- Consider the sleep environment
Consider the transition to a formal cot. After about 4 months big cot is more appropriate. Have you considered if some wakes are due to proximity to you or the other parent. Are you disturbing each other? Is it dark, warm, without too many distractions. Do they have a positive relationship with this space?
- Consider your feeding practice
Consider how and when you provide feeds- is the morning feed in the bedroom? Could this confuse them? Are feeds used to support naps? Are you offering feeds continuously throughout the day resulting in a grazing style of calorie intake, could this be a repeating pattern overnight? Do they get enough milk by day to sustain longer stretches overnight?
- Consider the location of the bedtime routine
Consider your child’s relationship with sleep-is there a flow to your bedtime routine- is it in the place where they sleep so that the value of the wind-down is enhanced. Is it long enough, are you present and available?
- Consider if they are more awake than asleep when they land in the cot
Consider how they experience their sleep- are you putting them to sleep or are creating a loving space for them to fall asleep more by themselves, being able to do this at bedtime helps how they transition though their night sleep cycles, or not as the case may be