the room, it’s not dark enough.

Create a Safe Sleep Environment

The AAP recommends that your child have their own sleeping space (a crib or bassinet) and they encourage parents to roomshare until their baby is 12 months of age, or at least for the first 6 months.

Every family’s situation is unique when it comes to roomsharing and when to move to the nursery, so you’ll have to do what’s best for your family. 

For some families, there is no option other than roomsharing, so they’ll keep their child in a crib in the parents’ room well into their child’s first year.

For other families, they find that they actually sleep better once the baby is in their own nursery, so when the 6-month mark comes, they transition their baby to their own room.

There are many factors that can play into this decision, so here are a few to consider:

• Do you have the space for your baby to have their own room?
• Do you (the parent) sleep better when the baby is in their room? Or would you sleep better if your baby is in another room?
• Does your baby sleep better if not in the same room as you?

There is no right or wrong answer here – as long as you are following safe sleep practices, you can decide what works best for your family.

Create a Cool Sleep Environment

The next element of a sleep-ready room is to keep the room cool. Keeping the temperature between 68-72 degrees fahrenheit ensures that your baby isn’t too warm or too cold, as those factors can wake your child up.

If you think that 68-72 degrees is just too cold – if your baby feels cold when you touch their neck or head, that’s usually a good indicator – you can consider layering your child’s clothing. For instance, a onesie underneath a sleep sack can work perfectly. Just tune in to your child and adjust the temperature how you see fit.

You also want to be mindful of the airflow in your child’s room. Some studies have found a decreased risk of SIDS with the use of a fan, as it helps keep the air in the room circulating. Depending on your environment, you may consider keeping a fan on low in your child’s room to help.

Create a Boring Sleep Environment

Lastly, the room should be boring – there really is no need for nightlights, extra pillows, blankets, or toys in your child’s crib or room.

With each passing day, your child becomes more alert and aware of their surroundings, so keeping things simple will help them associate their crib with sleep and sleep only. If your child is laying in their crib but they see all of their toys on the floor, it’s going to make it hard for them to settle down and want to sleep.

One common question that arises when planning for a simple sleep environment is, “Well, when CAN I introduce items to my child when they sleep?”

While every child is different, here’s a general guideline:

• 12 months old: You can introduce a lovey or small blankie
• 18 months old: Blankets are now okay
• 24 months old: Pillows are perfectly fine

Of course, these aren’t required ages, as your child may decide they don’t want or need anything else while they sleep.

Once you have your child’s sleep environment set and you know it’s safe and sleep-ready, you can then start focusing on routines to help your child wind down and prepare their bodies for bed. If you’re not sure where to start, grab my free guide – Bedtime Routines by Age – and get a solid bedtime routine in place with your little one tonight!

At my house, bedtime is one of our favorite times of the day. We start with a bath, get into our pjs, brush our teeth, and then my boys are allowed to cuddle in our bed and read a book for about 10-15 minutes, then they get into their room, turn their sound machines on, get in bed, and we turn out the lights.

It’s nice to have that dedicated time cuddling so there’s no arguing once they’re in bed since we’ve already checked that off the list!

Why are routines helpful??

Time to transition between activities is super helpful for children of all ages…and that’s exactly what a routine is! It’s a set of activities completed every day (sometimes multiple times per day) between two major activities. In your baby’s world, that might be between playing and sleeping, or sleeping and feeding. Specifically, a bedtime or naptime routine is the set of activities between a state of wakefulness and a state of sleep.

Did you know that even little babies, before 2-months of age, can start to recognize routines? Using a bedtime and quick naptime routine can help your little one recognize that after you do a certain set of activities, they can expect what happens next…sleep!

Daily routines you do with your baby can also help them distinguish between daytime and nighttime, easing any day/night confusion they may have had.

Elements of a Quality Bedtime Routine

You’ll want to make sure the bedtime routine is a calming and connected time. You can dim the lights in the house to signal that it’s now nighttime. A soothing bath and massage with lotion can help lull your little one to a calm state and prepare their body for sleep. One thing to note, though, is that if your child hates bathtime, you should do it during another portion of your day – a sad and overstimulated baby is one that’s hard to get to sleep.

Use this time to focus on your little one and pour into them. Snuggle, read books, and talk about all the things they did during their day. Tell them what they’re going to do tonight – sleep and have sweet, sweet dreams!

If your little one is younger than a year, you will also want to include a bottle or breastfeeding session in the routine. If they’re older, you may want to include a protein-packed bedtime snack to ensure their little tummy stays full all night.

Sample Bedtime Routines

You’ll notice that appropriate bedtime routines vary a bit by age. There are different needs at different stages of development, so this might be a post you want to bookmark and come back to later!

All bedtime routines should take about 30-40 minutes from start to finish. You also don’t have to do a bath every night if you don’t want to, and the routine on those nights will be shorter.

Newborn Bedtime Routine:

1. Bath
2. Fresh diaper on
3. Lotion and massage
4. Pjs on
5. Full feeding or bottle
6. Burp
7. Read/show one book
8. Swaddle
9. White noise on and lights off
10. Kisses, cuddles, prayers, song, etc. and into their bassinet or crib

Infant Bedtime Routine

1. Full feeding or bottle
2. Bath
3. Fresh diaper on
4. Brush teeth and gums
5. Lotion and massage
6. Pjs on
7. Read two books
8. Sleep sack on
9. White noise on and lights off
10. Kisses, cuddles, prayers, song, etc. and into their crib

Toddler/Preschooler Bedtime Routine

1. High energy playtime
2. Bedtime snack – yogurt, cheese, or whole grain toast with peanut butter are great options!
3. Brush teeth
4. Bath
5. Fresh diaper on
6. Lotion
7. Pjs on
8. Read three books
9. Sleep sack on
10. White noise on and lights off
11. Kisses, cuddles, prayers, song, etc. and into their crib or bed

The Difference Between a Bedtime Routine and a Naptime Routine

You should also use a routine to transition to a nap. You can’t expect your little one to go to sleep if you just plop them into their crib straight from their floor playtime – I guarantee they won’t be happy about that!

The nap routine should be a condensed version of their bedtime routine and should take maybe 5-10 minutes.

Here’s a quick example:

1. Diaper change
2. Read one book
3. Sleep sack or swaddle
4. White noise on and lights off
5. Kisses cuddles, prayers, song, etc. and into their crib or bed

Over time, and as you start implementing a consistent bedtime and/or naptime routine, you may notice that your little one starts to yawn as you go through the routine. You’ve trained their body to know what comes next – sleep!

Having a solid bedtime routine is just ONE way to help your little one sleep better tonight. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. And, if you find that you’re struggling in other areas of sleep, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I’d love to help you.