What improved your sleep the most whilst having young children?

[Changingtides1234]

So I’ve seen a few really interesting posts about things that have helped you.

I currently have a toddler and a 6mo

naturally sleep is tough.

what are your go to sleep improvement tricks? Perhaps not length but quality?
id love to hear what some of you do to help :)

Sleep stories/music. A set going to sleep routine- stretches, muscle relaxing, slow breathing followed by a set sleeping position. You teach your body when you get in that position you are going to sleep. Breathing technique- in 4, hold 4, out 8. It settles the mind and releases excess carbon dioxide. Calm app is good. Tag teaming so dh would cover 7-1 and I did 1-7.

Cosleeping or a Moses basket right next to the bed for newborns. I did night feeds, dh got up with the earliest riser. We had one lie in each at weekends. Did this for years!

This is my husband. It’s a genuine talent

Ohh I’ll have a look

Went to bed at 9pm

Routine. I started with it day one. My kids (eventually, it takes a couple months to sink in) went down well and slept well. Son up before 6am but that's him (18 now and still up that early).
I'm sure you have a routine, but review it and perhaps it can be improved.

If I'm not at work and I only have one of them then I nap alongside them and get 1-2 hours back that way. Otherwise, with my youngest we co-sleep. With my eldest, if I only had him then my tactic would be to go to bed early as he gets up between 5 and 5.30 despite every effort. My youngest tends to go to sleep about 10.30 so I can't go to bed as early as I would like!

Ferber at 6 months too

i couldn’t think of anything worse than cosleeping. Fine if you have an angelic sleeper who falls asleep in one position and stays there all night but I have a kicky, scratchy, chatty kid who likes to stick her fingers in every orifice possible and I am more exhausted sleeping next to her then getting up several times in the night

Never ever co slept
Established a routine very early
Always self settled for naps and night time sleep.
All three DC slept through the night at 8 weeks and for 12 hours at 12 weeks, waking maybe once each per year if they were poorly or teething.
I needed my sleep and couldn’t manage any longer than 7 weeks without getting much.

Moving into their own room. Had very early through-sleepers (from about 6wks), but so noisy!!! I became a very light sleeper and that and husband’s snoring used to keep me awake. I would occasionally go into a spare bedroom for an uninterrupted night and lie in - heaven!!

Sending them to their grandparents for the night.

Sleep training

Definitely recommend Child Sleep Solutions - changed my whole experience of motherhood!

Not breastfeeding (though this wasn't through choice)
Own beds then own rooms at 8 months
Consistent routine from 3 months old of bath, dark room, story, bed.
Set bedtime of 7pm
Teddy/comforter
Shush/pat if they woke

This worked for us, both pretty good sleepers though the youngest would often sneak Into our bed like a ninja at 4am!
Didn't mind though as he didn't wake us up.
The early bedtime was really key for us as I don't know how people cope when their children won't go down until 9pm or whatever - I wanted an evening!

Cosleeping by a huge, huge margin. Couldn't imagine doing anything else now.

Cosleeping.

Just read the thread back and I love how polarised it is

Basically, either co-sleep or never, ever co-sleep. But pick one!

1. co-sleeping
2. controlled crying to get them into their own beds (admittedly this was at 14 months)
3. new, extremely comfortable mattress.

Separate beds for DH and I.

DH had toddler, I had baby.

Baby in own bed (my quality of sleep when cosleeping was hideous).

At weekends giving DH baby at 5am and going back to bed for as long as possible.

First 6 months fully baby lead, so feeding on demand in night and chunks of cosleeping.
6-12 months reducing night feeds - mainly feeding at about 3-5am once the sleep pressure had worn off and daddy's pats weren't cutting it.
12-15 months gentle sleep training and night weaning.
15 months onwards baby sleeping through consistently with the odd wake up for illness or water on hot nights.
Knowing ultimately that with gentle sleep training after a year (coinciding with end of mat leave) that they'd be sleeping a lot more helps. Also whenever possible napping when baby napped in the day and then tackling chores as a couple in the evenings.

Having a decent husband. Oh man, I have such gratitude for his efforts with dc2.

Husband getting up instead of me getting up

Modified Ferber at 8m when a night feed wasn't actually required for nourishment rather a comfort habit.

Keep in costs as long as possible .. my 3yo went into a bed too soon.

White nose - every child has a noise box that plays thunder and lightening. They find it comforting and don't wake in storms!!!

Split the night into 2 shifts with DP. Going to bed as early as possible. Putting my twins in separate rooms so they disturbed each other less.

I haven’t as much experience but I have a 16month old.
for me my little one sleeps 11/12 hours a nigh since 4/5 months.
What works for us, routine, routine, routine. Same bed time same up. We gently encouraged her to settle herself, we never stepped in too soon, watched to see would she settle herself. She only wakes us if there is actually something wrong now. Her teddy is her ultimate comforter, she only sees him during sleep so a very positive association. She sleeps independently in her cot in her own room. Whenever we have her in our room, we end up disturbing her and she disturbs us.
what got me through her early days was having an owlet. The peace of mind it gave was just so reassuring. I never woke up panicked she wasn’t breathing, I trusted that I would be alerted. It just helped me really relax into the sleep i got.