Share your top child and adult sleep tips with BleepBleeps – £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

Whether you have babies or tweens, getting a good night’s sleep isn’t always easy. In fact, bed-time can be a long and tiresome task. There’s getting your DCs to sleep in the first place – often taking hours – and then there’s waking up in the night and early mornings. BleepBleeps wants to know what your top tips are for making this process easier. Have you mastered a bed-time routine which means you and your DC both get a great night’s sleep?

Here’s what BleepBleeps has to say: “BleepBleeps has made, and is still creating, neat little gadgets which make parenting easier, including your night-time routine. We offer a range of devices which make it possible for you to keep an eye on your DCs from your smartphones so you have peace of mind whilst they’re sleeping.”

Do you have a bedtime strategy in place such as co-sleeping or controlled crying? Do you use devices like nightlights and baby monitors? Or other products that help your child fall asleep and/or keep them in bed till the morning?

Whatever your tips and tricks are, add your comments below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard T&Cs apply

A consistent bedtime is the only way we get some sort of sleep in our house.

A full tummy before bed and blackout blinds are a must! Routine worked well for ds1 but not so much for ds2. Still a work in progress.

Routine, routine, routine! Don't take any crap bed means bed. Also I have used sleep trainer clocks from a young age, helps them to understand what time they can get up.

We use hypnosleep stories. I was so sceptical at first but the head of the kids nursery recommended them and they really work for my two (5 and 8) and although i find them awful to listen to, we are now at the stage where we turn on the "sleepy story" and leave them to go to sleep without any fuss. We've come a looooong way!

Is your baby actually asleep??? I feed my little one until she gets sleepy then let her sleep on me in the chair until I am sure she is in a deep sleep only then do I return her to her Moses basket, too early you risk a wake up situation. I then do my housework at 4am and return to bed myself. This means in the morning everywhere is tidy and clean and I can focus on my baby (and me).

Going to bed around the same time every night

Making sure the room is cool (if possible)

Lowering the lights towards end of the evening

White noise for dd as it masks the sounds of us coming to bed so we don't disturb her and white noise for us as it maddens me listening to myself breathe when I'm trying to sleep. I prefer having something else to concentrate on.

A consistent and workable sleep routine was a paramount concern of mine when I had my DDs I've always stuck to the same routine: Bath followed by stories in bed and then 'sleep time', always at a reasonable time! (DDs are 4 and 6 now, but they are in bed by 7.15/30pm. I also use double black-out blinds in their rooms to keep external light to a minimum (that helps particularly during the summer!). Another thing I felt was important was a decent mattress and comfy mattress topper so they have the most comfortable nights possible! I've never had any problems with either DD sleeping; unless they are ill they both sleep very well every night!

Firstly, have an understanding of what is a normal sleep pattern of young babies and children can really help reduce the stress levels. Co-sleeping and responsive breastfeeding can also ensure you get more sleep too. Having a loose routine might also help but not stressing if it needs to change, following your child and meeting their needs all help everyone have a calmer and gentler bedtime.

Recognise different children need different amounts of sleep- DS1 needs a lot of sleep but DS2 less so. We'd put them down at the same time and DS2 was allowed to play quietly in him room and go to sleep when he's ready and unless poorly he was always asleep when we came up to check on them. Still do that now but rules have changed-no play only reading until you are ready to sleep. Key is to find something that works for your family

For our DC we have always had a good bedtime routine of dinner, bath/shower, they read to us (when old enough), we read to them, brush teeth and then to sleep. It has always worked well, they have never had problems sleeping at night. For myself, I make sure I'm not on my phone/computer before going to sleep. I like to read to wind down before going to sleep. This is a fairly new routine which seems to work.

A warm drink before their bath, then straight up to bed to a cool, dark, and quiet room-works a treat every time for my previously awful sleepers!

Cosleeping and bf on demand meant I got so much more sleep with dc2 than with dc1. Especially once she learned to latch on herself so I don't even need to wake up!

No screen time after dinner, and a regular (yet flexible) routine.

We dream fed ours for the first year. That nearly always guaranteed extra sleep. Also not letting them nap too long in the day or too close to bedtime. Much to my mothers horror I have been known to wake a napping baby

Adult sleep tip here! I don't sleep well. When I am stressed, my sleep gets disrupted. My usual pattern is that I fall asleep easily but then wake about 4am and be restless/awake for the rest of the night. If I do this for a few nights, it becomes a pattern and is hard to break.

However, I discovered (by accident!) that if I sleep away from home for a night, the routine gets broken and I'm back to sleeping (relatively) well again.

For DS (8), lots of fresh air and exercise during the day, no screens in his room, cup of camomile tea while we read a book together in his bed. Then he's allowed to read to himself until he gets sleepy.

We use This Works Pillow Spray on our 8month daughters sheet and favourite bear. This means that where ever we are, her bed will always smell familiar. We also respond to her when she cries and sooth her to help her feel safe and comforted.

By bedtime I just want to collapse on the counch and do something mindless like mnet or play stupid iPad games.
But I am scuppered by Having a child who will not
Sleep without me near so I now sit on the landing and play a piano game on the iPad. The bonus being I can zone out, she sleeps and my older two who can also hear are starting to learn the names of and love classical music!

a consistent bedtime routine, no TV or gadgets within an hour of bed. bath and then a quick story. then walk away and don't go back! Works well for our son, now 3, but I haven't yet found a routine that works well for me. I can get to sleep easily but staying asleep and not waking up with stuff on my mind is a different matter!

off with the screen and a book at bedtime - helps to wind down for all.

Do whatever's easiest for you. I spent weeks trying to get my first baby to go to sleep at 7pm, but discovered all she wanted to do was feed all evening and I was bored doing that in the bedroom so used to bring her downstairs and watch TV at the same time. She now goes to bed fine at 730pm ish, so it's not like I set up something that was going to last forever. Number two I've been a lot more relaxed with.

Oh and a Gro Clock was amazing when I realised my daughter had no idea why sometimes when she woke up in the morning she was allowed up and out straight away, and sometimes she got a grumpy parent telling her to go back to sleep. Now she knows she can get up and play quietly when there's one star left, and get up and find a parent when the sun comes up.

I was v strict in the no cuddling to sleep/ feeding to sleep. My babies self settled from an early age - and I also didn't wander round in hushed tones or tiptoes.

Means that aged 8 and 9 they now sleep through anything. And are ace at bedtimes, always have been.

It's the only reason I could date DP - they would go down at 7 and sleep through the world.

I do use blackouts, but I make noise, talk on the phone, have people over, sing, they're used to noise.

But because they've settled themselves to sleep from an early age, they don't need me there if they stir. (Though I do get them if they've had a nightmare etc, which is more than ok)

Routine is the key. Be consistent with bedtimes. Stick to the same times at weekends and holidays. Children work well to routines once they are established.

No screen time at least half an hour before bed time - use the time to unwind and get out of the way any delaying tactics that your DC might use.

Blackout blinds in bedroom. Have helped all of us.

I find it hard to sleep, but I find putting a pillow between my knees helps me keep comfy as I sleep on my side. Something I had to do in pregnancy and never been able to give up!