Your baby or toddler wakes in the night and you drag yourself out of bed, exhausted, but by the time you’ve got them back to sleep and you finally climb back in to your bed…you’re wide awake. In the middle of the night, it’s easy to begin worrying about anything and everything. Before you know it, your heart rate is up, you’re replaying every embarrassing thing you ever did, or doubting your life choices, and you might lie there for ages trying to fall back asleep. In this week’s episode of...

New parents are told to expect their sleep to change forever—but nothing truly prepares you for the reality of caring for a precious new life on such fragmented sleep. After the blur of the early weeks and months, many parents find themselves ready to make adjustments to where, when, and how their baby sleeps. For some, this shift happens within the first six months; for others, closer to a year; and for some parents, they simply aren’t ready to make changes to their child’s sleep until their...

Let’s talk about the ‘17 diapers’ trend happening on TikTok. Hannah is a mum who posted a video counting the number of dirty diapers she could find lying around her house. She found 17. She has a newborn and a toddler, so that’s probably 1 days’ worth of dirty nappies. Most would find this normal and unsurprising, but over 10,000 people jumped on her post to leave nasty comments criticising her parenting. Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of it. An army of mums came to Hannah’s rescue,...

Welcoming your own little baby to the fold is usually a pretty exciting and thrilling moment. Whilst the majority of new parents experience a lot of joy during this time, for some, the transition to parenthood is lined with trepidation. This is because we don’t begin parenting from a clean slate. We all arrive in parenting with our baggage – from our own experiences being parented as children, from the experiences we have birthing our children, and from the expectations set upon us by the...

If you’re the parent of a toddler who’s had ongoing sleep difficulties since birth, chances are you’re battling extreme, unrelenting fatigue. How can parents possibly begin to make changes to their little one’s sleep, on the back of months of their own sleep deprivation? Especially when the sleep deprivation has contributed to increased depression and anxiety symptoms. This week we discuss strategies parents can use to manage their own fatigue when working towards improving their little one’s...

Are sleep associations real? Data from thousands of babies, children, and adults concludes that they absolutely are. So why has there been a recent increase in anti- sleep association sentiment on social media? Sleep associations are the things we need present in order to fall asleep and these tend to gradually shift across the lifespan. Tune in to hear Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs) unpack the science behind sleep associations, and the impact sleep associations might have on your baby or...

Many new parents have to navigate the influx of unwanted advice offered by extended family members. This can be amplified when extended family lives with you or comes to stay for an extended period. Like our anonymous listener, whose mother and sister in law constantly entered the bedroom when she was settling the baby, to tell her how she could be doing things differently. Setting clear boundaries with extended family, early on, can help set expectations and minimise hurt feelings. You are...

There are plenty of people who will try to convince you that the only right way to settle your baby for sleep, is their way. They often describe cot settling as being harmful for babies, and when they try to use research papers to back up their opinions, they cite papers that don’t even examine sleep (or infants!) or papers that are purely theoretical and which don’t report on data from families. It creates an unnecessary minefield for parents and leads to feelings of shame and...

When you try a new approach for settling your baby, it’s important to persist for a while so you can see if it works for them, and for you! Knowing when to ‘pull the plug’ and try something different, will depend on several factors, including how your baby is responding, and how you feel about continuing. There is usually some trial and error when it comes to settling a baby, and that’s ok. You and your baby are learning. Tune in to episode 65 to hear Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs) describe...

What should you do if your childcare centre refuses to support your baby or toddler's typical sleep patterns or settling preferences? And what is the best way to approach these tricky conversations? Babies and toddlers often surprise their parents by settling with minimal fuss at childcare, and often sleeping great long stretches with ease. But for some babies and toddlers, this makes their nights very challenging. Tune in to hear Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs, Sleep Practitioners) discuss...

There is no job more demanding or exhausting, than raising a child. Yet sometimes parents focus more on protecting the sleep of the parent who is in paid work, than the sleep of the parent in charge of keeping the little ones alive and thriving. It’s not always possible to perfectly split the labour of child rearing, but it’s important that whatever the division of labour, both parents’ health and wellbeing is protected. After all, that’s what genuine partnership is all about! Join Dr Fallon...

In this episode Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs) unpack five key factors to consider when addressing your baby or toddler's sleep difficulties. With each of these factors accounted for, you’ll be on the path to more restful nights! Tune in to the full discussion in episode 62 of Brand New Little People, as Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs) answer questions from parents including: Should I persist with my current settling approach or is it time to try something new? How can I help my toddler,...

