Why Sleep Matters for You And Your Baby

I’m excited to introduce you to Charmian Mead, a Baby & Toddler Sleep Expert, founder of The Sleeping Baby Routine consultancy, and author of The 7pm to 7am Sleeping Baby Routine, a comprehensive guide to the newborn stage and establishing healthy sleep habits.

Charmian is passionate about helping families navigate the exciting yet often overwhelming early years of parenthood and she has over 30 years of experience working with babies and toddlers.

She offers a range of support options including phone consultations, remote packages, home visits, and overnight stays. Her services focus on both set-up and troubleshooting, providing practical, evidence based guidance on establishing routines, supporting breastfeeding, weaning, managing toddler behaviour, and improving sleep for the whole family.

Charmian has very kindly written us a blog post on the importance if sleep for you and your baby and it is so worth a read;

As a baby and toddler sleep expert, I’m utterly obsessed with sleep and for good reason! It’s hands down one of the most powerful tools we have for both physical and mental wellbeing, especially in those early, hazy days of parenthood.

For new mums, sleep does so much more than help you feel vaguely human again. Sleep supports lactation, boosts milk supply, lifts those all important endorphins, and helps you recover faster after birth. Honestly, it’s right up there with eating, drinking and breathing.

Sleep is also a key player in protecting mental health. It helps regulate brain function and can reduce the risk of postnatal depression. The link between sleep and mood is so strong, going too long without proper rest can really start to chip away at your emotional resilience. Some people muddle through on broken sleep; others, quite understandably, find it impossible to function.

So, what about your baby or toddler?

Good quality sleep is just as vital for them. It supports growth and weight gain, calms digestion, lifts their little mood, and helps regulate their circadian rhythm. In short, babies who sleep well are often more settled, happier, and build positive sleep habits that can last a lifetime.

Yes, becoming a parent means night-time disruption but it doesn’t have to mean total sleep deprivation. It is possible to encourage longer stretches of sleep at any age. I’ve been helping families do just that for over 30 years, from the newborn days to toddlerhood. Here are the key focus points for each stage to keep your little one sleeping well:

The Newborn Stage - Needs A Holistic Approach

Everything in a newborn’s routine affects sleep but one often overlooked factor is digestion. Learning to manage it well can make a world of difference to a tiny baby's sleep patterns. A consistent burping pattern helps increase milk intake (which means longer stretches of sleep!), and if you’re breastfeeding, following a gas free diet in the first six weeks can also help.

Bottom line? A well fed, digestively calm baby in the right sleep environment will usually sleep well.

Other key factors at this stage include:

Sleep position to give a feeling of  security. 

Simple structure: A consistent routine, including a “feed–play–sleep” cycle, promotes full feeds and active wake times, both of which support better digestion and rest.

Understanding your body: If you’re breastfeeding, getting to know your breasts - milk supply, milk flow and when to boost your baby's milk intake or how you can increase your milk supply can really help with night time sleep and daytime naps.

Want a complete guide to sleep from birth to weaning?

Grab a copy of 7pm to 7am Sleeping Baby Routine https://amzn.eu/d/jhb7v3t

The Baby Stage (4–10 Months)

By now, your baby has already picked up sleep habits, and this is the stage where self-settling becomes key. It’s also when many parents dread the so called “sleep regression” but here’s the good news: it’s not inevitable.

With the right routine, babies progress instead of regress. The trick is to keep your baby’s routine evolving to match their developmental needs. 

One of the biggest sleep disrupters I see? Parents sticking to a newborn routine that’s no longer fit for purpose.

At this stage, babies begin to nap less. Reducing and dropping naps at the right time is essential for maintaining strong night time sleep. Weaning is also a major milestone: research shows most babies are ready somewhere between 4–6 months, rather than waiting until 6 months as commonly advised.

The Toddler Stage

By now, your toddler is more than capable of sleeping through the night and self-settling but let’s be honest, they’re also learning how to push boundaries. Sleep at this stage is less about routine and more about behaviour (yours as much as theirs!).

Sleep is still influenced by calories, nap lengths, and how you respond to night wakings. If your toddler has too much daytime sleep or senses a loophole in the bedtime routine, they’ll test it. And this is where “delay tactics” start to sneak in…

I regularly work with families who are stuck holding hands all night, sleeping on the floor beside the cot, or co-sleeping when they never planned to. 

The good news? With a few simple tweaks and gentle techniques, we can get your toddler sleeping peacefully again and often in just 3–5 days! 

Need help getting your baby or toddler to sleep through the night? https://www.thesleepingbabyroutine.co.uk/baby-sleep-consultant-packages/