The Situation
When Frankie’s parents first reached out to me as a Infant & Child Sleep Consultant in Ireland , they were completely exhausted. As their third child, mum was determined not to repeat the sleep struggles she had faced with her older two. She simply didn’t have the luxury of spending hours rocking, holding, and resettling—she had three little ones to care for and needed everyone’s bedtime to run smoothly.
From the start, naps were a challenge. Frankie needed to be rocked or held to fall asleep, and transferring him into his cot without waking felt nearly impossible. Nights were even tougher—he woke frequently, relying on being rocked, replugging his soother, or taking a bottle to settle back to sleep. His parents found themselves in a constant cycle of helping him back to sleep, only for him to wake again a short time later. They knew something had to change.
The Plan
To help Frankie develop independent sleep skills and establish healthy sleep habits, we focused on the following key areas:
1. Creating an Age-Appropriate Sleep Schedule
Wake-Up Time: We set a consistent wake-up time, treating anything before 6:00 AM as nighttime. This helped regulate his body clock and build a predictable routine.
Naps: Instead of strictly following wake windows, we focused on Frankie’s sleepy cues to time his naps correctly. A calm, dark, and distraction-free sleep environment helped him transition into deeper, more restorative naps.
2. Establishing an Early Bedtime & Predictable Routine
We adjusted Frankie’s bedtime to between 6:00–7:00 PM, ensuring he wasn’t overtired before bed.
A simple, calming 20–30 minute bedtime routine was introduced—all done in his bedroom to create clear sleep associations.
This allowed Frankie to start the night with deeper, more restorative sleep, reducing his night wakings.
3. Managing Feeds & Breaking the Feed-to-Sleep Association
We monitored Frankie’s daytime intake to ensure he was getting enough nutrition, reducing unnecessary night feeds.
The last bottle was moved to 30 minutes before bedtime and given outside the bedroom to help separate feeding from sleep.
If Frankie needed a night feed, we ensured it was at the right time—between midnight and 5 AM—to avoid disrupting deep sleep or reinforcing early morning wake-ups.
4. Encouraging Independent Sleep
Self-Soothing: We introduced gentle self-soothing techniques to help Frankie learn to settle himself at bedtime, during naps, and when he woke overnight.
Soother Use: Instead of re-plugging the soother every time he woke, we placed multiple soothers in his cot so he could find and use them on his own. His parents also considered phasing it out completely to further support self-soothing.
The Outcome
It took time, patience, and consistency, but Frankie is now following an age-appropriate sleep schedule, taking long, quality naps, and settling himself to sleep independently in his cot. Bedtime has become much smoother, with fewer cries each night. While he still wakes once for a feed overnight, he’s making huge progress in self-soothing back to sleep. His parents are feeling more rested and confident, and most importantly—Frankie is getting the quality sleep he needs!
This family went with my 2 week support package as after our initial call we felt that this would be the best package for their needs.
If you can relate to this story and are struggling with your little one’s sleep, why not book a free 15-minute sleep assessment call with me to see how I can help?
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