No-one is ever immune from sleep problems! But there's always something we can do to improve matters. It's usual for babies to become reliant on a prop like a dummy or a parent rocking them to sleep to settle them. To break the habit, they need to learn to settle into sleep without any props.
In practice, this means putting them into bed sleepy, but awake, so that she can soothe herself to sleep. This allows her to settle herself back to sleep when she wakes at night, without help.
Start by putting them down to sleep in the day awake. They mustn't fall asleep feeding. Habits are hard to break at first. Be consistent in the new routine, giving them lots of reassurance. Within a couple of weeks, the pattern should show signs of improvement.
Annette Maloney, health visitor.
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