Getting Back to Your Sleep Routine After the Festive Period
First off - Happy New Year!
I hope you had a fabulous festive period with your family. You may have had your baby’s first Christmas too - I hope it was special and you have lovely memories to look back on.
Christmas is a busy time for most of us, it often signals many meet ups with extended family with potential overnight stays with them too. This is obviously so lovely but it can be a lot with a little one. More people around = more hands to help, but also more stimulation and sometimes overwhelm for young children.
So, in this blog post I’m going to give you some tips on how to reset your little one’s routine and bring back the healthy sleep routine that you (hopefully!) had before Christmas.
You may not have seen too many disturbances to sleep over Christmas, or you may be trying to correct late nights/early starts and short naps. I’m here to help you, keep reading and I’m sure I can give you some pointers.
My Top Tips for Getting Back to a Good Sleep Routine Post-Christmas
I always advise my clients that improving sleep doesn’t just mean thinking about what happens at the time of sleep such as bedtime or your settling method.
So many factors heavily influence sleep, most of which occur during the day, i.e, not associated with sleep itself. So my tips below are mostly relating to what you do during the day to improve general well-being, which often then has a knock-on effect on sleep.
Reduce the stimulation of their day
Christmas is a stimulating time of the year! Think lights, noise, and potentially big groups of people. Turning the dial down on stimulation after Christmas can really support a child’s emotional regulation and help them to feel calmer. This in turn will positively impact on quality of sleep. Maybe have a few screen free days or quiet toys to play with. All those new toys at Christmas? Try playing with just a few at a time, ideally just 1 new toy. A room full of toys can be overstimulating for your little one. Bonus too if you hide some of the new toys away - next time you bring them out, they’ll seem to be brand new again!
Create time for connection
After many different faces seen over the Christmas period, it is really beneficial to focus on 1:1 time with your baby/child. This helps to regulate their nervous system and provide some calm to their world. Allow at least 15-20 minutes a day where you are spending quality time, distraction free with your little one. Get down on their level, interacting in their play/toys.
Get outside
Always my go-to piece of advice for parents. Get your little one outside each morning to support their circadian rhythm, or body clock. Exposure to daylight helps our internal body clock to know what time of the day it is. This is especially important for children who’s timings have been shifted over Christmas. Maybe you’re seeing early starts, or trying to bring back the usual bedtime again. Getting out in the morning will definitely help with this. It not only positively benefits them, but also you! We all need fresh air, some gentle exercise in our lives.
Encourage exercise/free play to practise skills
A bonus for being outside is engaging in exercise too. For our mobile little ones, a quick trip to the park or even a walk around the block will enable them to let off steam and engage in exercise. This is really important for sleep health. Exercise helps to build sleep pressure - this is the major component to achieving good quality naps during the day. If your little one doesn’t have enough sleep pressure, they simply won’t be tired enough for their nap. Not mobile yet? Don’t worry, they can get their exercise in by playing on their mat or practising skills such as sitting, rolling or walking.
Re-evaluate your timings
Sleep needs change each month, particularly for babies under 1 year. Wake windows are always lengthening and putting them down for naps at the right time is key for achieving enough sleep during the day. Re-evaluate your wake windows and see if you can stretch them. Are they approaching the age where a nap is dropped? (Such as 7-8 months or 14-15 months). Do you have a little one who is fighting their naps, potentially they are not tired enough for it? It could be down to the wake window lengths and time to reduce nap totals or drop a nap completely. If you need help with this, I have made a 0-12 sleep schedule guide that you can get for free here.
Need more help with sleep?
If you feel stuck with your little one’s sleep and you’re not sure how to improve it, I’m here to help.
I have sleep guides that give you knowledge and techniques for common sleep disturbances. Find these here.
I also offer 1:1 sleep support where we work out a plan together to resolve and improve your baby or child’s sleep. For more information click here. For both sleep support packages, I look through a sleep diary that you provide, giving you advice on changes that should be made to the routine. The main difference between both my support packages is the coaching support following the consultation. Most of my clients want to see the changes (because they have tried everything and are exhausted!) so opt for my 2 week coaching support. I’m there each day to support you with the change.
Look here for past client testimonials and feedback.