“They used to sleep so well – what happened?” is something I hear from parents all the time.

Baby sleep can change quite suddenly. Developmental changes, illness, teething, changes to naps, becoming more mobile and changes in how your baby moves between sleep cycles can all affect sleep.

You may also hear this described as a sleep regression, particularly around four months.

A difficult period doesn't necessarily mean you've created a bad habit or done something wrong. Sometimes your baby's needs have simply changed.

We'll look at what is happening now and work out what your baby needs at this stage, rather than trying to recreate an old routine that may no longer suit them.

The 4-month sleep regression is a term parents commonly use when their baby's sleep suddenly becomes more unsettled around this age.

You might notice your baby:

• Waking every 1–2 hours

• Taking shorter naps

• Fighting naps

• Waking shortly after being put down

• Needing more help to settle

• Suddenly struggling with bedtime

It can be incredibly frustrating when your baby previously seemed to be sleeping well.

There isn't a set length of time that a sleep regression lasts, and not every change in sleep is necessarily a regression.

Rather than waiting indefinitely for things to improve, we can look at your baby's sleep patterns and make sure their routine and settling approach are appropriate for their current stage.

Short naps are one of the most common baby sleep problems parents search for.

A 30-minute nap isn't automatically a problem. Some babies naturally take shorter naps, particularly at certain stages.

However, if your baby is consistently taking very short naps and is becoming overtired, miserable or difficult to settle, it's worth looking at what's happening around their daytime sleep.

We can look at your baby's awake periods, total daytime sleep, nap timing, sleep environment and how they settle.

The aim isn't to force your baby to sleep for a particular number of minutes. It's to help you understand what is realistic for your baby's age and individual needs.

If bedtime takes an hour, involves lots of crying or feels like a battle every night, you're not alone.

A baby who fights bedtime may be overtired, undertired, have had too much or too little daytime sleep, or simply be finding it difficult to settle.

Sometimes the answer isn't an earlier bedtime or a later bedtime. We need to look at the whole 24-hour sleep picture.

We'll work together to make bedtime more predictable and calmer, without expecting you to follow a rigid routine that doesn't fit your family.

No.

There isn't one single way to work on your baby's sleep.

As a sleep consultant I do NOT use the ‘cry it out method’.

There are different approaches to improving sleep, and what works for one family won't necessarily work for another.

Together, we'll consider your baby's age, temperament, your parenting style and what you're comfortable with.

Yes.

Breastfeeding and improving sleep don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Many breastfed babies feed to sleep or have breastfeeds during the night. Feeding your baby to sleep isn't something you've done wrong.

If it's working for you, there's no need to change it just because somebody else says your baby “should” be settling independently.

If you're exhausted and would like your baby to rely less on feeding to fall back to sleep, we can look at gradual changes that take your breastfeeding journey into account.

The Lullaby Trust also highlights the protective association between breastfeeding and reduced SIDS risk.

No – not if it's working for you.

Feeding to sleep is a normal and comforting way for many babies to settle.

The question I'd ask is: is it still working for your family?

If you enjoy feeding your baby to sleep and you're all getting enough rest, there may be no reason to change it.

If you're waking repeatedly throughout the night and feeding has become the only way your baby will settle, we can explore other settling options while still keeping feeds where they're appropriate.

There's no requirement for a baby to stop having cuddles, feeds or parental support in order to improve sleep.

Early waking can be one of the most frustrating sleep problems.

You've finally managed to get through the night and then your baby decides that 5am is morning!

There can be several reasons for early morning waking, including your baby's sleep needs, daytime naps, bedtime, the sleep environment, light, noise and how your baby settles when they wake.

It's tempting to keep moving bedtime earlier and earlier, but that isn't always the answer.

We'll look at your baby's entire sleep pattern and work out what could be contributing to those early starts.

Please don't think you've failed.

You may have tried rocking, feeding, contact naps, controlled crying, changing bedtime, changing naps, white noise, sleep schedules or advice you've found online.

Sometimes a particular approach simply isn't right for your baby or your family.

Sometimes there are other things affecting sleep that haven't been addressed.

We can start from where you are now rather than assuming you need to repeat something that didn't work before.

You don't need to have everything figured out before asking for help.

For safer sleep, The Lullaby Trust recommends that babies sleep in the same room as their parent or carer for at least the first six months, for both daytime and night-time sleep. The safest place is a baby's own clear, flat, firm and separate sleep space, such as a cot or Moses basket.

This doesn't mean you have to be sitting beside the cot every second your baby sleeps. It means that, for the first six months, your baby is safest sleeping in the same room as you.

Safer sleep always comes first.