This week, Dr Laura (PhD) tells us about a family who were carrying a lot fear and guilt surrounding their baby’s sleep, and how they overcame these fears and improved sleep for the entire family. Many parents report feeling upset and conflicted about their child’s sleep because they’ve been told that their child’s extreme sleep difficulties are normal, that any number of night wakes or tricky settles is acceptable, and that their job as parent, is simply to endure. These parents are often...

Most little babies love to take some day naps in the arms of a parent, because it feels snug and warm. Contact naps can be blissful in the early days, but often become challenging as babies become heavier and parents need more hands-free time to get things done. In this episode Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs) talk about factors parents should consider when deciding if contact naps will stay or go. As with most parenting decisions, there is no clear right or wrong approach, but having all the...

Some toddlers are VERY reluctant to stop having milk feeds overnight, even when they no longer need to feed due to hunger or to meet their nutritional requirements. In this episode Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs) discuss what you can do to ease this transition for your toddler, including signs they might not be ready, and tips on how you can support your child to cope with their big emotions during this change. Parent questions are also answered, including: Do I need to stop offering my...

Developmental ‘leaps’ have been blamed for unsettled infant behaviour and sleepless nights for over 30 years, all because of one small, flawed study conducted in the early 90’s. But what does the research evidence really tell us about leaps? And why is the idea of leaps so pervasively trusted by today’s parents? Tune in to hear Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs) dissect the science behind leaps and learn why parents shouldn’t dismiss all unsettled behaviour or persistent sleep difficulties as...

If you could only nail those wake windows sleep would be perfect…right? Wrong! Following set wake windows might work for some families but for many they don’t work, and may even worsen sleep. Every baby has their own unique sleep requirements and the amount of sleep a baby or toddler might need at any age could vary as much as 5 hours from child to child! This means babies and toddlers can have vastly different amounts of time awake yet can still have good sleep health. Tune in to hear Dr...

All humans wake multiple times overnight, and we usually don’t remember – we do a quick ‘systems check’ and then return to sleep in just a few seconds. Some babies & toddlers feel very confident and secure in their cots and upon waking at night will happily fall straight back to sleep – but others wake up very upset or startled, and can’t resettle themselves without parent support.  Night waking in older babies and toddlers, tends to become problematic when night wakes are prolonged,...

Social media is full of baby sleep advice and amongst the good advice is some truly alarming and potentially harmful misinformation. Tune in to hear Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs) debunk misleading advice around baby sleep and answer parent questions including:  How can I help my baby overcome jet lag? What can I do if my baby won’t sleep in anyone’s arms but mine? How does day sleep impact night sleep? How to avoid sneaky pram naps that impact my toddler’s night sleep? Should I stop...

Knowing when and how to drop a nap can feel like a minefield. Learn our tips for identifying when to drop a nap and what you can expect while your baby or toddler adjusts to a new daily rhythm. Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhDs) also answer parent’s questions including: Is it ok to bring bedtime slightly earlier when trying to drop a day nap? Should I expect my toddler to add extra sleep to their nights when I drop a day nap? Which should I work on first - dropping a day nap or stopping...

Dr Fallon took drastic action when she realised the juggle of paid work plus raising children had become too much to manage. Tune in to hear what prompted a house sale 🏠, a big move 🚚, and a total rethink of family life 😌 Dr Fallon & Dr Laura also answer questions from parents including: How can I add more sleep to my child’s daily rhythm? Is it too early for my FOMO baby to drop to 1 day nap? How long are sleep cycles? Why is my baby suddenly waking up so much? 🎁 To celebrate the 1st...

Here are Dr Fallon & Dr Laura’s top 5 tips for helping your baby or toddler happily fall asleep in their cot or bed. These are the tips they discuss with families every day in their paediatric sleep clinics. This episode will empower you with the skills to work on settling your baby or toddler in their cot or bed, when you feel ready to do so.  ❤️ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts  ❤️ Subscribe on Spotify  🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube ✅ If you’re ready to resolve your baby or toddler’s...

This week’s episode is entirely dedicated to you, the parents! Dr Fallon & Dr Laura (PhD’s) answer questions about sleep and settling submitted by Sombelle parents. Ranging from tiny newborns to pre-schoolers, this episode covers the most common sleep & settling difficulties you’re likely to face with your little one during the first few years.  Questions answered include: After a stretch of great sleep, why is my baby’s crying suddenly increasing at bedtime? Why does sleep...

To celebrate our 50th episode, we are sharing the story of 6.5 month old baby *Lucy. Dr Laura explains the struggles Lucy’s parents were facing with her sleep and settling, including difficult settling and up to 8 overnight wakes. Lucy’s parents felt exhausted and nervous about making changes after reading conflicting advice online. Hear how Laura carefully crafted an approach to suit Lucy’s temperament and unique sleep needs, whilst also ensuring the approach felt comfortable for Lucy’s...